Lower Key's Macks

I'm down here in the lower Keys for the week in hopes of ripping a few lips. Today we took one of the boats out with the plan to put the smoker to use on some cero mackerel and we did just that. Seas weren't too bad and the current was in the right direction. As we pulled up to the spot we could see cero's everywhere. Threw a chumblock in and started working them. They were hitting anything, including bucktails, soft plastics, topwaters, vert jigs and live shrimp. We used nothing but Walmart rods and 8lb testto make it interesting. Ended up keeping 18 ceros, plus four nice mangroves. Life is good. Fillets are brining as I type.

On a side note, the inshore stuff is hurting bad, especially in the upper Keys. Docks and marinas that once had 100's of snapper swimming around are empty. The cold snap really did a number down here. It's sad.