Miami, Florida - Offshore

A general slow down in the fishing occurred this past weekend. Very little in the way of offshore fishing was happening of the Miami area. A handful of Sailfish were caught along with an occasional Dolphin and Kingfish. A few boats reported a fairly good bottom bite for Grouper and Snapper but they were the exception not the rule. The weather conditions were not helping. Flat calm seas were encountered over the weekend. This time of the year better fishing is had during a windy blow from the north. However, many anglers were just happy to get out and enjoy the warm weather and flat calm conditions, and not be too concerned how many fish they caught. Look for excellent Sailfishing when we get the winds blowing from the north. Also Dolphin will start appearing more and more as we get closer to the springtime. Most of the Dolphin that are found will probably be close in along the edge of the reefline. There were a few good runs of Dolphin over the past week ,but they were not sustained. Amberjack will start making a strong showing on all the wrecks from Miami to the Keys. During February and March, Amberjack start their migration to the “Hump” off Islamorada to spawn and take up residence on the artificial reefs along the way. Not the greatest eating fish but they will give your friends from the north a pull they will never forget! Kingfish are still around. In fact, one angler reported catching a half dozen twenty plus pound fish north of the Whistle Buoy off North Key Largo. He caught his fish slow trolling live Blue Runners on a downrigger. Sporadic Kingfish action was found off Miami. Tarpon are starting to show up inside Government Cut. Early morning and late afternoon can be very productive. Large live shrimp fished on a troll rite rig can be deadly. Look for the schools of fish at the end of the jetties inside the Cut