Florida Keys fishing has really heated up!! “Pretty Work” has had some great Blackfin tuna fishing with 25lb class fish. The Pilchards have been getting easier by the day which sure makes fishing a lot better. Light tackle, 20lb Spinning gear with 30lb Fluoro carbon leaders with a small 4/0 or 5/0 live bait hook. The Dolphin are still a touch on the slow side. Yes, there have been a few Slammers and some gaffers and a fair share of schoolies, but no great numbers of fish yet. The Blackfin Tuna have really been a pleasant surprise for us all down here in the Keys as there has been a strong showing. Perhaps the BP spill has something to do with the amount of Tuna we are seeing. Either way it’s been good for us so far. The Reef fishing has also been productive with Yellowtail and Mangrove Snappers, all quality fish. The Permit fishing has been hit or miss as of late; they’re still moving up the beach. The amount of Permit we have been seeing down off Key West has been nothing short of amazing. They are still enjoying the live crabs!! Grouper season is finally open, however, the weather has turned and it has been tough to get out the last few days, so back at it on today!
The back country has been very productive with plenty of Tarpon with the guys getting plenty of bites. The crabs seem to work much better as of late and the mullets have provided plenty of interest, however, there has been little luck on the hook ups. The Redfish and Trout still making their statement out back, as well as a few Black Drum. The Sharks are starting to move in nicely now; some unreal action back there and a big battle for those who care to take the chance. Bull sharks, Lemons and Blacktips are all providing the anglers with plenty of hardcore action!! I would say it’s safe to say that the Tarpon and Shark fishing will do more than hold its own over the next few months.
“That’s Right” has finished up their Dry Tortugas trips in pretty good fashion. The last few produced plenty of good Mutton Snappers and real nice Flag Yellowtails up to 28 inches!! We had some African Pompanos, Amberjackss and plenty of other bottom bites. There has been a pretty good bite of Mangrove snappers up to 7lb’s, with an assortment of Porgies, Margets and more Yellowtails at night. The waters were nice but we did have some trouble with the conditions with lots of wind against the tide or in some cases we got lucky and had it side to but never current with the wind. We found most of our Muttons in 140′ to 170′ of water. They seemed to really enjoy the live Pilchards on a 30 foot leader off a knocker rig. We did have one issue with the weed lines as too many made it very hard for us to fish in the deeper waters. We had lots of bait with the weed lines and not much in the way of fish in the line yet. I’m sure once the weed lines get a little further up the beach the fish will find their way, which will provide us with great Dolphin fishing soon enough.
