Updated Key West Fishing Reports

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Winter Flats Fishing in Key West

Key West weather has not be spectacular the last few days. High winds have plagued the area and our temperatures have dropped a bit making some of the flats species head for deeper water with more stable temperatures.

Winter fishing does have its advantages. It is a fun time of year to fish in shallow water. Some of the target species are giant barracuda, many species of sharks (some that even jump out of the water when hooked), large jacks up to 20 pounds, cobia, ladyfish, snook, redfish and sea trout. The possibilities are still endless for sight casting with light tackle or a fly.

If you are wanting to try light tackle fishing on the reef or offshore, please contact us for an honest recommendation of some of the best light tackle and sport fishing guides Key West has to offer.

If you have never fished on the flats consider our winter time to be a fun time for fishing. A flats skiff can take up to 2 anglers in comfort and everything is provided for fishing. Anglers who wish to fly fish, a barracuda is a great target species for your first fish on fly, so is the Crevalle jack.

These species will give an angler several shots before spooking which helps with the hook up ratio. As always if you are coming to saltwater fly fish on the flats, practice your cast if possible. It only helps make your experience here in the Keys so much better.

We are now booking for 2007 Tarpon Season so if you are considering a trip for tarpon there are still dates available in March, April, June and July.

November Fishing in the Lower Keys

November 10, 2006

Our weather has improved after this last front.
The temperature has dropped a bit, but certainly
not enough to scare the fish off the flats.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of guiding Jon Ain,
co-founder of the March Merkin Permit
Tournament, to his 250th permit on fly. The 19-
pound fish was caught west of Key West on a fly
tied by Ain.

This is one of the best times of the year to
find large permit on the flats of the Lower
Keys. They readily eat a live crab and the right
fly with some precision casting will most often
get eaten.

There are still some large bonefish lurking on
both the ocean side flats and the backcountry
near Sugarloaf Key. They have been slightly
finacky for the fly so pack your fly box full of
different patterns just in case.

We still have some available dates around
Thanksgiving and in December for permit,
barracuda, sharks and jacks on the flats. It is
a great time to be here.... the weather is warm
and the fish are biting!

Redbone S.L.A.M. Fishing - September 2006

Cooler weather in the Key West area was short lived. Things heated right back up to steamy mid-September and made fishing more difficult in the afternoon hours.

I had a few good days of pre-fishing with my angler Nicolas Pierce from North Carolina. He's a fun guy to fish with and we had some great fishing throughout the entire week.

Fishing tournaments certainly has its highs and lows and I have experienced all of this, sometimes in the same day. We had some fabulous early morning tarpon fishing. Baby tarpon are the best target this time of year early, early in the morning. They tend to hang in their 'regular' spots during the lower tides. High tide is like recess for baby tarpon - it allows them to roam and possibly find a new place to call home for the next tide change.

Gurglers work well in these baby tarpon holes. If you can find them layed up or rolling the chances of them pouncing on a gurgler fly is good. They will also eat the classic black and purple combo during the early morning or evening hours (if you can find them feeding).

Bonefish have been in the spotlight for this week and will remain a strong contender for flats fishing throughout the rest of September and into October and November. Tailing fish are prominant on a calm morning. Their fins break the glassy water and create an amazing disturbance on the surface of the water. With the skiff we can get so close to them, it's amazing.

Permit fishing has been tough but there were plenty of nice permit caught in this weekends tournament. Pierce and I hooked a permit on a crab fly during one of our days of fishing before the tournament, unfortunately he got away from us and broke off.

Pierce and I fished the Super Fly, a one day fly fishing event that is part of the Redbone series. We placed second with a nice catch of 3 tarpon and 3 bonefish. We did land one other tarpon but he was not regulation size for the tournament, he was just fine for fun fishing.

The SLAM was a little more difficult. Some of the best guides in the Keys fish this tournament and do very well. We were mainly fishing with a fly, leaving ourselves in contention for the Fly Division with only two other boats. When it comes to numbers in this tournament it is about getting the fish, and most anglers choose to use artificials or bait to achieve the goal of catching a slam, tarpon - bonefish and permit.

