Key West Fishing Reports

First time client John Wilber along with his son and friends had a great day on Friday October 28th. The day began with plenty of action from late season Dolphin along a weedline and color change in 250′ of water. Most of the fish were in the 10 to 12 pound range. In the afternoon we worked a strong color change right in front of Sand Key Light in depths from 170′ to 190′ and caught 5 Sailfish including a triple header. We saw a total of 9 Sails in two hours and had bites from 7. These Sails are the typical small fall fish we see every year, average weight about 20 pounds. What they lack in size they more than makeup for in aggression- often attacking the baits in groups of 3 or more.

The SOUTHPAW is back in the water after getting refurbished in the boat yard. Projects included fresh bottom paint and zincs, new cushions where needed, new paint below decks, fresh wax on the hull, and the installation of a new Simrad chart/depth machine. All in all the boat is looking better than ever. We continue to be Key West’s best Charter Boat! On the fishing front, late season Dolphin and early season Sailfish are here. For those with a taste for Snapper, the Yellowtail are also biting well. The included pictures are from a recent Tuna trip to Nova Scotia- 34 giant Bluefins caught in 10 days of fishing.

For those who regularly read my fishing reports, you might recall that back in May I complained that Dolphin fishing had not lived up to expectations during what is usually peak season. With the benefit of hindsight I can now say that the season was simply later than usual this year. We have enjoyed outstanding Dolphin fishing throughout July and it continues into August. We have also caught another Blue Marlin of approximately 250 pounds.

Steady fishing, with a combination of  Dolphin, Bottom fish and an occasional Billfish have kept our anglers satisfied over the last month. Pictured are some recent catches including Sailfish, a Blue Marlin, various species of bottom fish and the ever present Dolphin

Most fishing reports either posted in the newspaper or on private websites are relentlessly upbeat. From reading them you’d think the author never had a slow day and never failed to catch absolutely everything they were after- in huge quantities! The local chambers of commerce may appreciate these reports but fishing enthusiasts are well advised to be a little skeptical. Take the Dolphin season here in Key West as a case in point. The fact is, as of this writing – at what should be the peak of the season, Key West has had a very poor Dolphin run. The fishing has improved a little bit of late, but overall results to date have been disappointing. The number of “gaffer” size fish ( those from 10-20lbs) is down as is the size and number of the schools of smaller “schoolie” dolphin. Almost every day there are a couple of  “slammers” in the 40-50 lb range caught, which garner a lot of press, but you can spend many many days on the water before you get in front of one of these fish. Yes we are catching a dozen or more Dolphin on every trip but not as many larger fish as we’d like. On a more positive note, there have been a decent number of Blue Marlin around, we had another encounter the other day, but never got a hook in the estimated 150 pounder. Also had a small Mako shark eat a schoolie off the hook then vanish. On the reef edge, the Mutton spawn is over after a week of excellent fishing, there should be another push of Muttons on the upcomming June moon

April has been a busy month for us, so I’ve gotten behind on posting reports. We have had many outstanding days of late featuring Sailfish, Blackfin Tuna, Dolphin, Kingfish and Mutton Snapper while slow trolling Kite baits, flat lines and deep lines in depths from 110′ out to 200′. On the wrecks, the Amberjacks are thick and the bite is instantaneous while the Permit are schooled up on the high rocks along the bar. Flag Yellowtail are biting well on the reef edge-many of these fish weigh an honest 4 pounds. As of this writing the Dolphin run has not yet begun but on April 27th while offshore in 500′ looking for Dolphin we successfully released an estimated 300lb Blue Marlin on 30lb class trolling tackle. The fish put on a great show and we hope to post video at a later date.

We have had some wonderful kite fishing over the last several days, raising as many as a dozen Sailfish per day, along with Blackfin Tuna, Dolphin and King Mackerel. On Sunday 3/27 we caught 3 Sails but had 8 others on which either jumped off or otherwise made their escape. We also landed several 20lb Blackfins, a couple “gaffer” Dolphin and both King and Cero Mackerel. On Monday 3/28 we caught 4 sails and several Dolphin all by 1:00pm. We expect this type of fishing to continue all through the month of April as the spring migration gets in full swing.

Over the last week a beautiful color change has developed just offshore of the reef edge, south of Key West. Green water changes to powder blue to dark blue with very strong easterly current on the dark blue side. For 3 or 4 days we have experienced wonderful action along this edge. Sailfish, Tuna, Dolphin and Cobia have all been swimming on top where a well placed cast with a live bait most often produces a bite. Fishing a 3/4 day on Sun March 20th our catch included 4 Sailfish releases, half a dozen Dolphin up to 12lbs,  2 20lb Blackfin Tuna and a 40lb Cobia.
 

The last several days have featured a wide variety of reef fish. King Mackerel remain common and we have had 6 to 10 of these each day. Additionally we have been catching Black Grouper up to 25lbs and some very large Mutton Snapper, today we had one that weighed 18 1/2 lbs. Plenty of Tunny and the occasional Blackfin have also been part of the catch. Add to that Amberjack, Jack Cravalle, various Shark species and Yellowtail Snapper. Our clients over the last week have been uniformly impressed by the amount of action.

We have had a long stretch of very nice weather without the high velocity winds which are usually common this time of year. There are plenty of King Mackerel around including some smokers. Yesterday we had a 41 lber which was caught on 15lb test line. Blackfin Tuna also remain around- they have been averaging 20lbs. Also plenty of Mutton Snapper from schoolie fish of 5-6 lbs up to full grown fish of 15-16 pounds. The wrecks are holding good numbers of Amberjack and a few African Pompano. Overall the water quality has been poor with green off color water predominating. As a result, Sailfish, Wahoo and Dolphin have been scarce.