The weather has been so different every day, which has in turn made us fishing guides constantly exploring suitable options for our clients. All of the captains out of the Bass Pro Shops take the utmost concern for our clientele as we want them to fish with us for years to come, so using the proper judgment of knowing when to go and when to call it has been a necessary decision to be made this week. However, for those who did go out, fishing was quite amazing!
My friend Capt. Kiki Ferrar of All Lit Up Charters has been on a hot streak lately with sailfish, kings, groupers, snappers and tunas offshore. Kiki said it’s unusual especially to have a good tuna bite this time of year, as March is typically the best time. However, the tuna bite didn’t stop him from putting a few sail flags up! Kiki caught sailfish on every outing last week as well. From what I’ve seen, Kiki is a master at putting people on several different species throughout the day. Out of all the offshore fishermen at the dock, I’d say his cart full of fish is most colorful with a very impressive variety. Kiki’s previous background in fishing started while working on the commercial snapper and grouper boats, which has helped him excel exponentially at the bottom fishing game. To fish with Kiki is a treat, to say the least. Call him directly for booking at (305) 240-0404 or visit his website at Alllitupcharters.com.
On the backcountry side of the island, 2020 has started off with a bang. I fished with some good repeat clients of mine for two days in some unfavorable weather conditions but we were fortunately blessed with some very good fishing. Within those two days that we fished we caught snook, redfish, trout, goliath groupers, sheepshead, mangrove snapper and cobia, a variety anyone would be happy with. We even had several opportunities at big tarpon that we hooked up to a couple times but couldn’t stay glued to.
The ultimate highlight was surely the cobia, though. We found a pack of 40-plus fish in a school migrating across the Gulf that were hungry for anything we threw at them. We hooked up to six fish in total from 15 to 40 pounds, letting four go and keeping two for dinner. Besides the rough waves and heavy winds, they had the time of their lives and already are booked for next January. That is what it’s all about.
Thank you for reading and remember … The tug is the drug and if you chum they will come!`
