Several days ago in these reports I mentioned that high quality Dolphin fishing should begin any day, and it has broken loose over the last two days. Fresh east winds have the fish pouring through in 200' to 500' of water. Lots of frigate birds are in the air circling the migrating fish. Most of these fish are in the 12-20 pound range with a few larger fish mixed in.

We've been Dolphin fishing the last several days, yesterday we had 2 25lb bull dolphin along with 6 schoolies, with a north wind the fish were hard to find. The day before we had 20 Dolphin all in the 5-10 pound range. Dolphin fishing has not really gotten in high gear yet but it's sure to start any day.

Had a great morning of Tarpon fishing today. We had 7 fish on and caught 4, 2 on 12 pound test. all of the fish were in the 80lb size range.

Sailfishing has been excellent the last week or so, with catches of mulitple Sails common place. We caught 3 out of 4 today and saw several others that wouldn't bite.

We had a pretty interesting day today fishing along a color change in about 120'. Our catch included 2 sails, several dolphin, and 4 Cobia including 2 which were 45lbs. The cobia were caught off of migrating Whale Sharks, we found 3 of these huge ( 30feet long)slow moving giants during the course of the day.

Tailing and migrating Sailfish highlight the fishing action over the last 4 or 5 days. On Fri March 19 Don Prebola and friends caught 7 Sailfish on a 3/4 day. Live baits fished along a color change produced 3 double headers and a single. In addition another 4 Sails were raised that didn't bite. The following day, Sat March 20th the wind swung into the east and Sailfish were tailing along the powder blue edge. In half a day we saw a dozen and cast live baits in front of them. We caught one but the rest refused to eat! Exciting none the less to hunt for tailers and then cast to them. A few Cobia, Tuna and Tunney also tailing.

After an extended period of cold temps with lots of N wind we have experienced a warming trend during the last week. On Tues March 9th we fished a color change and found tailing Sailfish. We saw about 15 on the day but only caught 1 as most of the fish refused to eat even live bait. The color change was also full of Little Tunny and the occasional Dolphin. Thurs March 11 on a half day we fished the color change again, this time with strong SE wind. The schoolie Dolphin were thick and we caught 18 averaging 6-7 pounds as well as a couple of Tunny and a Cero. We also saw a couple of Sails neither would bite.

More crazy weather, it's cold it's hot it's blowing hard, it's flat calm. Quite a challenge to keep up with conditions over the last several weeks. Bait has been difficult of late so we have resorted to catching it at night and penning it for future use. Regular client Rick Muskovac fished a 3/4 day on Wed 2/24 and wanted good eating fish to take home. We started on the reef edge, heavy chumming for Yellowtail and picked at a few large tails but the water temp was too cold to really get them going, and large predetors were eating some of them off the hook. We did have one 10lb Mutton Snapper and a couple of Kings to go along with the Yellowtail. At mid day we got off the anchor and slow trolled a color change and current line in 120' using live Ballyhoo and large Pilchards. We hooked a double header of Sails in short order, catching one and pulling the hook on the other close to the boat. Schoolie Dolphin attacked the baits a couple of times and we added several to the fish box before calling it a day at 2:30.

More good fishing over the last week in part attributable to the increased availability of live Thread Herring for bait. Rick Crandell and a group from Chicago had so much fun on Monday with Smoker Kings, Amberjack, Yellowtail Snapper and assorted Cero and Tunny that they booked a second day on Tuesday during which they caught 30 head of large Yellowtail, a 31 lb African Pompano and a limit of Kingfish.

We have had very decent fishing over the last week. A mixed bag of King Mackerel up to the mid 30lb size, Numerous Blacktip Sharks, Cero, Bonito, Yellowtail Snapper, Mutton Snapper and Red and Scamp Grouper have comprised many of the catches. On a couple of days featuring blue water we have caught Sails and Dolphin as well. The Tuna action is subsiding, with only a couple caught during the last week.

John and Dennis Chia flew all the way from England with the hope of chumming Blackfin Tuna. Owing to the sustained cold weather however, no Pilchards were available for chum so we had to go to plan B. We began on the reef edge with live shrimp, jigs and cut bait and produced good action from Cero, King, Tunney and Yellowtail before reanchoring on a patch reef to catch live Ballyhoo. The slow trolled live Ballyhoo produced more Cero and Tunney before finally raising a quadruple header of Sailfish of which we caught and released a triple.

