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.
Keep up
with Florida Keys fishing!
Enter Your
Email Address
below to have this fishing report sent to you each week!
We never use email
addresses for outside purposes.
|
Last
Updated: 08/22/2017
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
Check it out!
|
|
Offshore: |
|
Dolphin catches have been just great and there
have been a lot of big fish too. Captain Benny Spaulding on the Play
Baby out of Whale Harbor Marina has been getting into some slammer
Dolphin this past week catching one bull that weighed over forty
pounds. Captain Alex Adler on the Kalex out of Bud and Mary’s Marina
had six nice gaffer Dolphin and ten heavy lifters with some school
Dolphin also in the 4 to 7 pound range. Captain Don on the Kay K IV
had a split party of two couples and kept 40 Dolphin making it 20
for each group. Otherwise, captain A J Stewart on the Priority out
of Post Card Inn caught a Swordfish last week. And, Captain Charlie
Tindall fished a bay boat with a friend last week and they too
caught a Swordfish. Beyond that, it seems some captains are deep
dropping and getting into a variety of Snapper and Grouper with some
Porgy too. |
|
Reefs: |
|
If the Bluewater action slows down, then we will
have more to talk about on the reef. For now it is still the
Yellowtail Snapper that is the big draw. If the customer can only
fish a half day then it is the reef option due to the short run time
to fishing. Expect the charter boats to begin live bait slow
trolling soon and then we will see King Mackerel along with some
Mutton Snapper and Red Grouper. With two baits up and two baits deep
the variety can be great and will include Sailfish, Dolphin, Bonito,
Tuna and more. |
|
Gulf and Bay: |
|
With school back in session the business has
slowed down some. Fishing is still great for Tarpon in the bay and
in the island channels. Captain Tim Klein is still getting lots of
action at the big channels west of Islamorada using Mullet and
Crabs. Some guides are dead baiting and chumming with carcasses in
the evening and scoring on Tarpon most trips. Trout action is fair
to good from day to day, but Snapper are biting well in the warm bay
water. In the Gulf, good Snapper catches are the norm with Jacks,
Trout and Ladyfish rounding out the bite. There are plenty of Sharks
cruising around the chum and the action created by the catching of
fish. Some captains will put a heavy rod out with a wire and Jack or
Ladyfish as bait to entice the Shark. |
|
Flats, Backcountry and Flamingo: |
|
Again, the Tarpon action in the channels and
around the bridges is good early morning and late afternoon/evening.
Look for the opportunity for a Permit also, so always keep a few
small crabs in the bait well for Permit bait. Fish the crab under a
float just like when using a Mullet for Tarpon, just smaller
everything. Lighter leader and smaller hook such as a 3/0 or 4/0. In
the Flamingo and Cape Sable areas the Tarpon are also in good
supply. Fish the canals and creeks and shorelines for Snook and
Redfish. There have been some reports of Black Drum also. |
|
|
Last
Updated: 08/22/2017
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! Some windy weather we have had here this
week with some gnarly winds up to 25 knots. This wind kept a lot of
boats tied up at the docks, but there were several of us that did
make it out each day, and the fishing has been pretty darn good! The
seas have made it difficult, but even with the moon filling up, we
still managed our limit of Mahi almost every day. Only once I
believe we came up short a few, but this was only due to the towel
getting thrown in by the customers and wanting to go home early due
to the seas being a little difficult. Therefore, there is some
pretty good fishing out there, and after this moon it should stay
decent. Hopefully the weed lines will be coming back through and
lining up with the winds calming down and make for some great
fishing over the weekend. The Sword Ledge report has been quiet this
week, mostly due to the weather, so we will have to table this until
next week for now. The deep dropping has been good all week as the
current has weakened, and made life a little easier to target these
tasty critters. Some nice catches of Tiles, Black Belly Rose Fish,
and Groupers despite the windy conditions. The heavy winds can be as
bad as heavy current, so power drifting has been working well for us
to keep the gear straight. The humps were still producing Blackfin
Tunas and AJ’s this week, but the rips are ripping! It’s a little
bumpy on top of the hill to say the least, but there are plenty of
fish in the area for sure. Don’t be surprised if you get jumped by
the Mahi while trolling the feathers for the Tunas too. It happens
all the time! The wrecks and deep ledges produced nicely this week
with the moon, so the backside should be pretty good too. Not a lot
of current out there, but hopefully when this weather moves around
we will get a little help from the tides and keep it going. The reef
remains solid, and the wind has been creating the current behind the
boat. You really should be planning on fishing the tide to get the
job done here so pay attention as this will be key if the wind falls
all the way out. Use the tide to your advantage with the wind
direction and try to get it all going the same direction. This will
be optimum for the best Snapper bite. Yellowtails and Mangrove
Snappers have been biting well in this area, and some nice Cero
Macks too, so put yourself in the best possible situation to be
successful and really pay attention to the conditions for maximum
success. Well, that is all for this week! Be safe everyone, and I
will see ya next week!
Tight Lines,
Capt. James Chappell |
|
