Finally the wind has slacked off at least for the last week or so which is about all you can expect this time of year. I hope everyone has had a chance to take advantage of the calmer weather and get out on the water.

A pretty good Wahoo bite headlines the recent fishing action. We saw a peak during the Jan full moon but the action on Wahoo remains steady through the dark of the moon and now with the waxing Feb moon. Best areas to encounter Wahoo have been “the end of the bar”, the vicinity of the local wrecks and anywhere between 120’ and 250’ where the water is blue and the current is moving. Trolling wire rigged ballyhoo and lipped plugs or live baiting “speedos” Goggle Eyes, Thread Herring and large Pilchards has produced fish.

King Mackerel have also belatedly moved into our area in pretty good numbers in the last 10 days. The run of Kings is very late this year but welcome for those of us in the Charter Fishing industry as they produce great action for our clients. The Kings can be found on both the Gulf side and the south side of our Keys. Try trolling to locate the fish and then anchoring and chumming to hold the fish.

Snapper fishing has been unreliable of late owing to very clear water conditions and fickle current. Clear water and no current is a prescription for poor snapper fishing on the reef edge, either anchor out in the deep where the clear water doesn’t matter as much, or find the current by moving east or west along the reef edge.

Sailfish action is so so, there are a few Sails lurking around the shallow fore reefs where Ballyhoo are still congregated, keep an eye out for Bait showers which will alert you to their presence. Tight Lines and good luck,

Capt. Brad Simonds