AS SEEN IN THE WINTER 2004-05 ISSUE

Only a short trek from Florida’s southeast coast lie some of the most productive bottom structures found anywhere. Anglers who have crossed the Gulf Stream know the contour here quickly rises from the dark depths where it meets the shallow edge of the Little Bahama Bank. Its here you’ll encounter the type of snapper and grouper action that you’ve only dreamed of…..

With miles of seemingly endless deep blue abyss behind you, you’ll exit the Gulf Stream and suddenly find yourself on the edge of the Little Bahama Bank. It’s along this distinct boundary where anglers find huge reef lines, deep crevasses, rocky bottom, and non-stop heart pounding action! This is the Corner, the ultimate playground and my absolute favorite place to fish.

The Corner refers to the northwest tip of the Little Bahama Bank, approximately 60 miles ESE of Florida’s Treasure Coast and about 40 miles west of Walker’s. Fishing the Corner is much like the Middle Grounds in the Gulf of Mexico or Dry Tortugas outside of Key West. The isolation eliminates the tremendous commercial and recreational pressure found in more accessible areas. Highlighting the Corner are all the peaks and valleys lining the ocean floor. You can drop anchor in 60 feet and by the time you come tight, the stern will be sitting in 240. These submerged natural structures are what make the Corner a bottom fisherman’s paradise. Here you can spend the day drifting, anchoring and chumming, slow trolling, fishing the patch reefs or deep dropping. Whatever your flavor, all will produce phenomenal results.

First things first though. This is Bahamian territory, which means you need to clear customs and immigration prior to wetting a line. When I fish the Corner or anywhere along the Bahama Bank, I make it a point to depart my homeport of Sebastian Inlet before daybreak for an early morning crossing. Upon arrival, I clear customs and immigration at Walker’s Cay or West End (please verify in advance which immigration offices are operational). Once all the formalities are out of the way, it’s time to head out in search of a full out slugfest with the local bottom bruisers!

I spend the late morning, early afternoon hours drifting over high profile bottom in 60- to 180 feet, the entire time scoping out potential hot spots to hit later in the day. On these exploratory drifts, I prefer my anglers’ fish 6, 8, or 10 ounce jigs (depending on current) tipped with either squid or ballyhoo. I use 8 feet of 60 pound Ande pink for leader, tied directly to the 80 pound PowerPro loaded on my reel. A fast tip rod with plenty of backbone is important for this task and the no stretch, sensitivity factor of braid is ideal for this application. The awesome receptiveness allows anglers to detect strikes versus bottom contact. You’ll find that most of the grouper inhale the jig as it flutters toward the bottom.

When drifting over the edge of the bank it’s important to cover the entire water column. Fish a flatline or two, perhaps with live bait or a ballyhoo strip. It’s a guarantee that schools of flag yellowtail and cero mackerel will follow the boat’s drift. When fishing here it’s important to keep a close eye on the depth sounder. Often times the bottom contour drops from 100 feet to 300 feet in the blink of an eye. Then quickly jumps back up to 100 feet. These deep crevasses are home to a vast array of life. Working a jig across these deep drop offs is a surefire way to slam big grouper and giant snapper. Like clockwork, expect these big bruisers to inhale the jigs as they drop over their lairs. PowerPro is a life saver here. As soon as the hook is set you can horse a big grouper from its hole before the fish has an opportunity to wedge itself in a corner. It’s assuring to have a stock pile of honey-holes stored in your GPS, but drifting enables anglers to try new areas rather than burning out particular sections of the reef. Any solid strikes or caught fish designate the area for later inspection.

After deep jigging during the day, I switch tactics during the transition into dark. This is when things really heats up! It’s absolutely the most productive time of day to fish the Corner. When a tide change occurs during sunset, the fishing here is magical. An hour or so before sunset I’ll return to a particular area where I found action on the drift or more importantly, where I located concentrations of bait. Anchoring needs to be precise on the Corner. The most productive anchor spots are over ledges where the bottom drops quickly into deeper water. Once a spot is pin-pointed, I drop anchor on the edge, for example in 65 feet of water, but where it quickly drops down to 120 feet. This sets up a perfect situation.

Anchoring is an investment in time and resources, so plan on dispensing lots of chum and plenty of chunk bait. The name of the game is to create a food chain effect where your chum drops into deeper water. For this I mix oats with menhaden oil and create a slow but steady slick. Within minutes expect yellowtail snapper to turn on and feed on the oil-saturated oats. As soon as I begin chunking pieces of cut bait the real frenzy begins. Once the yellowtails, triggerfish and others begin feeding heavily, larger bottom dwellers won’t be able to resist the commotion and will swim into the slick to investigate.

