The Reef is On Fire!

As kids get back to school, the Keys have seen a lack of tourists.  September though November can be a really cheep vacation for those of you that have been having money issues.  Everyone needs some vacation time and it doesn’t get any more relaxing than here in the Keys.  Most of us that live here take our vacations at this time and you will see that as some businesses close down for a month or so.  People ask me all the time, where do I go on vacation?  It is really kind of funny, I tell them, it’s not far, and my couch has always treated me right.  But, serious now, I visit some of my clients in Colorado, Michigan, Boston, etc.   My business is quite unique, I get to take people fishing which tends to be the highlight of their vacation.  Fishing with people creates a bond, which I can’t describe, but it can be strong.  I get to meet all walks of life and to see the diversity of my clients really makes me proud to be an American.

The lack of charters hasn’t kept me from fishing.  My friends have been coming down and catching yellowtail snapper, cubera snappers, mutton, and true reds.  I have been able to put my friends on some tuna, and grouper too.  This time of the year the water starts to cool off and some fish move out as others move in.  The snapper bite on the reef has been great.  We are getting close to a fall run of dolphin, which I can’t wait for.  They are usually decent fish, not too many schoolies, mostly fish from 10-20 pounds.

I have been fishing on the deep reefs from 75-90 feet of water.  I have been catching big mangroves from 4-5 pounds if the sharks don’t eat them.  The yellowtails have been ranging from 1-3 pounds.  I have been fishing some new areas and getting yellowtail everywhere.  I have been using a leader rig for the mangroves and flat lining for the yellowtails.  Since the current has let up I have been using no weight for the yellowtail. Every day is different, sometimes the fish will be close and sometimes far, but they are always there.  I have had to use large amounts of chum, but the payout is worth it.  Since the skippies have been thick, I have been using them a lot on the bottom and flat lining.  Tuna is exceptional bait, and I always keep plenty in the freezer.

There have been some talks about some sailfish being caught, but I haven’t fished for them because my clients and friends would rather catch something they can eat.  I believe that right now the reef has been the best area to fish as well as the hump for the tunas.  As the weather changes up north the swordfish will be pouring trough too.  Talk about a lot of good eating meat, swordfish happens to be one of my favorites.

That can be especially true in August. The weather and water are both extremely warm, and that affects both the customers and the fish. Traditionally, it’s a month where you get to play one of your good, old-fashioned kids’ games — “Hide and Seek” –  almost every day you fish. Mother Nature hides the fish, and  you get designated as “it,” i.e., the seeker, every time someone does book a trip. Some days they’re where you think they should be and some days they’re not. Anybody who doesn’t believe that God has a sense of humor just hasn’t fished Key West in August. You’ll get one day where you  find dolphin all over the place at a certain spot,  and the very next day — with absolutely identical weather, wind and sea conditions — you’ll go back to that same exact area and not get a nibble. It’s days like the latter which keep you from getting a “swelled head” about your great fishing prowess (and right about now my head is feeling kind of pea-sized — or is that pea-brained), but it’s also part of what makes the job such a continually challenging and totally fascinating experience. If I ever figured it all out, it probably wouldn’t be as much fun.

This August has been no exception.

We have had several trips this month where we’ve managed to catch our customers more than a few “gaffer” dolphin. That was primarily on the longer, i.e. full-day, charters, where we had enough time to get out to seven hundred feet of water — about twelve miles offshore — or deeper, find some eastbound current, and still had the time to cruise around and find the fish. Usually, it was birds or debris that tipped us, as the sargassum still has not shown up in any consistent size or pattern. However, we also had a couple of those trips where we spent  several hours and burned lots of fuel looking for fish that just weren’t there. Fortunately on those days, we were able to run back into shallow water and catch a few bonitas or barracudas to save the day. On one such occasion, with a good repeat customer, we actually ran in from way offshore to just outside the reef, and just east of the ship channel — an area known generally as “Eyeglass” — where we were able to anchor for a couple of  hours and bail yellowtail and grey snappers. Having time for “Plan B” or even “Plan C” makes a big difference. That’s why we always try to recommend a full day this time of year, if at all possible.

For the novice, the “sargassum” mentioned  above is a planktonic (i..e., free-floating) seaweed that lives in the ocean. The name comes from the Portuguese word for “grape,” as the ancient sailors from that country thought the air-filled bladders that keep it afloat resembled a variety of that fruit native to their homeland. The Gulf of Mexico is the second largest habitat for it, behind the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic. It is carried by the ocean currents and is a ”floating hotel” for a wide variety of marine animal and plant life. Anywhere you can find large concentrations or lines of it is a great place to look for pelagic (i.e., open ocean rather than near shore or inland) fish.

On the half days, we didn’t have to play the game as often, as the greys and yellowtails were pretty consistent  around the Eyeglass area the first half of the month. But even that bite slowed  after that , and the game was on again, inshore as well as offshore. Fortunately, the bonita bite picked up again (or maybe it was just that we were looking harder for them again), saving a few more trips from failure.

The water (and the weather, too) has been extremely warm this month, and we’re all looking forward to a cooling trend somewhere down the road to spike the bite. In the meantime, however, there have been enough options available to make almost all of our trips at least somewhat productive, and the customers still insist that they’re having a blast. I guess that we Key West charter captains forget sometimes that we are blessed with such great fishing year-round down here that what we take as sub-par or mundane is pretty damn good fishin’ to the rest of the word.

