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.