Key West along with the rest of the country has been experiencing an extended cold snap over the last 10 days. High temps in the mid 50's and blustery North winds have been the typical condition since Christmas, and yet fishing has been outstanding. Most of our trips of late have featured non stop action from a variety of species including King Mackerel, Cero Mackerel, and Little Tunney. Our catch has also included some Tuna, and Yellowtail Snapper. We also released a Goliath Grouper estimated between 150 and 200 lbs. Largest King in the last week was a very respectable 43 pounds. A note about the North wind here in Key West, it does not produce a rough sea because the Keys form a natural lee, again and again our clients were amazed by how calm the seas were in spite of the wind velocity. Stop wishing come out fishing!

Ken Ferris and a group of buddies from Philadelphia enjoyed two days of mixed bag action just before Christmas. On Monday 12/21 we used small pilchards for live chum and baited the kite lines with Thread Herring and Blue Runners to catch King Mackerel up to 25 lbs. We also had 1 Blackfin Tuna and countless Bonita. On day two, 12/22 we had a dozen Yellowtail Snapper, 8 Mutton Snapper, 3 Tuna, 1 Dolphin, 1 Black Grouper, 4 Kings and several Bonita.

Steady Blackfin Tuna fishing highlights the current fishing report. Early morning and late afternoon are the most productive times. The Tuna's are responding to live chumming with Pilchards. There are plenty of Yellowtail and Cero on the reef edge. Sailfishing is still spotty. Kingfish are increasing in numbers but still hit or miss.

Yesterday we did an overnight trip 60 miles west of Key West and took advantage of some great calm weather. We had solid action from smoker kings, with 6 over 30 pounds. The largest topped out at 47 pounds and nearly spooled us from an anchored boat. We also had 4 African Pompano which were unexpected, to go along with Tuna , lots of Bonita and a smattering of bottom fish, mostly Red Grouper.

Another modest cold front with 25 knot wind from the north is keeping us off the water today. Over the last week we have seen better Sailfish action and an increase in the number of Cero and Kingfish. Tuna are still sonewhat scarce. Yellowtail Snapper have been dependable on the reef as long as there is decent current.

We have finally had our first cold front and Ballyhoo bait is swarming all along the reef edge. Today we caught 4 Gaffer Dolphin which were chasing ballyhoo on the top of the reef. We also anchored and live bait chummed and had Tuna's busting in the slick. More good signs that Fall/Winter fishing is beginning.

We began the day on the reef catching Yellowtail. A school of live ballyhoo swam up and we filled the live well. We spent the afternoon slowtrolling live bait and caught a Sailfish and a 20lb Blackfin Tuna. Catching Tuna and Sails is a sure sign that improved cool weather fishing is on the way.

Today we began the day anchored up in the deep water(210'). We had an ideal light current condition which paid off with the capture of 3 African Pompano. These beautiful hard fighters are quite uncommon. We kept one to eat and released the other two. In the afternoon we moved inshore to the reef edge and caught Yellowtail, Cero and Yellowjack

We have had a mixed bag of fishing opportunities during the month of September. Offshore a few Dolphin remain. Most of these fish have been between 8 and 10 pounds with a few larger ones mixed in. We are also finding schools of Skipjack Tuna and Blackfin Tuna, generally inside of the wall. Deep dropping in the 600' range has been productive for Snowy Grouper, Tile Fish and Rosefish. Further inshore there are King Mackerel up to 25 pounds hanging around wrecks and rough bottom in 150' to 200'. We are also catching Mutton Snapper and Amberjacks in this depth. The reef has been hot and cold for Yellowtail depending on current. There have been plenty of large sharks around as well for those who want to tangle with them.

We went offshore yesterday and ran 25 miles south of Key West before finding anything to fish on. Finally a piece of debris with 5 or 6 eight to ten pound Dolphin on it. We worked further south, the furthest offshore we have been all summer and found a short weedline with another 4 or 5 gaffer Dolphin on it. Later we found a pallet which was also holding a few gaffers. We ran back in to 600' and found Frigate birds working over Skipjack Tuna and finished the day by catching 4 Skipjack to add to the dozen Dolphin caught earlier.

We have had some decent reef fishing over the last few days. On Thurs Aug 13th we started in 75' along the bar west of Key West. The 2 lb Yellowtail bit very well and we caught 30 in short order. We also had several Barracuda and a Black Grouper in the 15lb range which was cut off behind the pec fins by a shark before we could boat him. Ballyhoo showed up in the chum slick so we added a couple dozen to the live well before moving to a 160' ledge. Out in the deeper water we caught several Amberjack, a 25lb King Mack and 1 out of 3 Cobia. On Sat Aug 15th we again fished the reef in the morning before the squally weather which later became tropical storm Claudette forced us back to the dock. The Yellowtail were larger, averaging 3.5 lbs.

