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00:00On this week's World of Saltwater Fishing, it's a bottom fishing doubleheader at a cudgel in the lower Florida Keys.
00:06I'll be yellow telling on the reefs and then trolling small swimming plugs in Hawk Channel.
00:11Stay tuned.
00:25George Bovarumo's World of Saltwater Fishing.
00:27Big fish don't stand a chance.
00:38Okay, we're still down in Cujo in the lower Florida Keys with the Mark VI and Leanne Lopez, and we're
00:44coming off a spectacular prior day of mahi fishing, which was just like the good old days.
00:50So here we are again back in Cujo Key for another shot at it, but instead of mahi, we're going
00:56to go for some bottom fish.
00:57We're going to head down south on the Gulf side, head out over to the Marquesas, hit some shallow water
01:03mutton.
01:04Another gorgeous day.
01:05We're leaving Cujo.
01:07We hang a right, put the bow of the Mark VI toward the west, and race on down towards the
01:12Marquesas.
01:20This was going to be a slam dunk for sure, in my opinion.
01:23Again, we loaded the live wells and pilchards.
01:25We had a lot of chum.
01:27We had a lot of different bottom baits, and it was just a matter of getting on some of our
01:31numbers, throwing the hook, and going to work catching bottom fish on light tackle.
01:35Well, to our surprise, the conditions were absolutely horrible.
01:43We got to a few of our numbers.
01:45We had wind against tide.
01:47We couldn't lay out the way we wanted to lay out.
01:50The chum would be going up towards the bow line.
01:53Just a good chop to really murky up the water.
01:56So we were going to a few different spots that always produced for us, and we were scraping together some
02:02small groupers, some small snappers and such.
02:04But it wasn't a Marquesas.
02:06We were just fighting these conditions that said, okay, we got to do something else here.
02:10So we pulled anchor, and we ran to a tower that occasionally produces some pretty good catches for us.
02:17Well, we run to the tower.
02:18The water was definitely a lot clearer, but it was Barracuda Central.
02:22It was like the Barracuda were having a convention or whatever.
02:26Leanne managed to rig a bottom line and drop a pilchard down near the structure itself, and somehow had gotten
02:35through the Barracuda.
02:37Well, the rod bent, and she's on a fish.
02:39So I'm sort of thinking the worst, and I look down, and lo and behold, it's a cobia.
02:46I'll see what you got this time.
02:57Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
02:58Oh, get him in there.
02:59Keep him in there.
02:59We'll get you next.
03:07Uh, uh, uh, uh.
03:08Take your time, just play him out easy, he's green.
03:12All right, let me swing him up to me.
03:14I will, I will, I will, I will.
03:16Pretty good stuff, right over the line.
03:18I don't want to stick him in a gaff
03:19because you might be just short.
03:23You're good, you're good, you're good.
03:26Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, hey, hey.
03:33No, wait, wait, I gotta just turn him around.
03:38Come on, come on, come on, come on.
03:41It's okay, Bubba.
03:43Oh, he's got a little tail wrap.
03:46Just out of my range.
03:52We got him.
03:55Dr. Kobe, come back here with me.
03:56Oh, oh, my god.
03:58He may be pushing Leo, how long?
04:01All right, let's go slide over here.
04:03Let's slam him down.
04:04And in that point, he goes crazy.
04:05All right, what you gotta be?
04:0736 to the 4.
04:08No.
04:09Short.
04:09Short.
04:10All right.
04:11That's why you're still around.
04:12Just short.
04:15You ready?
04:16Yeah.
04:16Let's get started.
04:17See ya.
04:19And...
04:20Bye.
04:20Well, that was a shocker right there.
04:23Scrambled to get the landing net.
04:24We weren't sure whether or not it was a legal size, so we had to be a little cautious.
04:30It was a little bit short.
04:31I think it was around 29 inches and they have to be 36 inches to keep, but what a beautiful
04:36fish.
04:37What a great fight.
04:39And at that point in time, I said, well, you know what?
04:42This area here is not going to produce.
04:45Totally different than the day before when we were offshore and just clobbered the dolphin.
04:50George Fovaromo's world of saltwater fishing is proudly brought to you by Penn.
04:55Let the battle begin.
04:56Mako.
04:57You'll find them where the fish are.
04:59Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's.
05:00Your adventure starts here.
05:03Mercury.
05:04George.
05:06With day one behind us, we head east for some new water and a spot which typically
05:11delivers solid yellow tailing plus the occasional surprise or two.
05:15I'm with Captain Leanne Lopez and we're basing out of Kudjoe in the lower Florida Keys.
05:20We're leaving Kudjoe early in the morning again and the goal was to turn left and move
05:26up towards the Biahonda area.
