Monthly Archives: May 2011

Most fishing reports either posted in the newspaper or on private websites are relentlessly upbeat. From reading them you’d think the author never had a slow day and never failed to catch absolutely everything they were after- in huge quantities! The local chambers of commerce may appreciate these reports but fishing enthusiasts are well advised to be a little skeptical. Take the Dolphin season here in Key West as a case in point. The fact is, as of this writing – at what should be the peak of the season, Key West has had a very poor Dolphin run. The fishing has improved a little bit of late, but overall results to date have been disappointing. The number of “gaffer” size fish ( those from 10-20lbs) is down as is the size and number of the schools of smaller “schoolie” dolphin. Almost every day there are a couple of  “slammers” in the 40-50 lb range caught, which garner a lot of press, but you can spend many many days on the water before you get in front of one of these fish. Yes we are catching a dozen or more Dolphin on every trip but not as many larger fish as we’d like. On a more positive note, there have been a decent number of Blue Marlin around, we had another encounter the other day, but never got a hook in the estimated 150 pounder. Also had a small Mako shark eat a schoolie off the hook then vanish. On the reef edge, the Mutton spawn is over after a week of excellent fishing, there should be another push of Muttons on the upcomming June moon

April has been a busy month for us, so I’ve gotten behind on posting reports. We have had many outstanding days of late featuring Sailfish, Blackfin Tuna, Dolphin, Kingfish and Mutton Snapper while slow trolling Kite baits, flat lines and deep lines in depths from 110′ out to 200′. On the wrecks, the Amberjacks are thick and the bite is instantaneous while the Permit are schooled up on the high rocks along the bar. Flag Yellowtail are biting well on the reef edge-many of these fish weigh an honest 4 pounds. As of this writing the Dolphin run has not yet begun but on April 27th while offshore in 500′ looking for Dolphin we successfully released an estimated 300lb Blue Marlin on 30lb class trolling tackle. The fish put on a great show and we hope to post video at a later date.