I’ll try to remember that next August.

And with the bait come the sport fish. I have seen more snook lately than I have seen all year. My best day so far this year, 15 snook up to 28 inches. But most days we catch an average of 2-3 fish a day. Most of the fish that really eat are on the small side, but you will always see the bigger ones being wary of your baits. Don’t be fooled, these fish are still here because they are the smartest/toughest. Your best bet is to net up some pilchards, and then find a shoreline that the snook hang out on. Throw out handfuls of injured bait and wait until the snook start popping. I have had the best success with 2/0 circle hooks tied on 40lb fluorocarbon leader, if the water is gin clear you may have to step it down to 30lb leader to encourage a bite. I always tell my anglers that when they hook up a nice snook he will head straight to the nearest structure, when he does this put the tip of your rod into the water!!! A lot of the Mangrove roots/ branches do not extend all the way to the bottom. By placing your rod tip below the surface you will have a much better chance of avoiding potential snags that will cost you a great catch.

The small tarpon (5lbs-15lbs) continue to give us action all day long. Live shrimp hooked through the head with 30lb fluorocarbon leader has been the best way to hook up with one of these backcountry gladiators. Nighttime continues to be the best time to catch multiple fish. Fishing around channel entrances with moving water is all it takes to locate feeding tarpon. Ideally I like to throw pilchards or backcountry GOLD, as I like to call them. But when you cant find them live shrimp work just as well. To find your tarpon during the daytime look for them to be rolling in man made canals and areas that hold stagnant water (water with little to no oxygen).
See you out there….
Capt. Mike

Fished the backcountry this morning.  What a day.  Weather was great and we had fish in front of the boat all day.  Water temps in the morning around 82 -  83 degrees.  Lots of baby tarpon in the morning and big schools of small permit.  Finished the day off with three nice bonefish. It was a little too calm today and fish were a little spooky, but not too bad.
Had a couple on the boat from Austin, TX enjoying their honeymoon.

I will be out doing some important field research early Friday morning.
Hoping to jump some poons.

Capt. Mike

Well one of my buddies Andy wanted to go sword fishing and needed some help, so I came along to catch one of these stupendous creators. We made two drops before his reel crapped out. We couldn’t get it fixed so we went to plan B.

Plan B was to use the electric reel and drop on some spots for some snowys and if we get lucky a queen snapper. I have been getting a queeny every once in a while. On the first drop we manged to get hooked up with something big. We were fishing in 800 feet of water and this fish didn’t want to budge a foot.

Queen Snapper courtesy Capt. Dave Schugar

It actually started to take line, so we figured it was a shark and cranked up the drag. Still this fish wouldn’t budge on our Tanacom 1000. After taking in a little line we finally got it off the bottom. We got it up almost 30 feet when he decided he wanted to go back to the bottom again. After ten minutes of battling, we have gained no line. After about 20 minutes we finally started to get this fish off the bottom. We worked hard and finally we we saw what was on our line. It was a monstrous snowy, with battle scars where it had been injured and healed. This was his last battle and we won. I would estimate this fish is around 50-60 pounds, it would have been a new world record, but we caught it on an electric and we all know that wouldn’t count.

On our next drop we caught a small 8-10 pound queen. One of my favorites, because not everyone knows how to catch them. Certain times of the year are better than others, but humps in deep water will hold large quantities of them from Sept-Jan. You just never know when they will show up. It was starting to get late and we wanted to catch a few tunas before heading home.

At the hump we trolled all over the place and it seems that the tuna were having lock jaw, even in the late hours that we were fishing. The bite all week has been phenomenal, but they have to take a break sometimes and today it seems to be the day. We did get a few, but not as many as we had hoped and the size was a little small compared to what we caught all week. The jigging slowed down all week and still it was slow. We trolled to get the few we caught. We actually chased birds as far as two miles away from the hump to get the tunas we caught. We also caught one on the back side of the rip. While trolling around the hump we caught two gaffers, well one gaffer and a heavy lifter. and that seems to be all we did.

Captain Marlin Fightin' the Big Poon

In this podcast, Capt Mike Bartlett(flats guide) takes Capt Marlin Scott(offshore guide) out on the flats for his first back country slam. A back country slam being this; Bonefish , Tarpon, and Permit all in one day. For any of you who fish on the flats your probably saying it cant be, an offshore guide perched on the bow of the boat, silent as can be using precision casting to get the perfect shot to hook up all three of these fish in one day. Impossible you say! Think again, listen in as Capt Mike and Capt Marlin give you a play by play, every part from sighting to casting, hooking and landing, and of course that drag screaming away, enjoy!

Want to see the pictures? Click Here

MARATHON, Florida Keys — Hey everyone, I have a great report for ya! We decided to run across the pond to look for yellowfin tuna and dolphin since the fishing on this side has dried up a bit. We left the dock about 3:00AM to get some pilchards out on the reef. They weren’t super thick like last week, but after two hours we filled the well and headed south.

As the sun broke the horizon we all started to get a little giddy with anticipation. We stopped on four sets of birds until we finally found some dolphin that wanted to eat. They weren’t big but decent heavy lifters and schoolies.

