KEY WEST – Blustery conditions may have made fishing conditions rough in our offshore waters this week but it certainly did not keep the fish from biting.
Reports of winds in excess of 30 knots made getting to the fishing grounds near the reef and offshore more difficult. Anglers and guides that braved these conditions were generously rewarded with some great fishing.
“The fishing has kind of been different,” explained Captain Mike Weinhofer. He was referring to the larger dolphin up on the reef chasing ballyhoo. This is so unusual because dolphin notoriously do not feed when there is a north wind.
Weinhofer was finding dolphin in 120 to 180 feet of water. These larger dolphin were of course mixed in with some smaller schoolies which provided some constant action for both Weinhofer on his light tackle boat Compass Rose and for many of the offshore trolling boats working the same area.
The sailfish bite has been more consistent this week and may be due to the rougher weather. Sailfish have been crashing bait on top of the reef off Key West and reports are they are in as little water as 25 feet out to 180 feet. Sailfish can be found between the reef and outer bar.
Another contender in the bite offshore is the wahoo. “The wahoo bite has been fairly consistent but not red hot,” said Weinhofer. He had spent a few days this week fishing for them with live speedos and slow trolling. Several wahoo were caught this week among the Key West fleet including a few in the 30- and 40- pound range.
Wahoo are one of the fastest pelagic species in our Florida Keys waters. They can travel at speeds up to 60 mph. This speed combined with their ability to dump line off a reel in a matter of seconds make the wahoo a very sought after game fish.
Although we have had a fair amount of black fin tuna in the area this fall they have finally started to school up on the Sub to the west of Key West. This area has a wreck we call the Sub and is in approximately 220 feet of water. Light tackle captains will anchor in a line just off the Sub and throw live bait to get the tuna up near the surface.
Both light tackle fisherman and fly fisherman enjoy this season of our Key West offshore fishing because of the tremendous possibilities. Fishing for black fin tuna can be very productive with a well full of live bait. Tossing out net fills of pilchards and in turn hooking one pilchard through the nostrils on a 1/0 to 2/0 hook with a 20 to 30 pound fluorocarbon leader will not only allow the bait to stay more alive but reducing the pound leader will increase the bite ratio. Tuna have big eyes and are sometimes hard to deceive even with a live bait. Reducing the leader to 20 pound test will get more bites but also more fish broken off if they are fought too long and wear through the lighter leader.
One drawback to the tuna bite right now is the numerous sharks present on the Sub and the End of the Bar.
Captain Tom Ault on the Time Out reported some steady action offshore with dolphin and king mackerel. “Kings were on the small side with a few decent ones mixed in,” Ault said. He’s been finding these fish in 120 to 200 feet.
King mackerel are notorious for short strikes on dead bait. Ault mentioned that even though they fish a single hook in their trolled baits, they may make the haywire twist longer so the hook is further back in the bait. Pre-rigged ballyhoo often have two hooks in each bait which is perfect when trolling for king mackerel.
Live bait fishing for kings is another story. A medium to large sized blue runner with a stinger hook in the tail section of the bait will help increase the hook up ratio with these razor toothed fish. A wire leader is always a must.
The 11th Annual Hog’s Breath King Mackerel Fishing Tournament is scheduled for January 26th through 28th. The tournament headquarters are at Murray Marina on Stock Island. For more information please visit Murray Marina’s website at www.murraymarine.com.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Keys winter fishing is a blast!
Key West fishing has had some trials this week with gusty winds from the North east making it difficult to get out on the water.
Fall and early winter fishing anglers should expect to still see larger permit on the flats through the month of November. Permit are not as touchy when it comes to fluctuation in the water temps, giving them more time up on the flats.
We've still been finding plenty of bonefish, and some nice large ones up to 10-pounds in the lower Keys. Bonefish will thin out on the flats as the water temps drop.
The greatest comeback is from the toothy barracuda. This fish spends plenty of time on the flats in the winter months. They can be found in many depths of water and along channel edges awaiting the next sign of a struggling fish to pounce on.
A green, pink or yellow tube lure works best when fishing with light tackle. It's an old reliable lure that can be retrieved slow or fast and is easy to cast long distances. Fly fisherman should not discount the barracuda, they are a tremendous fighting fish and even provide aerobatic jumps when hooked. A fly that looks like a long needlefish works good on a 1/0 or 2/0 hook. Some guides will also use flashy material only in chartreuse, yellow, blue or red. The head is made with epoxy and softex is used to bond the flash material near the hook shank to help avoid foul hooking.
Several other species join the flats community in the Lower Keys during the winter. They include the ever strong Crevalle jack, redfish and snook. Jacks often travel behind sting rays or larger sharks hoping for a morsel of food that gets stirred up from the bottom. Some jacks can be in the 12- to 15- pound range and provide a tremendous fight on a fly rod.
So if you need to get away this winter, think about coming to the Key West area and try your cast at some of our winter time fish.
Fall and early winter fishing anglers should expect to still see larger permit on the flats through the month of November. Permit are not as touchy when it comes to fluctuation in the water temps, giving them more time up on the flats.
We've still been finding plenty of bonefish, and some nice large ones up to 10-pounds in the lower Keys. Bonefish will thin out on the flats as the water temps drop.
The greatest comeback is from the toothy barracuda. This fish spends plenty of time on the flats in the winter months. They can be found in many depths of water and along channel edges awaiting the next sign of a struggling fish to pounce on.
A green, pink or yellow tube lure works best when fishing with light tackle. It's an old reliable lure that can be retrieved slow or fast and is easy to cast long distances. Fly fisherman should not discount the barracuda, they are a tremendous fighting fish and even provide aerobatic jumps when hooked. A fly that looks like a long needlefish works good on a 1/0 or 2/0 hook. Some guides will also use flashy material only in chartreuse, yellow, blue or red. The head is made with epoxy and softex is used to bond the flash material near the hook shank to help avoid foul hooking.
Several other species join the flats community in the Lower Keys during the winter. They include the ever strong Crevalle jack, redfish and snook. Jacks often travel behind sting rays or larger sharks hoping for a morsel of food that gets stirred up from the bottom. Some jacks can be in the 12- to 15- pound range and provide a tremendous fight on a fly rod.
So if you need to get away this winter, think about coming to the Key West area and try your cast at some of our winter time fish.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
October Fall Fishing - Lower Florida Keys
KEY WEST – The month of October serves as a turning point for our fishing. Cool fronts start to drop down near the Keys more frequently and the action offshore takes a turn for the better.
The offshore fishing has still been inconsistent for pelagic species but the good news is there have been reports of sailfish, dolphin and wahoo being caught off Key West.
Captain Jay Weed on the Lucky Charm out of the Historic Seaport in downtown Key West reported his anglers released two sailfish this week. The sailfish were estimated to be 25- and 35- pounds.
Generally the sailfish that are found in our waters during the fall and winter months are smaller than the fish we will encounter in the spring. Don’t under estimate these smaller sailfish though, they still provide plenty of entertainment when hooked.
Weed’s anglers also landed several small dolphin, a few tuna and bonito and a kingfish on the same morning trip.
“It’s been up and down,” Weed remarked about their luck with fishing this week. “You either find a few things floating or not, it’s hit or miss,” Weed added.
Weed has been fishing everywhere from the Wall, which is about 18 miles south of Key West, to the reef where he’s managed to pick up some bonito, bar jacks and kingfish. He had made the 18- mile trek but found that much of their better fishing was inside of Wall.
One of the other boats in the Lucky Fleet, the Lucky Strike which is owned and operated by Captain Keith Hebert has had similar luck. Hebert reportedly had a nice catch of smaller blackfin tuna, kingfish, bonito and dolphin.
You can reach Captain Jay Weed on the Lucky Charm at 305-304-0208 or visit him in Key West at the Historic Seaport behind Turtle Kraals restaurant.
Captain Tony Murphy on the Key Limey out of Murray Marina also had some luck with blackfin tuna this week. Murphy mentioned that he’d been fishing every day this week and was doing something different each day. Murphy had just returned from a fly fishing trip where his anglers were interested in catching sharks on fly. Earlier in the week he fished the reef for yellowtail snapper.
This time of the year can be tough for offshore fishing. Captains will try several methods of fishing and switch between them in order to show their anglers a good time and bend a rod.
For more information visit his website at www.keylimey.com.
The reef fishing has reportedly slacked off over the past few days. It had been a strong bet for yellowtail snapper and grouper. The warm water of the Gulfstream could be a contributor. The blue water off Western Dry Rocks is reportedly in very close.
Captain Chris Johnson of SeaSquared Charters out of Marathon has been spending some time in the Gulf this week trying to keep his anglers busy.
Angler Curt Kenney of Chicago, IL released several goliath groupers on light tackle gear while fishing with Johnson. Kenney and his cousin, Jack Weiler of Long Beach, CA also caught several nice mangrove snappers and gag grouper.
Although the offshore fishing has plenty of room for improvement, the flats are still providing good action at least during the early morning and evening hours.
The tides have been just right for wading during the early morning tide change in the backcountry off Sugarloaf Key. If you are not in search of rolling tarpon, a hard sand flat at the beginning of the incoming tide is the place to be.
October hopefully brings some cooler water to the flats. Any lower temperatures will inevitably bring more fish back on to the flats.
Some of the most exciting fishing can happen during this time of year. Large barracuda make their way back onto the flats in greater numbers. There are more sharks cruising the flats, stirring up the bottom in search of food. The crevalle jacks will often follow sharks and sting rays so be sure to take a cast or two near them with a floating plug or popper.
The offshore fishing has still been inconsistent for pelagic species but the good news is there have been reports of sailfish, dolphin and wahoo being caught off Key West.
Captain Jay Weed on the Lucky Charm out of the Historic Seaport in downtown Key West reported his anglers released two sailfish this week. The sailfish were estimated to be 25- and 35- pounds.
Generally the sailfish that are found in our waters during the fall and winter months are smaller than the fish we will encounter in the spring. Don’t under estimate these smaller sailfish though, they still provide plenty of entertainment when hooked.
Weed’s anglers also landed several small dolphin, a few tuna and bonito and a kingfish on the same morning trip.
“It’s been up and down,” Weed remarked about their luck with fishing this week. “You either find a few things floating or not, it’s hit or miss,” Weed added.
Weed has been fishing everywhere from the Wall, which is about 18 miles south of Key West, to the reef where he’s managed to pick up some bonito, bar jacks and kingfish. He had made the 18- mile trek but found that much of their better fishing was inside of Wall.
One of the other boats in the Lucky Fleet, the Lucky Strike which is owned and operated by Captain Keith Hebert has had similar luck. Hebert reportedly had a nice catch of smaller blackfin tuna, kingfish, bonito and dolphin.
You can reach Captain Jay Weed on the Lucky Charm at 305-304-0208 or visit him in Key West at the Historic Seaport behind Turtle Kraals restaurant.
Captain Tony Murphy on the Key Limey out of Murray Marina also had some luck with blackfin tuna this week. Murphy mentioned that he’d been fishing every day this week and was doing something different each day. Murphy had just returned from a fly fishing trip where his anglers were interested in catching sharks on fly. Earlier in the week he fished the reef for yellowtail snapper.
This time of the year can be tough for offshore fishing. Captains will try several methods of fishing and switch between them in order to show their anglers a good time and bend a rod.
For more information visit his website at www.keylimey.com.
The reef fishing has reportedly slacked off over the past few days. It had been a strong bet for yellowtail snapper and grouper. The warm water of the Gulfstream could be a contributor. The blue water off Western Dry Rocks is reportedly in very close.
Captain Chris Johnson of SeaSquared Charters out of Marathon has been spending some time in the Gulf this week trying to keep his anglers busy.
Angler Curt Kenney of Chicago, IL released several goliath groupers on light tackle gear while fishing with Johnson. Kenney and his cousin, Jack Weiler of Long Beach, CA also caught several nice mangrove snappers and gag grouper.
Although the offshore fishing has plenty of room for improvement, the flats are still providing good action at least during the early morning and evening hours.
The tides have been just right for wading during the early morning tide change in the backcountry off Sugarloaf Key. If you are not in search of rolling tarpon, a hard sand flat at the beginning of the incoming tide is the place to be.
October hopefully brings some cooler water to the flats. Any lower temperatures will inevitably bring more fish back on to the flats.
Some of the most exciting fishing can happen during this time of year. Large barracuda make their way back onto the flats in greater numbers. There are more sharks cruising the flats, stirring up the bottom in search of food. The crevalle jacks will often follow sharks and sting rays so be sure to take a cast or two near them with a floating plug or popper.
Late September 2006 - Key West Fishing Report
KEY WEST – As the latter part of September arrives there is always the possibility of more fishing options in the Lower Keys.
This time of the year can be a favorite for flats fishing, especially in the evening hours for tailing bonefish.
There are larger single fish that can easily be in the 8- pound range. A rising tide will bring these fish up shallow to feed on shrimp and crabs. For a soft presentation a flat head jig with a shrimp tail or just a live shrimp on a hook with a split shot works good.
For fly fishing it is best to have flies in a variety of weights and sizes. Have plenty of Clouser Minnow patterns with bead chain eyes for those super shallow water fish, as well as heavier flies for deeper water.
Permit have become more active on the flats. Fall is a great time for permit fishing but a little wind makes conditions better for sight fishing for them. Some guides like the wind to be upwards of 10 knots giving the advantage of getting the angler within casting range without spooking the fish.
Inshore fishing is also popular in fall for baby tarpon. For the best results plan on being in your baby tarpon spot by sun up. It is apparent that most of the larger tarpon have moved on up the coast leaving the 20- pound fish behind to set up residency under mangrove roots and tucked away corners of the backcountry.
The best time to look for these tarpon hideaways is during a lower stage of the tide. The fish tend to stay put until the tide is high. High tide is like recess for baby tarpon, free time to roam and seek out food.
Captain John Smouse on the Flat Out out of A&B Marina has had some luck with these smaller tarpon early in the morning and in the early evening hours just before sunset.
Smouse has his best luck with the bite using a red and white plug. “It gets the most bites,” Smouse said. This plug suspends just below the surface but others including Bagley’s finger mullet in black/silver or tan work well too.
Smouse also works the deck and spends time as captain of the Triple Time, also out of A&B Marina.
The Triple Time had a remarkable summertime catch this week consisting of wahoo up to 46- pounds and an 18- pound dolphin. Smouse was at the helm during this trip and said they went 2 for 3 on wahoo.
The fish were hooked just south of Sand Key in 400- feet of water on ballyhoo, the wahoo were taken on a downrigger.
Late September and into October we should start to see the beginning of our fall pattern of fish come through. This includes wahoo, sailfish, larger dolphin and blackfin tuna.
Captain Tom Ault on the Time Out reported that the wreck and reef fishing has been fair for amberjack and yellowtail. Ault explained that there was fair action for yellowtail this week. He has not only been anchoring to fish for them but deep trolling off the edge of the reef.
Ault is looking forward to some fall weather. “A little wind would help,” Ault said. We’ve had some calm and still days in the Lower Keys this week and it does not make for good surface fishing.
General advice is to get out early for the best fishing. The majority of the fishing is done around 10 A.M.
Dolphin fishing has still been spotty and varies from day to day. The color change is reportedly in close to the west of Key West and there is an eastbound current.
October should hold some better dolphin fishing with more fish in the 5- to 15- pound range. “The dolphin grow up a bit,” Ault remarked.
This time of the year can be a favorite for flats fishing, especially in the evening hours for tailing bonefish.
There are larger single fish that can easily be in the 8- pound range. A rising tide will bring these fish up shallow to feed on shrimp and crabs. For a soft presentation a flat head jig with a shrimp tail or just a live shrimp on a hook with a split shot works good.
For fly fishing it is best to have flies in a variety of weights and sizes. Have plenty of Clouser Minnow patterns with bead chain eyes for those super shallow water fish, as well as heavier flies for deeper water.
Permit have become more active on the flats. Fall is a great time for permit fishing but a little wind makes conditions better for sight fishing for them. Some guides like the wind to be upwards of 10 knots giving the advantage of getting the angler within casting range without spooking the fish.
Inshore fishing is also popular in fall for baby tarpon. For the best results plan on being in your baby tarpon spot by sun up. It is apparent that most of the larger tarpon have moved on up the coast leaving the 20- pound fish behind to set up residency under mangrove roots and tucked away corners of the backcountry.
The best time to look for these tarpon hideaways is during a lower stage of the tide. The fish tend to stay put until the tide is high. High tide is like recess for baby tarpon, free time to roam and seek out food.
Captain John Smouse on the Flat Out out of A&B Marina has had some luck with these smaller tarpon early in the morning and in the early evening hours just before sunset.
Smouse has his best luck with the bite using a red and white plug. “It gets the most bites,” Smouse said. This plug suspends just below the surface but others including Bagley’s finger mullet in black/silver or tan work well too.
Smouse also works the deck and spends time as captain of the Triple Time, also out of A&B Marina.
The Triple Time had a remarkable summertime catch this week consisting of wahoo up to 46- pounds and an 18- pound dolphin. Smouse was at the helm during this trip and said they went 2 for 3 on wahoo.
The fish were hooked just south of Sand Key in 400- feet of water on ballyhoo, the wahoo were taken on a downrigger.
Late September and into October we should start to see the beginning of our fall pattern of fish come through. This includes wahoo, sailfish, larger dolphin and blackfin tuna.
Captain Tom Ault on the Time Out reported that the wreck and reef fishing has been fair for amberjack and yellowtail. Ault explained that there was fair action for yellowtail this week. He has not only been anchoring to fish for them but deep trolling off the edge of the reef.
Ault is looking forward to some fall weather. “A little wind would help,” Ault said. We’ve had some calm and still days in the Lower Keys this week and it does not make for good surface fishing.
General advice is to get out early for the best fishing. The majority of the fishing is done around 10 A.M.
Dolphin fishing has still been spotty and varies from day to day. The color change is reportedly in close to the west of Key West and there is an eastbound current.
October should hold some better dolphin fishing with more fish in the 5- to 15- pound range. “The dolphin grow up a bit,” Ault remarked.
