Early Fishing Season?

Saltwater Offshore Discussion
1

Yup thats 80 degree water!! Unbelievable temps for January! Any thoughts on an early season?

Yup thats 80 degree water!! Unbelievable temps for January! Any thoughts on an early season?

2

Unreal. Let’s do it. We fished 76 degree water at the hole last Sunday.

Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.

  • More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927

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3

Touche,
Any luck at G-Town? It looks like the 80 degree stuff is about 10 miles further offshore…

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4
quote:
Originally posted by DownandOut

Touche,
Any luck at G-Town? It looks like the 80 degree stuff is about 10 miles further offshore…

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All false albacore. Worked some structure from 150-300ft for the majority of the day and then started following current and temp breaks the rest of the day. Couldn’t get a bait past the junk tuners. No short strikes and no cut offs. We were also fishing two days past a new moon. I like to fish the pelagics a couple of days prior to new/full moon but we couldn’t catch a break in the weather.

Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.

  • More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927

31’ Contender
Twin 250 HPDIs

5

might be warm but would think the fish still will not come through until march at the earliest…but who knows.

6

Ya’ll know the Gulf Stream is there all year, right?

7
quote:
Originally posted by Bluewaterbeaux

Ya’ll know the Gulf Stream is there all year, right?

Dang… Seriously?

Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.

  • More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927

31’ Contender
Twin 250 HPDIs

8
quote:
Bluewaterbeaux Posted - 01/23/2013 : 12:48:25 PM Ya'll know the Gulf Stream is there all year, right?
Hmmmmm! And all this time I thought it was called the Gulf Stream because it was in the Gulf! Who'd a thunked it!! Thanks for clearing that up!! :stuck_out_tongue:

Care to explain that 76 degree water over the G-Town hole??
Seriously, can anybody remember the water temps this warm in January - mid low 70’s 25 miles off!!
Please disregard the “Gulf Stream” temps for Bluewater!! :smiley:

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9
quote:
Originally posted by DownandOut
quote:
Bluewaterbeaux Posted - 01/23/2013 : 12:48:25 PM Ya'll know the Gulf Stream is there all year, right?
Hmmmmm! And all this time I thought it was called the Gulf Stream because it was in the Gulf! Who'd a thunked it!! Thanks for clearing that up!! :stuck_out_tongue:

Care to explain that 76 degree water over the G-Town hole??
Seriously, can anybody remember the water temps this warm in January - mid low 70’s 25 miles off!!
Please disregard the “Gulf Stream” temps for Bluewater!! :smiley:

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The 80 degree water of the gulf stream is usually out there all the time. The only problem is that the usual winter weather patterns move West to East and North West to South East. This will keep the main body of the stream pushed way off. We normally do not have access to that high-70s water unless you feel like making a three day trip out of it.

This year we have had very few northern fronts push through and this has allowed the main bulk of the stream to remain in a westerly position. The warm weather has kept the middle waters between the edge of the stream and the shoreline relatively warm and this is helped by back eddies that have spun off the West side of the stream. Its been strange weather to say the least.

Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.

  • More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927

31’ Contender
Twin 250 HPDIs

10

Touche,

I agree 100% ( and yes I knew the stream was there 365 :wink:)
But back to the original question - with the water temps so high do you think the Mahi bite will start earlier than normal? Always curious if it is water temp related or time of year.

On a positive note -Just think of this scenerio:
Dolphin bite starts in January right when the bottom closure happens - Dolphin bite ends when bottom opens up!! SAFMC would have a heart attack!! [:0]

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11
quote:
Originally posted by DownandOut

Touche,

I agree 100% ( and yes I knew the stream was there 365 :wink:)
But back to the original question - with the water temps so high do you think the Mahi bite will start earlier than normal? Always curious if it is water temp related or time of year.

