FISH TALES | By Capt. Doug Jeffrey
Snowbirds, bigger fish come with cooler weather
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Posted - Friday, October 23, 2009 10:32 AM EDT
With the arrival of this year’s first cold front came some real strong wind that made the ocean a little rough. OK very rough.
However the cool off seemed to be welcomed by most. With this slow cooling we should start to see a slow drop in the local water temperatures. As the water cools, some really great fishing will be occurring on the local reefs and offshore.
The first to arrive will be the schools of kingfish. While some of them have lingered all summer, the really big schools and the larger smokers are slow to move south as the water cools. These schools will normally set up in 100 to 300 feet of water close to structure. If you are trying to catch kingfish, it is best to fish a couple hundred feet from the structure. If you are catching barracudas on each pass, you are fishing too close to the structure.
The nice 20- to 30-pound wahoos will not be far behind and should be showing up in the next couple of weeks. When fishing for wahoos as with kingfish look for structure in deeper water. The best area seems to be about 175 to 300 feet of water, and I prefer a ledge for the best wahoo action. When it comes to fishing for them nothing beats fresh live bait.
Once the seas start to calm down so the smaller boats can make it to the reef with the large boats, they should find that the yellowtails are on a tear. Fall yellowtail fishing is hard to beat. The smaller 12- to 14-inch fish will be closer in preferring 70- to 100-feet of water. For the large 18- to 24-inch fish, try looking in 120 to 160 feet of water. While fishing for yellowtails, do not forget that every once and a while a larger mutton snapper will sneak into the chum line for a quick snack and get caught.
The fish that all the bottom bumpers are waiting for is the larger groupers. When the water gets cool, enough of the larger black groupers will start moving into the shallower waters were they become a little easier to catch. By far the best bait to use when trying to hang one of the larger groupers is a frisky live bait fished on the bottom.
One sure fire way to tell cooler weather is on the way is by the number of people who are out buying shrimp nets. While it is still a little early, I noticed a few nets walking out of the local tackle stores. Also spotted were a couple of boats prowling the local waters with lights and nets hoping for that first early shrimp run.
With a taste of the cooler weather earlier in the week, we know the fishing is going to quickly change for the better. As sure as the snowbirds flying in for the winter to escape the cold of winter, fish will be swimming in hot on their tails. Until next time, may you enjoy fair winds and following seas, and I hope to see you on the water.