Redbone S.L.A.M. Results - Sept 2006
KEY WEST – The Redbone Celebrity Tournament Series kicked off this weekend in Key West. The weekend events consisted of a one day tournament for fly fishing only called the Super Fly held on Friday and the two day Mercury S.L.A.M. tournament.
September has been good to us so far. Good Key West weather and good fishing, particularly for the grand slam trio of tarpon, bonefish and permit. The goal for anglers this weekend was to catch a slam to rack up the most points.
Fourteen boats participated in the Super Fly event on Friday. Tournament Director Gary Ellis explained that this tournament was devised to give the fly fishing anglers another chance to fish one additional day that was for fly anglers only. “It gives the guides another paid day of fishing,” Ellis said as he read off the rules for the tournament.
The anglers and guides both do their part to help fight Cystic Fibrosis. The Redbone is dedicated to raising money for this disease. Each guide donates one day of fishing for the cause, and the majority of the angler entry fees also go to charity.
The tournament is unique because the flies used must all be the same pattern but can be tied in different sizes for each of the three species.
There were no grand slams caught in the Super Fly but Mo Smith from Cordova, TN caught 6 bonefish and 2 tarpon to win the event. Smith was fishing with Captain Mark Krowka from Islamorada. The runner up award went to Nicolas Pierce from Wilmington, NC who was guided by Captain Justin Rea.
The Mercury S.L.A.M. (Southernmost Light Tackle Angler Masters) was a complete success attracting celebrity anglers and seasoned Redbone participants. Celebrities included baseball hall of fame great Wade Boggs, astronaut Bruce Melnick, Carmel Cafiero of Fox 7 News, retired NFL players Manny Fernandez and Mark Cooper, Bill Hurst and Joey Cornblit.
There were 35 boats total that fished the event and the total of released fish was 91. This was quite an increase from the 2005 event where 41 fish were released.
Several guides said the fishing was very good for all three species. And although some of the fish released did not meet the 18- inch minimum measurement for the tournament, the anglers seemed overjoyed to be actively fishing for the better part of each tournament day.
Cal Collier, Jr. of Atlanta, GA had his own tactics for racking up points in the fly division. Collier spent part of day two of the tournament wading for bonefish. He was successful in landing one bonefish on fly, while the second one surged as he was landing it and broke off. Collier also released a permit that day. Collier and is father, Cal Collier, Sr. were fishing with Captain Bryan Yates of Key West.
The final results for the S.L.A.M. left Troy Pruett of Naples with the title of Grand Champion Angler. Pruett released 9 tarpon, 2 bonefish and 2 permit with the help of his guide Captain Rich Tudor.
Bill Hurst, former Florida Marlins pitcher, was awarded the Celebrity Grand Champion award. Hurst was fishing with Captain Andy Thompson.
The Grand Champion Lady Angler award went to Linda Denkert of Islamorada. She was guided by her husband, Captain Dave Denkert.
Team Grand Champions were Jim Boker and Jim Hoefert both of Tavernier, guided by Captain Tim Hoover.
The Fly Division Champion was awarded to Mike Allen who was fishing with Captain Will Benson.
It is obvious by the number of fish caught in this tournament that the flats are alive in the Lower Keys. Anglers and their guides traveled from Marathon to the Marquesas in search of victory.
Offshore fishing has been slow this week. There are still some smaller mahi-mahi around in close and reportedly there are some larger mahi out past the wall.
Sportfishing charters and light tackle boats are fishing deep wrecks for mutton snapper, grouper, amberjack and yellowtail. Reportedly the patch reefs at Western Dry Rocks and further west of Sand Key have been good for yellowtail snapper. The bite seems to be good early in the day and the water has been clear. Be prepared to move around in search of cloudy water to help the bite. All types of bait are working including squid, fresh ballyhoo, silverside minnows or glass minnows, and strips of bonito.
September has been good to us so far. Good Key West weather and good fishing, particularly for the grand slam trio of tarpon, bonefish and permit. The goal for anglers this weekend was to catch a slam to rack up the most points.
Fourteen boats participated in the Super Fly event on Friday. Tournament Director Gary Ellis explained that this tournament was devised to give the fly fishing anglers another chance to fish one additional day that was for fly anglers only. “It gives the guides another paid day of fishing,” Ellis said as he read off the rules for the tournament.
The anglers and guides both do their part to help fight Cystic Fibrosis. The Redbone is dedicated to raising money for this disease. Each guide donates one day of fishing for the cause, and the majority of the angler entry fees also go to charity.
The tournament is unique because the flies used must all be the same pattern but can be tied in different sizes for each of the three species.
There were no grand slams caught in the Super Fly but Mo Smith from Cordova, TN caught 6 bonefish and 2 tarpon to win the event. Smith was fishing with Captain Mark Krowka from Islamorada. The runner up award went to Nicolas Pierce from Wilmington, NC who was guided by Captain Justin Rea.
The Mercury S.L.A.M. (Southernmost Light Tackle Angler Masters) was a complete success attracting celebrity anglers and seasoned Redbone participants. Celebrities included baseball hall of fame great Wade Boggs, astronaut Bruce Melnick, Carmel Cafiero of Fox 7 News, retired NFL players Manny Fernandez and Mark Cooper, Bill Hurst and Joey Cornblit.
There were 35 boats total that fished the event and the total of released fish was 91. This was quite an increase from the 2005 event where 41 fish were released.
Several guides said the fishing was very good for all three species. And although some of the fish released did not meet the 18- inch minimum measurement for the tournament, the anglers seemed overjoyed to be actively fishing for the better part of each tournament day.
Cal Collier, Jr. of Atlanta, GA had his own tactics for racking up points in the fly division. Collier spent part of day two of the tournament wading for bonefish. He was successful in landing one bonefish on fly, while the second one surged as he was landing it and broke off. Collier also released a permit that day. Collier and is father, Cal Collier, Sr. were fishing with Captain Bryan Yates of Key West.
The final results for the S.L.A.M. left Troy Pruett of Naples with the title of Grand Champion Angler. Pruett released 9 tarpon, 2 bonefish and 2 permit with the help of his guide Captain Rich Tudor.
Bill Hurst, former Florida Marlins pitcher, was awarded the Celebrity Grand Champion award. Hurst was fishing with Captain Andy Thompson.
The Grand Champion Lady Angler award went to Linda Denkert of Islamorada. She was guided by her husband, Captain Dave Denkert.
Team Grand Champions were Jim Boker and Jim Hoefert both of Tavernier, guided by Captain Tim Hoover.
The Fly Division Champion was awarded to Mike Allen who was fishing with Captain Will Benson.
It is obvious by the number of fish caught in this tournament that the flats are alive in the Lower Keys. Anglers and their guides traveled from Marathon to the Marquesas in search of victory.
Offshore fishing has been slow this week. There are still some smaller mahi-mahi around in close and reportedly there are some larger mahi out past the wall.
Sportfishing charters and light tackle boats are fishing deep wrecks for mutton snapper, grouper, amberjack and yellowtail. Reportedly the patch reefs at Western Dry Rocks and further west of Sand Key have been good for yellowtail snapper. The bite seems to be good early in the day and the water has been clear. Be prepared to move around in search of cloudy water to help the bite. All types of bait are working including squid, fresh ballyhoo, silverside minnows or glass minnows, and strips of bonito.
Fishing August 2006
KEY WEST – Fishing conditions prior to the arrival of Tropical Storm Ernesto were good for both inshore and offshore action.
August and September are the hottest months here in the Lower Keys. There can definitely be some lull in the fishing action because of the water temperatures that can reach close to 90 degrees.
This week the offshore fishing was decent. Mahi-mahi are still the staple fish in the blue water. Clearer water and better defined weed lines are down to the west of Sand Key to the Tail End Buoy.
Captain Brian Welzenbach of the Andy Griffiths Charter Fleet out of Mayberry Marina on Stock Island spent this week trolling the clear blue waters west of Key West and bottom fishing during the evenings. Welzenbach fishes multiple day charters to the Marquesas and Dry Tortugas fishing grounds.
Welzenbach’s charter this week spent the duration of the trip west of Key West trolling for mahi and wahoo. Welzenbach had a 47- pound wahoo to add to 26 mahi the group caught on the way to their final destination west of the Marquesas atoll.
Welzenbach noted that fishing conditions have remained consistent for the month of August and bottom fishing has been excellent.
Their catch consisted of yellowtail snapper, mangrove snapper, porgy, sharks, kingfish and four different species of grouper.
“It is not really the time of year for grouper but we still manage to catch a few,” Welzenbach said. Grouper generally like the cooler water and are more active in shallow during the winter months.
A trip to the fishing grounds west of the Marquesas Keys and the Dry Tortugas is a great experience for anglers who want to see the Florida Keys from a different perspective. The fishing opportunities are abundant for bottom fish like snapper and grouper.
Visit Captain Andy Griffiths website at www.fishandy.com or contact Captain Brian Welzenbach at 305-797-7525.
There has been equal action closer to Key West for grouper, amberjack, barracudas and blacktip sharks. Captain Bennett Taylor on the Outer Limits out of A&B Marina in Key West reports he’s had some great fishing in 200-300 feet of water south of Key West.
Taylor had four black grouper up to 24- pounds this week on an afternoon charter. It was a bit frustrating because only a handful of his deep drops would make it all the way to the bottom. Several times they were cut off by blacktip sharks or barracudas.
Taylor said at one point they put on a circle hook and landed a few sharks.
Deep drop fishing in several hundred feet of water can be tricky. As line comes off the reel it must be regulated by the angler’s thumb on a level wind reel or pinched between the thumb and index finger when using a spinning reel.
Judging how much weight to use depends on the current and the depth of water you are fishing.
Inshore and flats fishing in the Lower Keys still provides the opportunity for a grand slam. The grand slam consists of the tarpon, bonefish and permit.
Tarpon are surprisingly still a major player on the flats even in late August. There are a few big tarpon traveling the outer flats but most action this week has been fish in the 20- pound range.
Captain Eric Bonar, a flats guide out of Sugarloaf Key said he’s been concentrating on the bonefish this week. “Finding tarpon is a bonus,” Bonar said. Bonar has been a guide in the Keys since 1989 and is a native to South Florida.
The flats fish the best in the early morning hours and action will taper off in the afternoon. This pattern will continue until cooler weather settles in, hopefully in mid September.
You can reach Captain Eric Bonar at 305-305-5776 or visit his website at www.backcountryguide.net.
August and September are the hottest months here in the Lower Keys. There can definitely be some lull in the fishing action because of the water temperatures that can reach close to 90 degrees.
This week the offshore fishing was decent. Mahi-mahi are still the staple fish in the blue water. Clearer water and better defined weed lines are down to the west of Sand Key to the Tail End Buoy.
Captain Brian Welzenbach of the Andy Griffiths Charter Fleet out of Mayberry Marina on Stock Island spent this week trolling the clear blue waters west of Key West and bottom fishing during the evenings. Welzenbach fishes multiple day charters to the Marquesas and Dry Tortugas fishing grounds.
Welzenbach’s charter this week spent the duration of the trip west of Key West trolling for mahi and wahoo. Welzenbach had a 47- pound wahoo to add to 26 mahi the group caught on the way to their final destination west of the Marquesas atoll.
Welzenbach noted that fishing conditions have remained consistent for the month of August and bottom fishing has been excellent.
Their catch consisted of yellowtail snapper, mangrove snapper, porgy, sharks, kingfish and four different species of grouper.
“It is not really the time of year for grouper but we still manage to catch a few,” Welzenbach said. Grouper generally like the cooler water and are more active in shallow during the winter months.
A trip to the fishing grounds west of the Marquesas Keys and the Dry Tortugas is a great experience for anglers who want to see the Florida Keys from a different perspective. The fishing opportunities are abundant for bottom fish like snapper and grouper.
Visit Captain Andy Griffiths website at www.fishandy.com or contact Captain Brian Welzenbach at 305-797-7525.
There has been equal action closer to Key West for grouper, amberjack, barracudas and blacktip sharks. Captain Bennett Taylor on the Outer Limits out of A&B Marina in Key West reports he’s had some great fishing in 200-300 feet of water south of Key West.
Taylor had four black grouper up to 24- pounds this week on an afternoon charter. It was a bit frustrating because only a handful of his deep drops would make it all the way to the bottom. Several times they were cut off by blacktip sharks or barracudas.
Taylor said at one point they put on a circle hook and landed a few sharks.
Deep drop fishing in several hundred feet of water can be tricky. As line comes off the reel it must be regulated by the angler’s thumb on a level wind reel or pinched between the thumb and index finger when using a spinning reel.
Judging how much weight to use depends on the current and the depth of water you are fishing.
Inshore and flats fishing in the Lower Keys still provides the opportunity for a grand slam. The grand slam consists of the tarpon, bonefish and permit.
Tarpon are surprisingly still a major player on the flats even in late August. There are a few big tarpon traveling the outer flats but most action this week has been fish in the 20- pound range.
Captain Eric Bonar, a flats guide out of Sugarloaf Key said he’s been concentrating on the bonefish this week. “Finding tarpon is a bonus,” Bonar said. Bonar has been a guide in the Keys since 1989 and is a native to South Florida.
The flats fish the best in the early morning hours and action will taper off in the afternoon. This pattern will continue until cooler weather settles in, hopefully in mid September.
You can reach Captain Eric Bonar at 305-305-5776 or visit his website at www.backcountryguide.net.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Key West Fishing Report - August 2006
KEY WEST – August heat has finally taking over the Lower Keys this week. Up until a few days ago we had some beautiful conditions for fishing and just general activities on the water.
Offshore fishing has been a little slow this week but still has some nice highlights. As we moved through another full moon phase there were a few reported blue marlin hooked up, one was on the Captain Conch out of Charter Boat Row in Key West. It’s safe to say that during our summer months it would not be uncommon to come across a blue while fishing out past 600- feet all the way to the Wall, about 18- miles off Key West.
Trolling the blue water will still produce some smaller dolphin up to 15- pounds, but reportedly there are many more much smaller dolphin in shore.
Captain Rob Nevius on Jerkwater out of Hurricane Hole Marina has been spending his time close to the reef edge fishing for yellowtail, grouper and even the occasional kingfish.
The inshore currents have been weak so choosing your day to fish the reef is important. Nevius mentioned there have been some nice flag yellowtail available. The best bet for most of our fishing these days is in the early morning before the water heats up too much.
Nevius says he’s hoping the gulfstream will push in closer to Key West again soon, that will definitely help the fishing pick up a bit.
Deeper wrecks have been holding some larger amberjack. In addition to picking off a few nice black grouper, the amberjack gives an arm-burning fight.
I cannot say I am preferential to the inshore and shallow water fishing; I love all the fishing we have to offer here in the Keys. But lately, the flats seem to be where it’s at.
There is something to be said about the beauty of the fin of a feeding fish breaking the surface of slick calm water. It’s very exciting to see and even more exciting when you’ve made what could be the best cast in your entire life and the fish grabs your offering and runs away with it.
The flats of the Lower Keys still hold all the coveted grand slam species. That includes the tarpon, permit and bonefish. This time of the year the flats get very hot towards mid-day so early morning fishing is also a must on the flats.
According to Capt. Doug Kilpatrick “You’ve got to get them early.” Kilpatrick has been pre-fishing with his angler for the Little Palm Island Slam Tournament. He says that our nice weather and some of the rain showers have kept conditions good.
Kilpatrick also contributes the good tarpon fishing west of Key West and to the east in the backcountry of the Lower Keys to our calm weather.
His pre-fishing tactic: fish a handful of spots, hook a fish and move on. His theory makes a lot of sense since if the fish are obviously there, save some for your tournament days.
Bonefish are making a strong comeback to the flats this week. They can also move off to deeper water if the flats get too hot. I’ve seen them in deeper water congregated in some sort of a spawning ritual. They will still take a bait or fly during this time, but hang on because the likelihood of being broken off is much greater.
Captain Tim Carlisle, a veteran flats guide out of Sugarloaf Marina, was also pre-fishing for the Slam tournament this week. He did manage to pull off one slam yesterday.
He mentioned that there were not many permit around where he was fishing. Permit fishing can be a struggle but hopefully these guys will find some on the channel edges or floating in a little deeper water.
As we skate through August and into the fall season, look for the flats to really come alive for bones and permit. It’s a perfect time of year for tailing fish on the flats.
September 8th – 10th are the dates for the Mercury Redbone S.L.A.M. tournament. This tournament focuses on the flats species and both light tackle and fly anglers are welcome. For more information contact the Redbone at 305-664-2002.
Offshore fishing has been a little slow this week but still has some nice highlights. As we moved through another full moon phase there were a few reported blue marlin hooked up, one was on the Captain Conch out of Charter Boat Row in Key West. It’s safe to say that during our summer months it would not be uncommon to come across a blue while fishing out past 600- feet all the way to the Wall, about 18- miles off Key West.
Trolling the blue water will still produce some smaller dolphin up to 15- pounds, but reportedly there are many more much smaller dolphin in shore.
Captain Rob Nevius on Jerkwater out of Hurricane Hole Marina has been spending his time close to the reef edge fishing for yellowtail, grouper and even the occasional kingfish.
The inshore currents have been weak so choosing your day to fish the reef is important. Nevius mentioned there have been some nice flag yellowtail available. The best bet for most of our fishing these days is in the early morning before the water heats up too much.
Nevius says he’s hoping the gulfstream will push in closer to Key West again soon, that will definitely help the fishing pick up a bit.
Deeper wrecks have been holding some larger amberjack. In addition to picking off a few nice black grouper, the amberjack gives an arm-burning fight.
I cannot say I am preferential to the inshore and shallow water fishing; I love all the fishing we have to offer here in the Keys. But lately, the flats seem to be where it’s at.
There is something to be said about the beauty of the fin of a feeding fish breaking the surface of slick calm water. It’s very exciting to see and even more exciting when you’ve made what could be the best cast in your entire life and the fish grabs your offering and runs away with it.
The flats of the Lower Keys still hold all the coveted grand slam species. That includes the tarpon, permit and bonefish. This time of the year the flats get very hot towards mid-day so early morning fishing is also a must on the flats.
