“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.