After they shut down we were picking up our last fish when a slammer swam right behind the transom.  The crew sat there staring in shock and amazement as I pitched a live pilchard out to hook it up for my client Tom. Then Zack (who runs a boat at the boat house) pitched a bait out there and all of a sudden we got two big ones on. As we were fighting the fish, they ran together and then I saw a third fish where we pitched another rod out so now we had a triple-header! The fish weren’t huge but big enough to call large gaffers and one slammer. We boated all three fish and off we went further south on the hunt for the yellowfin. All this happened in 3200 feet about 42 miles out.

Yellowfins are a year-round fish in the Caribbean, but some months the larger migratory fish will push through. We caught eight 30-pound Yellowfins in Harbor Island last month and we figured if we got out far enough we might catch a few. We ended up not seeing any yellowfins, but the small blackfins were everywhere. Staying far enough away from land so not to enter Bahamian waters, we ran the radar picking up flock of birds, but each time it was 3-6 pound blackfins.

We did a little bottom dropping in some deep water and landed a few black snappers and yellow eyes, but there was very little current so I went to my Misty spot and on the first drop we landed a 30 pounder. Since you are only allowed one per boat we headed north checking the radar and finding small blackfins and skippy’s all the way back home. We did find some more dolphin but we had all the dolphin that we needed…so unless they were big we weren’t going to mess with them. I was thinking if we stayed in that area where we caught the dolphin this morning we might have landed a whole bunch of big ones. It was very alive from 40-50 miles out, lots of birds and fish.

Since it was close to a three hour run back to dock we put the blinders on and turned off the radar so not be sidetracked and headed home for an amazing dinner.

Traditionally, July is a great month in Key West for running offshore and finding large schools of small to medium size keeper dolphin, with an occasional large bull or cow thrown in; medium size wahoo under floating objects; and  the rare but ever present chance of encountering a blue or white marlin. However, this year, tradition has been thrown out the window. Extremely warm water; an almost non-existent current (at least within any reasonable running distance); and the lack of any sizable weed lines have made it almost impossible to find the dolphin schools normally seen.  Further complicating that situation were two other factors. One – a greatly reduced number of anglers — probably due to oil spill fears and bad economic conditions — meant that the local charter boats were not getting the normal number of attempts to find the fish that may have been there. Two – unusually high summertime winds meant rough seas, making it very difficult for the average customer to tolerate a ride out to and trolling in the deep water if there were no fish to be found in close.

Capt. Gene's boat - The Fatal Attraction

Hopefully, for boats like ours that love running offshore  rather than fishing the reefs and the wrecks, that situation may be changing.

We have been fortunate the last three years (along with “Mr. Z” and “Triple Time” of our same marina – A&B) to be hired by Bacardi as a sponsor boat, hosting corporate guests in the annual Drambuie Key West Marlin Tournament. This year, it took place from July 22 to July 24. Unfortunately, we only had the opportunity to fish two of the three scheduled days. We had to make the tough decision to abort the second day, i.e., Friday, July 23, due to predictions of a tropical storm that was supposed to strike the area early that afternoon. The prediction proved wrong, and the few boats that went out had a relatively beautiful day (although not fish-wise). However, as a charter captain, you always have to put the safety of your customers (and your mate) over any other consideration, even a  tournament payday or the possibility of an even bigger winner’s jackpot . I’d always rather be wrong sitting at the dock in such circumstances than to be thirty miles out and realize that I made the wrong choice. Given what we were hearing the night before, and even that morning, aborting the trip was the prudent and correct call.

While  the tournament was woefully slow fishing-wise (one marlin caught by the entire fleet of registered boats,)  we did, for the first time this month, see a large number of “big schoolie” and “teenage” dolphin just inside “Wood’s Wall” on Saturday afternoon.  We had seen about five or six terns working in that area and, when we got to them, suddenly saw large numbers of 7 to 12 pound dolphin all around us, right on the surface. As it was still anybody’s tournament to win, we had our marlin rigs out and didn’t want to waste valuable time trying to catch dolphin that size. So, we trolled the area for about an hour, until “lines in” was called, hoping that a blue marlin was lurking to feed on the fish we saw – always a possibility when there are large numbers of dolphin around.  Unfortunately, we never saw one., We did, however, manage to hook four nice “gaffer” dolphin while doing so, even with rigs that were one-third to half the size of the fish.

By the way, for the uninitiated, the terms “schoolie”, “teenage“, and “gaffer” used above are “terms of art” in our biz, referring to fish size. A “teenager” weighs in the teens pound-wise.  “Schoolies” would generally be about five pounds up to the teens. (“Chickens” are smaller than “schoolies”.) “Gaffer” is a more generic description, identifying a fish that you thought required using a gaff to land it, rather than just grabbing the leader and hauling it into the boat using the line only.

The good news about the last day of the tournament was that we could see dolphin around us with the naked eye the entire time we were in the area mentioned above. My mate, Run Yuong, and I agreed that we probably could have caught at least twenty 7 to 12 pound dolphin, had we been targeting them.

That theory was proven true the next day. Capt. Jay Miller and mate Cory Robinson, our A&B Marina neighbors on the “Outer Limits“, used that information to catch a double digit number of  keeper dolphin in that same general area. Hopefully, that means the fish are back and we can start to see our normal dolphin catches again -  if we can just get the chance to go out to find them.

