Ken Ferris and a group of buddies from Philadelphia enjoyed two days of mixed bag action just before Christmas. On Monday 12/21 we used small pilchards for live chum and baited the kite lines with Thread Herring and Blue Runners to catch King Mackerel up to 25 lbs. We also had 1 Blackfin Tuna and countless Bonita. On day two, 12/22 we had a dozen Yellowtail Snapper, 8 Mutton Snapper, 3 Tuna, 1 Dolphin, 1 Black Grouper, 4 Kings and several Bonita.
Steady Blackfin Tuna fishing highlights the current fishing report. Early morning and late afternoon are the most productive times. The Tuna’s are responding to live chumming with Pilchards. There are plenty of Yellowtail and Cero on the reef edge. Sailfishing is still spotty. Kingfish are increasing in numbers but still hit or miss.
Yesterday we did an overnight trip 60 miles west of Key West and took advantage of some great calm weather. We had solid action from smoker kings, with 6 over 30 pounds. The largest topped out at 47 pounds and nearly spooled us from an anchored boat. We also had 4 African Pompano which were unexpected, to go along with Tuna , lots of Bonita and a smattering of bottom fish, mostly Red Grouper.
Another modest cold front with 25 knot wind from the north is keeping us off the water today. Over the last week we have seen better Sailfish action and an increase in the number of Cero and Kingfish. Tuna are still sonewhat scarce. Yellowtail Snapper have been dependable on the reef as long as there is decent current.
We have finally had our first cold front and Ballyhoo bait is swarming all along the reef edge. Today we caught 4 Gaffer Dolphin which were chasing ballyhoo on the top of the reef. We also anchored and live bait chummed and had Tuna’s busting in the slick. More good signs that Fall/Winter fishing is beginning.
We began the day on the reef catching Yellowtail. A school of live ballyhoo swam up and we filled the live well. We spent the afternoon slowtrolling live bait and caught a Sailfish and a 20lb Blackfin Tuna. Catching Tuna and Sails is a sure sign that improved cool weather fishing is on the way.
Today we began the day anchored up in the deep water(210′). We had an ideal light current condition which paid off with the capture of 3 African Pompano. These beautiful hard fighters are quite uncommon. We kept one to eat and released the other two. In the afternoon we moved inshore to the reef edge and caught Yellowtail, Cero and Yellowjack.
We went offshore yesterday and ran 25 miles south of Key West before finding anything to fish on. Finally a piece of debris with 5 or 6 eight to ten pound Dolphin on it. We worked further south, the furthest offshore we have been all summer and found a short weedline with another 4 or 5 gaffer Dolphin on it. Later we found a pallet which was also holding a few gaffers. We ran back in to 600′ and found Frigate birds working over Skipjack Tuna and finished the day by catching 4 Skipjack to add to the dozen Dolphin caught earlier.
We have had a mixed bag of fishing opportunities during the month of September. Offshore a few Dolphin remain. Most of these fish have been between 8 and 10 pounds with a few larger ones mixed in. We are also finding schools of Skipjack Tuna and Blackfin Tuna, generally inside of the wall. Deep dropping in the 600′ range has been productive for Snowy Grouper, Tile Fish and Rosefish. Further inshore there are King Mackerel up to 25 pounds hanging around wrecks and rough bottom in 150′ to 200′. We are also catching Mutton Snapper and Amberjacks in this depth. The reef has been hot and cold for Yellowtail depending on current. There have been plenty of large sharks around as well for those who want to tangle with them.
We have had some decent reef fishing over the last few days. On Thurs Aug 13th we started in 75′ along the bar west of Key West. The 2 lb Yellowtail bit very well and we caught 30 in short order. We also had several Barracuda and a Black Grouper in the 15lb range which was cut off behind the pec fins by a shark before we could boat him. Ballyhoo showed up in the chum slick so we added a couple dozen to the live well before moving to a 160′ ledge. Out in the deeper water we caught several Amberjack, a 25lb King Mack and 1 out of 3 Cobia. On Sat Aug 15th we again fished the reef in the morning before the squally weather which later became tropical storm Claudette forced us back to the dock. The Yellowtail were larger, averaging 3.5 lbs.
