The Key West Offshore Report

December 2009: Key West’s Unique Benefits

Fishing out of Key West has some unique benefits. As the island chain ends at Fort Zachary Taylor the story continues west all the way past the Tortugas Bank. Ninety miles or more of relatively minor pressure from recreation creates an oasis of sorts that changes the farther away from Key West you go.

Considered to be the Gulf of Mexico past Loggerhead Key and beyond,the basic “Gulf of Mexico” type fishing is on cue. Bottom and fish ’shows’ on your recorder will be the key and multiple drops is the norm. North of Fort Jefferson you may find the shrimp boats at rest and loaded with blackfin tuna, bonito, king mackerel, etc. Here is where the beauty comes in. Anything but normal is the quantity and size of the fish available. Some true trophy gag grouper might be in the mix with trophy black grouper as well as scamp and reds. The snapper are intermingling with the trophy muttons hanging with the flag yellowtails along with a dog snapper or maybe a silky. Dinosaur size porgies and the “hog” sized hogfish round out the variety.

Captain Marlin Scott runs FishMonster Charters covering the entire Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West. Captain Scott hosts the local morning radio show “From the Water Show” where he interviews charter captains up and down the Keys talking about all you ever wanted to know about fishing, diving and boating. If you want daily updates “From the Water” here in the Florida Keys you can follow him on Twitter @CaptMarlin.

November 2009:The Dry Tortugas – The Trip of Finer Distinctions

There is a certain personality type required for wanting to experience the adventure of a trip out to The Dry Tortugas. To fully grasp all of the story about Joe Keel and his crew in The Dry Tortugas, background information is needed. Owning a winery in the State of Florida is not an every day occupation and can shed light on the personality that seeks the unusual and finds ways to succeed even in an unknown environment.

As our crew made their way to the airfield in Tampa early in the morning on the day of the trip down to the Florida Keys, a part of the plane was removed by the elements and causing concern among the boarding members.  With little hesitation, the trip commenced and continued without incident to the landing field on Sugarloaf Key.

Gathering supplies and making the 12:00 noon departure like clock work added to the “MO” as well. This is a game of firsts, especially out west 70 miles from Key West. The wind would blow a stiff 15 knots from the southeast as the forecast predicted, so another deviation was in order. The trip out would be much better on the north side of Boca Grande and the Marquesas because of the lee the islands would offer.

As always,stopping for the ingredients needed to prepare the evening meal is the simplest part of the voyage. One stop provided all the grouper and snapper for the grill as well as some sushi (cero mackerel).  This also helped break up the 3 hour journey and provided a sample of the fishery.

The lighthouse on Loggerhead Key is the first clue that land will soon be available and in a strange way calmed the crew into believing that the legend of the Dry Tortugas will soon be part of their list of many fishing experiences.  As always, I am amazed by the desolation of Fort Jefferson along with the small island chain that creeps lightly out of the water into the park. I could see the same emotion drift through my crew and I knew all was well. These boys were ripe for this experience.

The “first” for Mark, the childhood friend of Joe Keel, was the Volkswagon sized Goliath Grouper that was ready to get his picture taken after a lengthy and full impact battle that was about to take place. He ate and Mark grunted for a solid 20 minutes and the deal was finally sealed with a picture session from beginning to end.

On to the next set of “firsts”. The Yelloweye Snapper is fairly rare and none on this adventure had ever seen one much less enjoyed them on the table or in our case while sitting on the gunnel. “All you wanted” was a standard quote from Pat (a printer who handles Keel and Curley’s winery needs). Pat was red hot and let the team know through his constant opening of the fish box. The color was bright in the box and the room was dwindling. At depths of 250 feet John (Joes field supervisor and a flats fisherman) was out of his element. With John’s wit and self-deprication we all agreed his new name would be “No-Fish” John. There is a commom trait to any fishing excursion with a group of guys and that includes one who just can’t seem to make it happen easily. By the end, John was well rested from naps in the cabin and handled his position on the totem pole with grace.