05:28When we got to our spot in Biahonda, we anchored, we set the trim out.
05:32Within 10 minutes, we had the nice big school yellow tail right behind the boat.
05:35I was doing something with tackle and Leanne stands up on the angle cooler and I hear her say, here
05:40they are.
05:41I got excited.
05:42I looked back there and sure enough, here come the yellow tails.
05:46Look at that.
05:47First yellow tail of the day.
05:51Funny.
05:53Nice.
05:54All right, that's going to fall a little short.
05:56That's what leads her down.
05:57That's okay.
06:02So I think Leanne scored the first yellow tail on 20.
06:06I said, all right, hey, they look aggressive.
06:07They're going to bite on 20 and I may have caught one, but then the bite ceased and the
06:12fish are there and they're hungry and they're eating, but we could not get another bite on our
06:18outfits.
06:18So I said, Leanne, here's our big lesson.
06:2120 pound, as I said, was going to be too heavy.
06:23Let's change out.
06:24Everything else was the same tackle wise.
06:26Come back.
06:26Look at a ball of them coming up.
06:28Yeah.
06:29All right, Leanne, break the code.
06:32We got to get you over a 12 pound fluorocarbon leader.
06:3520 pound test.
06:36These are college educated fish.
06:38They've seen the heavy stuff.
06:40We got to go light.
06:41Leanne switched over and started catching fish.
06:44See that difference going to 12?
06:46Yeah.
06:47It's like almost instantaneous.
06:49Yeah, that made like all the difference.
06:55Yeah.
06:55Okay.
06:57Thanks.
06:58Good one.
06:58Good job.
07:00Big swallow jig too, didn't he?
07:03He wanted it all.
07:05Once we switched instantly, we were having bites.
07:09We were catching yellow tail after yellow tail after yellow tail to the point where George
07:12was like, hey, let's not even keep them anymore.
07:14And I was like, hey, what?
07:15Like, I want some dinner.
07:16Like, what are you talking about?
07:17The tails were up and I said, well, let's go to town here.
07:21I think they, oh, I'm on it.
07:23There we go.
07:30And the ball follows the hook one in.
07:35Yellow tail coming in.
07:37And Leanne, you want some of these to take home or I'll keep them all for you.
07:41Yeah.
07:43That is good news.
07:45All right.
07:45There's you a little yellow tail jig.
07:52Yeah, 13.
07:53Okay.
07:54That's good.
07:54Yeah.
07:57That's why I call for sandwich.
07:59All right.
08:00Did you see him back there at all or no?
08:02Yeah.
08:02You said you did see him already.
08:04They're far back there right now.
08:05All right.
08:06You got to let the baits really go back.
08:09That's a good one there.
08:10Give me a little bit more of a fight.
08:13Oh, yeah.
08:21Good for you.
08:23Another one.
08:25You don't get many yellow tails in Jersey, do you?
08:27No.
08:32That was the dumbest question ever asked on a fishing show.
08:36There they are.
08:37The ball is back.
08:46And once we were dialed in with that fluorocarbon leader and having that same rhythm of floating
08:51a bait back at the same rate as a chum, it was just bar the door at that point.
08:56All of a sudden, that line would speed up, turn the bail, hook, fight your yellow tail,
09:00get it in, rebate and go back.
09:02And we were making dinner in a very rapid fashion.
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09:15This saves not only money, but valuable time spent re-icing coolers on a daily basis.
09:20Equally important for me is their durability to withstand the rigors of offshore fishing,
09:26especially aboard center consoles.
09:28My angles keep our drinks iced for days.
09:30And we've even used them to hold chum for multiple days, including shrimp boat bycatch.
09:36They also serve as a solid fishing platform.
09:38And of course, they keep our fillets well iced until we get home.
09:42Angle coolers come in several colors to help accent your boat.
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09:49George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing is proudly brought to you by
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10:09George, we'll be right back.
10:11As anticipated, the yellow tails are solid and the bite just keeps ramping up.
10:16I'm with Captain Leanne Lopez and we're anchored up to the east of Cudjoe in the lower Florida Keys.
10:21So we're catching yellow tail as fast as you could drift a bait back to him.
10:25And I'm looking at Leanne.
10:27She's very aggressive when it comes to fishing.
10:29She wanted to put a bottom rod down, in which I had a bottom rod.
10:33So she goes to work fabricating a bottom fishing outfit to her standards.
10:37Then at a total surprise and when you least expect it, boom, that rod bends over and lines going out.
10:44So she grabs it.
10:44She's fighting a fish.
10:46And believe it or not, up comes a cobia.
10:50She's fighting a fish.
10:52Yeah.
10:52Oh yeah.
10:5314.
10:54Oh yeah.
10:5414.
10:55Oh yeah.
