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.