We tied for the Fly Division prize but lost to a tie-breaker of time, the other team had caught their fish much earlier in the day. Congrats to them!

Late summer fishing - August 2006

I'm not going to mention the "H" word, we've been so lucky to have mild weather. By this time last year we'd cleaned up our yard twice and were prepping for another named storm.

It just started getting really hot this week and it's made fishing a bit tough after about 9AM. The fishing in August is hot too, but tolorating the heat can be a challenge.

Permit have been on again and off again around the Lower Keys. One day they are easy to find, the next day very difficult. We look for them tailing during the morning light and in deeper water or floating in channels throughout the day.

Bonefish have been plentiful on the backcountry flats from Key West to Big Pine. Still an early morning ordeal for tailing fish, and not much action after 2PM when it really gets hot. They readily take a fly, foxy clouser or something like it works well. In skinny water it's important to have a cast that lands soft.

Fall fly fishing in the Florida Keys can be some of the best tailing bonefish and permit conditions all year. It's a fun time of year because I get the chance to fish myself during the off hours of the day.

There have been plenty of tarpon of all sizes still available in the waters around Key West. I'm sure with this hotter weather they won't stick around for long.

Looking to get away this fall? Come down for some fall bonefish and permit fishing.

Summer Fishing - August 2006

The outlook for fishing this summer is so much better than last year. By this time last year we had boarded up, evacuated, batten down the hatches, bought supplies, and tested our generator numerous times. There is something to be thankful for, and part of it has to do with the fishing.

I'm grateful for a very good season. It's winding down a bit and although the fishing has been really great, the schedule allows me to get out fishing on my own and explore some new territory.

This week has been especially great for permit fishing. Fly fishing for permit is already difficult and with our southeast winds clipping along at a cool 15 knots, it's not easy for the average fly angler to make precise casts all the time to tailing permit.

Although wind is somewhat of an enemy to a fly fishing angler, especially when it's blowing hard on his right shoulder (for a right handed angler), with permit fishing we almost welcome the wind. It gives the opportunity to sneak up on tailing permit and even is more forgiving when making a strong cast that leaves the fly landing hard in the water.

I tie a fly these days that is deadly for permit but is definately not a flat calm water fly. One the wind is clipping along at 10 knots or so, we're golden.

I had the pleasure of fishing with an angler from New York, George Polsky. I have to give congrats to both him and his brother for their first permit on fly. It's a great accomplishment and no doubt has got them hooked on permit fishing altogether.

As for August, the tropical outlook has a few more players in the field we call the Atlantic Basin, but as for fishing... the slam is still a definate possibility.

Summer Fishing - The pressure is off...

Key West has been fortunate this spring and had some of the best weather and fishing in a long time. Sure the fishing here is pretty consistant, but the weather is another story. This week the winds have been fairly calm and after what was Alberto rolled through (nothing much for us but some rain) we had some decent clearing weather and some good fishing.

I had one of the most memorable days of bonefishing this week with a regular client of mine. We managed to hook 17 bonefish and landed 13 of them at the boat. Not to mention a couple tarpon on the line that day as well and we had a pretty banner day. Unfortunatly it was a little to calm to get very close to a permit to try for the grand slam.

Now that is is mid-June, the pressure of so many guides diminishes as more than half of them head out West or up North for the summer months. I never thought fishing here year-round could be so much fun. The fish are less spooky and its easier to get into your "spot" without anyone else within eyes distance.

I can only hope that this tarpon season lasts well into August as it did last year. The first few weeks of August lended us a few nice tarpon in the 70- pound range. As the summer progresses tarpon will start to move out of the area while baby tarpon remain in their hiding places around the backcountry. Bonefishing is a must this time of year. It's so much fun to see schools of them glide across a sand flat.

Keep in mind that September and October are great for bonefish and permit here in the Lower Keys. It's a great time of year to be here (set aside the fact that it's hurricane season) and the fishing is very good.