According to Capt. Doug Kilpatrick “You’ve got to get them early.” Kilpatrick has been pre-fishing with his angler for the Little Palm Island Slam Tournament. He says that our nice weather and some of the rain showers have kept conditions good.
Kilpatrick also contributes the good tarpon fishing west of Key West and to the east in the backcountry of the Lower Keys to our calm weather.
His pre-fishing tactic: fish a handful of spots, hook a fish and move on. His theory makes a lot of sense since if the fish are obviously there, save some for your tournament days.
Bonefish are making a strong comeback to the flats this week. They can also move off to deeper water if the flats get too hot. I’ve seen them in deeper water congregated in some sort of a spawning ritual. They will still take a bait or fly during this time, but hang on because the likelihood of being broken off is much greater.
Captain Tim Carlisle, a veteran flats guide out of Sugarloaf Marina, was also pre-fishing for the Slam tournament this week. He did manage to pull off one slam yesterday.
He mentioned that there were not many permit around where he was fishing. Permit fishing can be a struggle but hopefully these guys will find some on the channel edges or floating in a little deeper water.
As we skate through August and into the fall season, look for the flats to really come alive for bones and permit. It’s a perfect time of year for tailing fish on the flats.
September 8th – 10th are the dates for the Mercury Redbone S.L.A.M. tournament. This tournament focuses on the flats species and both light tackle and fly anglers are welcome. For more information contact the Redbone at 305-664-2002.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Key West Fishing Report - July 2006
KEY WEST – This week has been a wet one in the Lower Keys. Those developing afternoon showers are just a fact of life this time of year. It can sometimes put a damper on the day but for the most part the clouds are scattered and can be worked around pretty easily.
I actually had the opportunity to meet our Upper Keys writer, Mark Krowka in the confines of Papa Joe’s tackle shop in Islamorada this weekend. We had some severe thunderstorms in the area so several guides and their anglers were enjoying some coffee and sharing a few fish stories while the clouds passed.
I had booked a few days with Captain Steve Freidman over the holiday weekend in hopes of getting my husband, Capt. Justin Rea, a little time on the bow. It’s a great tactic for me since my skiff poling skills are still ‘in development’ and we get to see some different water and some big tailing bonefish. Although we do have plenty of bonefish in the lower Keys, they don’t tail as much for some reason.
Freidman has been fishing the Keys for many years and has made Islamorada his home. I enjoyed just sitting back and watching angler and guide work together to get the fly in front of the fish.
One word of advice to anglers new to the sport: communicate with your guide. The more you work together to spot fish and make an accurate cast in the path of fish, the more success and enjoyment you’ll get out of the experience.
This week was not a total wash-out for anglers in the Third Annual Conch Republic Ladies Dolphin Tournament. Several nice fish were weighed in, but the weather kept a few boats from venturing out for the one day tournament. All in the entire tournament was a success with 55 women anglers on 22 boats.
Lili DiStefano, guided by her husband, Captain Jeff DiStefano on the Second Chance out of Oceanside Marina managed a last minute remarkable catch – a 52.9- pound dolphin. “We hooked the fish at the last possible minute,” Lili DeStefano said. The clock on the GPS read 3:17 PM and DiStefano knew there was little time left to land this size fish and make it back to the dock to weigh in the fish.
“It was exciting and a good story to tell but I wish I had more time to enjoy the catch,” she added. They arrived back at the Conch Republic Seafood Company dock with ten minutes to spare. Team Second Chance took first prize for heaviest fish.
Other notable catches in the heaviest fish division include Mary Phund with a 32.2- pound fish, and Lara Rutskin with her 28.6- pound catch. Rutskin’s team fishing on the Equity Too also won first prize in the aggregate weight division with a combined weight of 50.9- pounds.
Captain Brice Barr on the Double Down out of Charter Boat Row in Key West also participated in the ladies tournament with is wife, Holly. He mentioned that fishing has slowed down a bit but conditions are still very good for fishing off Key West.
“There is plenty of current, bait and weeds but not a ton of fish,” remarked Barr. He’s been out fishing nearly every day and has found mahi-mahi up to 18- pounds but many more that are in the 8- pound range. Barr mentioned that he’s tried to change up the fishing a bit with his anglers and has had some success fishing the reef for mangrove snapper, yellowtail and muttons. “The water is still dirty which makes the reef fishing really good,” Barr said.
Captain Brice Barr can be contacted at 305-304-2314 or you can visit his website at www.doubledownsportfishing.com.
Captain John Batillo on the Greyhound V out of Charter Boat Row has had some great days of reef fishing as well. Batillo reported his anglers aboard the half-day party boat landed some great fish including yellowtail snapper, lane snapper, grouper, porgy and mangrove snapper. Anglers were mainly using cut bait and squid while some of the local regulars had bonito chunks and ballyhoo plugs to entice the bite.
Several of the party boats, including the Greyhound V run evening trips as well during the summer months. It can be a lot of fun to get out on the water at sunset and fish past dark here in the Lower Keys.
Flats guides are enjoying the abundance of feeding bonefish and permit throughout the backcountry flats. There are still tarpon around too but expect to find fish in the 50- pound range. This is also the time of year to look closely for baby tarpon under mangrove islands and in small coves in the backcountry.
Many of the fly fishing guides in the Keys are gearing up for the Del Brown Invitational Tournament scheduled for July 18-20th. This tournament is in memory of the late Del Brown, a pioneer in permit fishing. Brown caught over 500 permit on fly in his lifetime. For information on the tournament contact Charlotte Ambrogio at 305-664-2444.
I actually had the opportunity to meet our Upper Keys writer, Mark Krowka in the confines of Papa Joe’s tackle shop in Islamorada this weekend. We had some severe thunderstorms in the area so several guides and their anglers were enjoying some coffee and sharing a few fish stories while the clouds passed.
I had booked a few days with Captain Steve Freidman over the holiday weekend in hopes of getting my husband, Capt. Justin Rea, a little time on the bow. It’s a great tactic for me since my skiff poling skills are still ‘in development’ and we get to see some different water and some big tailing bonefish. Although we do have plenty of bonefish in the lower Keys, they don’t tail as much for some reason.
Freidman has been fishing the Keys for many years and has made Islamorada his home. I enjoyed just sitting back and watching angler and guide work together to get the fly in front of the fish.
One word of advice to anglers new to the sport: communicate with your guide. The more you work together to spot fish and make an accurate cast in the path of fish, the more success and enjoyment you’ll get out of the experience.
This week was not a total wash-out for anglers in the Third Annual Conch Republic Ladies Dolphin Tournament. Several nice fish were weighed in, but the weather kept a few boats from venturing out for the one day tournament. All in the entire tournament was a success with 55 women anglers on 22 boats.
Lili DiStefano, guided by her husband, Captain Jeff DiStefano on the Second Chance out of Oceanside Marina managed a last minute remarkable catch – a 52.9- pound dolphin. “We hooked the fish at the last possible minute,” Lili DeStefano said. The clock on the GPS read 3:17 PM and DiStefano knew there was little time left to land this size fish and make it back to the dock to weigh in the fish.
“It was exciting and a good story to tell but I wish I had more time to enjoy the catch,” she added. They arrived back at the Conch Republic Seafood Company dock with ten minutes to spare. Team Second Chance took first prize for heaviest fish.
Other notable catches in the heaviest fish division include Mary Phund with a 32.2- pound fish, and Lara Rutskin with her 28.6- pound catch. Rutskin’s team fishing on the Equity Too also won first prize in the aggregate weight division with a combined weight of 50.9- pounds.
Captain Brice Barr on the Double Down out of Charter Boat Row in Key West also participated in the ladies tournament with is wife, Holly. He mentioned that fishing has slowed down a bit but conditions are still very good for fishing off Key West.
“There is plenty of current, bait and weeds but not a ton of fish,” remarked Barr. He’s been out fishing nearly every day and has found mahi-mahi up to 18- pounds but many more that are in the 8- pound range. Barr mentioned that he’s tried to change up the fishing a bit with his anglers and has had some success fishing the reef for mangrove snapper, yellowtail and muttons. “The water is still dirty which makes the reef fishing really good,” Barr said.
Captain Brice Barr can be contacted at 305-304-2314 or you can visit his website at www.doubledownsportfishing.com.
Captain John Batillo on the Greyhound V out of Charter Boat Row has had some great days of reef fishing as well. Batillo reported his anglers aboard the half-day party boat landed some great fish including yellowtail snapper, lane snapper, grouper, porgy and mangrove snapper. Anglers were mainly using cut bait and squid while some of the local regulars had bonito chunks and ballyhoo plugs to entice the bite.
Several of the party boats, including the Greyhound V run evening trips as well during the summer months. It can be a lot of fun to get out on the water at sunset and fish past dark here in the Lower Keys.
Flats guides are enjoying the abundance of feeding bonefish and permit throughout the backcountry flats. There are still tarpon around too but expect to find fish in the 50- pound range. This is also the time of year to look closely for baby tarpon under mangrove islands and in small coves in the backcountry.
Many of the fly fishing guides in the Keys are gearing up for the Del Brown Invitational Tournament scheduled for July 18-20th. This tournament is in memory of the late Del Brown, a pioneer in permit fishing. Brown caught over 500 permit on fly in his lifetime. For information on the tournament contact Charlotte Ambrogio at 305-664-2444.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Key West Fishing Report - June 5
Flats fishing has been exceptionally good for bonefish and permit.
Del Brown Permit Invitational is scheduled for July 18th-20th in Key West at Hurricane Hole Marina.
Del Brown Permit Invitational is scheduled for July 18th-20th in Key West at Hurricane Hole Marina.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Marlin off Key West - Dolphini still biting
KEY WEST - The Florida Keys are starting to quiet down a bit. Crowds of tourists are diminishing, guides that have worked every day since February finally have some much needed time off, and many of our part time guides have said sayonara to the Keys for the summer and headed out West.
We do have our fair share of tourists that visit the islands during the summer months, a lot of them are Florida residents looking to get away from the inland heat. And who would blame them, the fish don’t take the summer off and with less pressure from less guides, it’s a perfect time to come down and get out fishing.
Dolphin fishing has been a spring thing for the big fish but several of the charter boats I talked to are still reeling in the big ones, just having to travel a lot further to find them.
“The bite has been best in the early morning,” Captain Chris Lembo on the Incognito out of Murray Marina explained. Lembo has been fishing way past the wall this week and finding big patches of weed that are easy to fish off of. Lembo also mentioned that he had not only been finding the fish while trolling these weed patches, but also by following birds and also trolling rips in the current.
The offshore current is flowing east at a brisk 2 knots. This has made for some great yellowtail fishing just off the reef in 80 to 120- feet. Several boats reported catching their limit of yellowtail and then finishing the day deep dropping jigs for grouper and mutton snapper. Spots that produce these larger grouper range from deeper wrecks like the Curb to spots that plummet to 120- feet of Western Dry Rocks.
In addition to mahi-mahi, offshore waters are also holding some wahoo, sailfish and blue marlin.
This time of year marks one of the best for blue marlin off the Keys. I know that in the Virgin Islands the best marlin fishing is around the full moon so I imagine it is one in the same for our fishing.
Really great fishing stories are always appreciated. I’ve heard some great ones during the last ten years here in the Lower Keys. I got the chance to hear one more the other day from Captain Bennett Taylor. Taylor owns and operates the Outer Limits out of A&B Marina in Key West. His charter for the day was the Bauguss family from Jacksonville, FL.
Sixteen year old Robert Bauguss didn’t know what was in store for him as they headed out this week on a full day fishing trip. Bauguss mentioned to Taylor on the way out to the fishing grounds that he wanted to fish for marlin. Taylor commented that they would try but also planned on fishing for other fish like mahi, wahoo and tuna.
As luck would have it, the Shimano TLD 25 went off at 10:20 AM and dumped nearly the whole spool of line. Taylor, unsure at this point of what type of fish it was, reacted quickly knowing that if it was a blue, they were outmatched on tackle and had to be very careful fighting this fish.
Sure enough, after a strong run the line stopped for a moment and in the distance the fish skyrocketed from the depths. It did everything that a big blue marlin is supposed to do; greyhound across the water, dive deep, and give a good fight.
“This is the kind of fish that gets me back into it all,” Taylor explained. “Days like this remind me of why I do this for a living.”
After an exciting fight lasting nearly five hours, both son Robert and father Britt Bauguss had won the battle with this fish and had him boat-side for a few photos.
The fish was 130- inches long and the estimated weight was 350- pounds. The fish inhaled a baby 5" moldcraft style widerange with a medium ballyhoo in 650 feet of water West of Western Dry Rocks.
Captain Bennett Taylor fishes year-round out of Key West and offers offshore trolling and inshore bottom fishing trips. He can be reached at 305-923-1043 or visit him on the web at www.keywestcharterboat.com.
Shallow water and tarpon fishing have remained consistent this week. Although many of the really large tarpon have moved on in their migration, there are still some very large fish around. These fish will start to thin out and will be replaced with some smaller tarpon, in the 60 to 80- pound range.
Bonefish have been cruising the backcountry flats in larger schools. Fish from 5- to 8- pounds are the norm here in the Lower Keys.
Permit are returning to the flats in greater numbers. Although it is difficult to get near them during the flat calm days we’ve had this week, anglers have had better luck in a little deeper water. Live crabs work best for permit but they often will not refuse a shrimp.
The Third Annual Conch Republic Ladies' Dolphin Tournament starts June 30th and runs through July 1st in Key West. Women anglers are competing for more than $7,500 in cash and prizes. Anyone women interested in fishing this fun tournament should contact John Stuempfig at (305) 296-7511.
We do have our fair share of tourists that visit the islands during the summer months, a lot of them are Florida residents looking to get away from the inland heat. And who would blame them, the fish don’t take the summer off and with less pressure from less guides, it’s a perfect time to come down and get out fishing.
Dolphin fishing has been a spring thing for the big fish but several of the charter boats I talked to are still reeling in the big ones, just having to travel a lot further to find them.
“The bite has been best in the early morning,” Captain Chris Lembo on the Incognito out of Murray Marina explained. Lembo has been fishing way past the wall this week and finding big patches of weed that are easy to fish off of. Lembo also mentioned that he had not only been finding the fish while trolling these weed patches, but also by following birds and also trolling rips in the current.
The offshore current is flowing east at a brisk 2 knots. This has made for some great yellowtail fishing just off the reef in 80 to 120- feet. Several boats reported catching their limit of yellowtail and then finishing the day deep dropping jigs for grouper and mutton snapper. Spots that produce these larger grouper range from deeper wrecks like the Curb to spots that plummet to 120- feet of Western Dry Rocks.
In addition to mahi-mahi, offshore waters are also holding some wahoo, sailfish and blue marlin.
This time of year marks one of the best for blue marlin off the Keys. I know that in the Virgin Islands the best marlin fishing is around the full moon so I imagine it is one in the same for our fishing.
Really great fishing stories are always appreciated. I’ve heard some great ones during the last ten years here in the Lower Keys. I got the chance to hear one more the other day from Captain Bennett Taylor. Taylor owns and operates the Outer Limits out of A&B Marina in Key West. His charter for the day was the Bauguss family from Jacksonville, FL.
Sixteen year old Robert Bauguss didn’t know what was in store for him as they headed out this week on a full day fishing trip. Bauguss mentioned to Taylor on the way out to the fishing grounds that he wanted to fish for marlin. Taylor commented that they would try but also planned on fishing for other fish like mahi, wahoo and tuna.
As luck would have it, the Shimano TLD 25 went off at 10:20 AM and dumped nearly the whole spool of line. Taylor, unsure at this point of what type of fish it was, reacted quickly knowing that if it was a blue, they were outmatched on tackle and had to be very careful fighting this fish.
Sure enough, after a strong run the line stopped for a moment and in the distance the fish skyrocketed from the depths. It did everything that a big blue marlin is supposed to do; greyhound across the water, dive deep, and give a good fight.
“This is the kind of fish that gets me back into it all,” Taylor explained. “Days like this remind me of why I do this for a living.”
After an exciting fight lasting nearly five hours, both son Robert and father Britt Bauguss had won the battle with this fish and had him boat-side for a few photos.
The fish was 130- inches long and the estimated weight was 350- pounds. The fish inhaled a baby 5" moldcraft style widerange with a medium ballyhoo in 650 feet of water West of Western Dry Rocks.
Captain Bennett Taylor fishes year-round out of Key West and offers offshore trolling and inshore bottom fishing trips. He can be reached at 305-923-1043 or visit him on the web at www.keywestcharterboat.com.
Shallow water and tarpon fishing have remained consistent this week. Although many of the really large tarpon have moved on in their migration, there are still some very large fish around. These fish will start to thin out and will be replaced with some smaller tarpon, in the 60 to 80- pound range.
Bonefish have been cruising the backcountry flats in larger schools. Fish from 5- to 8- pounds are the norm here in the Lower Keys.
Permit are returning to the flats in greater numbers. Although it is difficult to get near them during the flat calm days we’ve had this week, anglers have had better luck in a little deeper water. Live crabs work best for permit but they often will not refuse a shrimp.
The Third Annual Conch Republic Ladies' Dolphin Tournament starts June 30th and runs through July 1st in Key West. Women anglers are competing for more than $7,500 in cash and prizes. Anyone women interested in fishing this fun tournament should contact John Stuempfig at (305) 296-7511.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Updated Key West Fishing Report
KEY WEST - Welcome to hurricane season everyone. No sooner did the calendar roll into June and our first tropical wave turned into Tropical Storm Alberto.
The best and the worst come out of any weather system for us here in the Keys. Many folks cancel their plans to go fishing, while others are still out there giving it their best shot. The fishing before and after a system rolls through can be the most productive time. Don’t discount any other time to fish in the Keys, but stormy weather definitely can turn on the bite.
Prior to our stormy weekend things were running pretty much as normal around the Lower Keys. Captain Chris Johnson on SeaSquared Charters out of Marathon Key had some success on the reefs and wrecks around his home waters of Marathon this week. Johnson’s charter, the Reber family from Naples, FL were keeping busy reeling in all kinds of great fish. Cobia, snapper and some shark fishing kept the entire family busy and the grand finale being Jeff Reber’s 150- pound Goliath grouper. Reber’s son, Chris, also landed and released a smaller Goliath grouper on the same trip.
