Florida Keys Fishing Reports

5-27-12 Islamorada Deep Sea Fishing Report

2012-05-27T21:52:25Z

We've had some beautiful weather here while fishing in the Florida Keys the past few days. Unfortunately we had some nasty weather last Wednesday and Thursday, but it's been great since Friday. The Dolphin (Mahi) Fishing has been decent. There's been some good catches, but it hasn't been easy by any means. Probably three quarters of the boats have been finding them, while a few others in the same area just never come across them. The BNM and Relentless both had over 20 mahis yesterday, up to about 15 lbs. The Cloud Nine today had a big bull that weighed in at 45 lbs! They also had a dozen other "schoolies" (3 to 5 lbs). The "deep dropping" (fishing the bottom in 400' - 700') has been very good lately too. The Finnster, Gon' Fishin', and BNM all had over a fifteen bottom fish, including a few yellowedge and snowy groupers to 10 lbs, and blue line tilefish, with a few real nice ones to 10 lbs as well. On the Reef the Yellowtail snapper bite has been pretty good, the Kalex had 30 fish up to 2 1/2 lbs today. The Catch 22 and Kalex also caught a couple permit the last few days up to 25 lbs. The week before last the Kalex also had a great late season catch of cobia, including a 67 lb lunker. We also released a daytime swordfish on the 25th.

5-22-12 Offshore Fishing Report from the last few days

2012-05-22T23:02:11Z

Lots of boats have been fishing the past few days and there's been some great catches. The dolphin (mahi) were a little tough today, a few boats did well but some boats struggled. The days prior the dolphin were very good, lots of boats limiting out of schoolies and a few gaffers. Hopefully today was just a slow day and it picks back up tomorrow. The Daytime Swordfish bite was good today, but a little slow yesterday. The Catch 22 caught the only broadbill swordfish yesterday out of 3 boats dropping from the marina, but today both the Catch 22 and the BNM caught swordfish. The Catch 22 caught a beautiful 303 lber and released a juvenile. The BNM caught a 65 lber. The Kalex also released an est. 175 lb blue marlin which is always an unusual bonus. There's been a few wahoo on the dock the last 3 days too. The King Mackerel bite was great for a few days and slowed a little bit today. The Fearless had a big mutton snapper while wreck fishing yesterday. With the re opening of the deep water fishery (bottom fishing over 240'), there's been some nice blueline tilefish, snowy grouper, and the BNM caught a giant 34 lb yellowedge grouper the other day! When the dolphin fishing gets slow it's always another option to catch some great eating fish, just a lot of cranking since its 400 - 600 feet deep typically.

5/21/12 Flats fishing in Islamorada

2012-05-21T12:28:12Z

Been very busy here as of 5/21/12 and lots of rain around so have not been taking pictures and keeping up with reports - sorry guys! Last week I had Kenny Johnston here flats fishing in Islamorada from across the pond. We fished two full days in the islamorada backcountry fishing. Day 1 we started around flamingo. We got into a decent snook bite catching 10 or so snook up to 8 lbs, lost the first 1 which was a nice fish likely over 10 lbs into the trees. Lucky for the fish as a large bull shark was after him! We also caught a couple redfish there and off one other tree nearby, as well as lots of mangrove snappers. The wind kicked up so we made our way back towards Islamorada and found a nice trout mud on the way home. Plenty of trout with several slot size fish mixed in. A big mullet mud was on a flat nearby so we caught a few live mullets and decided to give the tarpon a shot near home for the last hour. We caught a couple small sharks early, and put our last mullet out on the bottom. I reeled up the bait to check it after 15 minutes, put it back out, and within a minute the line zipped off and a nice 60 lb tarpon was airborne and hooked! Kenny caught him in about 30 minutes to complete his backcountry slam for the day! Great to catch an afternoon tarpon in islamorada! Day 2 we ran back towards the cape area and found a nice school of redfish up on the flats. We caught probably 15 of those, then loaded up with ladyfish in one of the nearby channels. We caught a small shark nearby, and then kept heading back towards the cape. Kenny wanted something big so we put the ladyfish on the bottom in one of the channels. Caught 2 mud marlin, one small one of 40 lbs, and another that was likely 200-250 lbs! Great options here fishing in the florida keys! Capt. Jim Willcox also reported getting a backcountry slam - snook, reds, and a tarpon, running deep into the glades off the northwest cape. Capt. Jeff Beeler did well on the redfish with myself in a group trip several days ago as well as some shots at tarpon early in the morning, some nice trout and snappers, and a shark. Capt. Mike Bassett got a couple tarpon in the afternoon the other day as well on live mullets drifting the oceanside bridges. Capt. Dave Butler also snuck out after the rain the other day and caught a big tarpon as well as a couple redfish!

