“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.

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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Key West Fishing Report - February 2006

KEY WEST – A recent warming trend in the Keys has left us with beautiful clear blue skies, light winds, and a lot of happy charter captains. Each day I can’t help but meander across the street to the Sugarloaf Marina around 4PM to find out what the catch of the day has been. The reports have all been positive and everyone is so enthusiastic about the season. There is always a buzz in the community down here among fisherman when the weather gives us a break and the fishing just turns on like a light switch. This is one of those weeks.

Many of the guides that run out of Sugarloaf Marina have reported some good fishing this week in the backcountry. As the temperature of the water went up, there were more and more reports of permit and bonefish. The big talk among the flats fishing community is always “When will the tarpon show up?” Water temperature plays a significant part in the behavior of tarpon. A tarpon’s optimum water temperature is between 75 and 90 degrees. The water temperature this week started out at a cool 67 degrees but has warmed considerably since we’ve had a few cloudless sunny days. Tarpon have started to move through the area of the Lower Keys and several schools have been spotted on the edges of Northwest Channel and throughout the backcountry. Look for tarpon fishing to be an up and coming hot bite pretty soon, as long as the next cool front doesn’t shut them down.

Permit have been spotted over coral heads in the backcountry and in schools feeding on the flats. As we near the end of February the permit fishing will improve even more. Bonefish have been seen in several area flats west of Key West too.

Meanwhile offshore the bite has been equally as good. The calm seas have made it easier to get out to the fishing grounds and prevailing south east winds have pushed more fish into the areas just off the reef. Captain Brice Barr on the Double Down at Charter Boat Row in Key West had a nice catch of kingfish, blackfin tuna and schoolie mahi-mahi up to 10- pounds. His anglers seemed very happy to have such a beautiful day to go fishing. Barr explained that everything they caught was on live ballyhoo. “There’s finally more live bait on the reef,” said Barr. He’s been fishing just off the reef in a depth of 170 – 200 feet. The catch of the week at Charter Boat Row seemed to be a mixed bag of kingfish, mahi-mahi, grouper and snapper. Barr also mentioned that he’d had some luck with sailfish this week. His charter caught and released 3 out of 5 sails along the reef edge. “The sailfish shower the bait on the reef this time of year, it’s amazing to see a sail in such shallow water,” Barr said. He added, “It’s kind of like flats fishing offshore.”

Alex Canalejo on Showtime out of A&B Marina had a nice catch of blackfin tuna. His anglers, Bob Cole and Deirdre Giorlando from Chelmsford, MA were all smiles as they held up two of the five nice blackfin tuna they caught. The couple spent a full day fishing with Canalejo and said it was a great fishing experience. Most of the other offshore sportfishing boats along the A&B dock reported catching their limit of kingfish and some schoolie mahi-mahi. Both these fish provide constant action for a charter when the bite is on, it certainly makes for a memorable trip to the Keys.