Weekend Key West weather made fishing conditions tougher in the lower Keys. Captain Chris Floyd on the Breakaway out of Sunset Marina in Key West braved the weather on Saturday to try and get in a few hours of fishing. Floyd was fishing for yellowtail snapper and remarked that the fishing was quite good. “We’ve been using the sandball method to get the bite, but you may also use bonito chunks to get the fish to the surface,” he said.
Snapper fishing heats up this time of year on the reefs and outer bar off the Lower Keys. With current running east at nearly 3 knots, there has finally been some flow to get action in the deeper water. Floyd remarked that he’d missed out on a few days of fishing because of the weather but was headed out in the evenings this week to go after the muttons again while they are spawning.
Captain Craig Eubanks on the Mr. Z out of A&B Marina described the fishing to be fabulous yesterday, basically their first day out after the tropical weather subsided. Seas were rough in the morning making some boats turn back to the dock early. Those who stuck it out were rewarded with great dolphin fishing. “The ocean is stirred up and no one has been out in a few days,” Eubanks said describing his morning to be very productive for dolphin up to 24- pounds. There were plenty of teenage dolphin around in the morning but apparently the afternoon hours were a bit tougher because all the good fish had been picked over already.
Captain Jim Williams on the Miss Kasey, also out of Charter Boat Row in Key West had the catch of the day with a 47- pound dolphin. Eubanks and Williams were fishing close by down to the west of Key West.
Eubanks also mentioned that the big moon tides have contributed to forming a nice color change in 200- feet of water. There is certainly plenty of scattered weed offshore as well. “We don’t mind pulling scattered weeds off the line as long as there’s fish around,” Eubanks added.
I asked him how the summer months were shaping up for fishing and Eubanks was confident that the dolphin fishing will be consistent. June through September anglers will have the opportunity to fish not only for dolphin, but wahoo, sailfish and marlin also lurk in our offshore waters too.
Eubanks has one other trick up his sleeve for summer fishing. When the current slows down and the water warms up, he heads to even deeper water for snowy grouper, tilefish and rosefish to keep his anglers busy. Eubanks uses electric reels for these types of fish and says it’s a change up to conventional fishing and gives the anglers a new experience. “The fish are not huge by any means, but they are all eatable and legal.”
You can contact Captain Craig Eubanks at 305-296-0910.
The 17th Annual Gator Club Dolphin Derby scheduled for June 23 – 25. Anglers will be competing for more than $35,000 in cash, prizes and trophies. The tournament headquarters are at Oceanside Marina and anyone wishing to obtain more information on the tournament should contact John Stuempfig at 305-296-7511.
The best and the worst come out of any weather system for us here in the Keys. Many folks cancel their plans to go fishing, while others are still out there giving it their best shot. The fishing before and after a system rolls through can be the most productive time. Don’t discount any other time to fish in the Keys, but stormy weather definitely can turn on the bite.
Prior to our stormy weekend things were running pretty much as normal around the Lower Keys. Captain Chris Johnson on SeaSquared Charters out of Marathon Key had some success on the reefs and wrecks around his home waters of Marathon this week. Johnson’s charter, the Reber family from Naples, FL were keeping busy reeling in all kinds of great fish. Cobia, snapper and some shark fishing kept the entire family busy and the grand finale being Jeff Reber’s 150- pound Goliath grouper. Reber’s son, Chris, also landed and released a smaller Goliath grouper on the same trip.
Weekend Key West weather made fishing conditions tougher in the lower Keys. Captain Chris Floyd on the Breakaway out of Sunset Marina in Key West braved the weather on Saturday to try and get in a few hours of fishing. Floyd was fishing for yellowtail snapper and remarked that the fishing was quite good. “We’ve been using the sandball method to get the bite, but you may also use bonito chunks to get the fish to the surface,” he said.
Snapper fishing heats up this time of year on the reefs and outer bar off the Lower Keys. With current running east at nearly 3 knots, there has finally been some flow to get action in the deeper water. Floyd remarked that he’d missed out on a few days of fishing because of the weather but was headed out in the evenings this week to go after the muttons again while they are spawning.
Captain Craig Eubanks on the Mr. Z out of A&B Marina described the fishing to be fabulous yesterday, basically their first day out after the tropical weather subsided. Seas were rough in the morning making some boats turn back to the dock early. Those who stuck it out were rewarded with great dolphin fishing. “The ocean is stirred up and no one has been out in a few days,” Eubanks said describing his morning to be very productive for dolphin up to 24- pounds. There were plenty of teenage dolphin around in the morning but apparently the afternoon hours were a bit tougher because all the good fish had been picked over already.
Captain Jim Williams on the Miss Kasey, also out of Charter Boat Row in Key West had the catch of the day with a 47- pound dolphin. Eubanks and Williams were fishing close by down to the west of Key West.
Eubanks also mentioned that the big moon tides have contributed to forming a nice color change in 200- feet of water. There is certainly plenty of scattered weed offshore as well. “We don’t mind pulling scattered weeds off the line as long as there’s fish around,” Eubanks added.
I asked him how the summer months were shaping up for fishing and Eubanks was confident that the dolphin fishing will be consistent. June through September anglers will have the opportunity to fish not only for dolphin, but wahoo, sailfish and marlin also lurk in our offshore waters too.
Eubanks has one other trick up his sleeve for summer fishing. When the current slows down and the water warms up, he heads to even deeper water for snowy grouper, tilefish and rosefish to keep his anglers busy. Eubanks uses electric reels for these types of fish and says it’s a change up to conventional fishing and gives the anglers a new experience. “The fish are not huge by any means, but they are all eatable and legal.”
You can contact Captain Craig Eubanks at 305-296-0910.
The 17th Annual Gator Club Dolphin Derby scheduled for June 23 – 25. Anglers will be competing for more than $35,000 in cash, prizes and trophies. The tournament headquarters are at Oceanside Marina and anyone wishing to obtain more information on the tournament should contact John Stuempfig at 305-296-7511.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Key West Fishing Report - June 2006
KEY WEST - There is no doubt that the steam of summer is rapidly approaching here in the Keys. Feeling the heavy humid air go through your lungs can make any tarpon fisherman exhausted as they pole feverishly after a school of tarpon.
Thanks to Todd Smith of Atlanta, GA and Alex Allen of Vero Beach, FL there were a few more tarpon soaring through the air this week in the Lower Keys and 27 guides were huffing and puffing after the ‘silver king’ to get their anglers on the fish.
Smith and Allen are the founders of a very unique and fun tournament, the Smitty & Al’s Tarpon Bonanza. Each year the two men and many of their college cohorts meet in Key West for some fun and tarpon fishing.
This year marked the 13th Annual Tarpon Bonanza. This unique tournament allows the anglers to fish for tarpon, bonefish or permit but one minor detail; they must catch a tarpon first before any of their points count towards any additional caught fish of any species.
Most of the guides I talked with were very successful at hooking the tarpon. Smith and Allen, fishing with Captain Justin Rea, got their first landed fish early and were ecstatic to be qualified to fish for other species on the second day of the tournament. “We had so many fish in the air but we had trouble keeping them hooked,” said Rea.
For any flats guide there are a few classifications you must understand about tarpon fishing.
There are ‘follows’, when the fish looks at your fly or lure and is so intrigued by it’s movement that he follows it all the way to the boat.
There are ‘eats’, when the tarpon eats your offering but you miss the strike and he spits it out and swims away.
There are ‘jumps’, which qualify as driving the hook in a tarpon’s mouth and getting him to launch out of the water a couple of times. The fish usually gets away after a couple of gill-rattling jumps.
Finally there are caught fish which for most means the guide has touched the leader or your leader is in your rod tip. In this tournament in particular, the leader must be at the rod tip and the guide must touch the leader.
For the anglers in Smitty & Al’s tournament a caught fish was the key to success. I talked with a few of the guides after the second day including Captain Alex Bohem, Captain Jacob Shemper, Captain Sandy Horn and Captain Scott Irvine and they all had landed a few fish and jumped many more.
From the two day tournament Bill Lathrop and Malcolm Robertson, both of Atlanta, GA emerged as grand champions. The two were fishing with Captain Albert Ponzoa and managed to land a total of 14 large tarpon. Congratulations guys and look forward to seeing you all next year.
Offshore anglers put their dolphin fishing skills to the test this week in the 13th Annual Big Pine and Lower Keys Dolphin Tournament. This tournament is put on each year by the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce with headquarters at the KOA Campground and Marina in Sugarloaf Key. The tournament took place June 2 through 4 and 88 boats with 213 anglers participated.
At the end of the two days of fishing there were 45 dolphin, 3 tuna and 4 wahoo weighed in at the dock. Many of the dolphin were in the 20- to 30- pound range.
The Dock Cruiser team out of Summerland Key placed first in the Open Division with Dr. Rene Cruz’s fish weighing 41.25- pounds. Second place went to Steve Kreiger on the Finer Lines out of Ramrod Key with a 40.25- pound dolphin. Third was awarded to Jeff Woessner on the Sea Dragon out of Key West. Woessner’s best fish was a 36.05- pound dolphin.
In the youth division the first prize was awarded to Mike Malvasio, Jr. of SW Ranches with a 26.70- pound fish. Second place went to Phil Cates of Naples, FL, and third place was awarded to Justin Williams of Venice, FL.
Mutton snapper and yellowtail serve as the best inshore action just off the reefs throughout the lower Keys this week. Mutton snapper spawn this time of year and as we near the full moon there is no doubt the bite will intensify.
Thanks to Todd Smith of Atlanta, GA and Alex Allen of Vero Beach, FL there were a few more tarpon soaring through the air this week in the Lower Keys and 27 guides were huffing and puffing after the ‘silver king’ to get their anglers on the fish.
Smith and Allen are the founders of a very unique and fun tournament, the Smitty & Al’s Tarpon Bonanza. Each year the two men and many of their college cohorts meet in Key West for some fun and tarpon fishing.
This year marked the 13th Annual Tarpon Bonanza. This unique tournament allows the anglers to fish for tarpon, bonefish or permit but one minor detail; they must catch a tarpon first before any of their points count towards any additional caught fish of any species.
Most of the guides I talked with were very successful at hooking the tarpon. Smith and Allen, fishing with Captain Justin Rea, got their first landed fish early and were ecstatic to be qualified to fish for other species on the second day of the tournament. “We had so many fish in the air but we had trouble keeping them hooked,” said Rea.
For any flats guide there are a few classifications you must understand about tarpon fishing.
There are ‘follows’, when the fish looks at your fly or lure and is so intrigued by it’s movement that he follows it all the way to the boat.
There are ‘eats’, when the tarpon eats your offering but you miss the strike and he spits it out and swims away.
There are ‘jumps’, which qualify as driving the hook in a tarpon’s mouth and getting him to launch out of the water a couple of times. The fish usually gets away after a couple of gill-rattling jumps.
Finally there are caught fish which for most means the guide has touched the leader or your leader is in your rod tip. In this tournament in particular, the leader must be at the rod tip and the guide must touch the leader.
For the anglers in Smitty & Al’s tournament a caught fish was the key to success. I talked with a few of the guides after the second day including Captain Alex Bohem, Captain Jacob Shemper, Captain Sandy Horn and Captain Scott Irvine and they all had landed a few fish and jumped many more.
From the two day tournament Bill Lathrop and Malcolm Robertson, both of Atlanta, GA emerged as grand champions. The two were fishing with Captain Albert Ponzoa and managed to land a total of 14 large tarpon. Congratulations guys and look forward to seeing you all next year.
Offshore anglers put their dolphin fishing skills to the test this week in the 13th Annual Big Pine and Lower Keys Dolphin Tournament. This tournament is put on each year by the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce with headquarters at the KOA Campground and Marina in Sugarloaf Key. The tournament took place June 2 through 4 and 88 boats with 213 anglers participated.
At the end of the two days of fishing there were 45 dolphin, 3 tuna and 4 wahoo weighed in at the dock. Many of the dolphin were in the 20- to 30- pound range.
The Dock Cruiser team out of Summerland Key placed first in the Open Division with Dr. Rene Cruz’s fish weighing 41.25- pounds. Second place went to Steve Kreiger on the Finer Lines out of Ramrod Key with a 40.25- pound dolphin. Third was awarded to Jeff Woessner on the Sea Dragon out of Key West. Woessner’s best fish was a 36.05- pound dolphin.
In the youth division the first prize was awarded to Mike Malvasio, Jr. of SW Ranches with a 26.70- pound fish. Second place went to Phil Cates of Naples, FL, and third place was awarded to Justin Williams of Venice, FL.
Mutton snapper and yellowtail serve as the best inshore action just off the reefs throughout the lower Keys this week. Mutton snapper spawn this time of year and as we near the full moon there is no doubt the bite will intensify.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Key West Fishing Report - May 26th
KEY WEST - Fishing this week in the Lower Keys has brought forth some larger mahi mahi even despite the lack of current and weed lines off Key West.
“It’s the same as last year,” explained Gary Ashby, longtime mate on the Fish Check out of Charter Boat Row in Key West. The lack of current has made dolphin fishing more of a sport this year. Finding debris is like finding a goal mine and days are spent watching for frigate birds to dip one wing or dive towards the surface of the water – indicating there may be a big fish lurking just below.
Ashby just got done cleaning three teenage dolphin in the 20- pound range. He mentioned that although they didn’t fish out too far off the reef the lack of current has the fish real spread out since there has been only scattered weed. “Normally we have more big fish inshore,” Ashby added. The current normally pushes the bigger fish in towards the reef making the journey not as far but very productive.
Lately many of the smaller dolphin have been lingering inshore and although it does produce hot action many of the fish need to be released because they don’t meet the minimum measurement of 20” to the fork of the tail.
Captain Joe Mercurio III on the Jolly Roger II has an impressive catch of mahi yesterday as well. From the looks of their charters’ catch they had stayed busy dolphin fishing all day long. The peg board was filled with dolphin fish along with some smaller fish lined up neatly on the ground. The Gasbarro family, from Ft. Lauderdale, and a few of their friends had been fishing with Mercurio. “We are originally from Key West but still come here each May to fish,” Tom Gasbarro said. The family were once residents of Key West, Conchs as we call them. Tom Gasbarro landed a nice 40- pound bull dolphin, the largest of the catch. They caught their limit of dolphin, 60 in total.
Up the Keys at the Sugarloaf Marina I caught up with 10- year old Thomas Fricke of Big Pine Key and his father, Captain Charlie Fricke on the Squid Row out of Cudjoe Gardens Marina, as they weighed in a 48- pound bull dolphin. Thomas was ecstatic to have a large fish to weigh in for the Key West Fishing Tournament. Thomas may only be ten years old but is already a veteran to the tournament, winning many awards in years past for dolphin and other notable fish. The father and son team were fishing just off Cudjoe Key in 800- feet of water. They got the largest fish off a frigate bird.
For more information on the Key West Fishing Tournament you can visit their web site at www.keywestfishingtournament.com.
Upcoming dolphin tournaments include the Sixth Annual Dolphin Masters Invitational. This one day tournament yields a winning purse of $15,000. Contact John Stumpfig for more information at (305) 296-7511.
Elsewhere around the Lower Keys, snapper and grouper fishing is still good with mutton fishing tapering off a bit after the full moon phase. Warmer water will slow down the snapper and grouper fishing as we progress into summer. Best times to fish for these bottom species is into the evening hours.
Tuna and bonito are still active behind the shrimp boats in the Gulf. Captain Mike Weinhofer on the Compass Rose out of City Marina mentioned they were still traveling nearly 70- miles to the shrimp boats. A long ride but well worth it for some hot action. This type of fishing will come to an end soon so if you want the experience, especially for a fly rodder, it’s a trip not to be missed.
Tarpon fishing on the flats has been tough this week. The fish are not feeding as readily for one reason or another. Overcast skies have made visibility very minimal so finding a white sand or light bottom area will give you the advantage to see these fish come across the flats. There are still many large schools of tarpon traveling the ocean side flats of the lower keys, some have moved into the backcountry basins and are laid up while others continue on their migration to the north.
Congratulations are in order for Captain Ralph Delph and his angler Dr. Martin Arostegui of Coral Gables for their accomplishment in catching and releasing the heaviest fish ever caught on fly. This new world record was officially approved by the IGFA recently and breaks a 40- year old record set in 1967. Arostegui landed a 385- pound lemon shark on fly using 12- pound tippet. The tippet apparently over tested and broke at 13- pounds so the fish and record will be entered into the 16- pound tippet line class.
“It’s the same as last year,” explained Gary Ashby, longtime mate on the Fish Check out of Charter Boat Row in Key West. The lack of current has made dolphin fishing more of a sport this year. Finding debris is like finding a goal mine and days are spent watching for frigate birds to dip one wing or dive towards the surface of the water – indicating there may be a big fish lurking just below.
Ashby just got done cleaning three teenage dolphin in the 20- pound range. He mentioned that although they didn’t fish out too far off the reef the lack of current has the fish real spread out since there has been only scattered weed. “Normally we have more big fish inshore,” Ashby added. The current normally pushes the bigger fish in towards the reef making the journey not as far but very productive.
Lately many of the smaller dolphin have been lingering inshore and although it does produce hot action many of the fish need to be released because they don’t meet the minimum measurement of 20” to the fork of the tail.
Captain Joe Mercurio III on the Jolly Roger II has an impressive catch of mahi yesterday as well. From the looks of their charters’ catch they had stayed busy dolphin fishing all day long. The peg board was filled with dolphin fish along with some smaller fish lined up neatly on the ground. The Gasbarro family, from Ft. Lauderdale, and a few of their friends had been fishing with Mercurio. “We are originally from Key West but still come here each May to fish,” Tom Gasbarro said. The family were once residents of Key West, Conchs as we call them. Tom Gasbarro landed a nice 40- pound bull dolphin, the largest of the catch. They caught their limit of dolphin, 60 in total.
