Cold fronts = sailfish! We've been steadily watching the cold fronts as the Florida State saw snow once again. An occurrence of once a decade. These cold fronts are important for game fisherman such as myself but only one cold front is not enough. We need a few back to back to really see the advantage. Now we've received just that. We're just kicking off the season and are within the 4th cold front and the fish seem to be showing up. This morning (jan 25,2025) we managed to hook 2 sailfish within an hour apart meanwhile a few other boats saw similar success! Kite fishing in windy days will be the go to method so anticipate using live bait. Some live baits are caught on the trip, others are purchased to save time! As sailfish and other highly migratory fish travel south, they enter into narrowing depths and they begin to concentrate. Finding the perfect depth can be pivotal in setting up the kites on the drop. Color changes in the water can also provide variance in water temps, a sensitive element to fishing for billfish. I anticipate a strong season as we have weather reports that will push temperatures into the low 40s this month into feb. The colder the weather, the further south the fish will travel and in greater numbers! Capt Matt.

Cold fronts = sailfish! We've been steadily watching the cold fronts as the Florida State saw snow once again. An occurrence of once a decade. These cold fronts are important for game fisherman such as myself but only one cold front is not enough. We need a few back to back to really see the advantage. Now we've received just that. We're just kicking off the season and are within the 4th cold front and the fish seem to be showing up. This morning (jan 25,2025) we managed to hook 2 sailfish within an hour apart meanwhile a few other boats saw similar success! Kite fishing in windy days will be the go to method so anticipate using live bait. Some live baits are caught on the trip, others are purchased to save time! As sailfish and other highly migratory fish travel south, they enter into narrowing depths and they begin to concentrate. Finding the perfect depth can be pivotal in setting up the kites on the drop. Color changes in the water can also provide variance in water temps, a sensitive element to fishing for billfish. I anticipate a strong season as we have weather reports that will push temperatures into the low 40s this month into feb. The colder the weather, the further south the fish will travel and in greater numbers! Capt Matt.

Season is off to a good start with a few SAILFISH starting to show up! Cold fronts are moving the fish to the South as temperatures drop. Live bait offers a good advantage to seeing a sailfish as well as other pelagic fish. Kite fishing will be the go to method on windy days and slow trolling will suffice on calmer, no wind days. Sailfish can run a minimum of 6ft in length and offer the angler the flight of his life! Long runs, drags peeling line and fish exploding through the surface are what's to be expected while battling a billfish. Concerned of motion sickness? It happens sometimes but if you take a motion sickness medication (over the counter) the night before and the morning of your charter then you stand a good chance to skip on the sickness. FYI. The "Fish Advisor" practices catch and release on all sailfish but boat side or even onboard pictures are encouraged. Capt Matt Fann

Wahoo! The fastest fish in the ocean? That's what the say and it's easy to see why. The wahoo are known for their ambush style attacks and high speed runs on the reel. This time of year we are seeing them around the reefs and drop offs. It's also common to catch them near the anchored freighter ships that have been in place for several days. The ships cast a huge shadow, create an eddy in the oceans current and also provide shelter for bait fish. Live bait is not needed for wahoo. Not that they won't eat it but the majority of the wahoo i catch are by trolling. High speeds are also not necessary as you'll tend to exceed the speeds of other fish such as tuna or mackerel. 6 knots is just plenty for wahoo and the rest of the bunch as well. Join me and let's go catch a wahoo!

Live bait is a daily topic amongst the top crews in the fishing industry. To use it or not. This is not the normal fishing report but an explanation on the subject of using live bait. There are misconceptions amongst the topic of using live bait, most from inexperienced clients. This is to help clear some of the misunderstandings. Do we really need live bait? No! Does it help to have it? Sometimes... Having live bait in the well can offer additional methods towards attracting game fish however it isn't an end all,be all. Many tournaments are geared towards using dead bait only as it forces the crew to hone their skills in bait rigging. That being said, the best rigged dead bait can swim while being trolled, so well in fact, you'd think it was alive! Enter the bait fisherman. There are many bait fish options out there. Many are for sale by commercial bait fisherman who catch certain species of baits during night hours. These baits can save you time rather than trying to catch them yourself. However, that convenience comes at a cost of $100 per dozen of live bait! Many clients will decline the opportunity to purchase bait due to its high cost and that's understandable. It's also not a deal breaker as many fish, SAILFISH included, are caught with dead bait. Often times the client would like to purchase the bait but it isn't available due to weather or bait shortages. Once again, not a dead end! Talk to your Captain when scheduling your charter and ask whether they suggest live bait. It can be ordered in advance as long as weather holds out. How would live bait differ from dead bait? Live bait can be trolled slowly from outriggers or downriggers, flown from kites and even used on deep water wrecks. Dead bait can be used in every way except for kite fishing. Most kite fishing experts use live bait only except when deploying of shark baits (dead bait). The trolling speed would differ greatly as most live baits cannot handle being pulled too fast as they will either spin or simply drown. Dead baits can be pulled at much faster speed and can be combined with skirts or lures etc. I hope this shines a light on the subject. Capt Matt Fann

Late December is known for the Sailfish migration. It is normal to see sailfish all year long but the majority of them will be between Nov--March. Cold weather will stimulate the migration South. Bait fish will also follow that rule of thumb. Temperatures beginning to drop will also be a huge factor in persuading the fish to move south. As these bait schools move south, they find their preferred climates once again and tend to hang around. Enter the gamefish! With Florida has incredibly deep water very close to shore (150ft per mile) and that means a shorter distance to the action! Live bait can be purchased or even caught while on board. Talk with your Captain to cover the best option that suits your needs.