We stayed in close looking for Reef action today. We ended up doing ok eventually, but it was not easy. The water on the reef is not a good color, very green and not clear at all. worst of all there is very little current. Stagnant water is never good. Some movement in the water helps to bring fish to the chum if you are anchored and helps bring in clear water if you are trolling. When there is not current it seems like nothing wants to bite.
We trolled the reef for a long way without doing much. Finally, I picked up and ran west to Cosgrove Shoal lighthouse. It is a long way from Key West. Cosgrove Shoal is an unmanned lighthouse that sits on the reef about 20 miles west of Key West.
Honestly, I usually only get there if I need a “bailout ” spot. When nothing else is biting, there is usually good reef action with Barracudas around the lighthouse. When we got there, I was a bit concerned because the water is usually very clear there and today it was not. It was very green, the same as the reef up east that I left because of so few bites.
Fortunately, Running to Cosgrove was worth the run because the Barracuda action was excellent. The bites were steady and the size of the barracudas gave my anglers a good fight. We caught Barracudas one after the other for the better part of an hour. It wasn’t the best reef action I’ve seen at the light, but it was plenty good enough, especially on a day when nothing else seemed to want to bite.
After my anglers had enough fun catching Barracudas, I decided to troll offshore. We trolled back towards Key West. We didn’t catch anything but I did see some activity in the area. The water wasn’t very good, but I did see some major splashes, an indication of fish feeding. As I said, we didn’t get any bites, but I think I will head back down that way tomorrow again. Hopefully, the water clears up a bit and we can get some fish offshore. If not, we can always go back to the reef and have some fun with barracudas on light tackle.