Fishing Reports

Over a week of very strong winds has hampered fishing activities. During the week of wind we fished the reef where we could anchor and lay relatively comfortably in rough seas. With off color water and moderate current the reef has been good for Yellowtail with several days featuring very large flag tails, also Amberjack, Cero, Cobia, Mutton Snapper and Black Grouper. We had Shark problems several days, at one point loosing a 25lb Black Grouper right at the boat to a 300lb class Bull Shark. With the wind finally moderating we have a good color change in 240′ to 125′ with good numbers of Dolphin, Sails and Cobia migrating along the change.

Recent fishing trips have offered a mixed bag of action. Ty Warren of the New England Patriots and his family enjoyed a hot bite of Yellowtail Snapper which were lured to the surface with live pilchard chum. Several Amberjack in the 35lb range attracted to the action were also caught and released. We took an evening Swordfish trip to the middle crack on March 17th but failed to get a bite. We fished west of Coalbin bouy with Al Arthur and jumped off a Sail while anchored reef fishing. Several large Wahoo were also attracted to the chum slick which yielded Cero, Kings, Yellowtail and a 26lb Black Grouper. Overall the Sailfishing remains slow.

We have been out fishing almost every day since mid Feb. We’ve had lots of wind and rough seas with a couple days of calm weather between fronts. Fishing has been up and down with some days yielding lots of action from King Mackerel and Yellowtail Snapper while on other days we have struggled either because conditions were difficult, such as too much current or because there wasn’t a lot biting. We had 3 or 4 days of good action on gaffer Dolphin in 200′ and several other days when we caught quality fish off the kite including smoker kings up to 45lbs and Sailfish. Several days we chummed with live pilchards and produced a few Blackfin Tuna and Little Tunney. We’ve also been catching some Mutton Snapper in water depths between 135′ and 175′ There have been some good color changes with modest numbers of tailing Sailfish and Cobia, and I would expect that we will see good action on the color change after the latest cold front blows itself out.

Water temps have rebounded after two weeks of frigid weather. Fishing has been up and down. On days with high wind and strong current we have found it a challenge. schoolie dolphin, Little tunney, and Kingfish comprise most of the catch on days when the current is too strong to anchor or excessive wind makes kite fishing a challenge. On days with better conditions we have produced some good catches including, Sailfish, Kingfish up to 45lbs, large Yellowtail, AmberJack, Blackfin Tuna and a few Grouper including a 30lb Gag.

The Florida Keys have been experiencing the coldest weather of the winter during the last week. Water temps have fallen into the high 60’s and a persistent northerly wind has driven clean blue water well off shore. King Mackerel have dominated the fishing scene and we have had consistently great action on the Kings over the last week. The larger fish have been in the 30lb class. Live baits fished off the kite are producing spectacular sky rocket bites. The wrecks are producing plenty of Amberjacks and a few grouper, Angler Joe Ryan caught a 27lb Black grouper on Sat which was the largest of the week. Sailfishing is slow with the temporarily poor water, and the Tuna bite has also slowed. We have caught a few large Yellowtail on the reef, but the water is too cool to make the Yellowtail comfortable.

The Tuna fishing is the best it’s been all winter, but the Sailfishing has temporarily slumped. As a result we have been using more pilchards and thread herring for bait and less live ballyhoo. The end of the bar area 18 miles SW of Key West has been a hot spot for the Tuna activity. There has also been an increase in the number of King fish along the reef and we have caught several recently in the 30lb size. Surprizingly there have been a fair number of off season Dolphin available as well. With a current cold snap producing the coldest weather of the winter to date and a steady north wind we may have seen the last of the dolphin for awhile but expect the king fishing to improve and for another influx of sails when the weather settles down. Grouper fishing on the reef will improve as well with the water temps decreasing.

Everything is biting! From Yellowtail to Dolphin to Sailfish to Blackfin Tuna, Key West’s well deserved reputation for fishing variety is on display. The Ballyhoo are swarming on the reef edge and Sailfish are plentiful, chasing the ‘hoo’s in the shallow water. Big Cero’s, Yellowjacks, Mutton Snapper, Dolphin and Tuna are also spraying the bait. When the current is right the reef fishing is outstanding too for Yellowtail and Black Grouper. Swordfish are also in good supply on the 200fm drop when the weather is calm.

Winter fishing action is heating up. The Ballyhoo are schooled up on the patch reefs and packs of Sails are chasing them around. This is very exciting sight fishing, involving casting live baits to fish spotted from the tuna tower. We caught 4 Sails including a triple header all in 25′ of water yesterday. In adition to the Sails we have caught a 20lb Dolphin and a big Mutton Snapper casting to these fish as they chase Ballyhoo. In addition there are hoards of Cero, Baracuda, and Yellow Jacks spraying the Bait. In the deeper water the wreck fishing is productive as well with many freight train bites from fish that can’t be stopped.

Beautiful weather and great fishing for Steven Dean, his wife and their friends from Minnesota today. It started out with a Double header of Sailfish, caught by husband and wife. A dozen Dolphin provided plenty of action for everyone else as on several occasions we had 4 on at a time. We finished the day chumming with live pilchards and caught Yellowtail Snapper, several large Cero, a Mutton Snapper and numerous Barracuda and Yellow Jacks.

We have had cooler weather the last week with NE breezes. Sailfish are beginning to move into the area so we elected to Target them on a morning half day. We caught Thread Herring to use as live bait and set up in 115′ just off nine ft. reef. Within 20 minutes we had a triple header of Sails on and caught 2 out of 3. We caught one undersized Cobia on a deep bait before moving out to a color change in 200′ Out in the deeper water we caught an 8 pound Dolphin before quiting at noon time