The offshore fishing had been disappointing over the past 10 days or so, but in the last several days has improved significantly. Large Dolphin have moved back into the area. Today we had 6 fish between 20 and 30 pounds to go along with a few schoolies and 4 or 5 gaffers. Reef fishing for Yellowtail Snapper remains pretty good on days with current on the reef edge.

We have had lots of calm hot weather the last several weeks and the offshore fishing had suffered as a result. Large dolphin were very hard to find and even schoolies had become less common. As a result we spent several days on the reef where the Yellowtail Snapper fishing has been good. Yesterday after a couple of days of breezier weather we ventured back offshore and were pleasantly surprised to find big Dolphin back in residence. We ended up with 6 fish from the low 20's to the low 30's as well as 8 or 10 from 6 to 10 pounds.

We continue to enjoy excellent Dolphin fishing which has been going on for the last 3 weeks. Good numbers of billfish, mostly Sails, although we did catch a White Marlin as well last week are also biting. Blackfin Tuna and Skipjack Tuna are also in the mix. Our largest Dolphin last week was 50 Lbs with many others in the 25Lb range.

Mid May is a great time to fish Key West, and this year is no exception. Inshore the Tarpon bite is on. Fishing a couple of hours at dawn and dusk has been producing multiple bites from these great gamefish. On the reef edge the Mutton Snapper bite has been off the charts as they school up during the full moon to spawn. We had 16 Muttons between 8 and 12 pounds in just 2 hours of fishing at sunset earlier in the week. Offshore the Dolphin are pouring through. Yesterday we had 10 fish over 20 pounds to go along with a bunch of gaffers and schoolies.In addition to the Dolphin there have been a few billfish offshore, mostly Sailfish with an occasional Blue Marlin in the mix.

The tailing action for Sailfish exploded over a three day period, the 8th, 9th, and 10th. With a massive color change in place for sometime, and strong E current, there have been an increasing number of fish along the change. We knew that with a shift of wind into the NE it would really light off. Thurs the 9th was that day, we recorded 8 Sailfish releases and a 50lb Cobia. We were in fish all day, sight casting to somewhere over 40, with about half that number biting. The days on either side of the 9th yielded 15 to 20 sightings. Today with calm conditions We fished a morning and caught 2 Sails out of the 4 we saw.

Excellent fishing along a pronounced color change has been the situation for the last 4 or 5 days. Plenty of Dolphin up to 40lbs and an increasing number of Sails are lurking along the edge. Today we caught one out of two Sails and 6 Dolphin from 8 to 15 lbs all before 11:00 AM. There are also a few Cobia tailing in the dirty water, We have been catching one or two from 20lb to 40lbs on most days. With another cold front coming this condition won't last but we'll enjoy it while it does.

Over a week of very strong winds has hampered fishing activities. During the week of wind we fished the reef where we could anchor and lay relatively comfortably in rough seas. With off color water and moderate current the reef has been good for Yellowtail with several days featuring very large flag tails, also Amberjack, Cero, Cobia, Mutton Snapper and Black Grouper. We had Shark problems several days, at one point loosing a 25lb Black Grouper right at the boat to a 300lb class Bull Shark. With the wind finally moderating we have a good color change in 240' to 125' with good numbers of Dolphin, Sails and Cobia migrating along the change.

Recent fishing trips have offered a mixed bag of action. Ty Warren of the New England Patriots and his family enjoyed a hot bite of Yellowtail Snapper which were lured to the surface with live pilchard chum. Several Amberjack in the 35lb range attracted to the action were also caught and released. We took an evening Swordfish trip to the middle crack on March 17th but failed to get a bite. We fished west of Coalbin bouy with Al Arthur and jumped off a Sail while anchored reef fishing. Several large Wahoo were also attracted to the chum slick which yielded Cero, Kings, Yellowtail and a 26lb Black Grouper. Overall the Sailfishing remains slow.

We have been out fishing almost every day since mid Feb. We've had lots of wind and rough seas with a couple days of calm weather between fronts. Fishing has been up and down with some days yielding lots of action from King Mackerel and Yellowtail Snapper while on other days we have struggled either because conditions were difficult, such as too much current or because there wasn't a lot biting. We had 3 or 4 days of good action on gaffer Dolphin in 200' and several other days when we caught quality fish off the kite including smoker kings up to 45lbs and Sailfish. Several days we chummed with live pilchards and produced a few Blackfin Tuna and Little Tunney. We've also been catching some Mutton Snapper in water depths between 135' and 175' There have been some good color changes with modest numbers of tailing Sailfish and Cobia, and I would expect that we will see good action on the color change after the latest cold front blows itself out.

