Miami, Florida - Offshore

The full moon blues set in this past weekend. Offshore fishing slowed during the full moon. Slower currents, and dirty water, combined to make conditions even worse. On Friday, a weedline showed up in 400 feet of water. Four to six pound Dolphin were found on boards and debris in the line. The line lasted till late afternoon and many anglers cashed in on the action. There was also sporadic Sailfish action along the edge off Ocean Reef Yacht Club. A good northerly flow to the Gulf Stream brought fairly good action along the edge. The next day brought the full moon and a small cold front with winds out of the northeast which broke up the weedline. The Gulf Stream pushed out to deeper water and produced no weedlines. The resulting action was poor throughout most of the day. About the only fish that were caught were a few Sails by anglers kite fishing along the edge. Kingfish action has only been fair, and the few Kings that have been caught are small. Anglers fishing across the pond in Bimini, Bahamas, are already starting to see an increase in the Wahoo action. Mike Causley ran his 36 ft. Contender across for the day and caught three out of four nice Wahoo in the thirty pound range. Action should continue to get better on into November. The outlook is good this week with another cold front coming through the state. Stronger winds are expected out of the north which can only help the Sailfish action. The Dolphin will also resume their hunt down the edges of the reef in search of Ballyhoo and Flying Fish. Live bait fishing from 100 to 200 feet of water would be your best bet. If the Gulf Stream sweeps over the reef the resulting action could be fantastic. Rougher and cleaner waters always produces better fishing action. In recent weeks when we have had good currents, the bottom bite has been good. This time of the year the Grouper and Snapper will be moving over shallower reefs. A very productive way to fish the reefline is to troll deep with lures and rigged Ballyho. Many captains will troll wire line along with heavy weights and rigged Ballyhoo down the reefline from 20 to 60 feet, and come away with a box full of Black and Gag Grouper. The patch reefs in 20 feet of water east of Hawks Channel will also produce Grouper and larger Muttons.