Fishing Reports from Islamorada Florida Keys

Fishing Reports from the Florida Keys

Webmaster's Note:
Due to numerous emails about the "practice of Dolphin fishing" I would like to make the following clarification.
The fish we are referring to as dolphin, as it is called in the Keys and south Florida, is a fish, also known as the Dorado and Mahi-Mahi. This is not the Dolphin mammal.

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Last Updated: 04/01/2019

Quick Glance
Provided by staff writer Captain Russ Pellow
visit him online at www.RustyIV.com

Captain Russ also answers questions in our Ask The Captain Forum
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Offshore:

Skiffs and charter boats alike continue to troll up Blackfin Tuna on the Islamorada Hump. One promising report comes from Captain Greg on the Takedown out of Whale Harbor Marina. Captain Greg was running offshore to do what is referred to as a “Spring Run” which is an exploratory trip looking for the beginning of Dolphin action. In 600 feet of water they found a weed line and caught a 20 pound Dolphin off of it. They left the weed line but came back in and fished it again catching five more gaffer Dolphin.

Reefs:

The reef is still a hotbed of activity. Captain Jack on his “Shake and Bait” charter out of Post Card Inn released a Sailfish and boxed a bunch of King Mackerel. The Kay K IV has been catching Yellowtail and Mutton Snapper and Kings. Captain Paul on the Reef Runner released a Sail and caught Kingfish and a Wahoo on the reef one day last week. There are lots of Grouper being caught and released, as the season is closed until May 1st.

Gulf and Bay:

Then word is that the Spanish Mackerel are still in good numbers in the Gulf. There is a good bite of Mangrove and Lane Snapper on the Mackerel spots too. Guides running the trap buoys are finding Tripletail. In Florida Bay the Trout are in good supply in the north central area of the bay. Captain Lou Brubaker fished a couple of trips with youngsters and scored on lots of Trout in the twenty inch range.

Flats, Backcountry and Flamingo:

Captain Freddie fished the Flamingo area last week and scored on Redfish and Snook. The better Snook action is reported to be out in the Cape Sable area. Captain Skip Nielson fished the Cape and scored on some nice Snook. There are loads of Mullet in Florida bay and the white muds are the giveaway as to where the mullet are. This situation spells one thing, and that is Tarpon. Tarpon are being caught in all the usual areas. The Tarpon are in big numbers in the island channels in the Islamorada area. Fish the Mullet under a float using four feet of 60 or 80 pound leader to a 6/0 or 7/0 circle hook. Use the same rig with lighter leader and smaller hooks with a small crab for Permit.

Last Updated: 04/01/2019

Capt. James Chappell's Fishing Report
Provided by Catchalottafish Charters
visit him online at www.Catchalottafish.com
305-803-1321

Hello everyone, and welcome back to this week’s report! A very similar week to last week, as it is the typical spring trend which means lots of variety in the fishing and the weather. The weather has been all over the place this week, and so has the fishing. A little bit of everything going on this week though, except for a lot of King Mackerel and Yellowtail Snappers. A few Sails, Tunas, and Mahi-Mahi were roaming the offshore waters this week, but I wouldn’t say anything was exceptional except for the Kings and Yellowtails. There were a few good days of deep dropping for Vermillion and Yellow-eye snappers, and the AJ’s and Almaco bite has been pretty good with the closure coming up. The humps had a few moments early in the week with the Blackfin Tunas, and there were a few nice weediness early, but once the wind showed up they were all broken up. We are close to calling it Mahi season, but I wouldn’t open the gates just yet. You can bet it won’t be long though! Plenty to catch down here, as we even had the Cobia show up on the Rays early in the week with the calm weather and clean water. Everything is falling into place for an epic spring/ summer season, but we definitely need this weather to cooperate a little bit more. We will see what next week brings. Good luck out there this weekend, as the weather is looking pretty good!

Tight Lines,

Capt. James Chappell
305-803-1321

Florida Keys Fishing Reports

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