10:55Oh yeah.
10:55We'll end it bottom rod.
10:56Bottom rod, drop the yellow till get it.
10:59Oh yeah.
11:03Yeah.
11:07See what you have.
11:08I'll put that tail in the box.
11:10Oh what?
11:11Don't step back Leanne.
11:12What?
11:13I don't know.
11:14What?
11:15Oh, yeah.
11:16Big remora.
11:17Oh, my God.
11:18That's a cobia.
11:19That's a cobia?
11:20No, it's a remora.
11:21That's a cobia.
11:23Let me get a net.
11:24You got an underage cobia again.
11:33How about another cobia?
11:35Leanne's got it for these underage cobia, and I don't know if that's a good thing or
11:38a bad thing.
11:40I'm going to bring it this way and then back to you.
11:42Okay.
11:42Okay.
11:45Hang on, you got to get them up.
11:47Perfect.
11:51Okay, let's spin around in the sun.
11:53Crazy one here.
11:53It's going to settle down.
11:54We got to get them out here and get them out fast.
11:56Yeah, you want to do it or you want me to do it?
11:58Yeah, I got it.
11:58Okay, there's a slat above their gills so you won't hurt the gills.
12:03What side, guys?
12:04This side over here.
12:09Ready?
12:13A little juvenile cobia.
12:17There he goes.
12:18He's nice and healthy and he'll swim back home.
12:21That was awesome.
12:23That was awesome.
12:24We caught a cobia yesterday.
12:24We caught two cobia actually.
12:27What do you mean?
12:27I know.
12:27The last one was just a little bit short of a keeper and this one was a baby so getting
12:32lucky with the cobia recently.
12:34Yes, yes.
12:35Day two, day three caught a cobia.
12:38Like what are the odds?
12:39And I love those fish.
12:40They're super cool.
12:41We bailed a lot of yellowtails and my plan was, okay, this worked out.
12:46Let's pull anchor and let's go in Hawk Channel, which is that shallow water belt on the Atlantic
12:52side of the Florida Keys.
12:54But one of the easiest ways to go ahead and catch fish in Hawk Channel is to troll small swimming
13:02plugs.
13:02So we have our Simrad and we have the Sea Map Reveal, which is a high definition bathymetric chart that
13:08shows
13:09every nook and cranny and rock pile in that area.
13:11And it's pretty amazing what you catch by trolling these small swimming plugs.
13:19Here you go.
13:21Yellowtail coming in.
13:22A yellowtail on the troll.
13:25Got that little rapala on the X-Rap.
13:37And we were having fun just trolling small swimming plugs and catching fish.
13:44Mercury performance stats.
13:45Lower Florida Keys.
13:47Seas two to three feet.
13:49Power.
13:49Triple Mercury Verado 400 horsepower V10 outboards.
13:53Props.
13:54Mercury Revolution X.
13:5525 inch pitch.
13:56Total miles.
13:5855.
13:59Consistent cruise.
14:003600 RPMs.
14:02Speed.
14:0338 miles per hour.
14:04Total fuel burned.
14:0653 gallons.
14:09George Poveromo's world of saltwater fishing is proudly brought to you by the Florida Keys
14:14and Key West.
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14:35Hawk Channel averages 10 to 20 feet deep and exists inshore of the barrier reefs along
14:40the Florida Keys Atlantic side.
14:42Scattered amongst its mostly sand bottom are dome type environments comprised of hard and
14:46soft corals sea fans and sponges.
14:49These patch reefs provide sanctuary for a variety of sea life and feeding stations for game fish.
14:55The cooler waters of winter and spring usher in the heaviest concentration of bait along
14:59with bottom fish and even some pelagics.
15:02Best bet.
15:02Troll through these environments with small swimming plugs on light leaders.
15:06An art by pasta dot com from catch the canvas rendering.
15:10Catch the canvas baby.
15:12Now, let's get back to trolling in Hawk Channel.
15:14You run into all sorts of fish from yellow jacks, blue runners, yellow tail clobber them.
15:22You occasionally catch mangrove snapper and of course barracuda.
15:26As we're starting to troll along, bam, Leanne's starting to get lucky on that rod and catching
15:30fish.
15:31And she caught a few yellow tails.
15:34Let them go.
15:35And we kept at it.
15:36And I said, let's give it about another hour or so.
15:38And then we got a hike to get back to Cudjoe.
15:41And we were catching fish.
15:42And the highlight was my plug got belted.
15:47Wow.
15:47We got some good runs.
15:48It is.
15:49Go to neutral.
15:51Whoa.
15:51What do I got on here?
15:57Could have been a grouper come up and get me?
15:58I want to keep them out of the rocks.
16:01Oh, I don't know what this heck.
16:02A big yellow jack?
