Miami, Florida - Offshore

Sailfish have been pouring into our area for the past two weeks now and as can be expected, Sailfishing has been terrific. Anglers flying kites and fishing live baits, have been enjoying some of the best Sailfishing of the winter. A half a dozen Sailfish releases a day is not uncommon. In fact, on the “Magic Fingers” we caught nine out of ten Sailfish this past Monday. Live Threadfin Herring have been producing most of the strikes, probably because these baits have been so prevalent in our area recently. You can find Threadfins at almost any buoy or marker offshore. They have also been schooled up inside Government Cut around the cruise ships. Watch for diving terns and then locate them on your fish finder. When you locate the school, drop a Sabiki Rig down to them, and start reeling. It doesn’t take long to fill a live well. Kingfish action has picked up this week. I noticed a definite increase in Kingfish activity about two miles south of Fowey Light. While fishing live Threadfins off the kite, we drifted into 100 feet of water and our baits were covered up with Kingfish. Many of them were small at four to six pounds, however, we did bring in one nice fish at about twenty five pounds. They should remain in our area for a while. Dolphin fishing took a turn for the better this week. East and southeasterly winds have pushed Dolphin up along the edge of the reef. They are roaming the edge of the reef in search of flying fish. A tell-tale sign of Dolphin in the area is the “showers” of flying fish you will see taking off into the air when the Dolphin are on the chase. These Dolphin have no trouble locating your kite bait or a well presented lure trolled near them. The fish have been averaging four to six pounds, and I did hear of one angler catching a fish in the thirty pound range. Long runs offshore are not necessary this time of the year. You’ll find most of the fish no further that four miles out, and they will be most likely following a rip or weedline especially if it is just off the drop-off. Mutton Snapper have been found on the patch reefs and the drop-offs in eighty feet of water. Anglers have been catching them on live Ballyho and Ballyho plugs. Many of the fish we caught this past week were on the smaller side, however I did see a few nice fish over ten pounds come into the tables. If the weather stays warm and the winds are out of the southeast, snapper fishing should be a good bet. The ledges in 120 feet of water would be my best guess. This time of the year and warmer weather will usually find them there. Live Pinfish and Pilchards should work best.