Now, for Joe, the winery owner and blueberry farmer, the trip was highlighted by something other than what is usually talked about when referring to the Dry Tortugas.  Armed with a new spinning rod from his lovely new wife, Joe highlighted the trip with a nice tarpon while on anchor in front of the Marquesas.

Sometimes the familiar will bring you full circle. The normal trail in the blue to Key West was interrupted regularly by blackfin tuna, dolphin and bonito along with many barracuda who found a cedar plug too much to pass up. Back at the dock the recap was riddled with new vocabulary that fit the experience,  polishing the story and setting the stage for a future re-enactment. A new set of “finer distinctions” has arrived.

Captain Marlin Scott runs FishMonster Charters covering the entire Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West. Captain Scott hosts the local morning radio show “From the Water Show” where he interviews charter captains up and down the Keys talking about all you ever wanted to know about fishing, diving and boating. If you want daily updates “From the Water” here in the Florida Keys you can follow him on Twitter @CaptMarlin.

October 2009: Fall is in the Air – Under Water

Captain Marlin Scott runs FishMonster Charters covering the entire Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West. Captain Scott hosts the local morning radio show “From the Water Show” where he interviews charter captains up and down the Keys talking about all you ever wanted to know about fishing, diving and boating. If you want daily updates “From the Water” here in the Florida Keys you can follow him on Twitter @CaptMarlin.

September 2009: Going West is Best

Seasoning. That was the ingredient needed to zone in on the crawling of the lobster during Sportsmans’ Season and the opening of lobster season.  The Lower Keys gave with “Vigor” through Sportsmans’ and continues to produce as I write this article.  West towards the Marquesas the visibility was pristine, but the lobster were few and far between.  Imagine the dilemma, lobster everywhere as well as loads of lobster divers in the Lower Keys or gin clear water and being virtually alone in the Marquesas.  Not a bad set of choices.

Out west, the lack of lobster was a great excuse to sample the final leg of the Mangrove Snapper spawn.  Nothing can prepare you for the mad dog bite of spawning schools of “Grovers”.  Chum flowing towards the micro ballyhoo of summer provided the ultimate in “Match the Hatch”. One throw of the 12′ cast net and now we have pandemonium.  One quick look into the chum slick with a mask will change your conventional wisdom  forever.

Expanding out to Fort Jefferson and as far as the Tortugas Banks is an easy way to succeed on a long day.  The average Yellowtail are around 20″ and tend to be a nuisance, just a distraction from the real deal on the bottom.  Mutton Snapper, although not quite to the degree of the May/June spawn, are always there to surprise as well as Fire Truck Reds and Rusty Belly Blacks.  Again, check out the life underwater with a mask.

Working the ocean side of the far west, now is the time for the final American Red Snapper harvest. This fishery is on the block to be shut down for what feels like forever.  Deep breaks on your south heading will show on the recorder.  Drift and hold on.  These areas blend many different gunnel hugging moments with Black Grouper, Muttons and Amberjack. Yellow Eyes will be in numbers so enjoy the unique look of those deep water Snappers as well as the taste.

The road home to Key West can be something of an express ride if the Stream is cooperative.  Jog out to your deeper break (600 ft) and lay that spread out on those bands of sargassum working your way to the wall off the Marquesas.  Who knows what will crash your spread.  All I can tell you is that something will.  Troll big and be ready for the “Man in The Blue Suit” as well as White Marlin.  The Skipjack schools are your first clue something might be ready to happen.  Many a “Skippy” has been batted and consumed by our billfish, the two mingle often.

Late summer patterns will hold through September and traffic will be light.  SHHH!!   Don’t tell anybody.

Captain Marlin Scott runs FishMonster Charters covering the entire Florida Keys from Key Largo to Key West. Captain Scott hosts the local morning radio show “From the Water Show” where he interviews charter captains up and down the Keys talking about all you ever wanted to know about fishing, diving and boating. If you want daily updates “From the Water” here in the Florida Keys you can follow him on Twitter @CaptMarlin.