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

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. 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.

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

My week started out on Sunday fishing with Tom from England.  Tom is 17 years old and a very good angler.  Tom is a carp angler back home so I new right then we were going to have a great day.  This was Tom’s first flats trip of two he had booked with me and I think it is one he will remember the rest of his life.  We started out fishing close for tarpon early in the morning.  When we got to the first spot there they were, happily rolling into the tide.  We set out a couple of pinfish and in a couple of minutes wham, the drag went screamin’ and there was a tarpon in the air.  After getting passed the initial jumps and run and a trip around a channel marker we settled in for the battle ahead.  After about twenty minutes I got my hands on about a 45 pound tarpon, perfect size for your first tarpon.  Snapped off a couple of pictures and the fish blasted out of my hands in great shape.  We continued tarpon fishing for a while longer and jumped two more fish.  This is a great start to the day.

Tarpon in the Air

As the sun got up high enough for us to see well we headed west for some flats fishing.  I took us too a flat that historically has been a really good bonefish area this time of year.  We had all the right conditions; sunshine, east wind, rising tide and warming water around 70 degrees.  We got the rods ready one each for permit, bonefish and barracuda.  I started poling the skiff into the area when we came upon our first fish, it was permit in really skinny water and moving pretty quick.  I got Tom to see the fish and he made a great cast.  At first the fish moved off like he was spooked, but then spun around and chomped the crab.  I let out the excited Wind, Wind, Wind… call that I can’t say fast enough and the rod doubled over.   Permit on baby, the fish is screaming across the flat with maybe a  foot and half of water on it.  ”Keep that rod high” as the fish grinds his face in the bottom.  Fifteen minutes go by and two thirds of the slam is in the boat before ten o’clock.  A nice 12 – 15 pound permit.  Snapped a couple photos and off he goes.  Tom is kind of reserved but I’m excited enough for both us.  ”Let’s go get a bonefish buddy!!!”

Part two of the Flats Slam Trio

I finally get into the area I like for bonefish and it is empty with the exception of some barracudas that did not want to play at all.  No worries we have a few hours to go and it should only get better.  I just happened to look in the sky behind me and I see a wall of clouds.  This is the kiss of death for our slam opportunity.  It will be almost impossible to find a bonefish in these conditions, but we sail on.  We hit a couple of flats but it is hard fishing without the visibility.  I say to Tom “let’s go hit a channel and bend a rod for the rest of the day.”  He is game and we head back toward Key West.

On our way back to Key West we get a break in the clouds and I turn in to another area I like for bonefish.  We got the sun back and we are determined to get a bonefish.  I start poling along the area and in a few minutes there they are, a big  school of bonefish feeding along bottom making muds.  Tom casts into the school and works the jig.  I’m watching and waiting for him to strike, it’s taking way too long when he finally rears back and line screams off the real.  ”Please be bonefish and not a jack.”  It is a very long run, yep it’s a bonefish, our slam is on.  I tell Tom to get ready for the fish to race back to the boat.  As the fish gets close I jump down from the platform and there’s a shark, oh no!!  We are stomping on the deck and I start the motor and spook the shark.  Just as the shark takes off a large barracuda takes a swipe at Tom’s fish.  ”You’ve got to be kidding me.”  As I stated, Tom is a very good angler and has the presence of mind to yank the bonefish away from the cuda toward the boat and I grab the fish as quick as I can.  We got the slam!!  We’re both excited and high fivin’.

We were very lucky to get that bonefish though.  The cuda sliced the fished by it’s tail but didn’t get hold.  A couple of pictures and back in the water.  We take a moment to breathe and have a drink of water and reflect on what just happened.

Whtie Pelicans at Wilma Key

The slam on Sunday will be tough to beat, but I had a great week fishing anyway.  There has been large schools of tarpon around Key West Harbor and I got tarpon all week with my clients.  It was also a stellar week of permit fishing, as we all thought it would be when the weather finally turned.  My clients boated five permit during the week with two fish well over twenty five pounds.  Permit will be heading offshore to spawn very soon but there will be a few good opportunities yet to be had.  The bonefish didn’t make much of an appearance which was a surprise, but that will get better as the water gets warmer.  There is still a lot of barracudas, sharks and jacks on the flats as well.

This tarpon tried to break my boat

It’s now time to get ready for tarpon season.  The annual spring tarpon migration will bring schools of big tarpon throughout the Florida Keys the next two to three months.  The big fish are finally starting to show up in shallow water and this will continue to improve as we get into May.  Shallow water opportunities will be best about the middle of May on the oceanside of the Keys as we approach the palalo worm hatch during the new and full moons at the end of May and beginning of June.

I look forward to chasing those large schools of tarpon parading down the edges of the oceanside flats.

Captain Mike Bartlett

The annual tarpon migration through the Keys is going strong despite the cold weather we have been experiencing the last two months.  From March through the next few months we can find tarpon pretty much anywhere.  Key West Harbor will be loaded with thousands of tarpon and from here many a guide has made his living catching the Silver King.  The backcountry channels are a great place to stake out and cast to schools of tarpon cruising by or rolling in front of the boat.  But my favorite and the most exciting method is to sight fish these beasts in shallow water with a fly rod.

Tarpon on Fly

Poling my flats skiff in three to six feet of water on a calm day looking for large black backs either laying still or cruising through the area, makes for a great way to spend the day.  I am always on the lookout for a rolling fish off in the distance.  I love to throw flies at tarpon, it is probably the best way to get these shallow water fish to eat as you can present your fly in a quiet manner and keep the fly in the fishes strike zone with subtle strips of the fly line.  And nothing is more exciting than to see a large black hole open in the ocean and your fly disappear.  Strip strike hard hit him with the rod a few times and then all hell breaks loose!!  And don’t forget to ‘bow to the King’ when he comes vaulting out of the water.

