Sailfish season has been a little late in arriving but as we are getting more and more cold fronts rolling in, the sailfish bite is picking up. There are plenty of sailfish up north and these cold fronts are what pushes them south into our waters. It seems that once they reach the South Florida area they tend to stick around longer than other areas which is why our sailfish season is usually longer than most other areas. We had a very strong front come in almost two weeks ago and we did relatively well. Our best day we caught 11 sailfish, followed by 9 and with most days catching between 3 and 5 sailfish. Last week we had a weak front come in and the bite picked up again and our best day was 8 out of 13 sails, followed by 3 to 5 sailfish per day. We are starting to get consistency on all our trips and have caught at least a few sailfish on every trip this month. The big push of fish has not arrived yet but are definitely on their way
Besides sailfish, there have been some dolphin on the edge while kite fishing. Most of the mahis have been schoolies with an occasional 10 to 15 pound fish mixed in. There were a few days since the last report that the mahis were solid on a deep color change and everyone seemed to be catching 10 to 30 fish per trip.
I haven't really gone cobia fishing yet with the new boat. The days that the water conditions are right for cobia we have had charters that wanted to go sailfishing or do something else, but there have been some cobias around and if the conditions are right the boats that have targeted them usually get there limit. This is definitely a fun fishery as you get to hunt for them and then sight cast to the fish. On the other hand though it is fishing and is not a guarantee. The good part is, that in South Florida if the cobias are not biting or the conditions are poor, all you have to do is go another mile or so east and you are in sailfish waters.
I have not done any swordfishing, day or night for close to a month. We are scheduled to go this week, weather pending. This is the time of year that the odds of booking a swordfish trip and getting the right weather are not as good as let's say in the summer and fall. We usually do get a day or so a week that it is perfect weather for swordfishing, but you got to get lucky and pick the right day in advance. Most boats are concentrating on sailfish this time of year so the swordfish reports are few and far in between.
Sailfish season starting a bit late is good news for the guys booking trips from now going forward. The hot bite should happen real soon and should stick around until spring so book your trips now and get in on the action. January is fairly booked although I do have some openings during the last week. The beginning and end of February also have some open slots. Call now and let's go fishing!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Dean Panos
www.doubledcharters.com
(954)805-8231
