FISH REPORT: CHECK OUT PATCH REEFS DURING COOL SEASON

a man on a boat holding a fish
A client shows off his mutton snapper. CONTRIBUTED

Last week we had a lot of green water as I mentioned in last week’s tip. As a result, we had a solid bite of yellowtail in about 75 feet of water. Yellowtail snapper is still one of my favorite fish to catch and eat, so it amazes me when clients aren’t as interested.

We wahoo fished one day last week and went one for three. The bonus was we had a good amount of blackfin tunas mixed in. Another day we targeted mutton snappers and had one lonely vermillion snapper in the mix too.

With this incredible cooldown, check out the shallow water patch reefs — 10-15 feet. Late afternoon into the early evening should bring mangrove snappers mixed in with mutton snappers. In general, you will enjoy a nice time on the water.

This Week’s Tip — Run your live ballyhoo deep for sailfish 

Last week with the green water, we trolled baits deep using downriggers. And sure enough, the fish were right below the green water, and we caught a sailfish. So, running your baits deep will be able to help bring up those fish.

Capt. Ryan Van Fleet and wife, Melinda, with wahoo. CONTRIBUTED