Our recent guest Jeff from Illinois experienced the best of what our winter fishery has to offer here in the USVI. Our friends at Hook Line and Sinker restaurant, which overlooks our slip at the CYOA Marina in Frenchtown, can provide the perfect ending to a day on the water fishing with Capt. Alvin. Chef Dougy at Hook Line served up Jeff’s Wahoo in three distinct island styles –rubbed in island jerk seasoning, smothered in creole sauce, and paired with a delicious mango salsa. Just a couple hours before, Jeff was cranking down on this Wahoo on a 4-Hour offshore charter, later tipping the scale at just over 40lbs. Served alongside rice and veggies, as well as Hook Line and Sinker’s famous conch fritters, Wahoo like this is about as fresh as it gets! Now that your taste buds are craving fresh fish, lets dig into what’s been biting and where so far this winter season.
As mentioned above, offshore right now is all about the Wahoos. We’re currently in the peak of Wahoo season, with the largest fish typically arriving near the end of December and into mid January. Overall, it’s been a steady bite, with 2-3 Wahoo in the 25-40lb range hitting the deck on our recent 4-Hour or 6-Hour Offshore trips. Compared to last year’s phenomenal Wahoo run, the catch numbers are down slightly, and the results of the recent Wahoo Windup tournament a great indication of this, with considerably less fish weighed than the previous year. High-speed trolling Yozuri Sashimi Bonitos on our downrigger as well as an XL Lure’M In Wahoo bullet in the shotgun have been the hot baits recently. Early reports of Yellowfin Tuna are popping up along the North Drop and one or two school-size Mahi are travelling with Frigate birds to the south of St. Thomas, but not in the solid numbers yet…we’ll start to see the larger schools arrive in the late-winter and early spring.
The inshore bite this winter is all the talk amongst the St. Thomas fishing fleet. Plentiful bait and a fresh influx of ballyhoo along the southern coast have really brought in a wide variety of species to our reefs and wrecks. Most notable are the schools of juvenile Mahi’s, in the 10-15 lb range and even a couple 20lb+ fish taking the bait. Kingfish, African Pompano and Horse-Eye Jacks have also been in the mix, featuring line-peeling runs and rod-bending action. Our new assortment of medium-action, Star Seagis inshore spinning rods has been a big hit with our more experienced guests seeking the thrill of a light tackle battle.
We hope you’ll get out on the water with us if you’re planning a visit to St. Thomas or St. John over the holiday season! *Our springtime offshore fishing charter slots are filling up quickly so be sure to reach out to us if you’re looking to get in on the upcoming Yellowfin and Mahi run!
Remember, you can keep up with all the sport fishing action on our Facebook page where we post the latest pictures and reports from our inshore and offshore charters:
Capt. Alvin Fishing Charters – Facebook
Have a blessed holiday season!
Capt. Alvin Turbe
340-626-4220
capt.alvin@fishinginstthomas.com