Water temps have rebounded after two weeks of frigid weather. Fishing has been up and down. On days with high wind and strong current we have found it a challenge. schoolie dolphin, Little tunney, and Kingfish comprise most of the catch on days when the current is too strong to anchor or excessive wind makes kite fishing a challenge. On days with better conditions we have produced some good catches including, Sailfish, Kingfish up to 45lbs, large Yellowtail, AmberJack, Blackfin Tuna and a few Grouper including a 30lb Gag.

The Florida Keys have been experiencing the coldest weather of the winter during the last week. Water temps have fallen into the high 60's and a persistent northerly wind has driven clean blue water well off shore. King Mackerel have dominated the fishing scene and we have had consistently great action on the Kings over the last week. The larger fish have been in the 30lb class. Live baits fished off the kite are producing spectacular sky rocket bites. The wrecks are producing plenty of Amberjacks and a few grouper, Angler Joe Ryan caught a 27lb Black grouper on Sat which was the largest of the week. Sailfishing is slow with the temporarily poor water, and the Tuna bite has also slowed. We have caught a few large Yellowtail on the reef, but the water is too cool to make the Yellowtail comfortable.

The Tuna fishing is the best it's been all winter, but the Sailfishing has temporarily slumped. As a result we have been using more pilchards and thread herring for bait and less live ballyhoo. The end of the bar area 18 miles SW of Key West has been a hot spot for the Tuna activity. There has also been an increase in the number of King fish along the reef and we have caught several recently in the 30lb size. Surprizingly there have been a fair number of off season Dolphin available as well. With a current cold snap producing the coldest weather of the winter to date and a steady north wind we may have seen the last of the dolphin for awhile but expect the king fishing to improve and for another influx of sails when the weather settles down. Grouper fishing on the reef will improve as well with the water temps decreasing.

Everything is biting! From Yellowtail to Dolphin to Sailfish to Blackfin Tuna, Key West's well deserved reputation for fishing variety is on display. The Ballyhoo are swarming on the reef edge and Sailfish are plentiful, chasing the 'hoo's in the shallow water. Big Cero's, Yellowjacks, Mutton Snapper, Dolphin and Tuna are also spraying the bait. When the current is right the reef fishing is outstanding too for Yellowtail and Black Grouper. Swordfish are also in good supply on the 200fm drop when the weather is calm.

Winter fishing action is heating up. The Ballyhoo are schooled up on the patch reefs and packs of Sails are chasing them around. This is very exciting sight fishing, involving casting live baits to fish spotted from the tuna tower. We caught 4 Sails including a triple header all in 25' of water yesterday. In adition to the Sails we have caught a 20lb Dolphin and a big Mutton Snapper casting to these fish as they chase Ballyhoo. In addition there are hoards of Cero, Baracuda, and Yellow Jacks spraying the Bait. In the deeper water the wreck fishing is productive as well with many freight train bites from fish that can't be stopped.

Beautiful weather and great fishing for Steven Dean, his wife and their friends from Minnesota today. It started out with a Double header of Sailfish, caught by husband and wife. A dozen Dolphin provided plenty of action for everyone else as on several occasions we had 4 on at a time. We finished the day chumming with live pilchards and caught Yellowtail Snapper, several large Cero, a Mutton Snapper and numerous Barracuda and Yellow Jacks.

We have had cooler weather the last week with NE breezes. Sailfish are beginning to move into the area so we elected to Target them on a morning half day. We caught Thread Herring to use as live bait and set up in 115' just off nine ft. reef. Within 20 minutes we had a triple header of Sails on and caught 2 out of 3. We caught one undersized Cobia on a deep bait before moving out to a color change in 200' Out in the deeper water we caught an 8 pound Dolphin before quiting at noon time

Today we took a load of small pilchards down to the end of the Boca Grande Bar and anchored in 100'. Small pilchards are ideal chum bait and it wasn't long until we had the big Yellowtail up on top busting the pilchards. We caught 20 odd Yellowtail a couple of Mutton snapper and pulled off several big bottom fish. At 1:00 we got off the anchor and went trolling for Wahoo. We caught a Kingfish and several Cero but no Wahoo.

The reef fishing remains outstanding. Steady west current and light east wind make for an ideal condition for positioning the boat properly. Today we chose a spot in 100' and fished a 3/4 day and never had to move. The Yellowtail were large and aggresive, we caught 30 averaging 3 pounds. In addition we had a 14 pound Mutton and 2 Black grouper in the 10 pound range

We went back offshore on a 3/4 day. We found weed in 650' but very few small Dolphin. We worked way offshore without finding any Dolphin although we caught several Skipjack tunas.We ended up running back in to 800' where there was a small east west weed line. We caught a nice pair on the weed line ,the cow was 21 lbs and the bull was 27 lbs.

