January and February are when the fish come alive. This is one of the best times of the year to be in the Florida Keys. The sailfish will travel down the Keys in 60 to 200 feet of water. Drifting live ballyhoo through this range will produce a mixture of great fish, like sailfish, dolphin, blackfin tuna and wahoo. Ten feet of 50-pound fluorocarbon leader with a 5/0 live bait hook or a 6/0 circle hook will do the trick.

Reef fishing in 65 feet of water is a great way to pull up the larger flag yellowtail snapper when you have your northeastern winds. Chum heavily and use 12- to 15-pound-test fluorocarbon leader with a 1/32- to 1/8-ounce jig tipped with a peeled shrimp or a piece of cut ballyhoo. Once you get them swarming beside the boat, the catching is nonstop.

Make sure you have your wire rigs ready for those kingfish! Jigs, spoons and live blue runners will seal that deal. On the patch reefs live the big mangrove snapper and grouper. A 3/8- to ½-ounce jig on 30-pound leader tipped with a live pinfish will draw some nice hits!

Expect the Gulf side to hold lots of cobia, mackerel, snapper and even the occasional large redfish. Also, the channels along the banks get loaded up with large mangrove snapper and is a great area to fish when the wind is blowing.

Tight lines,
Capt. Jack Carlson