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"Shallow Water Sails!"
Updated February 24, 2001
Mike Anderson of Lima, OH. with his first Sailfish caught in Jan. 2001
The past couple of days here off of Marathon and the middle Keys, a nice
batch of clean water moved in on the reef edge.This happens when the wind turns to the East/SE and an eddie wips
in from the gulfstream and makes it to the reef edge.Today, even though we have had some breezy conditions, the
water on the edge of the reef was amazingly clear. When this condition exists, the Sailfish may be just about anywhere
as they are moving along the reef. Today, many of the fish were found in the 20-60 ft. of water range. Usually
we are targeting Sailfish in the 100-200 ft. depths, but when the water is super clear, Sailfish may come up on
the reef to feed on Ballyhoo, Houndfish, and any other small baitfish they can find. Look for Frigate birds to
be dipping low or for flying fish or Ballyhoo to be getting up and "showering". If your boat has a tower,
you can cruise along the 30-50ft. depth where there is sandy bottom and just look for the Sails cruising along.
The white sandy bottom makes for a good contrast to the dark colored Sailfish and makes them easy to spot. Have
a live bait hooked up and handy to toss to the fish. Once you spot one on the move, determine the direction of
movement and get ahead of the fish. Then toss the live bait out in front of the fish and hopefully you will be
"hooked up"! Cobia and Hammerhead sharks can also be spotted using this technique.
Also on the offshore scene, there were quite a few Dolphin caught the past couple days in the 100-200 ft. range
and lots of King Mackerel action still going on as well. Most of the Kings have been on the reef edge from 40-90
ft., but a few have been from the 120-180ft. range as well. Blackfin tuna have started to heat up a bit at the
offshore humps and also a few nice Wahoo from offshore trollers. For more info on fishing in the Marathon and middle
Keys area, check out our website!
Good luck in all of your fishing adventures!
Capt. Bob Brown, Jr.
e-mail - fish@sundancesportfishing.com
www.sundancesportfishing.com
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