However, if you want a realistic shot at a day like the one “Outer Limits” had, we would strongly suggest at least a six-hour day or, preferably, a full, eight-hour day. That, hopefully, gives the captain enough time to get deep, try to find the fish, and still go to ”Plan B” (e.g., the reef or a wreck) if that doesn’t work.

Until next time then, remember — recreational fishing, by definition, is supposed to relaxing and fun. Find a captain that keeps it that way, and you’ll never have a bad day fishing.

We met after the radio show Friday morning at 11:00 am and headed out.  While underway I explained to Marlin how good the bonefishing had been and that the flat I fished the previous day at the beginning of the incoming tide was loaded with fish.  In about two hours that day we had 15 schools of bonefish consisting of 20 – 40 fish each.  And these were quality bonefish around six pounds.

Huge numbers of Bonefish have Invaded the Flats

I took Capt Marlin to that same flat I was the day before.  The tide was just starting to come in when we arrived at our destination.  Just as I got the boat onto the flat and jumped on the platform there was a school of small permit coming toward us.  Just as I saw them they turned away and at the same time I saw our first school of bonefish moving toward us.  It literally took all of thirty seconds when Capt Marlin was hooked up with his first of two bonefish for the day.  A couple of pictures and off goes the Bonefish.  I quickly grab another shrimp from the livewell and pin it to the jig as another school of bonefish is on it’s way up the flat.   Made a quick cast and they spook.  It was very calm and clear so the fish were a little tentative.  About 15 minutes and a couple more schools of bonefish go by and we have the second bonefish in the boat for an opportunity to be famous!!

Part I of the Flats Trilogy

We continued down the flat spotting another school of small permit.  I chased down the school for several minutes only to watch them take off when we finally got a shot.  It was starting to slow down a bit with more time in between sightings and fewer sharks and rays.  I spotted a single permit coming up the flat.  The fish turned away but not spooked.   Capt Marlin heaved a cast and the crab landed a few feet in front of the permit.  The fish grabbed the crab without hesitation and screamed toward the channel when Capt Marlin set the hook.  About 10 minutes later I have Capt Marlin’s permit in my hands boat side for a photo opportunity.

Part II of the Flats Trilogy

Now both of us are very excited.  Two bonefish and a permit in less than an hour on a couple hundred feet of a flat.  A good day on the flats any day of the week.  I look to Capt Scott, “Shall we go look for a tarpon to complete the slam?” A rhetorical question, of course were going to look for a tarpon, we have the rest of the afternoon and a story to complete!!!

We fished a couple of areas and found a few tarpon.  Clear, calm water made the fish very wary and spooked with each cast. The last spot of the day was a channel edge and the water had a little color to it.  As we worked the edge of the flat we saw a couple of tarpon but a little too close to the boat.   The third fish that came up the edge we saw from a good distance and Capt Marlin perfectly placed a cast in front of the fish and we watched the big tarpon inhaled the crab.  Capt Scott set the hooked hard and then all hell broke loose.

Amazingly the fish stayed on after the initial run and three jumps.  Phase one  complete, now it is just a matter of time and some luck.  I chased the fish around with the boat for about twenty minutes when we finally got close enough for Capt Marlin to get the leader into the guides and I got the leader touch.  Caught fish!!!  Grand slam baby!!!!

Part III of the Flats Trilogy

We crank down the drag and palmed the spool to get the fish in as quickly as possible or break it off.  The water is very hot at this point and I don’t want to kill a tarpon from a long fight.  Another ten minutes goes by,  line staying intact and the big poon is boat side.  Slam complete!!!

There will be plenty of great fishing and good weather all through summer. Now is the time to make your plans for a chance at a Flats Grand Slam.

Captain Mike Bartlett

Capt. Chris Morin: Walk A Bout Charters … huge muttons & mangrove snapper
Capt. Tom Beck: Sea Phantom Charters … Big Black Grouper, Red Grouper, Mangrove Snapper, Muttons
Capt. Howard Kelly: Fin Chaser Charters … Huge Mangrove (Night Fishing)

Dan – 7 Mile Marina

Jason Le Barnes with a whopper 12 lb. bonefish caught while out with Capt. Mike Makowski in Key Largo.

My suggestion is to head into Everglades National Park for some peace and quiet. Huge schools of mullet can be found on the shallow water flats all over Florida Bay and are great indicators of active areas. Just look for the mud’s and you will find the fish. My anglers have had great success with soft plastic jerk baits rigged weed less and with no weight or ¼ ounce Johnson silver and gold weed less spoons. Thrown blindly into active muds and retrieved back to the boat. Sharks, redfish, snook, seatrout, blackdrum, and sheepheads are the main players. Ospreys can also be a good indicator of active mud’s that will hold fish.

The Llewellyn family with a great redfish caught on live shrimp.

Over the last week bonefish have made their presence known around the Oceanside flats off the Upper Keys. From Ocean Reef to the north, and as far south as Channel 5 in Lower mat they are here and in force. The best tides have been the morning incoming tide and afternoon fall. Ultimately avoiding the middle part of the day will save you from polling endlessly with no results. Basically fish the morning and afternoon. One afternoon my clients witnessed the largest schools of bones I have seen all year so far.

Jay Haliczer holds his largest bonefish ever weighing in at 9 lbs. while out on an afternoon trip.

