Our first winter “cold front” passed through the Keys on Friday and while it made fishing a bit uncomfortable for the majority of the day and into the next, it was a welcome change.
First, If you live in Key West and stay through the summer heat,You look forward to that first blast of cold air,(and yes, 65’ is cold to us). After 5 months of temperatures in the 80’s and 90’s we can finally turn off the AC and open the windows. For a few days, at least, you can work outside without sweating buckets.
Second, and most importantly for those reading this, we need the cold fronts this time of year to keep the fishing right. It’s normal and if conditions don’t follow their normal routine, then fishing won’t either. The fish we expect to see this time of year won’t be here if things don’t line up right, so I’ll take the cold weather, (alright, cool to the rest of the world), and the rough seas if it means catching the fish. I’ve always said, you don’t feel the waves as much if the fish are biting!
The first day of the front, Friday was pretty dismal all around. Besides being rainy and rough, the fish didn’t bite and that’s no fun. It’s unfortunate, but it happens. Anyone that says they never have a slow day of fishing, doesn’t fish much. It goes with the territory. We tried live baiting and trolling in just a half a day and neither worked well. Catching live ballyhoo was tough in 20+ mph winds, but my bad throw with the cast net didn’t help. Our plan was good, it just didn’t work on Friday.
We went out again on Sunday afternoon. Same plan, different day and different results. Bait wasn’t easy on Sunday, but we caught enough live Ballyhoo to work with. It was still windy, but not as rough as Friday had been and there was barely a cloud in the sky. Most importantly, the fish were biting. We caught Barracudas, Mackerels, Groupers, Yellow Tail snappers and a few assorted bottom fish. The weather was good and the fishing was better. What a difference a day makes!
Over the next few weeks, I would expect to see more sailfish on the reef chasing the schools of ballyhoo, (bait fish). Offshore, this weather should get the Black Fin Tuna going. The full moon is on November 21st. I expect to see some Wahoo biting around that time. The reef should stay active with Cero Mackerel and bottom fish. This cooler weather is perfect for pushing Kingfish south into our waters. Along the reef edge, inshore and in the gulf should be good for those that like fishing for Kingfish.

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