As of late the tarpon fishing here has been picking up a bit, a lot of fish around locally however still not many in the backcountry. The evening trips have been giving more shots at fish, some have been eating crabs as well. We had bites on crabs early in the evening the last 2 nights, as well as mullet. We do have falling tides here till near dark this next week, so the fishing will hopefully be good the next several evenings! Get ou there on a night tarpon fishing islamorada trip!

5-18-12 Islamorada Offshore Fishing Report

2012-05-19T00:56:23Z

We've had a some rain around the last few days, but we always say the fish don't mind, they're already wet. Today on the 18th the Dolphin (mahi) finally showed up in huge numbers!!! Almost all the boats limited out, mostly schoolies (3 to 5 lbs) , a few medium size ones, and there was a handful of slammers hanging up over 20 lbs. The last couple of days there had been some dolphin, but if you didn't find the right piece of debris, you didn't find many fish. Some of the boats had great catches, but they weren't everywhere like today. The Daytime swordfish bite was great for the Catch 22 on the 16th, where he put his anglers on two beautiful fish. A 189 lber and a 237 lber! Today on the BNM we did a daytime swordfish charter and managed to catch and released a 40 lb broadbill and then lost a 75 lber on the leader next to the boat. After seeing the dolphin catches today we are hoping that the bite is wide open the next few weeks. There's also been a couple wahoo and still some big amberjacks if you want a big pull.

5-15-12 Islamorada Deep Sea Fishing Report

2012-05-15T22:02:06Z

The boats have been hitting it hard the last couple of days and it's been a variety of fish. The dolphin fishing hasn't been red hot, but still good enough to keep you looking. If you are fortunate enough to find the right piece of debris (which the dolphin follow), you will find the fish. Most of the boats only caught a handful of dolphin today, but the Predator had a rack full of dolphin up to 25 lbs and the Cloud Nine also had a rack full of dolphin up to 8 lbs. The other boats had some "football" blackfin tuna, a couple amberjack, and the BNM had a 26 lb snowy grouper! The "deep drop" fishery, targeting species over 240' of water just re-opened last week after a year and a half closure, so expect to see some good bottom fishing from the deeper water. On the Reef the Kalex and Relentless both had limits of king mackerel and some yellowtail snapper. The BNM also went Daytime Swordfishing yesterday and managed to catch 2 broadbill swordfish, releasing a 50 lber and keeping a 75 lber for dinner. Today the Redfish also stayed on the reef but focused on bottom fishing and caught 3 black groupers to 20 lbs and a nice red grouper. Get on down here for your Islamorada Fishing Trip!

5/13/12 Islamorada Offshore Fishing Report

2012-05-13T22:01:26Z

The wind picked up the last couple of days here but that didn't stop the fish from biting while Deep Sea Fishing in Islamorada. Some boats have been staying on the reef and there's been king mackerel, yellowtail snapper, crevalle jacks, permit, sailfish and grouper. Capt. Marc on the All Lit Up today was out this morning and brought back a pair of nice black groupers including this 20 lber. A few days ago the Reel McCoy had a phenomenal day of sailfishing where they released 12 sailfish! The Catch 22 released 4 sailfish today as well. There's been a few others released here and there, but those were the best numbers. Capt. Jake ran the Cloud Nine two days ago and in the afternoon released an est. 250lb blue marlin with 6 ladies out for their first Islamorada Offshore Fishing Trip! The dolphin fishing has also been decent. It's not a free for all yet, the fish are definitely in certain areas, and if/when you find them there's been nice catches brought back. Most of the fish have been in the 3 to 8 lb range, but there's been a handful of big bulls up to 35 lbs the last couple of days on the dock. We're expecting the dolphin fishing to get better and better throughout the summer.