Up the Keys at the Sugarloaf Marina I caught up with 10- year old Thomas Fricke of Big Pine Key and his father, Captain Charlie Fricke on the Squid Row out of Cudjoe Gardens Marina, as they weighed in a 48- pound bull dolphin. Thomas was ecstatic to have a large fish to weigh in for the Key West Fishing Tournament. Thomas may only be ten years old but is already a veteran to the tournament, winning many awards in years past for dolphin and other notable fish. The father and son team were fishing just off Cudjoe Key in 800- feet of water. They got the largest fish off a frigate bird.
For more information on the Key West Fishing Tournament you can visit their web site at www.keywestfishingtournament.com.
Upcoming dolphin tournaments include the Sixth Annual Dolphin Masters Invitational. This one day tournament yields a winning purse of $15,000. Contact John Stumpfig for more information at (305) 296-7511.
Elsewhere around the Lower Keys, snapper and grouper fishing is still good with mutton fishing tapering off a bit after the full moon phase. Warmer water will slow down the snapper and grouper fishing as we progress into summer. Best times to fish for these bottom species is into the evening hours.
Tuna and bonito are still active behind the shrimp boats in the Gulf. Captain Mike Weinhofer on the Compass Rose out of City Marina mentioned they were still traveling nearly 70- miles to the shrimp boats. A long ride but well worth it for some hot action. This type of fishing will come to an end soon so if you want the experience, especially for a fly rodder, it’s a trip not to be missed.
Tarpon fishing on the flats has been tough this week. The fish are not feeding as readily for one reason or another. Overcast skies have made visibility very minimal so finding a white sand or light bottom area will give you the advantage to see these fish come across the flats. There are still many large schools of tarpon traveling the ocean side flats of the lower keys, some have moved into the backcountry basins and are laid up while others continue on their migration to the north.
Congratulations are in order for Captain Ralph Delph and his angler Dr. Martin Arostegui of Coral Gables for their accomplishment in catching and releasing the heaviest fish ever caught on fly. This new world record was officially approved by the IGFA recently and breaks a 40- year old record set in 1967. Arostegui landed a 385- pound lemon shark on fly using 12- pound tippet. The tippet apparently over tested and broke at 13- pounds so the fish and record will be entered into the 16- pound tippet line class.
Friday, May 19, 2006
The Palolo Worm & The Tarpon
The Palolo Worm & The Tarpon
Take a full or new moon, a falling tide in the evening and the finish of a slick calm day at sunset and you have the recipe for what has to be one of the finest moments in saltwater fishing, the Palolo Worm Hatch.
It happens mainly on the ocean side coral rock flats of the Florida Keys, but according to many long time Keys guides, there are several ‘honey holes’ in the backcountry that host these worms and their loyal followers, the tarpon.These worms hatch out of hard coral rock each year and head to the reef, about 7 miles offshore, to spawn. This phenomenon happens often during the full or new moon of May and June, and often when there is a falling tide towards the evening. Conditions need to be pretty calm for the hatch to come off as expected.A few days before a worm hatch is about to happen the tarpon will seem to be non-existant on the flats. They know what's about to go on and they don't want to miss it. The Palolo worm is a tasty treat for a tarpon and serves as an aphrodisiac. It makes the tarpon appear to be almost 'drunk' as they lazily feed on the surface of the water chomping on every worm they can gulp into their bucket mouths.It's not uncommon to see a thousand tarpon rolling, almost as far as the eye can see.Fishing during the worm hatch certainly can increase your chances of hooking up but it's not as easy as you may think to stick one of these fish. Palolo Worms travel quickly, on the surface, and in a straight line.
One technique that does work well with a fly rod is to use the "striper strip" method. This entails casting as far as you can and then putting the reel under your arm and strip with both hands, pulling the fly line in one consistent flow of motion. Another method may be to use long strips with not much pause in between and as the fly nears the boat, sweep the fly as far as you can keeping it in the water.The Palolo Worm can be identified by it's similarities to an earth worm. It has a white tip and a red body. A fly that replicates this worm should have a greenish head tied from olive green dubbing with a thin rabbit strip of red. Other conventional light tackle artificial lures work too if the retrieve has a similar motion to the worm itself.
So if you are in the Keys this week, check your tides and lunar tables. You may just a see something you’ll never forget.
Take a full or new moon, a falling tide in the evening and the finish of a slick calm day at sunset and you have the recipe for what has to be one of the finest moments in saltwater fishing, the Palolo Worm Hatch.
It happens mainly on the ocean side coral rock flats of the Florida Keys, but according to many long time Keys guides, there are several ‘honey holes’ in the backcountry that host these worms and their loyal followers, the tarpon.These worms hatch out of hard coral rock each year and head to the reef, about 7 miles offshore, to spawn. This phenomenon happens often during the full or new moon of May and June, and often when there is a falling tide towards the evening. Conditions need to be pretty calm for the hatch to come off as expected.A few days before a worm hatch is about to happen the tarpon will seem to be non-existant on the flats. They know what's about to go on and they don't want to miss it. The Palolo worm is a tasty treat for a tarpon and serves as an aphrodisiac. It makes the tarpon appear to be almost 'drunk' as they lazily feed on the surface of the water chomping on every worm they can gulp into their bucket mouths.It's not uncommon to see a thousand tarpon rolling, almost as far as the eye can see.Fishing during the worm hatch certainly can increase your chances of hooking up but it's not as easy as you may think to stick one of these fish. Palolo Worms travel quickly, on the surface, and in a straight line.
One technique that does work well with a fly rod is to use the "striper strip" method. This entails casting as far as you can and then putting the reel under your arm and strip with both hands, pulling the fly line in one consistent flow of motion. Another method may be to use long strips with not much pause in between and as the fly nears the boat, sweep the fly as far as you can keeping it in the water.The Palolo Worm can be identified by it's similarities to an earth worm. It has a white tip and a red body. A fly that replicates this worm should have a greenish head tied from olive green dubbing with a thin rabbit strip of red. Other conventional light tackle artificial lures work too if the retrieve has a similar motion to the worm itself.
So if you are in the Keys this week, check your tides and lunar tables. You may just a see something you’ll never forget.
Key West Fishing Report - May 2006
KEY WEST – Today we finally got some stormy Key West weather and much needed rain in the Florida Keys. Although it’s not what any fisherman wants to see on the Doppler radar on a perfect flat calm morning, but it was inevitable that today the captains and guides of the Lower Keys would catch a much needed break on the couch. I’d heard on our local radio news that we’ve had about a half inch of rain since January so our much needed rain is certainly welcome even if it’s just for an afternoon.
I’ve been out fishing this week for permit again just off the Trinity rocks near Western Dry Rocks. They’re still there although the permit have been a bit skiddish. My guess is that the boat traffic has put them on edge. Regardless, we hooked and landed six permit up to 17- pounds.
Captain Mike Weinhofer on the Compass Rose out of City Marina explained that he’s had similar luck with permit fishing this past week. They are still on the spawn but they’ve been a bit spooky. “Permit have been real active and eating crabs,” Weinhofer said describing his fishing techniques. He explained that the permit fishing has been very active to the west near the Marquesas on the wrecks.
Weinhofer also mentioned he had been fishing way to the west near the Fort and the Dry Tortugas. Dry Tortugas fishing can yield some fabulous bottom fish including black grouper in the 20- pound range. Weinhofer also had the pleasure of experiencing the mutton spawn. This past full moon was good for mutton snapper but not consistent over the full moon phase. “One night was red hot, one night was slow, the next night was real good,” Weinhofer said. He was using ballyhoo as bait for these spawning fish. Mutton eat a variety of baits but Weinhofer was using fresh dead ballyhoo to get the bite.
Captain Steve Rodger on the Spear One out of Murray Marina also had some good luck with the mutton snapper spawn this past week. He caught his limit of mutton the night after the full moon and when I asked him about the fishing action he seemed to believe that next month’s moon the fishing would be even better.
Rodger’s anglers for his day time charter has an active fishing day as well, landing a 38- pound kingfish, several flag yellowtail and a nice 25- pound blackfin tuna. Rodger was fishing near the Eyeglass Bar just off Key West.
Captain Steve Impallomini, also out of Murray Marina, had a nice catch of dolphin and a cobia, caught in the same area.
Blackfin tuna have been thinning out on the wrecks, the mix has mostly been Bonito and a nice selection of sharks, according to Weinhofer. Captain Tony Murphy on the Key Limey out of Murray’s has also been fishing behind the shrimp boats a few days this week and mentioned that the run is about 60- miles.
Offshore fishing has remained consistent for large mahi mahi this week. Several large fish in the 20- pound range have been caught among the Key West fleet. Several notable catches belong to Captain Steve Magee on the Ramarizi out of Charter Boat Row in Key West, with a 55- pound dolphin and Captain Rick Breedlove on the Fish Check with a close second at 53- pounds.
Larger mahi-mahi have been running in the area for the last few days. This is the season where the bigger dolphin run closer to Key West. Look for a big bull or cow running with a pod of smaller dolphin.
I’ve been out fishing this week for permit again just off the Trinity rocks near Western Dry Rocks. They’re still there although the permit have been a bit skiddish. My guess is that the boat traffic has put them on edge. Regardless, we hooked and landed six permit up to 17- pounds.
Captain Mike Weinhofer on the Compass Rose out of City Marina explained that he’s had similar luck with permit fishing this past week. They are still on the spawn but they’ve been a bit spooky. “Permit have been real active and eating crabs,” Weinhofer said describing his fishing techniques. He explained that the permit fishing has been very active to the west near the Marquesas on the wrecks.
Weinhofer also mentioned he had been fishing way to the west near the Fort and the Dry Tortugas. Dry Tortugas fishing can yield some fabulous bottom fish including black grouper in the 20- pound range. Weinhofer also had the pleasure of experiencing the mutton spawn. This past full moon was good for mutton snapper but not consistent over the full moon phase. “One night was red hot, one night was slow, the next night was real good,” Weinhofer said. He was using ballyhoo as bait for these spawning fish. Mutton eat a variety of baits but Weinhofer was using fresh dead ballyhoo to get the bite.
Captain Steve Rodger on the Spear One out of Murray Marina also had some good luck with the mutton snapper spawn this past week. He caught his limit of mutton the night after the full moon and when I asked him about the fishing action he seemed to believe that next month’s moon the fishing would be even better.
Rodger’s anglers for his day time charter has an active fishing day as well, landing a 38- pound kingfish, several flag yellowtail and a nice 25- pound blackfin tuna. Rodger was fishing near the Eyeglass Bar just off Key West.
Captain Steve Impallomini, also out of Murray Marina, had a nice catch of dolphin and a cobia, caught in the same area.
Blackfin tuna have been thinning out on the wrecks, the mix has mostly been Bonito and a nice selection of sharks, according to Weinhofer. Captain Tony Murphy on the Key Limey out of Murray’s has also been fishing behind the shrimp boats a few days this week and mentioned that the run is about 60- miles.
Offshore fishing has remained consistent for large mahi mahi this week. Several large fish in the 20- pound range have been caught among the Key West fleet. Several notable catches belong to Captain Steve Magee on the Ramarizi out of Charter Boat Row in Key West, with a 55- pound dolphin and Captain Rick Breedlove on the Fish Check with a close second at 53- pounds.
Larger mahi-mahi have been running in the area for the last few days. This is the season where the bigger dolphin run closer to Key West. Look for a big bull or cow running with a pod of smaller dolphin.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Key West Fishing Report - May 2
KEY WEST – Fishing conditions around the Lower Keys this week have remained consistent with the exception of a front that pushed through the area over the weekend giving us some gusty winds and bringing the temperature of the water down slightly.
Tarpon seem to be one of the most temperature sensitive fish and even though they are following their migratory pattern they veer off into deeper water. This week the tarpon bite slacked off a bit both in the harbor and on the flats. Our north easterly wind kept them migrating but with their mouths shut tight.
Expect the tarpon bite to get back on track this week with warmer weather. Live crabs or pinfish have been the bait of choice. If you are fly fishing for tarpon, the tasty Toad in chartreuse seems to be most popular. I firmly believe that most any tarpon bug would work as long as it is presented correctly. The standard cockroach pattern in tan with grizzly hackle tail or an olive rabbit strip with black rabbit collar will also entice a bite.
Offshore fishing has been exceptional with some early slammer dolphin being caught. Captain Ralph Lennon on the Sailfish out of Conch Harbor Marina reported a nice 25- pound mahi-mahi caught near the Wall just south of Sand Key light. Lennon reported that most of the fish caught this week were not off the weed lines. “We picked one off under a frigate bird,” explained Lennon. This time of year there are normally weed lines that form offshore anywhere from the reef to the Wall and beyond. “There is simply no current so all the weed is scattered, if we had current we’d have really great fishing,” Lennon said.
Those lucky enough to find floating debris find all types of fish. John Ain, of Sugarloaf Key, Jay McDaniel of Cudjoe Key and Capt. Dale Bittner of Key West found a virtual goal mine of fish around a large piece of floating debris off Sugarloaf early this week. Ain reported the party of four caught 40 dolphin, several of which Ain landed on fly. The debris not only produced mahi on the surface but rewarded these anglers with some tasty wahoo from the deep. They were jigging deep under the debris with bucktail jigs and reportedly hooked 8 wahoo.
There was an increase in sailfish releases this week just off Key West. Although there is not much current being found there is a discernable color change between 150 and 180 feet off Key West. “It’s not a real defined color change,” explained Lennon. The color change is clear from a distance but not real defined. Several sails were released off Key West and a larger number were hooked but jumped off. These fish were reportedly taken on live threadfins while sight casting to cruising fish.
One of the most impressive catches this week was from Captain Jay Weed on the Lucky Charm out of the Key West Historic Seaport. Weed was trolling 15 miles south of Sand Key Light in 720 feet of water when his deep troll went off. Weed had a 196- pound mako shark on the line. “The fish jumped once and fought for the next hour and 25 minutes,” Weed explained. He also explained how well the angler Tom Henry of Sea Isle, NJ handled the fight. The shark ate a pink sea witch skirt and a large ballyhoo.
Mako sharks are a rare catch in the Lower Keys. Although these fast swimming sharks are common to tropical and temperate seas, they often prefer cooler water (around 65° F). Makos can grow up to 12 feet long and weigh near 1000 pounds but the more common ones are in the 5- foot to 8- foot range.
Tarpon seem to be one of the most temperature sensitive fish and even though they are following their migratory pattern they veer off into deeper water. This week the tarpon bite slacked off a bit both in the harbor and on the flats. Our north easterly wind kept them migrating but with their mouths shut tight.
Expect the tarpon bite to get back on track this week with warmer weather. Live crabs or pinfish have been the bait of choice. If you are fly fishing for tarpon, the tasty Toad in chartreuse seems to be most popular. I firmly believe that most any tarpon bug would work as long as it is presented correctly. The standard cockroach pattern in tan with grizzly hackle tail or an olive rabbit strip with black rabbit collar will also entice a bite.
Offshore fishing has been exceptional with some early slammer dolphin being caught. Captain Ralph Lennon on the Sailfish out of Conch Harbor Marina reported a nice 25- pound mahi-mahi caught near the Wall just south of Sand Key light. Lennon reported that most of the fish caught this week were not off the weed lines. “We picked one off under a frigate bird,” explained Lennon. This time of year there are normally weed lines that form offshore anywhere from the reef to the Wall and beyond. “There is simply no current so all the weed is scattered, if we had current we’d have really great fishing,” Lennon said.
Those lucky enough to find floating debris find all types of fish. John Ain, of Sugarloaf Key, Jay McDaniel of Cudjoe Key and Capt. Dale Bittner of Key West found a virtual goal mine of fish around a large piece of floating debris off Sugarloaf early this week. Ain reported the party of four caught 40 dolphin, several of which Ain landed on fly. The debris not only produced mahi on the surface but rewarded these anglers with some tasty wahoo from the deep. They were jigging deep under the debris with bucktail jigs and reportedly hooked 8 wahoo.
There was an increase in sailfish releases this week just off Key West. Although there is not much current being found there is a discernable color change between 150 and 180 feet off Key West. “It’s not a real defined color change,” explained Lennon. The color change is clear from a distance but not real defined. Several sails were released off Key West and a larger number were hooked but jumped off. These fish were reportedly taken on live threadfins while sight casting to cruising fish.
One of the most impressive catches this week was from Captain Jay Weed on the Lucky Charm out of the Key West Historic Seaport. Weed was trolling 15 miles south of Sand Key Light in 720 feet of water when his deep troll went off. Weed had a 196- pound mako shark on the line. “The fish jumped once and fought for the next hour and 25 minutes,” Weed explained. He also explained how well the angler Tom Henry of Sea Isle, NJ handled the fight. The shark ate a pink sea witch skirt and a large ballyhoo.
Mako sharks are a rare catch in the Lower Keys. Although these fast swimming sharks are common to tropical and temperate seas, they often prefer cooler water (around 65° F). Makos can grow up to 12 feet long and weigh near 1000 pounds but the more common ones are in the 5- foot to 8- foot range.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Key West Fishing & World Sailfish Championship Results
KEY WEST – Spring fishing in the Florida Keys is still going strong this week. Shallow water fishing to deep sea fishing has seen a flourish of activity and a wide variety of fish.
The 2006 World Sailfish Championship brought 116 teams from throughout the South East to Key West for three days of world-class sailfishing. Although the bite was not as hot as in 2005, several teams managed to release multiple fish each day. In the end Vitamin Sea Too, from Pompano Beach, FL reigned as the winner of the 2006 tournament and walked away with the $100,000 check.
A total of 394 sailfish were caught and released during this years three day tournament. Vitamin Sea Too hung onto the lead releasing six sails the first day, six sails the second, and only two on the third. It was enough to stay ahead of Sea Wolf, who took second place with 12 fish released. Counter Culture came in third place, also with 12 fish released.
Vitamin Sea Too and most of the other tournament participants were fishing west of Key West from the end of the bar all the way to the tail end buoy near Rebecca Shoal. “It was tough,” replied Captain Brice Barr on the Double Down out of Key West. Barr fished to the West for the first two days. He mentioned that they saw quite a few fish and each day they hooked up several times. The third day of fishing left the fleet of participants split, some went way east while the rest stuck to the original plan and headed west once again.
