Even though hurricane preparations kept us from fishing most of last week and high winds and waves will keep us on land until at least Sunday, it could be worse.
Most of last week was spent on the Internet checking for updates or wondering if triple lines would be enough to hold boats in 140-mph winds. The sites we found most helpful were: www.wunderground.com/tropical; www. nhc.noaa.gov and https://www.cnmoc.navy.mil
We will spend the next several days maintaining kingfish tackle and making kingfish rigs. The storms have cooled the water significantly, and I anticipate an earlier than usual pelagic migration.
Game fish and baitfish should start to migrate south toward the cleaner, warmer water of Pinellas County and the Keys because Ivan will change the sea temperature and bottom structure of fishing grounds to the north.
As the weather clears and we begin to make our way offshore to grouper fish, keep an eye out for opportunities. Area waters will contain large amounts of floating debris distributed by the high winds. So in addition to kingfish, anticipate finding large pods of cobia and a few wahoo taking cover in the debris.