Today with only half a day to work with we elected to stay in on the reef and Snapper fish. we marked a lot of fish on the first spot in 65'but they didn't bite well. We moved further east in 85' and did much better, catching 15 med Yellowtails several Baracuda, a bonita and several Cero Mackeral.

What are the chances of catching a Blue Marlin on a single charter date in Key West two years in a row?? Very remote no doubt and yet thats exactly what Jim Delpapa and his family accomplished today. The lucky angler was teenage son Adam who caught the estimated 160lb Blue in 30 minutes on 30lb test line. The catch also included a 20lb Dolphin for his sister and a handful of schoolies. A year ago on June 21st, Jim and company had released both a White and a Blue Marlin, slightly smaller than this years catch. With luck like that we suggest Jim play the lottery!

Dolphin, Dolphin and more Dolphin. The last several weeks has offered very steady dolphin fishing. Most of the fish are inside 600' making for a short ride to the fishing area. Larger fish have been far and few between although most days we have caught a couple between 15 and 20 pounds. There have also been a few Sailfish in the mix, we have been getting a Sail bite about every other day

We had two half days today, which is usually a situation that doesn't work well this time of year with the fishing being generally further offshore. We Dolphin fished in the morning along a current line between 200 and 300 feet of water. we caught 8 or 10 schoolies and finished up with a pair in the 20lb class which wouldn't bite trolled baits but fell for cast live baits. In the afternoon we slow trolled live bait along a 150' color change and caught 3 sailfish including a double header, a 30lb Blackfin Tuna, 3 little Tunney and a 15lb Kingfish.

I have just returned from 9 days on Isla Mujeres Mexico. In addition to several charters, I Captained a boat participating in the annual 'Masters' Sailfish tournament. Tournament rules stipulate the use of circle hooks and dead bait. Sails must be fought from a stationary boat, (no backing down) on 20lb test. Stop watches are used to measure exact fighting time, with the fastest releases scoring the most points. We finished third in the Tournament with 21 releases, our fastest time was 1.04 minutes. In addition to Sailfish we also caught numerous Dolphin over 40 lbs and a 60lb Wahoo. Anyone interested in fishing Isla Mujeres should contact me for more information.

I spent the last 3 days skiff fishing for Tarpon. Overall the Tarpon fishing is slow given that this should be the peak of the season. We caught 3 Tarpon all over 100lbs and jumped off 3 or 4 others. The 3 day trip also included Blacktip Sharks, Jack Cravelles and Grey Snapper.

Today we concluded a 4 day charter with Jim Toabe, his adult sons and a son in law. Jim is perhaps my longest serving charter client. We've been fishing together for 30 years, and Jim is still going strong at age 83. We did a whole variety of different types of fishing during the 4 days; kite fishing with live bait for Sails, dead bait trolling for Dolphin and anchoring and chumming for bottom fish. The 4 days produced lots of quality fish; we caught 3 Sais and had several others on, we got a 40lb Cobia, several large Blackfin Tuna including one which weighed 36.5 lbs, (thats a huge Blackfin) large yellowtail Snapper, Mutton Snapper and plenty of Dolphin up to 26 lbs.

With beautiful weather today we started by running offshore. Stopped on a current line in 700' and caught a Sailfish. We then found two schools of Dolphin and caught a dozen fish. It's still a little early for dependable Dolphin fishing. We had another Sail bite in 550' but pulled him off. We then ran inshore and anchored on the reef for the afternoon. The Yellowtail Snapper responded and we caught several dozen 2lb fish and also a 20lb King Mackeral.

Today we concluded fishing the World Sailfish Championship Tournament. After a great start, (6 on day one) we only caught 1 more fish the rest of the way. We were 1 for 1 on day two and never saw a fish today as the bite shifted way to the west, out of range for all but the fastest boats. We ended up finishing 29th out of a field of 101.

First day of the World Sailfish Tournament. There were over 100 boats entered, including many of the best Sailfishing teams in south Florida. We caught 6 Sails on the day and are currently in 5th place.

Today we practice fished this morning in Advance of the World Sailfish Championship Tournament which begins tomorrow. Wind was 25 knots out of the NW. We caught 1 Sail and hooked a very large Hammerhead Shark on a kite bait, he ate through the leader after about 5 minutes. We quit fishing about 12:30pm.

