Fishing Reports

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.

The weather continues to be unseasonably warm here in Key West. As a result we haven’t had “normal” winter fishing which typically features lots of Tuna and Sailfish- both species have been scarce. Fortunately we have such a variety of fish that when one species is not abundant, we can find others which are. Here is a look at some of our catches over the last week.

Fishing has not been easy of late. We’ve had a warm winter resulting in very few Sailfish and Blackfin Tuna. Additionally, live bait has been very scarce. Inspite of these difficulties we are still catching plenty of fish. Here are just a few of our catches from the last 10 days.

If you weren’t out fishing with us during the last week, here is a look at what you missed.