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.