Islamorada Florida is in full GO mode!! Both “Pretty Work” and “That’s Right” have been steadily going out with real quality catches lately. The Black fin Tunas are still biting about as best I’ve seen in many years. This could have something to do with BP and the Oil spill. Now let me explain. The word is that the loop current has been greatly affected by the spill, hence the changes. The flow has been altered and the current flow is different. I would also have to think that those clouds of oil beneath the surface are probably still floating mid-level which keeps fish away and with dead water, no bait; or pretty much nothing can live in these conditions. Sad, yes. But only time will heal this situation, but fortunately for us, things are good. The Tunas are still ranging from 10 to 35 pounds, and pretty much all tactics are working. We have been live baiting, jigging, and trolling feathers as well as skipping a Ballyhoo from a Kite which have all produced bites.
The Dolphin fishing is slowly starting to heat up. “That’s Right” caught their first Slammer on Sunday, coming in at 45lb’s, along with plenty of Gaffers and nice 5 to 8lb schoolies. The Dolphin have still been a little finicky so we have had to make sure we head offshore with some live bait to intrigue them a bit. Sometimes that’s all it takes to get the school or fish fired up. The Amberjacks are also biting rather well! We enjoyed several nice ones this week up to 75 pounds and jigs and live blue runners have been the ticket. The Reef edge has been spotty because of the lack of current, however the days that all our condition line up, well, it’s been sick fishing with plenty of 2 to 4 pound Yellowtails, fat Mangrove snappers and the Black groupers have been biting nicely. The Muttons have been OK with no great numbers but yet a good pick of fish. We even had our limit of real nice King Mackerals a few days this week, which is always a pleasant surprise.
The back country has been spectacular with everything from Sharks to Redfish and plenty of them all. Inside along the shore lines and bridges the Tarpon bite is going rather well. The guys had some pretty good trips this week and I believe the biggest one they let go was about 140 lbs caught on a live mullet. The live crab has also been productive as well as the fly, which is still producing good bites on the flats. The Snook are showing up pretty good too. We were nervous about them after last winter but they seem to be coming back more and more. The Bone fish, however, have been pretty much non-existent since last winter which is now starting to look pretty ugly.
On another note please take note of our good buddy Capt. Keith and his boat “Obsession”. Most of you remember him from the “Pretty Work” which he ran for me in Morehead City, NC catching Bluefin tuna. He is going to be helping us out in Ocean City this summer with some trips on his boat. He has been doing great with the Stripers in NJ so if any of you are interested up there give us a call and take advantage of the outstanding fishing going on!! See below for Captain Keith’s striper fishing report.
