Cathy & Cliff Fox with Freddy DuPreez had good fishing in spite of tough weather in the Keys

Tuesday morning: the ocean was flat, not a ripple. With a few throws of a castnet we had our livewell brimming with Pilchards.

FOX Trek rods from the Sailfish, Permit, Bonefish, Rage rods and the FOX Diablo spinning reels in all 3 sizes were rigged up and ready for action.

We cruised the edge of the reef looking for signs of life. Hopefully a freejumping Sailfish. But as we ran down the dropoff the wind started to pick up out of the west and we could see the cloud build-up of an approaching cold front.

I anchored the boat on a patch reef in 30 feet of water. With a little chum and a handful or "freebies" the water behind Foxy Lady erupted  with feeding fish of all sorts. As the wind increased so did the feeding frenzy behind the boat.. Cero Mackerel, Yellowtail and Mangrove Snapper,. We would toss a handful of freebies then cast back and get a bite immediately. This was patch reef fishing at its best. By 2 pm the wind was up to 20 mph and it was time to slowly work our way towards shore and then use the lee to ride back up to Islamorada.

The next day it was howling from the north and a nice drizzling rain to boot. Cathy took a day off but Cliff and Freddy were game. This is what is so cool about fishing the Keys. We made a ride into the deep "backcountry" following the edges of shallow banks. That kept us in a lee for most of the ride over to the mainland. There we worked our way up a narrow creek totally out of the wind and had action with Snook and Crevalle Jacks using Bonefish Trek  and Rage rods and Diablo 350 spin reels. Except for the ride over and back it was another fun day for the boys.

Day 3 was different yet again. 20 mph out of the northeast. At least today it did not rain. But it was a very cool morning and the during the ride across the bay we were layered up with warm clothes. We fished an area called Snakebite. A channel that drains a vast area of flats along the mainland near Flamingo in Everglades National Park. With a very low tide thousands of feeding birds were on the mudflats. Roseate Spoonbills and Egrets and multitudes of White Pelicans, Black Skimmer's, Herons and countless smaller varieties. What a sight to see.

The water temp had dropped to 64 degrees and we could not get a bite on live pilchards. But the fish were Hungry for shrimp. We had good winter time fishing catching Black Drum, Redfish and Sheepshead, So as I always say  we can find a place to fish no matter what the weather is doing and have a fun day.

Below are a few of the fish we caught the last few days on FOX Sport Fishing Tackle.

Captain Skip Nielsen

Big Sheepshead were biting.
Water temp was 64 and it was a winter day's catch

Black Drum were a big battle

Bonefish Trek rods and Diablo spinning reels
were perfect for fishing the trees

Cathy is a patient and attentive angler.
It paid off with the big Red of the day

Cliff with a Cero Mackerel caught on a
Rage spin rod and Diablo 350 spin reel

Crevalle Jacks were fun action on FOX Sport fishing tackle

Freddy with a Cero Mackerel...
notice the stripe and slashes

how about some Sheepshead

it was nice fishing once we got out of the wind

lots of spots on this Redfish caught by Cliff

Mangrove Snapper were biting for Cathy

Yellowtail Snapper for Freddy