Yearly Archives: 2012

We continue to catch a few Sailfish along the edge of the reef. This fishing will improve as the weather cools. We are beginning to see huge schools of Ballyhoo on the reef which is also a good sign for the improvement of our Sailfishing. Bottom fishing along the reef edge has been productive. Yellowtail, and Mutton Snapper along with a few Grouper are biting as well as King Mackeral and Cero. We have caught quite a few Cero in the last several days in the 10 pound range, thats a big Cero- and great fighters on light tackle.

As is typical this time of year, we are between seasons so there is a little bit of everything going on. Yellowtail Snapper are biting on the reef, a few Dolphin remain offshore and Tuna and Sailfish are increasing in numbers in the waters just offshore of the reef. In four days of fishing last week we raised 6 Sailfish, 5 of which bit. We also caught Tuna each day. This fishing will continue to improve as the weather cools.

For most of us who are professional fishing Captains, our work is also our avocation. Not surprisingly then we often go fishing for a vacation.
For the third year in a row I spent the better part of a month in Nova Scotia sharpening my Bluefin Tuna fishing skills. We caught a total of 59 fish, all but 5 were tagged and released. They ranged in size from 250lbs to 700lbs.

The Dolphin fishing remains so so, we are putting a catch together every day but it hasn’t been easy. Most of the fish are running 6-10 pounds with a few larger fish in the 20 pound range. After a long drought we have started to see some Blue Marlins again, in fact, three days in a row we either had one on or saw one chasing Dolphin close to the boat.

Along with our catch of Dolphin, we Caught and released a relatively rare White Marlin; unless it was the recently identified “Round Scale” Marlin, which was often referred to as a Hatchet Marlin in the past. Most of the differences are minor taxinomical ones, but the Round Scale or Hatchet Marlin is said to have a squared off top to the dorsal fin as this one does.

After 10 days of almost non stop rain and wind our weather is finally returning to normal. The “deck” as they say is reshuffled and it’s time to get back to fishing, which always improves after a sustained blow like we’ve just had. Dolphin, Tuna and Billfish offshore; Snapper, Grouper, Kings,Jacks and sharks inshore.

We have had hot weather and calm seas for several weeks now. Or main fishing focus remains Dolphin and the action has been inconsistent. On days with well formed weed lines and large patches of weed or floating debris there has been plenty of action from fish in the 6 to 10 pound range with the occasional fish to 30 pounds. In addition to the Dolphin there have been Wahoo around the weed edges and a few Billfish. In the absence of weed or when the Gulf Stream current has been pushed way out we have had some tough days with little action. On shorter days we have been fishing the reef with some success. Yellowtail Snapper and Mutton Snapper continue to bite well with a few King Mackeral mixed in.

Whether you enjoy Blue water fishing or bottom fishing on the reef- it has all been good of late. Sailfish and Dolphin are biting well, as are the Mutton Snapper. These photos were all taken over the last week

Hard east current with bright blue water has moved in just offshore of the reef edge where it meets dirty green water. strong east winds have intensified this effect and created superb springtime “tailing” conditions, so named because migrating gamefish get up on the surface, swimming into the current with their tails literally out of the water. Over the course of the last several days we have seen hundreds of migrating Sailfish! Also plenty of Dolphin and a few Cobia. Several days we’ve had to come in early with sea sick clients- all of whom caught Sailfish in short order. We had 7 sailfish bites in a single hour of fishing on one day and filled the fish box with Dolphin on another day. Who knows how long it will last but our clients are enjoying it while it does

Our fishing of late has featured typical Key West variety. Dolphin, Cobia, Sailfish, Amberjack, and extra large Yellowtail Snapper have all been part of our catch over the last ten days. The key to our success has been to tailor our fishing to the weather conditions. On days with strong to moderate SE wind we have been trolling weedlines and color changes. With E wind and persistent W current we have done very well on the reef edge with Yellowtail. For those with an interest in pulling on somthing really strong, Amberjacks are stacked up on many of the wrecks and biting aggressively.