There is certainly plenty of fish in the sea and actively biting this week. Offshore fishing took a positive turn just after the Sailfish Tournament ended. Winds decreased and the 5 to 10 mph wind out of the south east brought the mahi-mahi and wahoo in to our area. Several large dolphin were caught this week in the 30- pound range along with some smaller ones in the 10- pound range. Needless to say there is really no shortage of mahi-mahi action this time of year and it will last into the summer months.
Captain Tom Ault on the Time Out at A&B Marina reported some unusually large wahoo they caught last week on a full day charter. Ault was trolling in an area called the Ups and Downs in 750 feet where he landed a 33- and 43- pound wahoo. Ault landed several mahi-mahi the same trip.
Permit fishing near Western Dry Rocks, Vestal Shoal and some of the smaller wrecks around the Marquesas has still been decent this week. Captain Andrea Paulson joined us for an afternoon out on the reef where we sight casted to a large school of permit. Paulson and I doubled up on our first casts into the school. One was on a live shrimp, the other on a live crab and small jig. We landed 5 permit that day and lost a few others.
Blackfin tuna fishing off the Gulf shrimp boats has been hot this week. Several boats including Captain Steve Rodger on Spear One out of Murray Marina had a nice catch of tuna in the 30- pound range. Tunas that hang out below the shrimp boats as they cull their catch are generally larger than the ones we catch in the winter in the Atlantic.
On the flats there has been nothing but great action for tarpon. From Big Pine to the Marquesas there are plenty of large tarpon following their migratory path up the coast of Florida. There were a few days this week where the fishing slowed down a bit. It just seemed to be that one group of tarpon moved out while another group moved in a few days later to take their place.
Night tarpon fishing has been extremely productive. Tarpon enjoy slurping shrimp off the surface during the fuller moon phase and it is a terrific time to fish for them with live bait, sinking plug or even a dark colored fly. Black and purple and the traditional black death work great for night time tarpon fishing.
The 2006 World Sailfish Championship brought 116 teams from throughout the South East to Key West for three days of world-class sailfishing. Although the bite was not as hot as in 2005, several teams managed to release multiple fish each day. In the end Vitamin Sea Too, from Pompano Beach, FL reigned as the winner of the 2006 tournament and walked away with the $100,000 check.
A total of 394 sailfish were caught and released during this years three day tournament. Vitamin Sea Too hung onto the lead releasing six sails the first day, six sails the second, and only two on the third. It was enough to stay ahead of Sea Wolf, who took second place with 12 fish released. Counter Culture came in third place, also with 12 fish released.
Vitamin Sea Too and most of the other tournament participants were fishing west of Key West from the end of the bar all the way to the tail end buoy near Rebecca Shoal. “It was tough,” replied Captain Brice Barr on the Double Down out of Key West. Barr fished to the West for the first two days. He mentioned that they saw quite a few fish and each day they hooked up several times. The third day of fishing left the fleet of participants split, some went way east while the rest stuck to the original plan and headed west once again.
There is certainly plenty of fish in the sea and actively biting this week. Offshore fishing took a positive turn just after the Sailfish Tournament ended. Winds decreased and the 5 to 10 mph wind out of the south east brought the mahi-mahi and wahoo in to our area. Several large dolphin were caught this week in the 30- pound range along with some smaller ones in the 10- pound range. Needless to say there is really no shortage of mahi-mahi action this time of year and it will last into the summer months.
Captain Tom Ault on the Time Out at A&B Marina reported some unusually large wahoo they caught last week on a full day charter. Ault was trolling in an area called the Ups and Downs in 750 feet where he landed a 33- and 43- pound wahoo. Ault landed several mahi-mahi the same trip.
Permit fishing near Western Dry Rocks, Vestal Shoal and some of the smaller wrecks around the Marquesas has still been decent this week. Captain Andrea Paulson joined us for an afternoon out on the reef where we sight casted to a large school of permit. Paulson and I doubled up on our first casts into the school. One was on a live shrimp, the other on a live crab and small jig. We landed 5 permit that day and lost a few others.
Blackfin tuna fishing off the Gulf shrimp boats has been hot this week. Several boats including Captain Steve Rodger on Spear One out of Murray Marina had a nice catch of tuna in the 30- pound range. Tunas that hang out below the shrimp boats as they cull their catch are generally larger than the ones we catch in the winter in the Atlantic.
On the flats there has been nothing but great action for tarpon. From Big Pine to the Marquesas there are plenty of large tarpon following their migratory path up the coast of Florida. There were a few days this week where the fishing slowed down a bit. It just seemed to be that one group of tarpon moved out while another group moved in a few days later to take their place.
Night tarpon fishing has been extremely productive. Tarpon enjoy slurping shrimp off the surface during the fuller moon phase and it is a terrific time to fish for them with live bait, sinking plug or even a dark colored fly. Black and purple and the traditional black death work great for night time tarpon fishing.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Key West Fishing Report - April 14
For a gal that loves fishing I tend to do a lot more writing and talking about it that actually doing it these days. Not by choice, but making a living in the Florida Keys gets more difficult each year so my spot in front of the computer is where I am at most hours of the day and night earning my living.
This week it has absolutely been killing me to be indoors with a bird’s eye view of the clear blue skies and I’ve even taken notice of the tree tops that are not moving too much. Yes, it’s been pretty darn nice around here and the fish stories are rolling in again.
Don’t get me wrong, I can get out there any time I want. I’ve got a skiff with my name on it in the garage ready to go and a few friends on standby that would jump at the chance to get out on the water.
My big thing is when the fish are biting; I want to be on that pointy end of the boat, not floundering around on the poling platform trying to chase fish.
By a fluke, my lucky day came during this beautiful week of fishing weather. My husband, Captain Justin Rea, came home with good news that he’d be getting a day off because his client needed to leave early. Without any hesitation, negotiations were underway to get out fishing.
Let me clue you in on something about being married to a fishing guide, it’s great because you always have someone to watch fishing shows with, talk about what the latest catch is, and even learn new techniques, but fishing during the hottest season of the year together is out of the question.
Ending up in a win-win situation, I get out tarpon fishing for a few hours; he gets help organizing all those receipts for the tax man. What a deal!
We headed out of Sugarloaf Marina for a brief look at a few tarpon holes. After a jaunt around the Lower Keys exploring different new spots, we ended our day with a cruise through Loggerhead Basin. The cloud cover that haunted us a few hours ago was now well out to sea and the purple-backed tarpon were easy to see.
I had not been out on the water for so long that I was almost second guessing my own abilities to spot fish and to make the proper cast. With the biggest critic in my fishing career standing a mere 15 feet behind me, I was a little nervous too. I know he only wants me to catch fish.
I had my shots at many cruising tarpon that day. A few followed the fly all the way to the boat. Others were scared off with only remnants of their exhaust of sand churned up from the shallow bottom.
I did hook two beasts that day, with my luck they both ran straight at the boat and jumped leaving me not enough room to set the hook properly.
Regardless of the outcome, that tarpon jumping it etched in my mind and will be until the next time I get out there.
Offshore and reef fishing has improved this week with steady action in the Gulf and Atlantic waters.
Captain Jake Perry on Mean Green out of Murray Marina has had some luck down at the end of the Bar for bonito and large sharks. Although large sharks can sometimes be a nuisance when you are trying to fish for bottom fish, they are plenty of fun on light tackle. Perry also landed several nice mutton snapper and a 15- pound dolphin.
Captain Tony Murphy on the Key Limey also had some good days of fishing this week. “It will stay consistent unless we get another blow,” Murphy said. Having fished the Gulf and Atlantic waters this week, Murphy had a broad view of all the fishing possibilities.
He mentioned that there were still some big kings in the Gulf, and when the bite was done there he headed over to the Atlantic side to finish off the day with some tuna action on the Sub.
Pretty soon the tunas will move into the Gulf and will be found boiling behind shrimp boats as they cull their catch. This is one of the most fun trips to take especially if you are a fly rodder. The tuna eat right at the boat and don’t care what pattern of fly you’ve tied up.
Murphy has also seen permit on some of the shallow wrecks just outside the Marquesas indicating that the yearly spawn is underway. “They’ve got lockjaw,” explained Murphy.
Permit are generally easy to feed on the wrecks this time of year. A live crab on a small hook does the trick. Just run past the wreck or patch reef area and drift quietly over it waiting for the permit to show at the surface. They turn the water a bright green when they near the surface. If they are eating, more often than not, they can’t resist a live crab. Permit on the wrecks generally range from 10- pounds to 40- pounds.
Bottom fishing has continued to be productive just off the reef. Captain Rush Maltz on Odyssea, also out of Murray Marina has been spending his days just off the reef in 75 ft of water. Maltz’s anglers have reeled in a nice mixed bag of yellowtail up to 2- pounds, mutton snapper and some big mangrove snapper up to 4- pounds. Maltz said catching such large mangrove snapper was “unusual” but they managed to catch around 20 of them.
This week’s expectations include a more defined color change to the east of Key West waters bringing in more sailfish and tailing cobia along the reef. Unless we have a dramatic change in the weather, wreck and reef fishing will remain consistant.On the flats, the tarpon migration continues to produce some nice big fish upwards to 80- pounds. Bonefishing has been reported good in the backcountry Big Pine to Key West and we’ll start to see more sizable bones as the waters warm up. Permit fishing on the flats will slow down as the larger fish head offshore to spawn. Look for the occasional decent sized permit on the flats but expect to find schools of considerably smaller ones.
This week it has absolutely been killing me to be indoors with a bird’s eye view of the clear blue skies and I’ve even taken notice of the tree tops that are not moving too much. Yes, it’s been pretty darn nice around here and the fish stories are rolling in again.
Don’t get me wrong, I can get out there any time I want. I’ve got a skiff with my name on it in the garage ready to go and a few friends on standby that would jump at the chance to get out on the water.
My big thing is when the fish are biting; I want to be on that pointy end of the boat, not floundering around on the poling platform trying to chase fish.
By a fluke, my lucky day came during this beautiful week of fishing weather. My husband, Captain Justin Rea, came home with good news that he’d be getting a day off because his client needed to leave early. Without any hesitation, negotiations were underway to get out fishing.
Let me clue you in on something about being married to a fishing guide, it’s great because you always have someone to watch fishing shows with, talk about what the latest catch is, and even learn new techniques, but fishing during the hottest season of the year together is out of the question.
Ending up in a win-win situation, I get out tarpon fishing for a few hours; he gets help organizing all those receipts for the tax man. What a deal!
We headed out of Sugarloaf Marina for a brief look at a few tarpon holes. After a jaunt around the Lower Keys exploring different new spots, we ended our day with a cruise through Loggerhead Basin. The cloud cover that haunted us a few hours ago was now well out to sea and the purple-backed tarpon were easy to see.
I had not been out on the water for so long that I was almost second guessing my own abilities to spot fish and to make the proper cast. With the biggest critic in my fishing career standing a mere 15 feet behind me, I was a little nervous too. I know he only wants me to catch fish.
I had my shots at many cruising tarpon that day. A few followed the fly all the way to the boat. Others were scared off with only remnants of their exhaust of sand churned up from the shallow bottom.
I did hook two beasts that day, with my luck they both ran straight at the boat and jumped leaving me not enough room to set the hook properly.
Regardless of the outcome, that tarpon jumping it etched in my mind and will be until the next time I get out there.
Offshore and reef fishing has improved this week with steady action in the Gulf and Atlantic waters.
Captain Jake Perry on Mean Green out of Murray Marina has had some luck down at the end of the Bar for bonito and large sharks. Although large sharks can sometimes be a nuisance when you are trying to fish for bottom fish, they are plenty of fun on light tackle. Perry also landed several nice mutton snapper and a 15- pound dolphin.
Captain Tony Murphy on the Key Limey also had some good days of fishing this week. “It will stay consistent unless we get another blow,” Murphy said. Having fished the Gulf and Atlantic waters this week, Murphy had a broad view of all the fishing possibilities.
He mentioned that there were still some big kings in the Gulf, and when the bite was done there he headed over to the Atlantic side to finish off the day with some tuna action on the Sub.
Pretty soon the tunas will move into the Gulf and will be found boiling behind shrimp boats as they cull their catch. This is one of the most fun trips to take especially if you are a fly rodder. The tuna eat right at the boat and don’t care what pattern of fly you’ve tied up.
Murphy has also seen permit on some of the shallow wrecks just outside the Marquesas indicating that the yearly spawn is underway. “They’ve got lockjaw,” explained Murphy.
Permit are generally easy to feed on the wrecks this time of year. A live crab on a small hook does the trick. Just run past the wreck or patch reef area and drift quietly over it waiting for the permit to show at the surface. They turn the water a bright green when they near the surface. If they are eating, more often than not, they can’t resist a live crab. Permit on the wrecks generally range from 10- pounds to 40- pounds.
Bottom fishing has continued to be productive just off the reef. Captain Rush Maltz on Odyssea, also out of Murray Marina has been spending his days just off the reef in 75 ft of water. Maltz’s anglers have reeled in a nice mixed bag of yellowtail up to 2- pounds, mutton snapper and some big mangrove snapper up to 4- pounds. Maltz said catching such large mangrove snapper was “unusual” but they managed to catch around 20 of them.
This week’s expectations include a more defined color change to the east of Key West waters bringing in more sailfish and tailing cobia along the reef. Unless we have a dramatic change in the weather, wreck and reef fishing will remain consistant.On the flats, the tarpon migration continues to produce some nice big fish upwards to 80- pounds. Bonefishing has been reported good in the backcountry Big Pine to Key West and we’ll start to see more sizable bones as the waters warm up. Permit fishing on the flats will slow down as the larger fish head offshore to spawn. Look for the occasional decent sized permit on the flats but expect to find schools of considerably smaller ones.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Key West Fishing Report - April 5th
Fishing in the Lower Keys this week has been a challenge compared to last week. Our mild weather pattern dramatically changed over the weekend dropping the temperature by ten degrees and leaving us with some tough fishing.
“It’s been pretty quiet,” explained Captain Rich Houde on the Southbound out of Charter Boat Row. Houde has been varying his fishing locations from just off the reef to a few hundred feet of water and even though the fishing has been a bit tough, he’s had not a lot of fish but some nice fish. His anglers have been privileged to have a captain with nearly 22 years experience fishing in the Keys. Houde reported having some luck with larger mahi-mahi earlier this week landing a few in the 20- to 30- pound class. “This time of year the dolphin aren't out real far.” Houde said. Next month and into May we’ll start seeing the larger dolphin move through in loose pods.
Houde described how this time of year really brings the sailfish within reach. According to the N.O.A.A. website, which Houde was looking at when I talked to him, the gulfstream is just a mere 7 miles off Key West. That’s surprising since we’ve just had some harsh north winds for a few days. There has been an east current but according to Houde it’s not enough to bring the large number of sails in close to the area. If the current picks up it could change the conditions enough to turn the bite on.
Houde has been doing what he can to get the sailfish to bite. Slow trolling with live threadfin herring or ballyhoo on the outriggers is generally the method used on both light tackle and large sport fishing boats.
Captain Damon Santelli on Outcast Charters also out of Charter Boat Row in Key West, has had some luck with sailfish this week. I caught up with him briefly this week and he was very happy to have released a sailfish that morning on his charter. Santelli had seen a couple more but it was tough to get the bite. Santelli had been fishing the color change just outside the bar off Key West. He explained that small blue runners had been working well for him.
Besides the hope of a better sailfish bite just around the corner as we head in to April, there has been some good action on patch reefs and wrecks on the Atlantic side of the lower Keys. Tuna and bonito have been showing up at the end of the bar and further to the south on the Sub, which is in around 240 ft. This wreck is not much structure on the bottom but tends to hold a plethora of fish in the winter months. It’s a hit or miss situation for tuna out there this time of year though. One day they are there, the next day they are not. Other species that share space on the deeper wrecks in the lower Keys are wahoo, kingfish, amberjack and mutton snapper.
Captain Tony Murphy on the Key Limey out of Murray Marina got a taste of the good wahoo bite a few days ago. Murphy boated a fat 38- pound wahoo and also brought in several blackfin tuna. Captain Chris Lembo on Incognito also had some luck with the speedy wahoo. Lembo was fishing further offshore near the wall in about 650 feet of water. He was trolling with a couple flat lines on the outriggers and one artificial down deep. Lembo’s catch included a nice 20- pound wahoo, a 38- pound dolphin, and some smaller schoolie dolphin.
Since the wind has picked up, Lembo says he’s been fishing just outside the reef in calmer waters. “The temperature goes from 70 degrees just inside the reef to 75 degrees on the reef,” Lembo explained. Fishing just off the reef in a north wind lends its advantages. The reef and the shallow water surrounding it offer protection and don’t allow the sea to build up as much. There is plenty of hard bottom just outside the reef edge in 40-60 feet of water and small structure that holds grouper, mutton snapper and yellowtail.
The flats have been the hardest hit by this last cold front. The fishing has been super tough with the temperature drop but this week the forecast looks good for warmer weather.
Permit fishing has remained good and several guides reported some fabulous days of permit fishing in the lower Keys. Enjoy fishing for these permit now because they’ll be heading offshore to many of the wrecks and patch reefs to spawn next month. There have already been reports of some schools off Western Dry Rocks.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
March Merkin Permit Tournament - Key West, FL
KEY WEST – Permit fishing in the Lower Keys for some is not just to fish for these elusive silver creatures -- it’s an obsession. For Jon Ain, of Vail, Colorado, adding a few more fly-caught permit was no easy task this week. Ain avidly fishes for permit and he managed to add 5 more fish to his total record of 238 permit on fly.
There is only one man who revolutionized fishing for permit with a fly rod, which was Delmar E. Brown, who is better known in the fishing community as the late Del Brown. Brown unfortunately passed away in 2003 at the age of 84. He caught 513 permit on fly in his lifetime. To give you an idea of how tremendous that is, the next record holder for permit is probably Ain, according to Russell Thornberry, of the D.O.P.A.P (Distinguished Order of Permit Angling Purists). His legacy lives on though as a little fly called the Merkin. The Merkin Crab is probably the top selling saltwater fly in history.