Had a beautiful weather day today, maybe too pretty for good fishing. We tried Sailfishing first and caught some kingfish and bonitas but no Sails. We then dropped on some wrecks and caught several Amberjacks and lost several large mystery fish. We finished the day anchored on a 135' ledge and caught 4 Mutton Snapper, 1 10lb Red Grouper, a 15lb Margate and a large Porgy, all good eating.

Today we had another group with kids who were looking for action. We anchored on the reef edge and had the big Yellowtail on top and biting. The current on the reef which had been running to the east has switched back to the west in the last day or so and that has got the Yellowtails really biting. We had a 30lb Cobia swim up and hooked him but he got away. We also had 6 or 7 Kingfish and a couple of bonitas. The last hour and a half of the day we got off the hook and slow trolled with the kite. We hooked and caught a 50lb Sailfish which was a nice way to finish the day.

We had a morning half day trip with 3 generations of the same family. I brought 10 dozen live shrimp and we started out anchored on a patch reef in 30'. We caught Ceros, small Yellowtail and one keeper Mutton. We then reanchored on the deeper reef and the big Yellowtail came right to the surface. We had a 30lb Cobia swim up but lost him, also caught a few schoolie Kingfish. Lots of action and lots of good eating fish all in half a day.

We had plenty of small and med pilchards today and ran directly to the "end of the bar". We had a light south wind and medium east current with clear water. The Amberjacks were swarming, eating both baits on the top and bottom. We could see the Yellowtails but they were really wary and we only caught 4 although they were all good sized. Got a nice Black Grouper of 17 lbs who ate a pinfish. The Speedos showed up and we caught several dozen for bait but couldn't get past the Jacks. We got off the hook and slow trolled the speedos in 150'-180' for the rest of the day, ended up with a 20lb Tuna, several barracudas, and several more Jacks.

Spent both today and yesterday Sailfishing with the same group of anglers. Yesterday we had light south wind and flew the kite along a color change with Thread Herring for bait. We had two Sail bites and caught them both. Today it was glassy calm and hot, the color change was pretty much gone. We couldn't get the kite up so be slow trolled in 140' to 170' working to the east from the Sambo's to American Shoal. Had Three Sail bites and caught one. We also hooked a Hammerhead Shark we saw tailing and landed a few Bonitas. The fishing was very slow for everyone.

Tried to reef fish down to the west again today but it was very slow all morning with gin clear water. Finally east of the CB buoy in 55' we got a bite of Ceros and small kings going in the afternoon and had plenty of action.

Had a decent reef catch today two miles east of Cosgrove light in 90'. The weather was lousy with heavy rain most of the day. The "speedos" showed up in the chum slick right away and we caught several dozen in the hoop net. We caught 15 big Yellowtail, released a 125lb Goliath, caught a 20 lb Black Grouper a 10 lb Gag a 6lb mutton all on speedos as well as a 30lb King and assorted Amberjacks, ceros and yellow jacks. Heading home we found Blackfin Tuna working off Western Dry rocks and hooked and lost several

Yesterday we hauled the boat out for yearly hull maintenance. We cleaned the hull and pressure washed the bottom. Today we scraped and preped then applied fresh bottom paint and new zincs. Tomorrow we will paint the transom with a coat of clear awlgrip and we'll be back in the water on thursday.

With a NE breeze of 20knots we elected to "hunker down" on the reef edge, being on the anchor made the breezy condition very comfortable. We ended up in 82' of water and had a slow pick of quality fish for most of the day. We ended up with 3 or 4 Cero's, a couple of Kings, a 12lb Mutton, 3 20lb Black Grouper, and 4 or 5 large Yellowtail. We knew it was time to go when the Next Grouper got eaten on the way up. The head of this fish which was all we got back indicated that whole, it would have been the largest of the day, but when the sharks move in its time to move on. After we got off the hook we ran out deeper and found a green to cleaner green color change. we hunted along the change and very soon spotted a Cobia from the Tuna Tower. We caught the Cobia which weighed 41 lbs, nice way to finish the day.

The weather was glassy calm so we decided to run into the Gulf and fish the "grouper bar" for Kings. When we arrived there was no current so we elected to slow troll rather than anchor down. We picked at the kings, fish from 10-20 lbs. We saw 3 cobias on top and hooked one but pulled him off. After we had a limit of Kings we ran off to some shrimp boats and caught a Sail we saw on top. Running back in we saw a 100lb Hammerhead shark and caught him on a spinning rod. Further inshore we caught another Sail we saw on top.