Three schools averaging 60-80 fish each!!! In four hours we hooked 7 bones and landed 5, one of which weighed in at 11lbs but the average was around 8 lbs overall. Live shrimp and patience are the two best allies you can have. A 1/0 circle hook with a tiny split shot placed about 2 inches above the hook will prevent the shrimp from getting bogged down in the grass has proven to be the rig of choice. And for you fly anglers out there as long as the fly is relatively small I have not found a pattern that will not work. The permit action is day to day, with some days better than others. It seems that the early morning falling tide has been the best time to peruse these awesome fighting fish.
See you out there…

Capt. Mike Makowski
Blackfoot charters

Capt. Mike Bartlett of Key West Flats & Backcountry Fishing

Water is clear, about 83 – 85 degrees and really good tides.  No ill affects from Tropical Storm Bonnie.  The day Bonnie was near it was the calmest day we have had in over a week.  It’s been a bit cloudy making sight fishing pretty tough but not impossible.  Found a lot of bonefish yesterday, mostly small groups of 5 -10 fish and a couple of larger schools.  Also had a couple of good shots at permit.  Had one permit go down for a crab three times and chased it too the boat and tried to eat it off the surface.  It was a small permit and the crab I think was a little too big for him.  We saw a couple of tarpon go by but due to the clouds and wind we didn’t spend any time looking for them, they were very difficult to see.  We will give tarpon a go this morning at the Marquesas.

MARATHON, FL —This past week we fished 40 miles west of Key West for yellowtail and grouper.  The bite was on for the yellowtails.  We placed a block of chum in the bag and it wasn’t five minutes when we were pulling in our first flag yellowtail.  We had blue runners about five pounds swimming around the boat busting on fry which was an incredible site to watch.  During the summer the snappers are spawning and fry are all over the place and this brings in other fish that feed upon them.  For about three hours we caught jumbo yellowtail and then we finally got a bite one the bottom rod.  The bait was violently hit which then turned into a battle for my client Tom.  He fought this fish for nearly 45 minutes and then we caught a glimpse of what it was.  We thought it was a shark, but we were close, it was 15-foot sawfish, one of the rarest fish in the ocean.  This impressive fish is practically a dinosaur. The saw like bill has one-inch teeth sticking out of it was almost six feet long.  The massive body measured four and half feet wide and it was as long as the transom of the boat with is 15 feet.  Very cool sighting, most people will never see one in the wild, and this is the second one we have caught in two years.

After sweating out gallon of water we decided to move and try some deep water for muttons and scamp grouper but we never hooked up.  We got a few bites but never connected to any of them.  There is a ledge out in 250 feet of water out there, and we marked fish all over it, but with no current the fish were not being cooperative.  After about two hours of no bites be decided to anchor back up on a yellowtail spot and stay there the night.  It was getting late and we caught a few more yellowtails and one large red grouper.  As the sun started to go down we started to cook dinner, which consisted of grouper on the grille, grilled asparagus, garlic pasta and some rum, you got to have the rum.

The following day after breakfast we headed to the shallow banks on the inside edge of the Gulf and fished for red grouper.  It was like clockwork, dropping down dead gogs, and live grunts we were limited out in a couple of hours.  At this time we decided to head back to Key west for a fun filled Fourth of July.  Watching the fireworks from the boat while we eat bubba burgers, yellowtail ceviche and garlic pasta with a mozzarella, tomato salad.  After the fire works the boat next to us had a cannon, which they fired off and it was deafening.

After the fourth we headed to Cay Sal Banks, not getting too close because that would be illegal.  You have to check in before you can enter Bahamian waters.  There are areas where you can troll and deep drop where you are not actually in Bahamian waters.  You have to stay 12 miles outside any land.  Unfortunatly, there aren’t any places to check in over here, you would have to go 150 miles to check in but the Cay Sal Bank is only 50-75 miles away in the opposite direction.  While we were over there we caught about fifty barracudas on the troll so we tried deep dropping in 1200 feet of water and caught 10 black snappers and one forty pound misty grouper.  After that we headed home which is over three hours from there.

With one day off I had a guide trip with a great bunch of people, Mike, Jack, Max, Wyatt, and Spencer.  We had a goal to yellowtail fish, but with no current it was hard fishing.  After about three hours and two spots we decided to go mutton fishing.  It was a good thing that we did, because we caught five muttons and lost at least five others.  They guys had a great day and some excellent fish for dinner that night.  We fished a wreck in 180 feet of water and it was on, we got bites every drop with many double hookups.  The bite was on and if you are looking to catch some of these big mutton snappers this is the time to get down here.  Come on down, the weather is hot as the bite.  And to all of you, who are worried about the oil, don’t be there is no oil and there isn’t any likelihood of oil in out near future.  Listening to the news I found out that they might be able to cap it this weekend, keep your fingers crossed.  If the oil does make it to the Gulf Stream it will most likely pass by the Keys outs as far as twenty miles, so if it does come this way the reef shouldn’t be harmed.  Of course we never know what the weather will do so we still got to keep our fingers crossed that they will be able to contain this spill before a hurricane around the corner scatters it all around.  Stay informed about what’s going on down here, keep my web site on your favorites.  Hope to see you down here, come on down while the fishing is good.

