Miami, Florida - Offshore

Come on down! The weather’s great, there’s plenty of fine places to eat, and there are plenty of people here anxiously waiting to see you return. I’m talking Sailfish and not our beloved tourists. Gauging from recent reports, there is a pile of Sailfish sitting to the north of us. I think a good sustained blow from the north is all that is needed to send them our way. The recent Mako Marine Ft. Lauderdale Billfish Tournament had the majority of billfish releases to the north of Ft. Lauderdale and beyond. Sporadic Sailfish activity was seen off our waters and to the south, off Ocean Reef Yacht Club. A lack of current and dirty water was blamed on the lack of fish, however there were days when the water was clean and the current was flying and the fishing was still slow. I believe there are not that many fish around yet. Off Ocean Reef Yacht Club there has been a good Kingfish bite but the fish have been small. Legal size limit is 24 inches and many of the fish have not even been meeting the limit. Dolphin have been scarce. For a while you could find fish along the edge of the stream but lately that hasn’t been the case. A few anglers found Dolphin on weedlines out about five miles, but again, it hasn’t been consistent. I found great Cero Mackerel fishing in 60 feet of water south of Pacific Reef. We used live Pilchards free-lined from an anchored boat while chumming. We also had a few good hits on the bottom but we were unable to turn them because we using light line. Mutton Snapper fishing has been very good. During periods of warm weather and southeasterly breezes, the Muttons have been biting good from 120 out to 180 feet of water. My sources reported the fish being large from 10 to 15 pounds. He said during a day of fishing he can usually catch on the average 8 fish. He told me where he was catching them, but I was sworn to secrecy. I will tell you it was south of Miami. I look for conditions to greatly improve with a little cool weather and a wind out of the north. Everything should come together along the edge of the reef when conditions normalize. Until then, look for daily changing conditions. One day can been terrible and the next day will be fantastic. Enny, menny, miny, moe..........which day do should I fish? The Florida Sportsman 2001 Fishing Planner is now on the news stands. This guide features 12 months of tide predictions for the state of Florida. The Planner offers over 190 pages of month-to-month fishing action and predictions for all six Florida tide stations. You’ll also have at your disposal: sunrise and sunset times, moon phases, exclusive fishing Prime-timer, best water temperatures for catching popular gamefish and comprehensive tidal flows that’ll lead you to the best fishing throughout Florida. All this for only $8.95. planners are available at most tackle shops and bookstores or you can order copies online at www.floridasportsman.com. they make great stocking stuffers! On Thursday nights, from 7pm to 8pm, at the Old Cutler Raw Bar, South Dixie Highway and SW 184 Street, come listen to “Fishing South Florida Style”. This is an hour long live radio show hosted by Mike Pace, Captain Rob Fordyce, Captain Marty Locke, and Captain Mark Houghtaling. Offshore and inshore fishing topics are covered during the live radio broadcast, and you can pick up a few tips from the radio hosts after the show. You can also catch the show on Thunder Country 100.3 FM. Captain Mark Houghtaling wants to hear from you. Send him your latest catches and pictures to15920 SW 85 Ave. Miami, Fla. 33157, or E-Mail him at [email protected]. Capt Mark also has a charter fishing service ,you can call him at 305-253-1151 or check out his web page at http://www.magicfin.com For free safe boating and personal watercraft classes call the Coast Guard Auxiliary at 305-820-8411, or the United States Power Squadron at 305-238-4807