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So, the fishin’ is slow; or at least that’s what I keep hearing. But what do I know, I’m just a good little country girl from Thonotosassa, Florida, who’s lucky enough to be living in the Keys. All of my life I have been gravitating to saltwater, and have made annual trips down here to the Florida Keys to fish and dive and especially to hunt those scrumptious spiny lobster. Now I’m here to stay and I am fishing as much as the winter winds will allow, despite the sour fishing reports from all of them local naysayers. I’ve had some great days out on the water since arriving as a permanent resident, especially here lately. But still, I’m told, the fishing is a little slow.

It’s my first winter living in the Keys, and I’m not at all surprised by the wind, which can make fishing a bit more difficult, but there hasn’t been a real cold front yet, which usually means the Winter fish bite will be slow. So, I keep hearing that the fishin’ is slow. But, still, I go because if it’s slow…. I just haven’t noticed it. We, my first mate Mac and I, are still loading the boat with trophy-sized wahoo, blackfin tuna, and Dolphin. Besides, as I’ve always heard and believe, “a bad day on the water is better than a good day at work”!

It’s early January, and I will admit I’ve had a few skunked days, which I rarely have, and a few slow days, which I can live with. All I’m looking for on this particular morning is a nice, yummy, fresh, fish dinner tonight. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for. My Mate and I have been making the fourteen-mile run out to The Hump, where we were killing the Tuna a few months back, but today we decide to run the reef line. The reef line has been treating me good for the last month or so as well. I got a prize-winning Wahoo about a month back on the reef line, so I’ve continued to run it. Not too far out, not too bad seas, and between the shallow reef where the “pro” fishing guides are chumming up the water in hopes of the ever-elusive Sailfish, and The Gulf Stream, I’m confident because my fish mojo has been pretty darn good lately.

Since dawn and dusk seem to be the best bite, I prefer dawn, as it’s a pain in the butt to clean fish in the dark and I’d really like my fingers to stay intact for a while longer. Between the dark, and the brutal fatigue from the sea, by dusk I am one tired girl and should not be trusted to wield a sharp knife. The only catch is, I am not a morning person, but once I’m up and going, there is no stopping me. And this morning, the sun is on the rise, and absolutely glorious, and the sea was remarkably calm.

This has become my favorite time of day, because if you want to start your day on a spiritual note, do it on the ocean. There are unimaginable shades of blue for as far as the eyes can see, such shades that I never before knew existed. And the sky changes by the moment. The sun rolls in, in hues of pink and grey with sunbeams bouncing in through the clouds in an ever-changing dance. A rainbow of hope. If I get lucky, some porpoises will follow my wake, or a sea turtle will surface to further bless my day. This is my saltwater church. This is my happy place.

But, after appreciating Mother Nature’s beauty, it was time to get busy trolling that reef line. I really love it out there nice and early, as there aren’t a hundred other boats to contend with. When you are trailing hundreds of feet of line behind you, one errant boater can really mess things up. So, Mac asks what I’d like to put out on the trolling lines this morning. I’m undecided. Artificial lures have been doing the trick, but I’ve had some awesome hits with a skirted, dead, rigged Ballyhoo lately, so, being the queen of indecision, I choose both. One of the bonuses of trolling.

Your best bet out here is to fish the water tables, and I gladly would, but since Mac busted the downrigger a few weeks back as we were trying to figure the darn thing out, we are limited. I decide upon that skirted, rigged, dead Ballyhoo, and a deep diving lure, so at least we are fishing the top and about twenty-five feet below. To top it off, we throw out a little pink worm that has been my Tuna lure of choice, just in case. My thinking was that we might as well cover any and all possible bases. Off we go at the trolling speed I call my “sweet spot”.

First hit of the day was pretty darn quick, and a beauty! It’s a nice, decent size Mahi, that “they say” aren’t really hitting at this time of year. It’s my biggest to date, but I will change that in no time if I keep up my pace down here in fishing paradise. That beautiful, big dolphin took one nice jump upon hitting the Ballyhoo, and I got to watch that gorgeous fin as he reeled in pretty smooth. Jackpot! All I wanted was a sweet dinner.

Mission accomplished.

With lines back out, and back to that perfect trolling speed, the hunt was back on, but not for long, as a second rod got hit hard. This one was a doozy! It ran me around the boat, hit my drag more than once, and got my heart pumping something fierce. Adrenaline is definitely my favorite drug. Dang, if it wasn’t a monster Wahoo! As I got the beast to the boat, Mac masterly gaffed it, and the moment it safely hit the deck, I went to hooting and hollering! NO WAY! This is the second big Wahoo I’ve put on this deck in a little over a month. Life is good. And not only do I have my scrumptious dinner, but I have dinner for days, and choices to boot. But the day is still young.

Mac gets back to work putting out the lines, and I get the boat back in the right direction and hit the magic trolling speed. Then, Mac just had to actually say it out loud, “All we need now is a nice Tuna, and we will have one heck of a Triple Slam his morning”! No sooner had the words left his mouth, the line went screaming! This chunky Blackfin definitely had some spunk. After getting this third, dreamy fish on the deck, I was in utter disbelief! Unbelievable and all before 10am! My cheeks hurt from grinning like a fool. I must have opened the fish box a dozen times so that my eyes could tell my brain, “Yes, this really happened!” So I started this New Year out with a Triple Hitter that any saltwater angler would envy.

All the while, all I could think was, “so…. the fishing is slow”. What a way to start the New Year on the water in The Keys! Life is good! And I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now than living and fishing the beautiful Florida Keys.

Angelia is a professional outdoorswoman and owner of the Florida Salty Cowgirl brand. Her website, FloridaSaltyCowgirl.com has lots of cool information for lady adventurers as well as plenty of great photographs for the guys.