On a positive note -Just think of this scenerio:
Dolphin bite starts in January right when the bottom closure happens - Dolphin bite ends when bottom opens up!! SAFMC would have a heart attack!! [:0]

36 Contender Fisharound
Are We There Yet?

So I’m going to guess that there are several different factors that play into the migration pattern of these pelagics. Water temp is one but I believe another big factor is number of hours of daylight in a day. Certain animals and plants have a mechanism that automatically tracks amout of daylight and darkness to let them know when to migrate, bloom etc.

Also, I wonder if the life cycle of the their forage such as flying fish etc doesn’t play just as much of a role in their migration.

We had a fairly mild winter last year and we really didn’t start filling the boxes until early May.

SO, for my long-winded answer, other than the couple of straggler dolphin that hang out there year around, I wouldn’t expect to see any numbers until April…

Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.

  • More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927

31’ Contender
Twin 250 HPDIs

12

I have been watching this water very close lately. This will be my first full year fishing out of Charleston and I have been reading reports from OCMD and the Keys. I think the mahi will be showing up in numbers early this year. I am even hoping/think some yellow fin may show up this year. I can tell you as soon as I have the right weather and a crew willing to make the run I will be out there testing those waters.

Chad
Cobia 256 Express
Pulled by a Dodge Ram 3500

13
quote:
Originally posted by Bluewaterbeaux

Ya’ll know the Gulf Stream is there all year, right?

get out of town! no way!

14

if theres false albacore around, theres something there to eat them

15
quote:
Originally posted by baracuda

if theres false albacore around, theres something there to eat them

Hammerheads. Everywhere.

Do not tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.

  • More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927

31’ Contender
Twin 250 HPDIs

16

DownandOut don’t want to high jack your thread but how do you like the Hilton Realtime? Those look like nice SST charts.

17
quote:
Originally posted by cobia256

I have been watching this water very close lately. This will be my first full year fishing out of Charleston and I have been reading reports from OCMD and the Keys. I think the mahi will be showing up in numbers early this year. I am even hoping/think some yellow fin may show up this year. I can tell you as soon as I have the right weather and a crew willing to make the run I will be out there testing those waters.

Chad
Cobia 256 Express
Pulled by a Dodge Ram 3500

Our dolphin do not come from the keys or the Florida straights. Our migration comes from the Abacos side of the Bahamas...
18

I don’t think that a warm winter will push them in any earlier… Just because the water is there, doesn’t mean that the fish are there. People try it every year, but no matter what, it seems that mid-April is about your earliest movement of dolphin into our area. I’m not saying that they can’t be caught before then. I’m just saying that at $4\gallon for gas, the “early” trips don’t seem to pay out… I think that most dolphin wait late to file their taxes and don’t really start to move until after April 15th…

19

I caught dolphin on March 21st inside the 226 last year.

20
quote:
Posted - 01/24/2013 : 07:54:17 AM LunaSea83 DownandOut don't want to high jack your thread but how do you like the Hilton Realtime? Those look like nice SST charts.

Luna,
I’ve been a member with Hilton’s for 3 years and haven’t had any issues. A couple of guys on CF have programs to get the information for free but for $199 a year it has everything I need. These sites are like underwear, you just gotta find one that fits and stick with it! I must admit that last year they released the iphone software and I haven’t even tried to use it. Lots of really good information.

quote:
skinneej Posted - 01/24/2013 : 08:07:03 AM 
quote:Originally posted by cobia256

I have been watching this water very close lately. This will be my first full year fishing out of Charleston and I have been reading reports from OCMD and the Keys. I think the mahi will be showing up in numbers early this year. I am even hoping/think some yellow fin may show up this year. I can tell you as soon as I have the right weather and a crew willing to make the run I will be out there testing those waters.



Chad
Cobia 256 Express
Pulled by a Dodge Ram 3500

Our dolphin do not come from the keys or the Florida straights. Our migration comes from the Abacos side of the Bahamas…

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SkinneeJ,

How in the H$ll do you know all this?
SkinneeJ AKA “The Fish Whisperer”!! :smiley:

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