Spring is here and it’s time for some fun in the sun! This week’s fishing report for Islamorada is all about the kids. We have had lots of young anglers this week due to Spring Break and the fish have given them all they can handle. Both the “Pretty Work’ and “That’s Right” have had plenty of action. Most everything seems to be biting as the nicer Yellowtails have provided plenty of fun for the kids. The patch Groupers have been real hungry and both the Black & Red Groupers have been biting with great regularity. Rest assured these were all released fish! The reef has become alive with quite the variety of species as of late. We’ve been catching about 15 to 20 different types of fish providing great education for the young ones. The King Mackerals have turned back on the last few days with some real lunkers being caught. The live Cigar minnows have been plentiful most mornings as well as some Ballyhoos.
The Offshore has been spotty with some Blackfins on the Humps. There’s been some weed lines this week holding at about 550′ to 600′ of water with lots of trash and debris and well formed. However, there’s been very little in the way of any bait or Dolphins. The Amberjacks have been biting pretty good on both jigs and live bait. There have been some Dolphin caught but overall it’s been slow. This should be changing weekly as we move into April, as the Dolphin fishery should pick up. The Swordfishing will also improve with the weather conditions as this also makes the day time trips more pleasant for all and the bite gets better too.
The Back country has still been producing plenty of both light tackle and fly fishing ACTION! Both Captain Clyde and Captain Jeff have put in a few trips this week and it seems that the action continues to improve as the water in the Gulf warms up. Red Fish and Trout are still plentiful. The red fish have made their way closer too and Captain Clyde managed to find a few Tarpon this week. We have been noticing more and more of them at the Marina so the timing is pretty good. The night bite seems to be working best right now. Both guys have made mention of seeing more and more Turtles which also a good sign of things to come.
