More Than One Way To Work A Wreck in the Florida Keys
The deep wrecks of the Lower and Middle Keys offer anglers yet another dimension to their arsenal of fishing tactics. For the purpose of this article we will define deep as wrecks and reefs as those out past the 100 foot mark. One of the most difficult aspects of fishing the deep wrecks is to find some in your area. There are several wrecks and artificial reefs in the Middle and Lower Keys that are published in a variety of fishing charts, and even in the phone book. Many of these wrecks produce well and are not too heavily fished. It is the wrecks and reefs that are not published that hold the most value. Getting an angler to divulge their favorite wreck numbers would be like getting them to give you their bank account numbers. Finding deep wrecks take time and luck. One hint is to always run with your depth finder running. Keep it zoomed in on the bottom because many productive wrecks have little relief. Also keep an eye for fish or bait holding off of the bottom. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, mark the spot and give it a try.
Most anglers attack the deep wrecks by drifting over them and dropping bait. Bulls’ eying a target several hundred feet down takes a little practice. The first step is to start by finding the spot and stopping directly over it. Next let your self drift off of the spot and then find your track back to the spot and over shoot the mark by at least a few hundredths of a mile. Immediately make your drop. You should be able to feel when the bait hits the bottom. If you are using a Spectra fiber line like Power Pro there should be no question when the bait is down. If you are using mono and there is a current running it might be just a subtle slowing down of your drop speed that signals the bottom. If you are not marking the wreck when your bait hits bottom, repeat your drift and add a couple of more hundredths to your over run.
The variety of fish found on the wrecks is in itself a great draw. The list is long and includes Black, Gag, Red, Yellow Mouth, Speckled hind, and Snowy Grouper. Amberjack Almaco Jack, Yellow Jack, Jack Crevalle, African Pompano and Permit are the most common jack species. The Snapper species include mangrove Mutton and Red Snapper. Occasional visits from Cobia and Hog fish help to sweeten the pot.
Like all types of fishing there are many ways to present bait and many types of bait to present. Most anglers drop live bait fish including but not limited to Pinfish, Pilchards, Ballyhoo, Blue runner and Mullet. These seem to entice the widest variety of species to strike.
The authors favorite tackle for dropping in deeper water is to use thirty pound spinning tackle like a Penn 9500 and matching rod, with either mono or Power Pro spectra fiber line. This tackle is effective on wrecks to about 350 feet deep. The most common rig for live bait fish is to use about six feet of monofilament or fluorocarbon line in the sixty to eighty pound range. On one end tie a barrel swivel and to the other an appropriately sized circle hook for the size bait you are using. On your main line slide an appropriate egg sinker usually between four and eight ounces. Hook your bait through both the lower and then the upper jaw this will allow you to drop your bait with the minimum amount of spinning and allow it to swim more naturally in a current.
Capt Andrew Tipler, of Last Cast Charters, who fishes out of Sugarloaf Key KOA ((305) 744-9796) is a relative newcomer to the charter fishing business, but is carving a niche for himself by working hard to stay up with the latest tackle and techniques. Capt. Andrew is an advocate of the butterfly style jigs from Shimano and Williamson. These jigs are sold hook less and are rigged by the user. They can be rigged with one or two swinging hooks on about an inch and a half of heavy Dacron onto a solid ring which is attached to the jig with a split ring. The rigs allow the hooks to swing free independent of the jig. Capt. Andrew says that the main benefit of the Butterfly jig is that it is jigged in a constant upward motion instead of an up and down motion like conventional jigs. This forces the fish to pursue the bait up into the water column and to strike from below facing up. This allows the angler an advantage of being able to keep the fishes head up and reduce the chance that the fish will make it back to the safety of the structure. Another advantage is that the jig can be worked in any depth zone. For example if fishing for grouper you can jig the bait up about a third of the way to the surface and then let it back to the bottom to keep your bait in the strike zone. If Mackerel are the target keep the jig in the middle third of the water column and if you are looking for Dolphin or Wahoo under floating structure you can stay in the surface third of the water column.
For the smaller jigs of less than 135 grams Andrew rigs forty pound Power Pro from the main line and doubles it with a Bimini twist to about three feet. He then attaches about six feet of 60 lb. fluorocarbon. For the larger jigs of over 135 grams fifty pound Power Pro is preferred. Andrew ties the Bimini to the main line and uses a Surgeons knot form a short loop in the end of the Bimini onto which he uses a loop to loop double strand of 60lb fluorocarbon. When fishing with conventional gear Capt. Andrew prefers a narrow spool reel like the Shimano Torsa 16n.
Another perspective can be found from veteran Keys angler, Capt. David Perry of Eagle Eye Charters fishing out of Hawks Cay. Capt Dave often likes to narrow the field and eliminate certain species from taking the bait. For this Capt. Dave likes to use live blue crabs. Capt. Dave likes crabs that are about three inches across so that they are a little larger than the dollar sized crabs that you usually use on the flats. Using the crabs eliminates strikes from fish like Amber Jack, Barracuda, and Sharks. Capt. Dave most often sees strikes from fish like Mutton snapper, Grouper, African pompano, Permit and occasionally large Hog fish. Capt Dave usually uses thirty pound mono on spinning reels like Shimano Bait Runners. If the fish are breaking him off or if he is having trouble getting larger fish off of the bottom he will go up to fifty pound tackle on a conventional like a Shimano T.L.D. 25. Dave’s terminal tackle consists of fifteen feet of sixty pound fluorocarbon and a eight ounce egg sinker. Capt. Dave prefers the 5 o\t, Multi Light Hooks.
As you have been told there is more than one way to skin a cat, and a lot more than one way to drop in on a wreck.
Captain John Sahagian
FunYet Charters
(305) 872-3407
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