Fly fishing is the romantic method of fishing for tarpon in shallow water.  But tarpon can also be taken on a wide variety of live and artificial baits such as baitfish, crabs, diving plugs and soft plastics.

March is one of the best months of year for permit.  We see a lot of big permit over twenty pounds this time of year.  Permit have been out deep for most of the winter and are now returning to the flats to gorge themselves on crabs and shrimp that reside on the flats.  They will be heading offshore at the end of April to spawn, so now is the time to fatten up.    Because there is usually a lot permit around this is a good time to chase them with a fly rod.  Many opportunities will present themselves so the odds are slightly better to hooking one on fly.  Always have a spinning rod ready with a crab, they will eagerly munch a well placed silver dollar size blue crab.  There is no better sight than to see a big permit mudding and tailing on a shallow flat.

Permit are abundant on the flats in March

I call this March Madness because of the opportunities of many different species on a given day.  It’s sort of a cross-over between our winter species and our spring species.  One can have shots at tarpon, permit, barracuda, bonefish, sharks and jacks on the same flat.  I usually have four rods laid out and ready:  a permit rod, a bonefish rod, a shark/jack/barracuda rod and a tarpon rod.  And there are days when it is maddening because everywhere you look there is a different fish or school of fish moving across the shallows and we are constantly switching between rods and pushing after fish.  But what a great problem to have.

February, and March for that matter  is one of my favorite times of year for chasing permit on the flats.  The warm, calm days following a cold front will result in a warming trend in our inshore waters.  Sunny skies and light southeast breezes will quickly heat up the water on the flats and in the backcountry basins.  During this warming period water temperatures will get into the mid 70′s and as high as 80 degrees.   When this happens permit will move onto the flats to feed and in big numbers.  The best time to search for permit on these days are during the afternoon with an outgoing tide.  I like a big high tide late in the morning on the Gulf side so the tide is falling all afternoon.

Permit will not be alone either.  Bonefish, barracudas, sharks, cobia and jacks will all make there way onto these same flats.  We can also find tarpon in the nearby channels.  Tarpon may be available all through the day, but the best times are early in the morning and at night.  This is also a great time to go for permit with a fly rod as opportunities are numerous and the fish are feeding aggressively.  There is no shortage of opportunities during these days.

Longer and warmer days will make for some great fishing on the flats of the Lower Florida Keys this month.  So get out of the cold and snow and head down to the Keys and experience life on the flats.

Captain Mike Bartlett

Marquesas Permit

Permit on Fly

I fished with Gary from Pennsylvania who has fished with me now for a few years.  We fished out west of Key West on the oceanside in search of permit, bonefish and barracudas.  We found a few schools of bonefish in about three feet of water and Gary landed one  close to five pounds and had another nice bonefish on briefly before pulling the hook.  We had a lot of shots at barracudas landing three with the largest being about 20 pounds.  We had several follows and misses but it was just as exciting.  We only found a couple of permit and had one shot at a fish that was close to the boat.  I thought I would have found more permit, but it was not the case this day.

Friday and Saturday I fished with my mentor, Captain Gregg McKee.  Captain Gregg and I have been friends since I moved to Key West almost eleven years ago.  He has since moved out of Key West but we remain in touch and make it a point to get together and spend a few days on the water when we can.

We could only fish a couple of hours each day so we stayed close and fished for jacks found on the backs of stingrays.  The flats had plenty of stingrays and just about every ray had a jack following it.  We each caught a few jacks, the largest about 12 pounds, had some fun and went home.

Captain Mike Bartlett

Bonefish Feb 4, 2010

Barracuda Feb 4, 2010

Jack Crevalle on Fly

Attached are a few photos of the wahoo we caught the other day.  The boat was a bloody mess and we were too tired to hold the fish up for very long.  We tried turning the fish to get the cleaner side, but just dropped them back in the blood on the deck.  Needless to say there are two less wahoo in the ocean now.  I’m making ceviche tonite, can’t wait to have it for lunch.
The other guy is Capt Pete Heydon another flats guide.  I need to give credit where credit is due, he brings the rods and the rigs and sets the baits out.  I just drive the boat around in circles!!!

The flats from Key West to the Marquesas offer the finest  shallow water sight fishing for Tarpon, Bonefish and Permit.

What a way to end the day.

Early flat calm mornings are a favorite time for tarpon. Tarpon are most active during the low light periods of the day and at night.  Taken on a wide variety of baits, flies and artificial baits, hooking into a 100 plus pound tarpon on light tackle will keep you coming back for more.

Big barracudas are a staple on the flats during the winter months of the year.  ‘Wolfpacks’ will lay in wait for unsuspecting prey while sunning in the shallow water.  Violent strikes, long grey hounding jumps and unmatched speed make for a spectacular battle on the end of your line.

Known as the gray ghost of the flats, Bonefish are very difficult to see in the water.  Eager to eat a shrimp or a well placed fly, once hooked, these little torpedoes will run off 100 yards of line in just a couple of seconds.  But be ready to reel like a mad man because he will come straight back to the boat just as fast.

Permit, the toughest fish to catch on fly, will make even the most seasoned fly angler to come unglued.  What a great feeling when the line comes tight.

Poons baby!  The annual tarpon migration brings huge numbers of big tarpon through the Florida Keys every spring.