During the final hours of daylight grouper will usually let their guard down while cruising the edges for an easy meal. Cuberas, mangroves and muttons are wary and feed most actively after dark, but always be ready as they’ll be attracted to the commotion as well. The best way to fish here is to cover all the bases. Holding the yellowtail feeding behind the boat keeps the larger predators interested. For this I use light 12 pound spinning outfits. A 4/0 hook on a 3 foot piece of 20 pound mono leader is all that’s required. It’s common for schools of yellowtails to stage in the midst of the water column, so with a strong current I’ll add a ½ ounce lead to help get the bait down to the ‘tails strike zone. A flatline rig, usually on an identical 12 pound outfit is drifted well back into the slick with live bait. Pilchards, sardines and cigar minnows are all top billing. Huge jack crevalle, horseye jacks, cero mackerel, barracuda and kingfish will keep the angler on this long rod very busy.

With all the surface commotion the local grouper population will inevitably move in to investigate, waiting for their fare share of the falling morsels. I prefer to drop down a large chunk of ballyhoo or anchovy. Get ready because as soon as the bait hits the bottom it will likely be inhaled. I’m all for simplicity when it comes to bottom fishing. My mate Eric ties a simple, yet extremely effective bottom rig consisting of 8 feet of 60 pound leader material tied directly to my PowerPro. The tag end of the leader is finished off with a 6/0 hook. A split shot is crimped on the leader to serve as a stop for the egg sinker. The leader can still slide through the sinker, and by eliminating the swivel two potential weak spots are avoided.

Expect red, black, yellowfin and strawberry grouper to be plentiful. All will feed well during most of the winter and well into early spring. Cubera, mangrove, yellowtail, and mutton snapper will be most active during the summer months and into early fall. However, fishing on the Corner always provides a diverse catch. African pompano, amberjacks, jack crevalles, and giant sharks frequently crash the party.

The shark population in the Bahamas is large and very stable. Anywhere along the Island chain even a smidgen of chum can draw sharks in from miles, and once they invade the area most other species will shut down and seek shelter. Even worse, Bahamian sharks are notorious for making short work of ascending snapper and grouper. However, by the time the shark’s hone in on your buffet, your fish-box should already be full of fresh seafood destined for the dinner table.

To top off already sore arms and backs, I finish off my crew by letting them slugged it out with a handful of bull sharks. For this I prefer a 9/0 circle hook with a 2 foot piece of wire. In most cases, the circle hook is set in the corner of the shark’s jaw. The sharks are fought to boat-side and the wire is snipped. I prefer to release sharks with the hook still attached rather than risk a bad cut or bite when fishing so far from professional medical attention.

An effective tactic of avoiding shark action and targeting only the largest grouper and snapper is slow trolling. A big black grouper or cruising mutton snapper will readily attack a deep diving plug. For this I head inshore to about 35- to 40 feet of water and deploy a spread of diving plugs, such as those manufactured by Yo-Zuri and Rapala. I slow troll the plugs across shallow patch reefs and coral heads. Ideally the offerings should be presented 5- to 15 feet off the bottom. It’s a great technique of covering a ton of bottom and more importantly avoiding smaller, pesky fish. When a hefty grouper spots a frantic, flashing lure swim by it will attack with a punching blow. Because a grouper has to swim out of its hole to attack, an angler ready at the rod is one step closer to a fish in the box. Once hooked up, turn the boat toward deeper water and pull the grouper further away from the protection of its hole. Slow trolling the Corner is most effective during the cooler months when countless grouper enter shallower water for their annual spawning rituals.

On the flip side, deep dropping baits down to 1500 feet for the unknown always provides a rush. Off the edge of the Little Bahama Bank the bottom rises and falls from huge hills and deep depressions. Starting in about 500 feet you can expect yellow-eye, black, and queen snapper to make up the majority of the catch. Exceeding 1000 feet mystic grouper and blue tilefish will be most prevalent. The use of electric deep drop equipment such as those from Kristal and Lindgren-Pittman is vital. A reel with a fast retrieve is also important as the sharks benefit greatly from this style of fishing.

Whatever type of bottom fishing you favor, it’s all found here on the Corner. The diverse terrain covering such a large area makes this a bottom fisherman’s paradise. When scheduling a trip to the Corner I try to provide the total bottom fishing experience, mixing the trip by drifting, anchoring, slow trolling and deep dropping. As a rule, the best time to catch the bite is 2 hours before and 2 hours after sunset. This is when we score the most and greatest variety of targeted species. The northwest edge of the Little Bahama Bank is one of the only areas you can happily release a big grouper or keeper mutton knowing that within minutes you may very well be slugging it out with a bottom bruiser of a lifetime.

Plan a trip to the Corner. Cross the Gulf Stream carefully and don’t forget to clear customs. Pace yourself once you reach the fishing grounds. Plan ahead regarding how many fish you intend on keeping. The constant action is intoxicating and it’s easy to over-fish your limit. I guarantee you’ll have a new appreciation for bottom fishing after a trip to this incredibly productive destination. To insure the action here remains consistent for years to come, it’s important for all of us to respect the area. Be safe and have a great time on the water. I’ll see you over there!

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