Most of the fish have been congregating on the edge of the Gulf Stream and a few miles beyond. Most of the fish are under birds, but when looking for fish, try and find as few birds together as possible. This will indicate dolphin instead of skippies. My magic number is two to three birds for big fish, but five birds can be either schoolies or a bunch of big dolphin. You just never know what going to be under a huge flock of birds either, but in most cases they are skippies. If the skippies are small, you might find wahoo or marlin close by. When I fished in Costa Rica, I learned to troll around the birds and not through them to raise billfish. The billfish are looking for the few bait fish that get separated from the school, it seems that they can take them out easier one at a time than trying to slash into a ball of moving fish. I learned that one on the discovery channel.

The tuna have been biting pretty good on the live bait. Jigs seem to catch a few 10 pounders, but if you’re looking for the big ones, you will need plenty of live pilchards. Getting the pilchards hasn’t been hard if you venture out on the reef after dark. Anchoring anywhere from 18-40 feet of water after dark you can enjoy the great mangrove bite and load up on pilchards for the following day to the hump. If you anchor in 40 feet of water, the pilchards will be a little less dense, but the gogs are much thicker in this deeper water. By using the bigger sabiki rigs you can keep more gogs on the line without as many coming off. The sword fishing report was good, and my Buddy Capt. Brian caught a 350-pound mako with his clients.

You have to get out to the wrecks and catch some muttons! They are still biting ok. Many days I get six or so with all the amberjack action you could want. The muttons have been averaging about 12 pounds, with some into the 25-pound class. Live bait is where it’s been at. Pinfish, cigars, grunts, and crabs have all been producing well. Dead bait which can work well when the fish are stacked up, it really hasn’t been working for lately, but I always keep throwing some dead baits down because sometimes they will get lazy and catching a live bait just seems like too much effort sometimes. Split tailed baits or plugs will work, even strips of bonita are some of my favorite dead bottom baits.

I am headed to the Tortugas for a few days, and I will post again after I get back so check sometime after Tuesday. Have a great “Fourth” and don’t forget that it is our military that we really need to thank so that we can go fishing. Remember that here in Marathon you don’t have to drive home, call a cab and for a few bucks extra they will drive your car home for you.

Let me start out by saying, I am sick of Tarpon! Those big slimy dudes have had my clients begging for mercy for the last few months. The only thing that I can say is that the ‘poon’ fishing has been awesome but now I am getting a chance to move on to the other creatures of the flats. Tarpon are certainly still around in good numbers but as of late my clients have preferred to test their luck on Permit.

Every spot I have fished over the last few weeks has had fish. Permit fishing from west of Key West to Big Pine has been on fire with the best spot being within sight of Mallory Square. Big schools of smaller fish (8-12 lbs) have been wolf packing up and down the edges of flats in generous numbers. The bigger fish have been traveling alone and in slightly deeper water. Low incoming water has been the best tidal stage for me but every tide stage has produced. Slick, calm conditions made it easy to see them coming but also made them super spooky. Cast early and try to predict where they will be. That is the hardest part. Predicting a school of Permits’ movements can be frustrating, but casting well in advance allows you several shots at the group. Also, down size your bait. The smallest crabs/flies (bonefish size) are working the best. If you find a school and blow it don’t fret! Stay put. Others will come.

The biggest enemy of a fisherman this time of year is the lightening. It seemed like every time we were covered up in fish a storm would build near us. It is to be expected now that summer is upon us.  No fish is worth being barbequed over. Don’t test Mother Nature. She will win. Keep an eye on the sky and note the big anvil shaped clouds. Keep a safe distance between you and them. If possible, try fishing in an area that a storm has recently passed trough. The water temperature will have cooled down which will turn the fish on. Overcast conditions will keep the water cooler longer as well. It is a great time to focus on tailing bones.

I have several trips this week so look for another report in the near future. The fishing is as good as it has ever been so quit watching the news and listening to the rumors and get out there and take advantage of the BEST FISHING in the continental United States!

Tight Lines,

Bo

MARATHON, Florida Keys –   After getting back from the Bahamas, I was booked everyday for just about the rest of the month.  We started off the week with some dolphin fishing, which wasn’t how I left it.  All we could find were illegal dolphin.  After running out as far as 40 miles only to find some more small fish, we decided to do some deep dropping.  Since there wasn’t much current we were dropping five pounds of lead to 1200 feet of water and holding nicely.  We caught eight rose fish and four barrelfish in five drops.  That was pretty good fishing.  On the way in we encountered some more small dolphin and skipjack tuna.

The next day we went wreck fishing.  We caught five amberjacks and three muttons.  The muttons seem to biting from 140-180 feet of water.  They weren’t biting great but we did miss quite a few other fish, which could have been other muttons as well.  We tried heading offshore again for a few days only to catch a few schoolies, which were legal to harvest.  The bite at the hump was slow too; lack of current seemed to have hindered all the fishing.

I went yellow tailing only to have the lack of current hinder that as well.  So we went mutton fishing and caught a few muttons from 15-20 pounds.  We also got our fair share of amberjacks too.  While we were yellow tailing I dropped some pinfish to the bottom.  The bottom bite was active.  We caught two goliaths from 30-70 pounds, a Nassau grouper weighing in at 25 pounds and plenty of five-pound mangrove snappers.

Towards the end of the week I heard of a few big fish being caught or seen, but not much.  The large schoolies have been numerous east of the Marathon Hump from 1100-1300 feet of water.  Basically all you wanted if you wanted to travel that far to the east.  Most of the fish have been reported from Holiday Isle to Coloosa Cove.

