by Capt. Rod Roydhouse
It’s getting chilly in Fort Lauderdale and that means the sail fish are biting. January is one of the peak months for sail fishing in South Florida. The strong winds make excellent conditions for kite fishing, the most e ffective method for catching sail fish, dolphin and other surface feeding game fish. In Fort Lauderdale, the continental shelf is very close to shore and it gets deep very quickly. One mile o shore is already 100 feet of water. Two miles off shore it gets as deep as 600 feet of water. The Gulfstream runs right along and hugs this drop-off . We call this area “Sail fish Alley”. It’s the area where all the sail fish migrate through, and there’s a bevy of other game fish species that inhabit this area too. Just go off shore about a mile, to about 100-200 feet of water, and fly the kites with some frisky goggle eyes dangled on the surface and you’re very likely to hook into one of the most exciting fish in the world to catch… Sail fish.
Wrecks deserve an honorable mention this month too. January wreck fishing is excellent. Unfortunately, groupers are out of season as of January 1, so many fishermen stop bottom fishing around the wrecks until they come back into season. This is great for us! While it can be painful to be required to release a big grouper you just caught, amberjacks, cobia, sharks, barracuda and a few other species congregate around these wreck too, and with the lack of fishing pressure around these spots, wreck fishing can make for great action. Amberjacks, one of the strongest fighting fish in the ocean, are just beginning to show up around the deep wrecks in January. In a few months they will dominate the wrecks. Red snapper fishing on multi-hook chicken rigs is also fun and a great way to catch dinner. Vermillion snappers will not be closed this year, as they have been in the past couple of years. Great news! is a great month to add some color to your fish box by doing some wreck fishing. Good luck to everyone fishing this month. We’d love to have you out with us on one of our fishing charters!
Capt. Rod Roydhouse
New Lattitude Sport fishing
(954) 707-2147
www.NewLattitude.com