This fly emulates a crab fleeing into the grass or trying to bury itself in the sand. The dumbbell eyes allow the fly to sink rather quickly, while the feather or rubber band claws trail behind making the crab fly look as if it is swimming and very much alive. The initial shape of the Merkin was more oval shaped like a live blue crab might look, but many patterns have developed over the years that have a more tapered look and allows the fly to move more quickly towards the bottom.
Permit are known for having great eyesight and hearing. Therefore presenting the fly to them requires plenty of accuracy and if you get the permit’s attention, their likelihood of following the fly is much greater. Fly anglers certainly should not expect to catch a permit on a fly on their first day of saltwater fishing, and possibly not any day after that. Those who do manage the feat of enticing, hooking and landing a permit will certainly be the focus of envy at the dock. After all, they have achieved the greatest goal in saltwater fly fishing, in my opinion.
This brings me to the focus of this weeks report, the first annual March Merkin Permit Tournament. I got the opportunity to attend the captains meeting on March 14th and it was such a pleasure to be in the presence of some of the best permit guides and anglers in the area. Permit fishing is as tough as it gets here in the Keys and 23 boats were up for the challenge.
The tournament was out of Hurricane Hole Marina and was hosted by Jon Ain and Dave Horn, both avid permit anglers who have spent much time chasing permit in the Keys and in other spots in the Caribbean.
The tournament was created because of the popular demand for a permit tournament in March, since the Del Brown was moved to July by popular angler vote. Historically the weather has been windy and therefore tough fly fishing for permit. Many of the anglers who normally fish the Del Brown were delighted to be able to fish this week.
Lucky for all participants, the weather was pretty nice. Although you would think the leader board would be filled with a history of the best permit angling ever, at the end of three days of fishing, only a handful of boats actually managed to land a permit on fly.
“We had 15 shots but saw permit in spurts,” said Ain, describing his first day of fishing. Ain, fishing with guide Capt. Doug Kilpatrick, was all warmed-up for this tournament, having caught a hefty 31- pound permit the day before the tournament.
The next two days played out nicely for Ain and Kilpatrick, landing two permit on fly. “The third day was so calm it was hard to get close to the fish,” Ain said. He described to be how difficult it was to make an 80- foot cast with complete accuracy.
Largest Permit and First Place went to Jon Ain with guide Capt. Doug Kilpatrick. Ain caught 2 permit during the 3 day tournament, one weighing 28- pounds, the other 18- pounds. Second place went to Moe Slayton who was guided by Capt. Mike Guerin, and Third Place was awarded to Tom Rowland who was fishing with Capt. Ernie Maynard.
This tournament was unique in that permit were counted by inches. Each inch earned 4 points. As proclaimed on the back of their stylish tournament tees, “Every Inch Counts.”
Elsewhere, fishing has remained steady in the Key West area. Light tackle fishing for tarpon in the Harbor area has been steady but not really ‘on fire’ yet. Reef and wreck fishing has been the best bet this week with plenty of nice mutton snapper, yellowtail, cero mackerel and the occasional cobia.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Key West Fishing Tournament Kick-Off
KEY WEST – This week in fishing here in the Keys could be described as a bumpy ride for many of the offshore fisherman. A blazing south wind made for high seas and some tough fishing conditions for our contestants in the Kickoff Tournament which starts the seven-month long Key West Fishing Tournament.
The greatest thing about this tournament is that captains may enter their catch at many of the local marinas and each angler receives recognition for their catch with a handsome certificate that they receive by mail. Doris Harris heads up the tournament and says it’s her way of giving back to fishing in our community now that she doesn’t spend much time on the water.
Thirty five boats and 131 anglers competed this year in the Kickoff Tournament. Participants were allowed to fish from their home ports around the lower Keys and could fish with up to 4 anglers per team.
Saturday was a blustery day for offshore anglers making it difficult to travel far for any particular species of fish. Angler Holly Amolio-Barr, of Key West, was fishing on the Double Down with husband and captain, Brice Barr. She described the fishing to be fun but a challenge in rough seas. “At one point I was trying to photograph the sailfish and got complete drenched by a wave.” Barr explained that she had persuaded two of her good friends who were here on vacation to fish the tournament with her, making for an all-girl team. “They were all good sports for their first fishing experience,” Barr said.
Team Double Down ended up with a total of 7 sailfish releases, three were by Barr herself. She topped the category for Most Sailfish Released and was awarded a beautiful sailfish sculpture.
There were only a few boats participating on the flats, one being Captain Tim Carlisle on The OutCast, and his angler Gloria Rampfel, both of Sugarloaf Key. Carlisle has always been very active in the Key West Tournament and this year was no exception. After the first day of fishing Rampfel had 14 released bonefish under her belt. There was certainly no slouching off on Sunday for Rampfel. When the day was done, Carlisle had put her on another 13 bones leaving them with 27 releases over two days. Ramfel took the top award for most bonefish releases.
Other division results include heaviest kingfish, 54.4- pound kingfish caught by angler Jeff Leach of Jacksonville, FL. Leach was fishing aboard Second Generation with Captain Rob Delph. Heaviest dolphin award went to Donna Tucker of Middletown, NJ, fishing aboard Mad Dash with Captain Finnlay Sinclair. Although there have been several more dolphin caught this week, rough seas had made it tough to travel further into the Gulfstream for the slammer dolphin.
Heaviest Barracuda was awarded to Karl Paganelli of Sand Lake, MI. Paganelli landed a healthy 23.12-pound barracuda. He was fishing with Captain Chip Veach aboard the Super Grouper.
Wreck and reef fishing has continued to be pretty good around the lower Keys area this week. Chris Decker, fishing aboard the Rainmaker out of Ramrod Key, managed to take first prize for heaviest mutton snapper. His fish weighing in at 17.8- pounds.
The largest cobia of the tournament weighed in at 76.12- pounds. A new record for this tournament in the men’s 20- pound line class. The catch was credited to Karl Paganelli of Sand Lake, MI fishing with Captain Chip Veach on the Super Grouper. Paganelli is a veteran angler to the tournament who also took the 30- pound class division achievement award in 2005.
Heaviest Grouper went to Ron Glinski of Whiteville, NC. Glinski was also fishing with Captain Rob Delph aboard Second Generation. His fish weighed in at 31.4- pounds.
There must have been some hot fishing action aboard the Capt. John’s Greyhound out of Charter Boat Row in Key West. Two anglers brought home top awards for Heaviest Mangrove Snapper and Heaviest Grunt. Thomas Grainey of Key West landed a nice 3- pound 12 oz. mangrove snapper while Laural Gikas of Rogers City, MI caught a 2- pound grunt.
Most tarpon releases was awarded to David Stern of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, fishing aboard the New Horizons with Capt. Bruce Cronin. Stern landed 8 tarpon over the two days of the tournament.
Most permit releases went to David Pesi of Miami, FL, which fishing aboard the Sea Spirit. Pesi released one permit.
And last but not least was the Junior Division champ who not only won heaviest fish but also an award for furthest traveled. Brendon Roebuck of Chatham, Ontario was fishing with his father Cliff aboard Sting Rea with Captain Justin Rea. The Roebuck’s spend plenty of time fishing on their lake in Ontario so it’s no surprise that Brandon was able to spot a nice 8- pound redfish on the flat, make the cast and land the fish. Roebuck landed several other fish including another redfish, seatrout, bonnethead sharks and jack crevalle.
Other mentionables in the tournament were Captain’s Best Catch which was awarded to Capt. Chip Veach for guiding two winners, one of which is a new tournament record. The other was the Hard Luck Award which went to Sandra Downs of Cudjoe Key, FL. Downs was fishing with her family aboard the Sea Hawk. Several unfortunate events throughout the tournament contributed to this award. One crucial event being the loss of a 20- pound dolphin that jumped off the gaff.
March 14th through 17th marks the first annual March Merkin Permit Tournament here in Key West. This fly fishing only tournament took the place of the Del Brown Permit Tournament which was moved to July after last year’s popular vote. It seemed as though anglers were getting tired of the poor weather conditions in March and July posed a better time for calmer weather and better fishing.
Luckily for the March Merkin tournament organizers, John Ain and David Horn, the weather has been nothing but beautiful and we will probably see a higher number of permit releases this week. Twenty three boats are scheduled to fish the tournament and some of the top permit guides and anglers are participants. Look for fish stories and results next week.
The greatest thing about this tournament is that captains may enter their catch at many of the local marinas and each angler receives recognition for their catch with a handsome certificate that they receive by mail. Doris Harris heads up the tournament and says it’s her way of giving back to fishing in our community now that she doesn’t spend much time on the water.
Thirty five boats and 131 anglers competed this year in the Kickoff Tournament. Participants were allowed to fish from their home ports around the lower Keys and could fish with up to 4 anglers per team.
Saturday was a blustery day for offshore anglers making it difficult to travel far for any particular species of fish. Angler Holly Amolio-Barr, of Key West, was fishing on the Double Down with husband and captain, Brice Barr. She described the fishing to be fun but a challenge in rough seas. “At one point I was trying to photograph the sailfish and got complete drenched by a wave.” Barr explained that she had persuaded two of her good friends who were here on vacation to fish the tournament with her, making for an all-girl team. “They were all good sports for their first fishing experience,” Barr said.
Team Double Down ended up with a total of 7 sailfish releases, three were by Barr herself. She topped the category for Most Sailfish Released and was awarded a beautiful sailfish sculpture.
There were only a few boats participating on the flats, one being Captain Tim Carlisle on The OutCast, and his angler Gloria Rampfel, both of Sugarloaf Key. Carlisle has always been very active in the Key West Tournament and this year was no exception. After the first day of fishing Rampfel had 14 released bonefish under her belt. There was certainly no slouching off on Sunday for Rampfel. When the day was done, Carlisle had put her on another 13 bones leaving them with 27 releases over two days. Ramfel took the top award for most bonefish releases.
Other division results include heaviest kingfish, 54.4- pound kingfish caught by angler Jeff Leach of Jacksonville, FL. Leach was fishing aboard Second Generation with Captain Rob Delph. Heaviest dolphin award went to Donna Tucker of Middletown, NJ, fishing aboard Mad Dash with Captain Finnlay Sinclair. Although there have been several more dolphin caught this week, rough seas had made it tough to travel further into the Gulfstream for the slammer dolphin.
Heaviest Barracuda was awarded to Karl Paganelli of Sand Lake, MI. Paganelli landed a healthy 23.12-pound barracuda. He was fishing with Captain Chip Veach aboard the Super Grouper.
Wreck and reef fishing has continued to be pretty good around the lower Keys area this week. Chris Decker, fishing aboard the Rainmaker out of Ramrod Key, managed to take first prize for heaviest mutton snapper. His fish weighing in at 17.8- pounds.
The largest cobia of the tournament weighed in at 76.12- pounds. A new record for this tournament in the men’s 20- pound line class. The catch was credited to Karl Paganelli of Sand Lake, MI fishing with Captain Chip Veach on the Super Grouper. Paganelli is a veteran angler to the tournament who also took the 30- pound class division achievement award in 2005.
Heaviest Grouper went to Ron Glinski of Whiteville, NC. Glinski was also fishing with Captain Rob Delph aboard Second Generation. His fish weighed in at 31.4- pounds.
There must have been some hot fishing action aboard the Capt. John’s Greyhound out of Charter Boat Row in Key West. Two anglers brought home top awards for Heaviest Mangrove Snapper and Heaviest Grunt. Thomas Grainey of Key West landed a nice 3- pound 12 oz. mangrove snapper while Laural Gikas of Rogers City, MI caught a 2- pound grunt.
Most tarpon releases was awarded to David Stern of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, fishing aboard the New Horizons with Capt. Bruce Cronin. Stern landed 8 tarpon over the two days of the tournament.
Most permit releases went to David Pesi of Miami, FL, which fishing aboard the Sea Spirit. Pesi released one permit.
And last but not least was the Junior Division champ who not only won heaviest fish but also an award for furthest traveled. Brendon Roebuck of Chatham, Ontario was fishing with his father Cliff aboard Sting Rea with Captain Justin Rea. The Roebuck’s spend plenty of time fishing on their lake in Ontario so it’s no surprise that Brandon was able to spot a nice 8- pound redfish on the flat, make the cast and land the fish. Roebuck landed several other fish including another redfish, seatrout, bonnethead sharks and jack crevalle.
Other mentionables in the tournament were Captain’s Best Catch which was awarded to Capt. Chip Veach for guiding two winners, one of which is a new tournament record. The other was the Hard Luck Award which went to Sandra Downs of Cudjoe Key, FL. Downs was fishing with her family aboard the Sea Hawk. Several unfortunate events throughout the tournament contributed to this award. One crucial event being the loss of a 20- pound dolphin that jumped off the gaff.
March 14th through 17th marks the first annual March Merkin Permit Tournament here in Key West. This fly fishing only tournament took the place of the Del Brown Permit Tournament which was moved to July after last year’s popular vote. It seemed as though anglers were getting tired of the poor weather conditions in March and July posed a better time for calmer weather and better fishing.
Luckily for the March Merkin tournament organizers, John Ain and David Horn, the weather has been nothing but beautiful and we will probably see a higher number of permit releases this week. Twenty three boats are scheduled to fish the tournament and some of the top permit guides and anglers are participants. Look for fish stories and results next week.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
March 8th Fishing Report
Here we are in March already and I’d have to say based on my ten years of living in the Keys, this has been one of the nicest and kindest winters weather-wise that we’ve had in years. The topic of conversation around mid-February has often been focused around the question, “When do you think this wind is going to stop blowing?” This February and into early March has been a dream for our fishing fleet and the fishing action proves it.
It’s no surprise why the Southern Kingfish Association would hold not one but two tournaments in the Key West area in one season. The king mackerel fishing has been outstanding. The SKA Pro Tournament brought the best of the best in kingfishing back to Murray Marina in Key West for the first leg of a 5 tournament tour. The first day of fishing went off with a bang. The dramatic bimini start was orchestrated out in front of Key West with the historic PT boat sounding off its cannon to start the tournament. The calm seas and beautiful weather allowed many of these boats to run comfortably to the Dry Tortugas fishing grounds. At the end of the day our waters to the west of Key West has produced many smoker kings tipping the scales at 50- and 60- pounds plus.
Meanwhile the charter captains of several offshore boats agree that kingfish is still the hot bite this week. Captain Joe Mercurio on the Triple Time out of A&B Marina has had his share of luck catching his limit of kings on any given day. “The blue water has been kind of mean,” said Mercurio, meaning that it’s given up a lot of good fish. Mercurio frustrated with some of the good fish he’s had on the line, a sailfish jumping off, and another fish pulling the hook. Regardless, Mercurio had some good days of fishing, catching a 30- pound wahoo off Eastern Dry Rocks. He also mentioned that a couple mahi mahi have been caught in the 20- pound class. His charter ended up with a nice catch of schoolie mahi mahi, “Enough for dinner,” Mercurio said. Smaller mahi dolphin have been plentiful and generally in only a couple hundred feet of water. All of Mercurio’s fishing is done trolling skirted and bare ballyhoo.
I asked Mercurio about the sailfishing, he replied, “Most action seems to be to the west with a few sails being caught off Western.” Mercurio is one of few charter captains who have been fishing these waters for decades.
Captain Rob Nevius on Jerkwater Charters out of Hurricane Hole Marina agrees that king mackerel have been granting some hot action to the west of Key West just off the reef edge. Nevius has been getting them on live bait but says just chumming them up and jigging seems to work the best. Nevius runs a light tackle SeaVee boat and really enjoys the action that light tackle sport fishing has to offer here in the Lower Keys.
As for other action around Key West, Nevius explained that the cobia bite has been pretty hot too. He’s been finding cobia in the Gulf in some of the ‘typical’ cobia spots in larger schools. Nevius has had some fabulous days of cobia fishing, catching his limit and boating cobia in the 20- to 25- pound range.
Sailfishing is certainly a hot topic in the Keys in March and April. The sailfish migrate through our area each year around now but the action is still not up to speed. Nevius recalls last year’s bite started much earlier. “Last year January and February we had a great run of sailfish,” he said. This year has been a little different. “I’ve found that a north wind pushes the green water out and puts the fish down,” he added. Ideal conditions off Key West for sails are to have the blue water inside 200 feet of water. “It seems to be the best time to fish for them,” Nevius remarked.
Tarpon fishing has been spotty this week. The southerly breezes seemed to keep them biting in the Key West Harbor and Northwest Channel. As the winds turn to a more north direction, the fishing becomes more difficult for tarpon. That doesn’t mean they are non-existent, just more difficult to get a bite.
Several flats guides I talked to said they’ve had their shots at some great fishing this week. Loads of bonefish from Big Pine to the Marquesas Keys means the water temperatures are getting up there slowly but surely. There are also plenty of large permit around, many of them tailing in very shallow water looking for a feast.
Our only hope is that March will give us more mild weather and more fabulous fishing opportunities.
It’s no surprise why the Southern Kingfish Association would hold not one but two tournaments in the Key West area in one season. The king mackerel fishing has been outstanding. The SKA Pro Tournament brought the best of the best in kingfishing back to Murray Marina in Key West for the first leg of a 5 tournament tour. The first day of fishing went off with a bang. The dramatic bimini start was orchestrated out in front of Key West with the historic PT boat sounding off its cannon to start the tournament. The calm seas and beautiful weather allowed many of these boats to run comfortably to the Dry Tortugas fishing grounds. At the end of the day our waters to the west of Key West has produced many smoker kings tipping the scales at 50- and 60- pounds plus.
Meanwhile the charter captains of several offshore boats agree that kingfish is still the hot bite this week. Captain Joe Mercurio on the Triple Time out of A&B Marina has had his share of luck catching his limit of kings on any given day. “The blue water has been kind of mean,” said Mercurio, meaning that it’s given up a lot of good fish. Mercurio frustrated with some of the good fish he’s had on the line, a sailfish jumping off, and another fish pulling the hook. Regardless, Mercurio had some good days of fishing, catching a 30- pound wahoo off Eastern Dry Rocks. He also mentioned that a couple mahi mahi have been caught in the 20- pound class. His charter ended up with a nice catch of schoolie mahi mahi, “Enough for dinner,” Mercurio said. Smaller mahi dolphin have been plentiful and generally in only a couple hundred feet of water. All of Mercurio’s fishing is done trolling skirted and bare ballyhoo.
