Gamefish Variety Pack

Sailfish, kingfish and wahoo headline the availability list for Florida Keys offshore live-baiters and trollers this month. Bottom fishers can concentrate on an ample supply of snappers and groupers.

 

 

A trip to Summerland Key's blue water provided a dolphin for Paige Murray and Holly Peltzer.

With sailfish season in full swing, expect to find everything from singles to pods of hungry spindlebeaks riding the waves in search of prey. Kingfish and wahoo spend most of their time cruising the mid-depths targeting an easy meal. Wreck- and ledge-loving grouper and snapper wait for prey to pass within easy gobbling range. With all these species around in fishable numbers, why not target them all at the same time to maximize your action? You can if you set up a proper drift and cover the water column from top to bottom. Several proven drifting techniques get the job done; pick one that fits your boat, rigs, bait and experience.

 

One of the most basic methods, known locally as power drifting or slow trolling, works on all sizes and styles of boats and allows you to maintain some control over the depths and direction of your drift. This is advantageous when the bite is strong at one depth and not others.

 

Boats with outriggers should slow troll a bait from each 'rigger, position one flatline near bottom and run the other flatline at mid-depth. This method of bait deployment covers the entire water column and will keep the action going even when the fish stay at one specific depth.

 

In most areas of the Keys, the oceanside bottom slowly deepens once you pass the main reefline. Here, fish travel parallel to the main reefline. On any given day, or hour for that matter, some species—especially sailfish—tend to run in one specific depth. Finding this depth quickly can help turn an average day into an outstanding fishing adventure.

 

The best way to determine the depth of the day is to drift over a wide range of deep water, say from 60 feet out to 250 feet looking for a hot bite. When lots of boats are around a faster way to find the preferred sailfish depth is to contact the boats doing the catching and ask what depth they're fishing. Or you can just watch and see where others hook up.

 

Most Keys power drifters use live ballyhoo as their topwater worm. Other live bait that will do the job on the surface rigs includes cigar minnows, pilchards and threadfins. For deep baits, a cigar minnow can't be beat.

 

If live bait is in short supply, use them only on your surface outrigger lines to entice a passing sailfish. Stick with dead bait on the bottom and mid-range rods. One of the best dead baits around is a whole, deboned ballyhoo. Kingfish, wahoo, grouper and snapper readily take this common bait. When rigged with a hook in the snout and a trailer in the tail, a deboned ballyhoo will swim enticingly when it is pulled through the water. Another favorite for the mid-depth kingfish/wahoo rod is a dead cigar minnow rigged with a stinger hook and a duster to add some color.

 

Vary tackle size depending on its position in the spread. Most Keys sailfishers prefer 20-pound spin tackle for livebait fishing with ballyhoo or other similar-size surface baits. Spinning rods are favored because they can be set with the bail open, using a small piece of wire to hold the line, ready for an immediate dropback once a fish takes the bait. The mid-range rod can be either spin or conventional and again 20-pound gear works just fine. It has plenty of backbone to stop an outsize king or even a large wahoo, yet still has a light enough drag setting not to pull small hooks. Bottom rods should be upsized to give you a fighting chance on any monster grouper you might encounter.

 

Like any winter month in the Keys, February can have days that are cold, windy and nasty, or warm, sunny and cloudless, plus everything in between. One way to kick your backcountry fishing to the next level is to employ a game plan based on the day's weather conditions.

 

On a bluebird day, water on the flats will warm quickly. This tempts predators of all kinds to cruise the flats in pursuit of a quick meal. Sight fishing for redfish, trout and jacks will be the pattern to follow, especially in the afternoon. Water on backcountry flats can warm as much as 10 degrees in a single day when the sun is bright and the sky cloudless. Don't be surprised if tarpon join the fray either. If we can string together a few calm, sunny days near the end of the month tarpon will be out in force.

 

When a strong chill is in the air following a front and the water temperature plummets, the deep channels hold the bulk of the fish that haven't bailed out into the Gulf. Flamingo-area channels, like Tin Can, Snake Bight, Rocky and Conchie can stack up with trout, jacks, ladyfish and black drum. Gamesters frequently congregate in these channels as well as deeper runoffs near a flat edge on any stage of the tide simply because of the cold water prevalent on top of the grassflats.

 

Getting bites on every cast when fishing a tipped jig is not uncommon when conditions are at their best. Untipped jigs work well for trout, jacks and ladyfish while bottom-dwelling black drum prefer something wiggly like a live shrimp worked slowly along the bottom. Fly rodders can get in the game, too, by casting a sinking line and bulky fly that pushes some water or makes noise. Cast across the channel and let the fly sink near the bottom before starting a slow, deliberate retrieve.

BEST BET: KEYS

 

One winter resident of the Florida Keys is caught infrequently by most anglers, has a highly compressed build much like a permit, is found on various offshore environments including wrecks and natural structure, and can be readily fought on light tackle. It's the African pompano.

 

Numerous Keys wrecks, in water depths ranging from 50 to 300 feet, hold schools of these hard-fighting jacks. They range in size from five to 30 pounds with a few pushing over 40. Tackle can be any size and style you're comfortable with as most African pomps tend not to run into a wreck's line-cutting structure. When hooked on light line, these fish usually make a long first run and then fight doggedly over or near the wreck. This allows you the chance to land even a large pompano on light line.

 

Prime baits for African pompano include pinfish, pil- chards, cigar minnows and goggle-eyes. Stick to 50-pound leaders, small live bait or circle hooks and just enough lead to get down near the bottom. It's best to work your bait immediately above the wreck structure or slightly off to the side.

 

You can rig bait on an appropriately sized jig. Just make sure the jig

is white or yellow. African pompano are suckers for a jig-and-bait combination.

FS