We caught live Ballyhoo to go along with large pilchards this morning and then headed west on the reef edge looking for Sailfish sprays. We didn't see any activity so we slow trolled the gulley area at Western Dry rocks and caught half a dozen kings and several bonitas. We then moved to the outside of the bar at Western and caught 3 Mutton snapper by droping live baits on a 130' ledge. We finished the day hunting for Sailfish sprays. We saw a total of 4 Sails hooked 2 and caught 1 in the afternoon.

The Sailfish continue to shower schools of Ballyhoo along the reef edge from the Toppino buoy to Sand Key Light. After catching live Ballyhoo at the middle ground, the Southpaw ran west to the CB buoy hoping to find Sails in that area with fewer boats competing for them. Instead we found dirtier water and no sign of topwater action. With a light breeze from the NE and westerly current, plan B was to anchor down and reef fish. The first spot in 90' of water showed good marks on the depth machine but yielded only a few small Yellowtail. It was beginning to look like running to the west was a big mistake. We moved to a second spot in 135' and caught a 10lb Mutton on the first drop. We quickly added a 10lb Red Grouper. After releasing several small sharks, angler John Alison caught 2 trophy Mutton's back to back on 15 pound spin, the first weighed 15 1/2 and the second a whopping 19 1/2. We added another Red Grouper, a smaller Mutton and several Yellowtail to the catch before running back to the east in search of a Sailfish to finish the day. Just below Sand Key Light we began seeing the telltale sprays of Ballyhoo and quickly caught a Sail spotted from the Tuna Tower. We also had a Tuna bite, and saw several other Sails before it was time to head for the dock.

Sight casting for Sailfish remains strong along the reef edge in Key West. Large schools of ballyhoo congregating around the shallow patch reefs at the edge of the drop off have attracted hords of Sailfish, Yellow Jacks, Cero's and even Dolphin and Tuna to the shallow waters atop the reef. We caught 2 sails and had a 3rd on today in only an hour and a half of sight fishing this morning. Sailfishing is the best its been in many years. Todays catch also included a 10lb Mutton on 15lb spin, a second Mutton of 4 or 5 lbs, a bunch of Cero Mackeral and a Kingfish.

Last week we fished the Reef Cup up at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo. Fishing was spotty, we raised and caught a few Sails slow trolling but saw no showering fish, we wished we were back in Key West! Yesterday back in Key West, we returned to the "Grouper Bar" and caught a couple 20lb Kings along with Black tip Sharks, Jacks and throw back Red Grouper. A fairly strong Cold front has now arrived so fishing is on hold until the weather improves. This Front should drive more fish our way.

Fishing in Key West remains excellent. The sailfish are still showering Ballyhoo on the reef edge, particularly in the morning. On both 1/9 and 1/10 we caught 4 Sails each morning. We also had schoolie dolphin and a couple of Blackfin Tuna in the deeper water between Sailfish showers. The King Mackerel fishing is also red hot. The "Grouper Bar" in the Gulf has been the spot for fish averaging 20lbs.

The Sailfishing has gotten red hot in the last several days. The fish are showering Ballyhoo around the patches just inshore of the reef edge. We fished at CB buoy today and one angler caught 9 sails, all sight casting. We had 21 or 22 Sails on and saw twice that many from the Tuna Tower. Two days ago we caught 5 in only 3 hours by sight casting to fish showering bait.

Pretty weather today. Spent a couple of hours Wahoo fishing along a current line in 200'-250', no bites however. Ran in on the reef edge and anchored down in 108'. We caught 4 or 5 Kingfish and 2 Mutton's, one over 10lbs. We had 3or 4 other Mutton's on but chaffed leaders or pulled hooks. Finished the day slow trolling the Kings and ended up with a limit of 16.

We caught live Ballyhoo this morning and spent most of the day slow trolling along a color change in 200' of water. Early on I spotted a Sailfish chasing flying fish just inside the change, when we got in the area we immediately had a doubleheader bite and caught both Sails. There were plenty of Schoolie Dolphin along the color change, we ended up with a dozen while we waited on more Sailfish bites.We had one more Sailfish bite around 2:00PM but he stole the live Ballyhoo without getting hooked. We finished the day chumming a patch reef with live pilchards and caught some throwback Grouper.

Jack Marks and his family enjoyed one of those days where everything goes according to plan. Start with beautiful weather and then add fish which cooperate. We spent the morning kite fishing in 180' of water and in rapid succession caught a double header of Sailfish followed by a single Sailfish. The down rigger also produced an Amberjack and several Kingfish. For a change of pace, we anchored on the edge of the reef at noontime and had a good bite of Yellowtail Snapper, boating 15 - 18 fish up to 3 lbs. We also caught numerous Cero's and had the big bite from a King which would have weighed 40 plus pounds had a shark not mutilated him. With so much action, the Marks family had had enough by 2:00 and we were back at the dock before 3:00.

