With that big cold snap a thing of the past we are now looking at some good conditions on the water. Some strong winds have been making the boating uncomfortable but the fishing remains good.

Yellowtail are on and off depending on water clarity and temperature. Find some decent current and get the chum flowing and they should rise up….if not….move on and look for your fishfinder to light up.

Most captains have been reporting great catches of Grouper and are now numb to the whole catch and release idea. Once may hits I am sure there will be fresh Grouper on many Keys dining tables.  I went out to dinner with a group of people and one ordered a Grouper dish and I reminded them that it had to be from before Jan 1 or it was not local….they changed their order to a Blackened Wahoo!

Speaking of Wahoo….. Wahoo fishing has been excellent. Live baits will always be best but a strategically trolled Ballyhoo/Islander combo or just a plain Ballyhoo will get hit as well. I have also had good luck trolling the heavy Wahoo lures like the Wahoo Express.  Jigging with butterfly style jigs also works.  Most of the concentrations have been over deep wrecks and early morning is when they are the most aggressive.

Sailfishing is good with fish all over the reef chasing bait. You can find fish in depths from 20 feet to 300 feet this time of year. As we move into warmer weather the Sails wil begin to spread out a bit.

Gulf fishing is excellent-Cobia, Kingfish, Mangrove Snapper, Mutton Snapper, Lane Snapper, Bonito, huge schools of Mackerel, Grouper…everything is biting around wrecks and rock-piles.