I asked Mercurio about the sailfishing, he replied, “Most action seems to be to the west with a few sails being caught off Western.” Mercurio is one of few charter captains who have been fishing these waters for decades.
Captain Rob Nevius on Jerkwater Charters out of Hurricane Hole Marina agrees that king mackerel have been granting some hot action to the west of Key West just off the reef edge. Nevius has been getting them on live bait but says just chumming them up and jigging seems to work the best. Nevius runs a light tackle SeaVee boat and really enjoys the action that light tackle sport fishing has to offer here in the Lower Keys.
As for other action around Key West, Nevius explained that the cobia bite has been pretty hot too. He’s been finding cobia in the Gulf in some of the ‘typical’ cobia spots in larger schools. Nevius has had some fabulous days of cobia fishing, catching his limit and boating cobia in the 20- to 25- pound range.
Sailfishing is certainly a hot topic in the Keys in March and April. The sailfish migrate through our area each year around now but the action is still not up to speed. Nevius recalls last year’s bite started much earlier. “Last year January and February we had a great run of sailfish,” he said. This year has been a little different. “I’ve found that a north wind pushes the green water out and puts the fish down,” he added. Ideal conditions off Key West for sails are to have the blue water inside 200 feet of water. “It seems to be the best time to fish for them,” Nevius remarked.
Tarpon fishing has been spotty this week. The southerly breezes seemed to keep them biting in the Key West Harbor and Northwest Channel. As the winds turn to a more north direction, the fishing becomes more difficult for tarpon. That doesn’t mean they are non-existent, just more difficult to get a bite.
Several flats guides I talked to said they’ve had their shots at some great fishing this week. Loads of bonefish from Big Pine to the Marquesas Keys means the water temperatures are getting up there slowly but surely. There are also plenty of large permit around, many of them tailing in very shallow water looking for a feast.
Our only hope is that March will give us more mild weather and more fabulous fishing opportunities.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
KeyWest Fishing Report - March 1, 2006
KEY WEST – Key West fishing this week certainly had some fabulous highlights. Our weather was perfect there for about a week with calm winds and clear blue skies. Those who know fishing, especially in saltwater, know that fronts and changing weather patterns effect the fishing, not always shutting it down but simply changing it. Our last weekend front brought slightly cooler temperatures into the area but it is quickly warming up and really starting to feel like spring in the Lower Keys.
I’ve heard many great tales of fishing on the flats this week from our local flats captains. Permit tailing on the flats, tarpon on the deeper flats, many of them caught on fly. This is one of the best times for permit here in the Lower Keys. They feed heavily on the flats for small blue crabs and shrimp and to any fly fisherman, this is one of the best times to try for a permit on a fly. There has always been a question of whether a permit is a reef and wreck fish, or a flats fish. They spend time in both places. A permit seems to almost be like a criminal on the flats, he’s just there to steal a few crustaceans and then return to deeper water. This past week has had some pretty calm days making it difficult to get close enough to a tailing permit to make a decent cast. Hundreds of anglers travel here religiously to fish for permit, many of them have caught one, and some are still looking for their shot at glory. The late Del Brown caught over 500 permit on fly. It’s almost unimaginable to catch so many permit on fly since its taken 3 years of practice, fly casting in the driveway, to get to the point where I could actually get the fly to the permit without scaring the living daylights out of him. I think your first permit should be compared sometimes to getting a hole-in-one on a par three.
Permit can be found predominantly cruising the flats in March and many larger permit, some up to 40- pounds can be found in Key West Harbor mixed in with the seasonal tarpon and possibly a few cobia. Permit in the Harbor are often down deep and adding a couple split shots to your crab bait when drifting back in the current will get the bait down far enough to get a good bite.
Several tarpon guides say this time of the year is perfect for early tarpon fishing providing the water temperature is warm enough. I caught up with one of the go to guides for tarpon today, Captain Gary Maconi on the Fishin’ Magician out of Murray Marina. To give you any idea of how much Maconi loves tarpon, his other vessel is named “Megalops Atlanticus,” which is the scientific name for tarpon. I asked Gary if he thought it was going to be a good day for tarpon. He replied, “The temperature is a little lower than I’d expect, it dropped 8 degrees since yesterday, but I’ve caught them in this temperature water.” As with any fishing scenario anywhere in the world, it fluctuates with warm and cool fronts, moon phases, tides and, of course, wind direction. I talked to Maconi later in the day and his angler got one tarpon. Hooking a tarpon in Key West Harbor is pretty fun and not as easy as you think. As the captain puts some cut bait chum in the water you drift your bait back at the same speed as the current. The bait is moving so fast that you may only feel a slight speed up in the line, that’s when you lock it up and set the hook as hard as you can. A tarpon’s mouth is very much like a cinder block, difficult to set a hook and have it stay put while the fish makes several aerobatic jumps.
Several boats braved the small craft warnings and higher than normal winds early this week to do some reef fishing. Despite the cooler temps the cero mackerel and king mackerel were still biting strong. Captain Craig Eubanks on the Mr. Z out of A&B Marina explained that the fishing was still a bit slow but they managed to get a few nice yellowtail and some cero mackerel and barracuda on the reef during a half day charter. Eubanks has been fishing out of Key West for nearly 15 years.
This week Key West welcomes the SKA Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour. The tournament headquarters will be at Murray Marina on Stock Island where the rules allow these top pro teams to weigh in one kingfish per day. This leg of the tour is one in 5 of the tour series. SKA tabulates the results from all these events and the team with the best aggregate earns the title “Top Angler of the Year.”
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I’ve heard many great tales of fishing on the flats this week from our local flats captains. Permit tailing on the flats, tarpon on the deeper flats, many of them caught on fly. This is one of the best times for permit here in the Lower Keys. They feed heavily on the flats for small blue crabs and shrimp and to any fly fisherman, this is one of the best times to try for a permit on a fly. There has always been a question of whether a permit is a reef and wreck fish, or a flats fish. They spend time in both places. A permit seems to almost be like a criminal on the flats, he’s just there to steal a few crustaceans and then return to deeper water. This past week has had some pretty calm days making it difficult to get close enough to a tailing permit to make a decent cast. Hundreds of anglers travel here religiously to fish for permit, many of them have caught one, and some are still looking for their shot at glory. The late Del Brown caught over 500 permit on fly. It’s almost unimaginable to catch so many permit on fly since its taken 3 years of practice, fly casting in the driveway, to get to the point where I could actually get the fly to the permit without scaring the living daylights out of him. I think your first permit should be compared sometimes to getting a hole-in-one on a par three.
Permit can be found predominantly cruising the flats in March and many larger permit, some up to 40- pounds can be found in Key West Harbor mixed in with the seasonal tarpon and possibly a few cobia. Permit in the Harbor are often down deep and adding a couple split shots to your crab bait when drifting back in the current will get the bait down far enough to get a good bite.
Several tarpon guides say this time of the year is perfect for early tarpon fishing providing the water temperature is warm enough. I caught up with one of the go to guides for tarpon today, Captain Gary Maconi on the Fishin’ Magician out of Murray Marina. To give you any idea of how much Maconi loves tarpon, his other vessel is named “Megalops Atlanticus,” which is the scientific name for tarpon. I asked Gary if he thought it was going to be a good day for tarpon. He replied, “The temperature is a little lower than I’d expect, it dropped 8 degrees since yesterday, but I’ve caught them in this temperature water.” As with any fishing scenario anywhere in the world, it fluctuates with warm and cool fronts, moon phases, tides and, of course, wind direction. I talked to Maconi later in the day and his angler got one tarpon. Hooking a tarpon in Key West Harbor is pretty fun and not as easy as you think. As the captain puts some cut bait chum in the water you drift your bait back at the same speed as the current. The bait is moving so fast that you may only feel a slight speed up in the line, that’s when you lock it up and set the hook as hard as you can. A tarpon’s mouth is very much like a cinder block, difficult to set a hook and have it stay put while the fish makes several aerobatic jumps.
Several boats braved the small craft warnings and higher than normal winds early this week to do some reef fishing. Despite the cooler temps the cero mackerel and king mackerel were still biting strong. Captain Craig Eubanks on the Mr. Z out of A&B Marina explained that the fishing was still a bit slow but they managed to get a few nice yellowtail and some cero mackerel and barracuda on the reef during a half day charter. Eubanks has been fishing out of Key West for nearly 15 years.
This week Key West welcomes the SKA Yamaha Professional Kingfish Tour. The tournament headquarters will be at Murray Marina on Stock Island where the rules allow these top pro teams to weigh in one kingfish per day. This leg of the tour is one in 5 of the tour series. SKA tabulates the results from all these events and the team with the best aggregate earns the title “Top Angler of the Year.”
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Friday, February 24, 2006
“Lured Away” takes first prize in Hog’s Breath Tournament
KEY WEST – Key West welcomed many of the top fishing teams in the South East this weekend for the annual Hog’s Breath King Mackerel Tournament held at Murray Marina on Stock Island. Many of the teams rolled into town at the beginning of the week for some strategic pre-fishing. This tournament is part of the Southern Kingfish Association series and brings many of the best kingfish pro anglers to the Key West area.
The weekend weather was not exactly stellar for those long runs towards the Dry Tortugas for the hopeful smoker king. Captain Tony Murphy on the Key Limey described the winds as “25 knots and humming,” which many of the participants would agree was putting it mildly. Despite the wind and weather conditions many boats did very well the first day. Two boats, Team Sundance Marine and No Doubt, both weighed in a kingfish over 60 lbs. Team Sundance Marine weighed in a 64.74 lb. king and they were sure that was one of the largest fish caught in the history of the tournament.
The second day of the tournament brought slightly milder weather. After spending Saturday on anchor live bait fishing for kingfish, Captain Tony Murphy decided that possibly trolling would give his team more opportunities. “Sunday was good for me. I stayed in close and picked off the big fish early.” Murphy was slow trolling blue runners and reported that they had steady action. Top prize went to Lured Away from Houston, TX. Bobby Schoenfeld and Wally Mercado had the winning fish weighing a record 66.77 lbs. Second price was awarded to Team Sundance Marine with their 64.74 lb. fish. Third prize went to No Doubt who brought in a 61.47 lb. king. Only two of Key West’s hometown teams placed this year in the top 15. Delph Fishing came in 14th with their 42.64 lb. fish, Key Limey came in 15th with a fish weighing 41.65 lbs. Murphy added, “We’ve never had a year with this many fish over 60lbs. weighed in.”
As far as the hot bite of the week, go figure that it’s kingfish this time of year. Even in close to Key West they are biting off the reef and down at the end of the bar. Captain Kevin Wilson of Knee Deep Charters out of Geiger Key Marina has been finding the kingfish bite to be the best action around this week. “The seas have been bouncy but fishable,” said Wilson. Wilson has been fishing the waters around Key West for more than 15 years. His most amazing catch over this past week was a black grouper that stole a half eaten yellowtail just below the surface of the water. Apparently a shark had injured the yellowtail on the retrieve and this grouper came up and gobbled up the injured fish. Wilson has also been fishing for yellowtail and says the bite is up and down because of our changing weather patterns. He noted that grouper fishing has been somewhat consistent.
The flats around the Lower Keys have been a bit difficult this week. Temperatures on the flats barely reached 70 this past weekend making some of the most prominent species pretty scarce. Water clarity in the backcountry has made fishing on the Gulf side flats more challenging. Many guides have reported the flats to the west of Key West are fishing good right now. Anything from ladyfish to cobia to permit are around this time of year. Captain Sandy Horn from the Saltwater Angler reported that he’d seen several large permit on the flats around the Lakes Passage. This time of year is excellent permit fishing. Permit roam the flats of the Lower Keys in search of crustaceans like small blue crabs and shrimp throughout most of the year. They typically spawn during April and May and can be found hovering over wrecks and patch reefs around the Gulf and Atlantic.
The weekend weather was not exactly stellar for those long runs towards the Dry Tortugas for the hopeful smoker king. Captain Tony Murphy on the Key Limey described the winds as “25 knots and humming,” which many of the participants would agree was putting it mildly. Despite the wind and weather conditions many boats did very well the first day. Two boats, Team Sundance Marine and No Doubt, both weighed in a kingfish over 60 lbs. Team Sundance Marine weighed in a 64.74 lb. king and they were sure that was one of the largest fish caught in the history of the tournament.
The second day of the tournament brought slightly milder weather. After spending Saturday on anchor live bait fishing for kingfish, Captain Tony Murphy decided that possibly trolling would give his team more opportunities. “Sunday was good for me. I stayed in close and picked off the big fish early.” Murphy was slow trolling blue runners and reported that they had steady action. Top prize went to Lured Away from Houston, TX. Bobby Schoenfeld and Wally Mercado had the winning fish weighing a record 66.77 lbs. Second price was awarded to Team Sundance Marine with their 64.74 lb. fish. Third prize went to No Doubt who brought in a 61.47 lb. king. Only two of Key West’s hometown teams placed this year in the top 15. Delph Fishing came in 14th with their 42.64 lb. fish, Key Limey came in 15th with a fish weighing 41.65 lbs. Murphy added, “We’ve never had a year with this many fish over 60lbs. weighed in.”
As far as the hot bite of the week, go figure that it’s kingfish this time of year. Even in close to Key West they are biting off the reef and down at the end of the bar. Captain Kevin Wilson of Knee Deep Charters out of Geiger Key Marina has been finding the kingfish bite to be the best action around this week. “The seas have been bouncy but fishable,” said Wilson. Wilson has been fishing the waters around Key West for more than 15 years. His most amazing catch over this past week was a black grouper that stole a half eaten yellowtail just below the surface of the water. Apparently a shark had injured the yellowtail on the retrieve and this grouper came up and gobbled up the injured fish. Wilson has also been fishing for yellowtail and says the bite is up and down because of our changing weather patterns. He noted that grouper fishing has been somewhat consistent.
The flats around the Lower Keys have been a bit difficult this week. Temperatures on the flats barely reached 70 this past weekend making some of the most prominent species pretty scarce. Water clarity in the backcountry has made fishing on the Gulf side flats more challenging. Many guides have reported the flats to the west of Key West are fishing good right now. Anything from ladyfish to cobia to permit are around this time of year. Captain Sandy Horn from the Saltwater Angler reported that he’d seen several large permit on the flats around the Lakes Passage. This time of year is excellent permit fishing. Permit roam the flats of the Lower Keys in search of crustaceans like small blue crabs and shrimp throughout most of the year. They typically spawn during April and May and can be found hovering over wrecks and patch reefs around the Gulf and Atlantic.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Barracuda fishing in the Lower Florida Keys
KEY WEST – This week in the Lower Keys has not been a terribly active one for the big game fishing we are known for. A dip in the temperature sends many fish into shutdown mode and with the exception of a few choice species. This has been the case for the better part of this week. The best news is that it’s mid-February and we are due for a nice warming trend that will break the fishing wide open.
Winter fishing in the Key West leaves us with a shorter list of fishable species because many of the fish are temperature sensitive. Take for instance the bonefish, they are prominent flats fish for a better part of the year here in the Lower Keys but generally in the winter months you won’t find too many of on the flats. Bonefish move onto the flats to feed when the temperature ranges from 74 to 86 degrees. When the temperature drops below 74 degrees, bonefish, tarpon and even permit will go to deeper water where the fluctuation in temperature is not as dramatic. Captain Tony Skinner, a flats guide out of Garrison Bight Marina in Key West has found that permit will become more active at a temperature above 67 degrees. Winter fishing leaves the flats guides with a whole new variety of fishing. Tactics for finding active fish becomes more challenging. “I’ll fish for permit in a little deeper water hoping to catch some of the warmer water as it falls off the flats,” Skinner explained. Although many of the well known species of the flats like the tarpon, bonefish and permit are all temperature sensitive, that does not mean we don’t see them on the flats in the wintertime. It just means we don’t see as many.
One of the most underrated game fish of the flats according to many area guides is the barracuda. They regard the barracuda as a great game fish that gets overlooked. These toothy creatures have sleek, torpedo-like bodies and have a ferocious appetite. They often lay motionless on a flat awaiting any small baitfish that swims by. Barracuda can weigh up to 100 pounds and grow to more than six feet in length. In fact, the world record barracuda was caught in 1992 near Christmas Island and weighed a remarkable 85 pounds. Many of the barracudas we see in the Lower Keys range from a few pounds to 40 pounds. Captain Tony Skinner mentioned that he has a few customers that visit the Keys just to fish for barracuda, “Barracuda are a great game fish to consider, people have a ball fishing for them.”
Barracuda hunt by sight more than scent and since they are an eating machine they tend to pounce on any type of tube lure, spoon, soft plastic or fly you throw at them. But how easy is a barracuda to catch? According to Captain Bob Paulson, a long time flats guide in the Lower Keys; they are one of the best fish to sight cast to. “It’s not a bonefish but its pretty fast,” Paulson said. This time of year he fishes for cudas with many of his anglers. “They are a real challenge on a fly,” Paulson added. Fly fishing for barracuda can be one of the best opportunities for beginner saltwater fly anglers. “It gives fly anglers the opportunity to cast to a stationary target,” said Captain Justin Rea. You can expect to get a number of shots at presenting a fly to a barracuda. Even if he decides to follow the fly to the boat and gets spooked, it’s always good to give him one last cast once he’s turned away from the boat. If you plan to fly fish for barracudas just keep in mind that they don’t always want the fly to move at lightening speed. “Retrieve the fly either fast or slow depending on the reaction from the fish,” explained Captain Peter Heydon, a guide out of Garrison Bight Marina. “The fish will dictate how you retrieve the fly, some fish made need a little coaxing,” Heydon added.
For the most part it seems many flats guides really just want to fish for what they can catch during the winter months. Barracuda offer an explosive take, they peel off line at top speed, jump and most of all they are unpredictable.
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