While most of the U.S. is huddled inside with snow building up in the driveway, we’re enjoying nice, warm weather and hot offshore fishing!
Sportfishing Report: Sailfish are Solid – with Even More on the Way!
The Sailfish never left town after the holidays and continue to tear up the baits. Our clients have been catching and releasing large numbers of Sailfish as our Fleet focuses almost exclusively on fishing live baits underneath our fishing kites.
Kite-fishing is a truly amazing and engaging experience as you get to see the Sailfish AS THEY EAT the bait. Nothing gets the blood pumping like watching a double- or triple-header Sailfish bite up on the surface.We can fish up to three (3) live baits per kite, with at least two (2) kites up at any one time. We’re fishing between 90 and 250 feet of water. We’ve also had luck shallower than 90 feet as we watch Sailfish cartwheel in the midst of Ballyhoo schools up on the reef.
When there is not enough wind to keep the kites in the air, we can also slow troll live baits such as Ballyhoo and Goggle Eyes as well as troll our specially-crafted mullet strips.
And there are battalions of Sailfish still on the way south. During the Pelican Yacht Club Invitational Sailfish Tournament this past weekend about 90 minutes north of us, in Fort Pierce, nearly 1,000 Sailfish were caught! This shattered the record of this tournament that has been around for 65 years! This means that the Sailfish bite will only get better for us as we make our way into February!
The Blackfins Showed Up Just in Time for Dinner!
While live baiting for Sailfish between 90 and 250 feet of water, some old yet tasty friends showed up to attack our baits: Blackfin Tuna! This time of year, catching Blackfins is a nice bonus and a bunch have showed up well ahead of their Spring frenzy. Blackfins have also been pouncing on our trolled Bontio strips up on top and down deep behind a planer. Nothing beats the taste of fresh Tuna!
Toothy Barracudas and King Mackerel!
Barracudas and King Mackerel (‘Kingfish”) have moved in to pounce on our unwary kite baits and trolled baits too. If you’ve never seen one, a Barracuda is a fierce silvery torpedo with a mouth crammed full of sharp daggers for teeth – they are in desperate need of an orthodontist. Barracudas are as amazing looking as they are strong fighters and they make for amazing replica mounts. Kingfish have teeth that are more like surgical scalpels and they fight hard as well. When they’re not crushing our live baits under the kite or slow-trolled, Barracudas and Kingfish have also been responding to our strip baits trolled below the surface on planers along with as Islanders with ballyhoo in both the blue/white and red/black color combinations. We’ve been finding the Barracudas and Kingfish in between 70 and 150 feet of water.
Hammerheads Hanging Around
The shark fishing continues to be hot despite the chilly conditions, especially the big Hammerhead Sharks that are still in abundance!
Hammerheads are known as sluggers and are not afraid to pop up to eat a bait intended for species such as Sailfish, Kingfish or Amberjacks. Our clients love to tell their friends and family how they battled one of the most recognizable and renowned shark species the world over.
As for the rest of our shark fishing trips, we continue to put clients on big sharks, with each trip landing at least one shark, with most trips catching several. Caribbean Reef Sharks, Blacktips and Silky Sharks have been active. The best shark baits continue to be either a live Bonito or dead Bonito or Kingfish dropped down in 300 feet of water.
We also continue to enjoy a great Amberjacks bite with live bait when shark fishing. Amberjacks will certainly test the stamina of both tackle and angler!
Drift Fishing Report:
The Lois Ann is back in the swing of things after her recent refit and she has never looked so beautiful. Our crews have been guiding our clients to catches of Yellowtail Snappers, Mangrove Snappers, Mutton Snappers as well as Kingfish and Amberjacks – and we’re doing it in style and comfort!
Don’t forget about giving the Gift of Fishing to the angler in your family. Give us a call and we’ll take care of everything. Just tell us the denomination of the Gift Certificate. Keep in mind that our Gift Certificates can be honored when booking any of the vessels in the Lady Pamela Sportfishing Fleet!
We hope that you’ll join us to take advantage of this amazing offshore bite! Call today!
Tight Lines!
Captain David
