December To Remember
Capt. Gil Gutierrez
December 20, 2011
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
December is off to a great start. Although we have been battling some gusty winds and periodic days with little to no current, with a little work we are making it happen. I have fished several days since my last report and the conditions have been varied. One day we will have 3 knots of north current and then other days little to no current. The current has kind of dictated the way our day goes. Good current flow and the fishing is very consistent. Little or no current leads to the captain sweating as he works feverishly to bend rods.
But even though the current has not been consistent the fishing has been good to very good. We have caught sailfish on all of our trips except one and that was a 4 hour trip where we had a small sail on the line but he shook our hook. The sail fishing has been good with several days of multiple fish and at worst we are still catching one per trip. The sail fishing will remain strong as the year goes on.
We did our first half/half trip of the year. This is a very popular trip where we fish half the day offshore then we head inshore and fish for tarpon. And here is a case where I absolutely love this trip. I fished with Torsten Obersten and 2 of his friends. After fishing offshore and catching sails a mutton snapper and a couple of other fish we could not stop we headed inshore for some tarpon fishing. To be honest I was a little apprehensive because I was not sure that the tarpon would be in there full force just yet. Well my worries would be laid to rest as we got our first tarpon 10 minutes into our first drift. We would not have to wait to long as we released our second tarpon on our second drift. On our third drift we were rewarded with a beautiful 30 pound permit. After releasing this fish I begged for mercy since I was passing a kidney stone and home we went. Torsten finished the day with a sail, mutton snapper, 2 tarpon and a beautiful 30# permit. Not a bad day since he caught two fish he never caught before but he will have to return to catch his tarpon since his buddies beat him out to the rod.
The moral of the story is that if it's not red hot offshore we can head inshore and try our luck or vice a versa if the fishing is hot offshore we can stay out there and then come inshore and see what we can add to the list. And yes the tarpon are here.
While fishing offshore and waiting for the sailfish to show up the mahi have been keeping us entertained. They have ranged in size mostly from small 5#'s to larger 20# fish on average, although I have heard of some in the 30-40# range. The bottom fishing has been very good. I have caught mutton snapper to 10#'s on almost every trip and I'm happy to say, because I don't have to reel them up, that we have also caught some rather large amberjacks. My back hurts just looking at them!
And last but not least the kingfish have also made their presence known. We have caught a couple of kings while fishing the edge. Well that is all for now I will leave you with this if you are looking at getting in on all round action now is the time of year. Give me a call and let's go bend some rods.
Till Next Time
Best of Luck…
Capt. Gil Gutierrez, Lucky Fishing Charters
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