 |
Marathon, Florida Keys
Capt. Bob Brown
January 2, 2001
Marathon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Cool Weather - Hot Fishing
The Florida Keys, much like the rest of the country has had a long stretch of cooler than normal temperatures. This past week has seen highs in the low 60's and lows in the low 50's. Meanwhile the water temp in Florida Bay and around the islands has cooled dramatically. Back around Dec. 20 the water temp was about 75 degrees at the 7 Mile bridge here in Marathon. This morning, the H2O temp at the bridge was 57.6. Quite a drop! What does this mean to the fishing? This significant change moves some of the inshore fish out to the reef edge where the water temp is still hanging in there at around 73-74 degrees. Look for some great action to be happening on the patch reefs in about 25-50ft of water on Mangrove Snapper and Grouper. Many fish that were in Florida Bay or near the bridge will move out to the warmer areas on the ocean side. A good bet would be to fish strait out from the bridges when looking for patch reefs to work.
Another benefit of the cooling trend is helping the migration of King Mackerel and Sailfish into the Keys area. The quick cooling of northern waters pushes the Kings and Sails to the Keys and the action this past week has held true to form. Lots of charter boats have had great days catching Sailfish during the holiday week. Yesterday, our party of Mike Janosko of Cleveland, OH. along with his son Mike and daughter Julia, caught a double header of sails and jumped another one off on a half day trip. Two days before, the same crew got into some great King Mackerel action with some up to 30lbs. Also, some nice sized Mutton Snappers and Gag Groupers have been caught out of the deeper reef edge areas in 80-160ft. Even with all the cool weather, there are still a few Dolphin being caught offshore of the Marathon area and in on the reef edge in 100-200ft. Look for the Dolphin to really heat up once the temps do.
If you have a trip to the Keys planned and have been watching the weather down here, don't be discouraged if it will be cool when you are here. It may be the reason you have some great fishing!
Good luck in all of your fishing adventures!
Capt. Bob Brown, Jr.
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