16:03Could be a mutton.
16:05Let's go find it out.
16:07Any bets?
16:08Leanne, what do you think I have on here?
16:11Me too.
16:12A little yellow jack.
16:13A little one.
16:14Come on now.
16:15Do you see that line it took off?
16:19There's no such thing as a little fish.
16:20Some are just bigger than others.
16:22Uh-uh.
16:23As I'm fighting this fish, Leanne hooks up.
16:27And she's all quiet on her side.
16:29Because I'm wondering what we have going on here.
16:31I've got a good fish.
16:33I see some.
16:34Oh, my God.
16:35Do I have a mutton?
16:40I do.
16:41It's a mutton.
16:42What's Leanne?
16:43What do you have?
16:44I have a big yellow tail.
16:46Oh, jeez.
16:46Oh, my.
16:47Look at the size of the yellow tail she just got.
16:53This is a double header with the patches on these plugs.
16:56I'm sitting here with the mutton snapper.
16:58And you look over at that big yellow tail you pulled in.
17:00What was that all about?
17:01Yeah, you were catching yours.
17:02But you didn't notice that I was busy catching mine.
17:04No, because I thought I had the prize.
17:06I'm running.
17:06That fish is running out, running out.
17:08I asked you what you thought I had.
17:09A small yellow jack, you said.
17:11You beat me.
17:12Okay.
17:13That's my first time this trip that I actually did.
17:15Yeah, the first time, first time.
17:16Okay, I'll take it.
17:17First and last time.
17:18I'll take it.
17:18We ended that trip with a double header.
17:20Big yellow tail and a beauty of a mutton snapper on the wrapless swimming plugs.
17:25So, she wasn't going to be outdone and overshadowed by a mutton snapper.
17:29She did well too with that big yellow tail.
17:31So, trolling small plugs in Hawk Channel really work.
17:36You don't have to go out and mess around with a live bait.
17:38You don't have to throw an anchor and chum different rock piles.
17:40Just go out there, drag two small plugs and have at it and have fun.
17:50So, we worked our way back to the dock.
17:52Very successful day.
17:54Again, the beauty of Kudjo.
17:55And again, one of the most less pressured parts of the lower Florida Keys.
18:00And when you come here during the off season, which we were doing in October,
18:04you pretty much have the ocean all into yourself, which is a good thing.
18:18When it comes to dining at Kudjo Key,
18:20Broyles is known for their hand cut steaks cooked over an open flame and specialty salads prepared by the proprietor
18:27himself, Brad Weiss.
18:28Broyles excludes a stylish feel coupled with a laid back Florida Keys attitude.
18:33In between exceptionally prepared steaks, chicken, pork and seafoods, there are specialty starters and homemade desserts.
18:41Here's Brad Weiss to tell you more.
18:42You know, we get a lot of folks that come in and they are tired of eating seafood and they
18:47come here to have a steak.
18:48We're in a good niche, I think, right in the middle of the Keys, just far enough away from Key
18:53West.
18:54We get folks from Marathon, you know, that drive down.
18:57They do drive up and it's just a nice place to get away from the busyness.
19:02Yeah, yeah.
19:03Palmer's Resort in nearby Little Torch Key is a favorite of ours.
19:07The five acre property offers a collection of cottages, suites, efficiency studios and rooms.
19:12There's a freshwater pool, 90 feet of beach and on site boat slips.
19:17Palmer's is on Pine Channel.
19:19George and I fished together three days in total out of Kudjo Key and honestly, what a blast.
19:24The first day, we slaughtered the Machi.
19:26The second day, we did some bottom fishing out in the Marqueses.
19:30I caught a nice cobia.
19:31He showed me some things I haven't seen before.
19:34And then the third day, we killed the yellowtail.
19:36We caught another cobia and he showed me the slow trolling in the shallow water and shock hawk channel.
19:42So, it was a great three days of fishing for me.
19:46I would fish with George anytime and that's saying a lot because if anybody knows me,
19:50I'm extremely picky with who I fish with.
19:53So, George is a double thumbs up for me.
19:56She's definitely a worthy and accomplished angler, knows her stuff, independent.
20:02She'll rig her own tackle rods, land her own fish.
20:04It was just a real good pleasure to be able to fish with her.
20:08And she had done a couple of our Saltwater Sports International Seminar Series.
20:12So, we sort of field tested her there before I actually brought out a boat and she passed with flying
20:18colors.
20:19If you're a fan of our show, keep up with our adventures by following us on social media.
20:23I'm on Instagram at George Poveromo.
20:26And on Facebook, go to facebook.com forward slash George dot Poveromo.
20:30You can also watch our episodes at any time on YouTube at George Poveromo TV.
20:36We'll see you on the water.
20:37.
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