Week 8 Synopsis
We just had the two of the best weather days that the Gulf of Mexico has seen in 2024. This allowed for people to make overnight trips, multiple day trips, and run just about everywhere that is in reach. The reports that we have been getting back are that the schoolie tunas up to 70 pounds are abundant around the MS Canyon rigs. The Venice giant tuna bite has slowly died out after a hot start at the beginning of this week and the swordfish bite was not on for people out of Louisiana either. We did not receive any meaningful reports from the FADs or areas off of the shelf like the Nipple, Elbow, Steps, 131 Hole, etc.
This week we are forecasting a strong tuna bite at the floaters in the MS Canyon. Try and find rigs that are on the edges of the strong current push and between the upwellings and downwellings. Warm water continues to move north and we are expecting that it will bring pelagic species with it. If you focus on finding areas where there is either floating structure, bottom structure, or both we believe you will be successful in finding pelagic species. The theme for this time of the year is to find where the water is warmer and where the bait is, even a 2 degree warmer surface water can make all the difference in if you have a great day or a bad day. =
Sea Surface Temperature
There was a clear SST shot earlier today and we are starting to see this giant backflow eddy move even further north. It currently has hit the FADs and continues to move north. This warm water is similar to what we saw last year when the wahoo bite was the strongest it has ever been at the FADs. You will see that the MS Canyon and shelf rigs are all in warmer water now and this temperature is what we are looking for in the winter and spring when chasing pelagics.
Altimetry
You can see on here that we marked a few areas of interest that border the lines between the upwelling and downwelling. These would be great areas to start, especially the ones that overlap where there are oil rigs, fads, or shelf structure.
Currents
The current is continuing to move into our fishable area and it looks like some stronger currents are beginning to hit the fringes of the MS Canyon in the old Independence Hub location. We are hopeful that this strong current continues to move north, bringing with it warm water and pelagics not to far behind.
Chlorophyll
The chlorophyll has continued to improve in the fishable area of the northern GoM. We are seeing the blue water move in with the warm backflow eddy. Conditions should continue to improve as the current continues to bring warm, blue water from loop current into our area.