The mangrove spawn is just starting, so get out of the heat and fish at night from 25-70 feet of water.  Lots of bait out on the reef too, so you might want to bring your cast net or sabiki rigs.

Gulping Tarpon

The 2010 tarpon season turned out to be a great season after the record cold winter we experienced here in the Florida Keys.  And it didn’t seem to matter what method of fishing was employed; fly, artificial or bait.  A lot of tarpon were eager to eat and put on a spectacular aerial show.  The early part of this year’s tarpon season in April was very windy but still very good.  It was tough to fish the ocean side flats because it was so rough, but if you braved the elements you were greatly rewarded.  The deep water tarpon were  little easier because we could set up on the edge of a channel or anchor and be somewhat protected and easily drift back baits to rolling fish.

Key West Flats Permit

April was also a great time to be fishing for permit on the flats before they went offshore to spawn.  My clients landedsome monster permit – over 25 pounds – this spring with the largest permit pushing 40 pounds.  I love watching those big permit work a flat.  They move along so slowly and really work the area.  They don’t seem to care too much with what’s around them.  I guess when you’re that big, all you need to worry about is eating and big sharks.

Around the middle of May the fans shutdown and the heat turned on.  We went from most of our days with winds around 20 mph to nothing.  When this happens it gets hot and so does the fishing.  The oceanside flats opened up and there we found lots of tarpon.

Key West Tarpon

Most days we were greeted with groups of up to 40 tarpon milling around on the surface slowly rolling, daisy chaining or moving along with the tide.  Just some spectacular views in the low light of the morning.  And the days when the tides and wind were just right we could find tarpon actively feeding on bait fish.  This is when tarpon fishin’ is tarpon catchin’!!  These fish are intent on eating and if you replicate what is happening in the water you were getting eaten almost every cast.  My best morning this spring was during such an event we call a guppy ‘hatch’.   John is a tournament bass angler so I set him up with a soft plastic and his wife with a pinfish.  For about two hours these two were constantly hooking fish.  They hooked a total of 18 tarpon, jumping most of them and landing two.  That was probably enough excitement and adrenaline for a week, but we had a full day ahead of us.  John hooked another 8 laid up tarpon that day for a grand total of 26 tarpon hooked of which 15 were jumped and 2 were landed.  This isn’t counting fish that missed the bait or ate and didn’t get hooked.  It was one of those amazing day’s on the water where you could do no wrong.

Tarpon on Fly

On the full and new moons every year at the end of May and beginning of June we have a palolo worm hatch.  We were fortunate this year to have good weather for both times the hatch occurred.  If you’ve never seen a worm hatch, plan a tarpon trip for the full or new moon at the end of May.  It is an incredible event.  Tarpon go nuts for these little red worms that are swimming out to sea to spawn on the surface of the ocean.  You literally watch hundreds or maybe thousands of tarpon go along and slurp the worms off the surface.  Don’t bother bringing anything but a worm fly or some sort of worm imitation, they won’t touch it.  And be prepared with lots of rigs, this isn’t a time to be catching a big 100 pound tarpon, you’ll miss the whole event.  This is a time to hook ‘em, jump ‘em off and get on to the next one at a frantic pace.

Once June arrives it’s the return of permit from the spawn and bonefishing picks up as well.  From now through the end of summer and into autumn is the best time of year to get a flats Grand Slam.  Get out early and get your tarpon.  There are still big migratory tarpon moving through the area and baby tarpon in the back country creeks and mangrove islands.  Once the sun gets up high enough to see well on the flats we target permit and bonefish and as it is every year there are plenty around.  Probably the best highlight of my year, though it’s tough to say I had some great days on the water, was on June 12th.  We were fishing with a group of guys from Dick’s Sporting Goods.  These guys are really into fishing.  They do a lot of bass fishing back home and were really good anglers.  Seeing fish and being accurate is the name of game in flats fishing and these guys were money all day long.  I think they missed two opportunities during the whole day and ended up with three Grand Slams, with most of the fish coming in the last 4 hours of the trip.  They ended up with 4 out of 7 tarpon, 3 permit and 3 bonefish.  We were back home by 2:00 pm.  Again, it was one those perfect days with a light wind, sunny sky, lots of aggressive fish and good anglers.

Summer Fishing

Key West Baby Tarpon

What’s in store for the remainder of summer?  Hot weather, hotter fishing and afternoon thunderstorms!!  The summer weather pattern in the Keys calls for very light breezes, partly cloudy skies and thunderstorms building up in the afternoons.  We generally fish in the mornings until about lunchtime and get off the water.  The afternoon water temperatures are generally too hot and most fish will move off to deeper cooler water.  We then fish again in the evenings when water temperatures start to come down to a more tolerable level for the fish.

A typical morning in the summer starts off early just after sunrise when we fish for either tarpon or tailing bonefish depending on the tide.  Once the sun gets up we fish the flats looking for bonefish and permit.  And when the tide is right we get into the mangroves for baby tarpon.

It was a great year for me with really good fishing and even better company on my boat.  I am looking forward to spending some quality time on the pointy end of the boat this summer as business slows down.

