
Miami, Florida - Offshore
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By Mark Houghtaling
Many of you have been asking what happened to my fishing reports. I am awaiting arrival of a new 31 ft. Contender with the new Yamaha four stroke 225 horsepower engines. This boat will be awesome. It will be loaded with the latest electronics, many custom options offered by Contender boats, and the usual necessary equipment needed for a jaunt offshore. The other reason I haven’t been writing is that there has been a lack of fishing news. I think it’s the lack of fisherman not the lack of fish. I would expect by now that the south part of Biscayne Bay should be loaded with schools of Pilchards. The usual winter spots you catch bait at should also be loaded( i.e. Bugg Light, Government Cut etc.) I did hear of a few offshore reports of Sailfish and Kingfish. Typically this time of year we will see an increasing number of Sailfish coming into our area especially during periods of northerly winds. The area north of the Whistle Buoy off north Key Largo will have large schools of Ballyho along the reef which will bring the Sails closer inshore. That same area should have a large supply of Cero Mackerel present. A load of live Pilchards tossed around that area in 60 feet of water should produce an almost instant strike. To the north off Key Biscayne you should find Kingfish early in the morning. Dolphin will still be around and they will start to move closer to the edge of the reef. Anglers targeting Sailfish with their kites will begin to see scattered Dolphin in their spreads. Don’t discount finding Dolphin further offshore because they will continue heading south with the approaching cold weather. The arrival of the new boat should be at the end of this week. A few days of prepping and I should see you all on the rip by the end of next week. Thanks for being patient. Come on cold fronts!