5/10/12 Florida Keys Tarpon Fishing Report

2012-05-11T17:56:37Z

Islamorada tarpon fishing report is getting better here now fishing in may! Seems a few more fish have been around locally in Islamorada and biting a bit better than the previous week, as of today on 5/10/12. The weather has stablized and we have good tides in the early morning and late evenings - prime tarpon fishing charter time! Capt. Rick Stanczyk reported fishing last night just between 7 PM and 9 PM, taking his buddy Scott Stevens out for fun. They hooked 4 tarpon and caught 2 on live crabs. The wind had laid out nice with just a light breeze out of the west. During the day, Rick reported a good bite of mangrove snappers and nice size seatrout out west, and some blacktip sharks but no tarpon unfortunately. The west wind was a bit harder with current going into it out back, making for an undesierable condition. Capt. Vinnie Biondoletti had some action in town during the day reporting a tarpon catch, and Capt. Jeff Beeler caught one on fly further up north near Tavernier. I'd suggest trying to get out for some florida keys tarpon fishing the next few nights - conditions should be ideal into the dark! Night tarpon fishing in Islamorada is a thrill you want to experience!

5/10/12 Islamorada Deep Sea Fishing Report

2012-05-10T23:40:18Z

The weather has continued to be extremely nice here while Fishing in the Florida Keys. The winds have been light, the seas have been calm, and the sun has been shining. Theboats have been putting together some great catches with a variety of fish. There's still been a couple sailfish around the reef, but they haven't been easy. There's been 5 caught and released the last 2 days between the fleet. The dolphin fishing seems to be getting better and better too. A few boats are hitting them good while a few are still struggling, but if you get in the right area and are patient it's paying off. There's also been a couple wahoo while trolling too. Probably the most exciting thing going on close to the reef is the push of blackfin tuna, including some monsters over 30 lbs! A few of the wrecks have also been holding some permit as well a couple black grouper. It's tough to do everything in a single day fishing, but if you commit to targeting a certain fish and are patient, it will pay off more times than not. Book your Islamorada Fishing Trips Today!

5-8-12 Islamorada Deep Sea Fishing Report

2012-05-08T22:50:16Z

We've had beautiful weather here lately while Fishing In Islamorada. Most of the offshore fishing charters have been staying near the reef lately which has provided the most action. The yellowtail snapper bite has been decent, not a lot of "flags" (2 lb plus yellowtails), but plenty of keepers. The grouper bite slowed down for most the boats after getting hit hard the first week of opening season, but that didn't stop Capt. Merv on the Redfish from catching 3 nice black groupers and a big red grouper yesterday! There's been a handful of sailfish each day too. The Reel McCoy had a great day on them yesterday releasing 6 and the Catch 22 released 1. The Reel McCoy also hooked a giant Yellowfin tuna! Which is uncommon down here, and after an hour they had the est. 150 lb tuna 50' away and unfortunately it went through the leader. But still really cool to see. The Kalex caught a few Big Blackfin tuna on the edge of the Reef too the last couple of days, a couple were over 30 lbs each day! On the BNM yesterday we had 25 yellowtails, 3 amberjacks, and a handful of dolphin. The Relentless today had a couple blackfin tuna, dolphin, and a few king mackerel. Capt. Augie had one of the best dolphin catches of the season today, with a 15 fish from 5 to 20 lbs. Book your deep sea fishing trip today!

5/7/12 Islamorada tarpon fishing in May.

2012-05-07T20:30:51Z

Islamorada tarpon fishing in May is starting to pick up. The weather has been stabilizing, winds calming, and few more fish starting to move in today on 5/7/12. Capt. Rick Stanczyk reported a couple bites last night, catching one tarpon of 80 lbs. Capt. Mike Bassett reported one of 150 lbs the night before they fought for almost 2 hours! Today Capt. Rick fished the backcountry with Jim and Mary long. It was Jim's 50th birthday and he had a great day fishing in the florida keys! We caught some ladyfish for bait, a few snappers for dinner and some throwback trout, and then tarpon fished for an hour. Had 2 bites at the start of the incoming tide, and caught one nice islamorada tarpon of 65 lbs or so, good fighter too! Nice to see some fish showing up out in the backcountry. We then fished for some reds around some islands, and the bite was on! Probably caught 30 redfish in an hour, up to about 10 lbs, some real nice fish! Mostly on live shrimp, though they were eating pinfish especially the larger ones! Capt. Ken Cohan reported getting a few tarpon bites and catching one today too. Capt. Bill Bassett did some poling, sightfishing for bonefish, and caught a nice bonefish in islamorada. They also caught a few reds as well. May is usually prime time for tarpon, look for them to start biting good in the evenings the next few days, as we have falling tide for most of the night through sunset. Night tarpon fishing in the Florida Keys is lots of fun!