Captain Mike

Amberjack caught by Dewey from Orlando with FishMonster Charters

Captain Marlin Scott and Seth The Producer on the “Reel Deal” took Paul, Doug, Izzy and Dew for a weekend sampling of the offshore waters of Key West and Boca Grande. The blue water bite was small and slow on the first day so deep dropping carried the catch with the usual suspects, Snowy Groupers, Blue Line Tiles and those Roseys. Day two was a Yellowtail fest with fish up to 24 inches and a few on the bottom that could not be turned on twelve pound test.

Then came the wreck bite. Perfect conditions allowed for the ultimate anchoring on a deeper wreck allowing a “Mad Dog” AJ bite that kept on cooking through the heat of the afternoon. The Reef Donkeys were eating everything live and then everything dead……it didn’t matter ,they were lit. Options Baby!!!

Dewey caught this Jack Crevalle aboard the Reel Deal with FishMonster Charters on Saturday

Paul Nipper - Yellowtail Snapper

We hit the Ocean wrecks today. The current was moving good. We had to use 12-16oz. of lead to maintain the bottom. We caught mutton snapper, amberjacks, a big king and went 1 for 11 on permit. The sharks were bad as I have ever seen today. The seas have been flat calm and the sun has been HOT!!

Thanks for checking out the Two Conchs fishing report with Capt. Jack Carlson. www.twoconchs.com

Tim Thomas caught this skipjack tuna with Capt. Marlin Scott.  He was down with his wife Crissy on vacation from North Dakota! They caught a couple of skipjack tuna and loads of dolphin.  The visibility was great and they could see them everywhere around the boat.  They said they finally got too tired so they quit!

This nice yellowfin grouper was caught by Joe Farless this week aboard the Premium Time with FishMonster Charters on their way out to the Dry Tortugas. You don’t see these as often as you do the blacks and reds so that’s why when I got this picture I had to look it up to be sure. FWC has a great fish identifier online.

Here’s what it had to say in the remarks:

Remarks: undergoes sex reversal from female to male in latter part of life; specific name translates to “venomous,” alluding to the fact that this fish, perhaps more frequently than other groupers, is associated with ciguatera poisoning; feeds on fish and squid.

So Joe, drop us a line and let us know…..DID YOU EAT IT???

Possible record on 12lb. test?  Give us your feedback, add your comment below and tell us what you think!

MARATHON, Florida Keys — Dolphin, dolphin, and more dolphin. It still isn’t a full-blown dolphin bite, but there are days which you can be proud of. It seems to be good one day and slow the next. I fished every day this week, but only one day was devoted to dolphin, and it was a little slow on that day. There were some fish caught around 12-15 miles from the beach, with a few big fish in the 30-50 pound range. I even heard of someone getting a 70 pounder…now that is a fish of a lifetime. Most of what I had seen and heard, schoolies have been scattered just about anywhere. Any day now we will see lots of large fish pouring through somewhere, I hope it is tomorrow.

While you’re out offshore, you might as well drop a few times for some snowys and other bottom fish. The bite has been great, but I wouldn’t know personally…I have been stuck on the reef catching my share of the yellowtails and groupers. The spots I have been fishing range from 75-98 feet of water. Finding a good big yellowtail spot isn’t hard to do right now…it’s their time to do the wild thing so they are very aggressive and hungry. I have been fishing this one spot where three bull sharks have taken up residence and occasionally a hammerhead or a tiger shark will show up to get their fill of these yellow delights.

The grouper bite has been great ever since it opened back up on May 1st. Hitting the wrecks and fishing the reef has produced a bunch of nice black groupers from 15-30 pounds. I have landed many goliaths from 30-150 pounds this week. We hooked many fish that I didn’t even slow down. I use a simple leader rig with 80-pound main line with 100-pound leader. Even with the drag locked down, I still can’t stop some of the fish before they get into the structure. I am thinking about going up in test, there are some slobby groupers out there. I am still looking to beat my 63-pound black grouper I got a few years back…one of these days, I can feel it! To fish for these dinosaurs, I like to use large yellowtails, up to 2 pounds, and grunts bigger than your hand. Even small-but-legal grouper can eat either of these baits; they have a voracious appetite and a mouth to match.

The swordfish bite was red hot, from what I heard from the boys. Summer time isn’t the best time to get a lunker, but there are lots of them out there. Even though you still might get lucky and get a 500 pounder, most of the big fish are on their way back up to the North, where they’ll be harvested by long liners up off of New York and Boston. Strip baits still seem to be the best baits along with squid. When you use squid you can sometimes end up with an oilfish, escolar, or even a pompfret. You just never know what you’re going to get when you drop a bait down 2,000 feet.

Good luck, and make sure you got all of your paper work onboard. Law Enforcement has been out in full force, especially if you are diving…those dive flags seem to attract them. Make sure you are abiding by all the new laws, or it could cost you.

Offshore of Key West out of Key West Harbour Yacht Clubs was teaming with life and constantly reminded us of the unique experiences available. Mating Loggerhead Turtles was one of the somewhat strange sightings in the Blue that opened your eyes to the cycles on and under the water. These creatures are pre-occupied so be careful when approaching and don’t expect them to move out of your way……you get the picture.  Also, the Hammerheads are a constant on virtually every trip to the edge and color changes. These massive creatures strike the “Awe” of all aboard and are ready for anybody who has the time to spend on a “Knock Down Drag Out” event.  The Reef has been the scene of muggings lately with an almost certain showing of large Amberjack interested in eating your Yellowtails.  Not a great trade off unless you are in for a long battle on light tackle.