SORD HILTON’S WEEKLY SYNOPSIS
WEEK 49 SYNOPSIS
We are back with our week 49 synopsis for the Northern Gulf. We have not received any first hand fishing reports yet other than there were a few small wahoo caught at the western FADs this past week.
This week we are forecasting above average fishing conditions if the weather allows you to get out there. Find the warmer water, current, and structure, and you should be able to locate a good area for fishing. There are still wahoo around in that warmer water close to the shelf and we believe the tuna fishing in the MS canyon should be HOT this week with the altimetry conditions changing for the better.
SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE
There was a perfect shot this week of the SST if you go to the Thu Dec 07, 2023 07:00 UTC shot. If you want to see the exact image that we are working on below here, then scale your shot from 78 to 71 degrees so that the breaks are more drastic.
You will see in this shot that there is a push of warm water starting from south of the squiggles and working its way northwest to end around the nipple area. This time of the year you are wanting to look for the warmer sea surface temperatures, so we would fish the warmest water that you can find that overlaps structure. The eastern fads are in warmer water than the western ones, so we would prefer those due to this temperature difference.
The MS Canyon rigs are showing a range of water temperatures from 72-75 degrees. We believe the tuna bite will remain steady and hot throughout the winter from the MS Canyon to the shelf and over to the Viosca Knoll/Lumps area.
ALTIMETRY
The altimetry over the last 7 days has remained consistent with last week’s report, with the addition that the areas on the fringes of the MS canyon rigs are starting to show positive upwelling signs. This should mean that the fishing near the Proteus, Appomattox, Blind Faith, Horn Mountain, Nakika, etc. should become extremely good over the next week.
There are no altimetry reports to write about closer into shore as it remains the same as last week.
CURRENTS
The currents this week look stronger than they have in previous weeks. The strong current line that is running northwest is also correlated with the warmer water push that we are seeing in our SST shot from this week. This would mean that any structure (floating or bottom) near the stronger current lines and pushing into the nipple would be areas of interest to fish and a place that we believe bait will be holding.
There are also signs of the upwelling event near the MS Canyon happening as marked by the arrows in the picture.
CHLOROPHYLL
There is also not much to write home about in the SST shot from today as it is covered up by clouds. You will see the 7 day aggregated SST shot below, which shows that the majority of the gulf is still in blended blue/green water.
WEEK 50 SYNOPSIS
We are back with our week 50 synopsis for the Northern Gulf. There was a good blue marlin bite happening in the MS Canyon last week and we anticipate the conditions there to stay strong this week.
We have seen some changes in the fishing conditions this week and we are forecasting an above average week if you are able to go 60+ miles or fishing the MS Canyon rigs. Unfortunately, this time of the year and the dropping temperatures moves fish further offshore in search of warmer waters and more plentiful bait.
SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE
If you select the single shot from this week that is not covered by clouds you will be on WED Dec 13, 2023 08:30 UTC. We scaled this image from a low of 64 to a high of 80 to get the picture. There is a giant block of cloud cover to the east, but you can make inferences from the temperatures in the west side and see that there is a push of 73* water over near the yellow gravel, Oriskany, and pretty close into Pensacola Beach.
This time of the year we look for these warmer water temps, so anything above 73 is where we would start our search.
ALTIMETRY
The altimetry this week tells a great story. There is a textbook upwelling forming to the southeast if you need an idea for what one of these looks like solo. There are two great areas near the MS Canyon Rigs as well as a decent area that also correlates with the warmer push of water from our SST chart. The idea here is that the more yellow/orange/red you see, then that area is not being replenished of nutrients that start the life cycle of pelagics. The more green to blue you get are great areas to focus your efforts in.
CURRENTS
The current charts are still showing a nice current line pushing slightly west of the squiggles and through the eastern fads. This is a great location if you can find a structure where the current is. There are also the western-moving current lines near the MS canyon that should be a decent area to be fishing.
CHLOROPHYLL
There is also not much to write home about in the SST shot from today as it is covered up by clouds. You will see the 7 day aggregated SST shot below, which shows that the majority of the gulf is still in blended blue/green water.
WEEK 51 SYNOPSIS
We are back with our week 51 synopsis for the Northern Gulf.
We are projecting better than normal fishing conditions for the next week for the boats that have the ability to go 60+ miles in unfavorable weather conditions. This report is also a little more brief, but hits the high points.
SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE
There is not much to write home about on the SST side, as most of the water is covered by clouds for the last couple of days. You can see the most accurate inshore shot below, with a touch of warmer (72-73) water staying in close.
ALTIMETRY
The altimetry this week is showing a large upwelling beginning to form in the central northern gulf over the Double Nipple area. This is an area of interest that we will continue to watch. Fishing in this area can be incredible all the way out to the fringes of the upwelling.
CURRENTS
The currents this week are showing strongly to the east again, shooting through the eastern fads and then hitting a stalled out state just north of the FADs. To the west, you will see the strong current lines shooting southwest through the MS Canyon area and then down south to connect with the massive upwelling that is extremely far south. We recommend targeting any of these floating structures that have stronger current lines on them.
CHLOROPHYLL
There is still not much to write home about in the SST shot from today as it is covered up by clouds. You will see the 7 day aggregated SST shot below, which shows that the majority of the gulf is still in blended blue/green water.
WEEK 2 SYNOPSIS
Did everyone make it through the absolutely brutal storms from this week? I am not sure I have ever seen a forecast for 10ft+ waves in the Gulf of Mexico except during a hurricane. This week’s synopsis is lighter due to not much happening in the Gulf right now and we are waiting for the jumbo tuna bite to turn on off of Louisiana.
SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE
The sea surface temperature for this week gives us a rough overview of what we can expect throughout the Northern GoM. There is 69-70 degree water just about everywhere, with it being slightly warmer in the MS Canyon. There is nothing of note other than we would strongly advise against going to the FADs or trying to fish natural structure near OB/Pensacola/Destin/PCB. We would point you towards going to the floaters, or running and gunning for jumbo YFT in the open water closer to Louisiana.
ALTIMETRY
The altimetry this week gives you a great look at three different upwelling events. The first is southwest of the MS river mouth, which is prime winter wahoo territory, the second is the one that we have tracked for the last few months that slightly pushed into the MS Canyon floaters. The third is one extremely far out, but it is cool to see three upwellings happening in one shot. We would spend our time working the MS Canyon where the center upwelling pushes into that area.
CURRENTS
The currents this week are showing slack currents in much of the fishing areas of the Northern Gulf. There is a slight bit of current running to the northwest out of the middle upwelling and it is skirting a few of the MS Canyon rigs.
CHLOROPHYLL
There is not a great report on the Chlorophyll chart right now and it has remained this way for the past 6 weeks. We will start monitoring the changes in Chlorophyll when we have our first meaningful change this year. Below is the most recent satellite shot.
WEEK 1 SYNOPSIS
The first week of the New Year is always a little bleak for us. We look at the weather forecasts and just shake our heads, knowing that it might be another month until we get a good enough forecast to go fishing. As we mentioned last week, the Gulf of Mexico’s SST is A LOT cooler this year than it was in year’s past, so we are not forecasting the same hot wahoo bite for any areas east of the MS river. We are jealous of our Louisiana neighbors who have access to arguably the best wahoo bite in the continental USA in the wintertime.
SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE
We wanted to provide a more accurate understanding of what the SST in the Gulf are right now, so we pulled the clearest shot from Tuesday. This shot is scaled from 69-79 degrees and you can see that the cold water continues to get pushed further offshore. There still looks to be “warm enough” water at the Nipple/131 hole area, but it is at the low end of the tolerable spectrum for wahoo, which is the main fish of target this time of the year.
There is a consistent 70-73 degree water lingering over most of the Northern GoM and we have a confirmed low 70’s from a friend of ours that was at the spur last week. They did not troll the FADs, so we do not have a confirmed report on how the FADs are fishing right now.
ALTIMETRY
There is a small area of interest in the middle of the Northern GoM right now as you can see outlined in the picture below. This area is experiencing a slight upwelling, but as fishing trips get further and few between, it is harder to understand how well the fishing is doing in these areas since they are typically further away from land than most people are capable of going right now.
You will see a massive upwelling to the west of Lloyd’s ridge that we are hoping moves closer to the shelf as the Springtime starts. Near the MS Canyon, the water is basically stagnant.
CURRENTS
There is a slack current in much of the area right now. We are seeing a slight current running the east side of the northern Gulf near the squiggles. This current should continue to bring warmer water from the south closer to the shelf area and into the FADs.
CHLOROPHYLL
There is not a great report on the Cholorphyll chart right now and it has remained this way for the past 6 weeks. We will start monitoring the changes in Chlorophyll when we have our first meaningful change, which is unknown to us when exactly that will happen.
