The Reef Bite
The reef and wreck bite is one of our staples here in the Florida Keys because it’s usually always good! Probably
one of our most productive forms of fishing , chumming the reef. What this entails is we use our chart plotter 
and bottom machines to find our ledges or patches of reef that have large quantity’s of fish on them. The primary species that we target are Snapper and Grouper. Yellowtail Snapper being the most common catch. These fish average 12-18 inches just South of Key West and the larger fish can be anywhere from 20-28 inches. They are a schooling fish that will come up from the reef in masses to eat the chum from the back of the boat. We use light spinning rods with 12 pound test line for these fish and we primarily use a tactic called free-lining. Free-lining consists of a small hook on a 15-20 pound leader baited with either a live shrimp, or a chunk of dead bait (Ballyhoo, Squid, Etc.). The idea is to 
imitate the chum. Letting back your bait to drift in the current the same speed of the chum. Once your bait drifts into the school of yellowtail that are eating the chum WHAM! They eat it and fish on! This style of fishing is very consistent and very involved, ending up with a bent rod for most of the day. But this is only part of the reef bite. While this yellowtailing is going on we like to put a live bait down on the bottom. We usually use a larger spinning rod equipped with 20 pound test line. The rig is as follows: a 4 oz weight, then a swivel attached to 6-10 feet of 40 pound leader, and that is attached to a 4/0 circle hook. Pinfish are by far our favorite bait for this bottom bite. We send the bait to the bottom and wait. This style of fishing can result in less 
fish but much larger and more prized species. The primary species consist of Mutton Snapper (5-20 pound average), Black Grouper (10-50+ pounds) and Red Grouper (8-20 pounds). All of which are very hard fighters and excellent to eat. Although Grouper do have a closed season for harvest in both the South Atlantic (Jan 1st-May 1st) and the Gulf of Mexico (Jan 1st-April 1st). The reef bite does have a certain by-catch category that we catch often but do not specifically target. Barracuda and sharks being our two most common. Barracuda have a tendency to eat the Yellowtail as they’re being brought in. These fish can be anywhere from 3 feet in length to over 5 feet. They’re known for blistering runs and big big teeth and are a 
blast to catch on a spinning rod. We have a large population of sharks here in the Florida Keys. The most common species include Black Tips, Spinner Sharks, Bull Sharks, Lemon Sharks and Hammerheads. Spinner Sharks are extremely acrobatic and will jump 5-10 feet out of the water multiple times in a fight, they average 5-6 feet long. Hammerheads are one of the largest species of sharks we find on the reef averaging 8-10 feet long and can be found 14 feet or more. Sharks can be hooked up by either sending back a strip of fish on a wire rig or by the shark eating the fish you are bringing up. They are sure to give you a great fight and can be targeted specifically if that is what you are looking for.
The Wreck Bite
Here in the Florida Keys we have a number of ship wrecks and rubble piles that hold large amounts of very large fish. These wrecks are in depths from 140 feet out to over 400 feet deep. We fish these wrecks two different ways. We can drift it with live bait and vertical jigs or we can anchor on the shallower wrecks.
AmberJack
One of the largest and hardest fighting fish that can be consistently caught over and over again. They range from 20 pounds to over 100 pounds and will give you the fight of your life! These fish are usually caught on the drift. We first find the wreck on our bottom sounder and look for the highest concentration of fish. We then go up current of the wreck and start our drift. this current can be anywhere from nothing to over 3 knots. Our rig consists 
of an 8 oz weight, swivel attached to 6-8 feet of 80 pound leader, which attaches to a 5/0 circle hook. We attach this rig to a heavy spinning rod with 20 pound test main line. Then we put a pinfish or grunt down to the bottom and drift across the wreck. A heavy weight will come on to the rod and then the drag starts screaming! This battle can last from 15 minutes to over an hour depending on the size of the fish. Our average Amberjack is 20-50 pounds and the bite is excellent almost year around but most pronounced in February when they spawn. The food quality is very good when grilled or smoked and eaten fresh.
Mutton Snapper
On our shallower wrecks when the current is light, anchoring is a possibility. With anchoring comes the ability to fish the bottom more effectively. And in turn comes big Mutton Snapper! We use the same rig as we do for the Amberjack but we lighten the leader to 40 pound test and increase the length a few feet. Pinfish, pilchards and cut ballyhoo are the most effective baits. In this deep water with a slight current the tell tale tap tap isn’t always the case. a steady weight that will begin to pull down is the sign of a fish and then it becomes a race! Get him out of the wreck before he can break you off! A lot of fun and the best fish you will EVER eat.
The Reef and Wreck Bite
The most fun you’ll ever have!