In general the fishing continues to disappoint. There has been a run of small fall Sailfish, we caught 1 out of 3 bites on Tues 11/13 along with 4 or 5 schoolie Dolphin. The Blackfin Tuna have not arrived in appreciable numbers and the kingfish action is spotty, we did catch a 20lber the other day which was the largest of the week. Yellowtailing has been inconsistent, decent one day then unresponsive the next. With a cold front passing this weekend, we expect a big improvement in fishing any day.

Offshore trip to the Marquesas Trench. Found the big Skipjacks on top and caught a couple 20lb fish. Dropped for Swords but got no bites. We ran back east just inshore of the “wall� and found 2 pieces of debris both holding nice Dolphin. We ended up with 20 fish, most were 8-10lbs, the largest weighed 24lbs.

Offshore yesterday, had a 16-LB and a 26-LB dolphin. Also several 20lb class Skipjack Tuna. Made one daylight Swordfish drop, no bite.

Night Snapper trip yesterday. It is so much cooler at night this time of year, that it beats trying to handle the heat during the day. We had a good current condition and the Grey Snapper have been spawning on this moon but our action was only so so. Plenty of Yellowtail and some Greys but most of the fish were small.

Night Swordfishing last night. Caught one small fish, our only bite. The daytime fishing the last week has been disappointing, small Dolphin offshore, a few decent Muttons on the wrecks.

Took a group of the Head chefs and owners of popular Key West eatery, Rooftop Café today. Found a sheet of plywood on the “19 line� that was loaded with fish. Caught 2 wahoos out of 6 bites and 20 odd nice Dolphin, gaffers up to 22lbs. Lots of wind and rain and electricity in the area so we came in early with everyone well satisfied with the action.

THAT'S MORE LIKE IT! The last week or so the fishing has been really slow with nothing but throw back Dolphin around, so it was great to have an excellent day today. Start with a box of decent Dolphin, full sized schoolies, and gaffers and add to that A White Marlin Release, followed by a Blue Marlin Release. Talk about right place right time! The White was about 60lbs caught on 30lb tackle and put on a great show with the water so calm. The Blue was about 140lbs also caught on 30lb and took the better part of an hour to bring boatside. Interestingly, the Blue bite just moments after we released the White while we were still putting the spread back out. Both fish ate flat line swimming ballyhoo in the vicinity of the East Crack. Congratulations to Jim Depapa and his group.

Slow fishing the last couple of days. We've just come off a weekend with too many boats fishing for too few Dolphin. The report is the same for everyone, lots of micro Dolphin, call them "grasshoppers", or "shakers"?, either way too small to keep. Very few decent fish around. Hopefully better days are coming.

Stayed inshore yesterday because the Dolphin fishing has been real slow the last couple of days. We tried the end of the bar to start with and did nothing kite fishing and slow trolling with big pilchards. Ran up to “western� and anchored down trying for Yellowtail…big mistake, too much current. Got out of there and moved out to 180’, the further east I worked the brighter the water was with more and more current. Some of the other boats were talking about a few big blackfins being caught on live bait, so I Set up Kite fishing again in the vicinity of the Airplane wreck. We ended up with a 36lb Blackfin and another Blackfin in the 20s along with a couple gaffer Dolphin. The 36lb Blackfin was the heaviest we’ve caught all season, a really nice fish.

Excellent Dolphin fishing during spur of the moment trip. Rain squalls and 15-20 knot winds seemed like inauspicious conditions for a group who didn’t leave the dock until 11:00AM. Running offshore we found several Frigate birds patrolling in 500’ of water. Both birds were on 20lb class Dolphin, and we caught 3 of these fish. We ran another 3 or 4 miles offshore and found a pallet, which was loaded with “gaffers�, and big schoolies, which made our day. After we left the pallet I ran back inshore and found a couple more frigate birds, which were on 20-30lb fish. We caught one and missed one, which was probably the biggest fish of the day. We ended up with 25 fish of which 3 were over 20, and many were in that “teenage� size (13-19lbs) On the way in, I was pleased to overhear one of the clients tell his buddy, “boy the fishing was better than I expected it to be�

Duie Latta, and his son, along with well-known skiff guide Tim Carlisle caught one out of three Swordfish they hooked while fishing the East Crack area last night. The Sword was estimated at 50lbs and released. The group also released one shark. Fresh easterly breezes of 15 knots, made for sloppy conditions.