More good fishing over the last week in part attributable to the increased availability of live Thread Herring for bait. Rick Crandell and a group from Chicago had so much fun on Monday with Smoker Kings, Amberjack, Yellowtail Snapper and assorted Cero and Tunny that they booked a second day on Tuesday during which they caught 30 head of large Yellowtail, a 31 lb African Pompano and a limit of Kingfish.
We have had very decent fishing over the last week. A mixed bag of King Mackerel up to the mid 30lb size, Numerous Blacktip Sharks, Cero, Bonito, Yellowtail Snapper, Mutton Snapper and Red and Scamp Grouper have comprised many of the catches. On a couple of days featuring blue water we have caught Sails and Dolphin as well. The Tuna action is subsiding, with only a couple caught during the last week.
John and Dennis Chia flew all the way from England with the hope of chumming Blackfin Tuna. Owing to the sustained cold weather however, no Pilchards were available for chum so we had to go to plan B. We began on the reef edge with live shrimp, jigs and cut bait and produced good action from Cero, King, Tunney and Yellowtail before reanchoring on a patch reef to catch live Ballyhoo. The slow trolled live Ballyhoo produced more Cero and Tunney before finally raising a quadruple header of Sailfish of which we caught and released a triple.
Key West along with the rest of the country has been experiencing an extended cold snap over the last 10 days. High temps in the mid 50’s and blustery North winds have been the typical condition since Christmas, and yet fishing has been outstanding. Most of our trips of late have featured non stop action from a variety of species including King Mackerel, Cero Mackerel, and Little Tunney. Our catch has also included some Tuna, and Yellowtail Snapper. We also released a Goliath Grouper estimated between 150 and 200 lbs. Largest King in the last week was a very respectable 43 pounds. A note about the North wind here in Key West, it does not produce a rough sea because the Keys form a natural lee, again and again our clients were amazed by how calm the seas were in spite of the wind velocity. Stop wishing come out fishing!
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.
