Florida Keys Fishing Report

www.floridakeysnews.info
Offsho

Dolphin catches have been good, but the mainstay of the catch is still
the school-size fish (up to 10 pounds)
As far as the slammer dolphin, one here and one there, but no major
influx of the "big uns" yet.
On the Islamorada Hump there has been a "major influx" of large
tiger sharks.
Capt. Wes King on the Bad Dog out of Whale Harbor Marina released a
tiger that was estimated at around 800 pounds.
Capt Paul O'Donnell tangled with several big tigers also, some of
which ate through double 19 wire!

Reefs:

The king mackerel are still biting well. Lots of macks over 30 pounds
have been racked behind charter boats this week.
The sailfish have slowed down, and few captains will continue to fish
for the sails with the coming of warmer weather!
The cobia are following Rays along the shallow edge of the reef. The
common practice is to carry a dozen grunts in the live well to throw at
the cobia. A 20-pound spinning rod with a 4-ounce lead is what it takes
to get the grunt down in front of the cobia.

Gulf and Bay:

Wind all week, and few reports from the Gulf until the weekend.
Saturday and Sunday the Gulf water was still muddy and grassy and
reportedly fishing was slow.
In Florida Bay, there was a fair bite of trout, jacks, ladyfish,
mackerel and some pompano around the outside banks.

Flats, Backcountry
and Flamingo:

The tarpon activity has been good, that is, when the weather is stable.
The island channels are producing big tarpon, most of which are eating
mullet.
The bonefish activity is good one day, off another.
There are permit on the near shore oceanside coral heads just a mile
out from the islands. Most guides slip up to the area and try to sight
cast the permit.
All the blacktip and bull sharks you want in the Flamingo Channels is
the word from captains looking for a tarpon bite. Only an occasional
tarpon can be found in the mostly muddy backcountry water.