Key West Fishing Reports

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.

King Mackerel, Little Tunny, Mutton Snapper, Yellowtail Snapper, Blackfin Tuna, Black Grouper and a variety of Shark species

We have been experiencing excellent King fish action over the last 10 days or so. The arrival of the Kings always seems to coincide with Christmas. Large numbers of Kings should remain in our area on through the winter with a peak in February. Pictured is Coach Mike Clark and members of the Merry Mount College swim team with the results of a morning half day trip. The largest “smoker King” weighed 36 lbs and was caught on 15 pound spinning tackle.

We have had enough cold fronts and wind from the N.E. to really spark up the fishing action. The Sailfishing is getting very consistent- we’ve been catching them virtually every day. Blackfin Tuna are also showing up in pretty good numbers. There was a Wahoo bite on the full moon; quality fish in the 40-60 pound range. Also more and more larger King Mackerel. Mix in Mutton Snapper, Black Grouper, Amberjacks and lingering Dolphin for tremendous variety.

Over the last several weeks a succession of cold fronts has brought lots of blustery weather to the Key West area. Inspite of windy conditions the reef fishing has been very productive. Black Grouper, Yellowtail & Mutton Snapper along with Cero, Tunny and King Mackerel are all being caught with regularity. Many of our clients have been skeptical at the beginning of the day about sea conditions only to find that not only does the SOUTHPAW offers a stable fishing platform, but that the reef is alive with fishing action. Les Gregg, his wife Beverly and son Brian display a mixed bag of Dolphin, Black Grouper and Snapper, While Gracie Wilkinson who was celebrating her 16th birthday shows off a Tunny and a good eating Yellowtail.