Key West Fishing Reports
Updated fishing reports from the Lower Florida Keys & Key West
Archive for February, 2006
February 21, 2006 at 7:46 am · Filed under Florida Keys Fishing
Recent warming weather has left us with nothing but beautiful sunny days and clear skies. This is why I live and work in the Florida Keys and I really do love it. Following our previous cold front the waters have warmed over 10 degrees on the flats making the fishing come alive.
In the past week I have fished solid each day with many opportunities at permit fishing, some that we think even tipped the fly but the angler stripped to fast and the fish spooked. All in all, it’s still a wonderful sight to see. Permit are probably my favorite fish. I’ve got quite a few in the past 5 years fishing here and I constantly tie new crab pattern flies to try and mimic the food of the day for these elusive permit. They are spooky creatures but if you can get a cast to one and put it right in front of his nose, most days he will eat the fly or live crab and your on!
Barracuda were a great catch this week on fly. There were so many of them out sunning themselves on the shallow flats. We landed quite a few barracuda each day of my last 3-day charter.
The buzz around town is certainly how many and where the tarpon are at. I’ve heard reports of a couple sightings out west of Key West, and a few caught at night while night tarpon fishing. I think they are going to push in today or tomorrow and hopefully our next cool front will not scare them away.
February 16, 2006 at 8:09 am · Filed under Florida Keys Fishing
Our waters have experienced a pretty cool temperature drop over the past week. Fortunately for us the forecast calls for warming weather and it will most likely hold off the next cold front.
What does this mean for the fishing? It means that all the fish that ran for deeper waters to get away from the shock of changing water temperatures will finally start coming back.
Late February can be a turning point for our fishing here in the Lower Keys. The flats may even get warm enough with a few consecutive warmer days to bring the tarpon in. This is what we look forward to is a little taste of tarpon season before the migration that usually commences around April.
I managed to wrestle with a nice 140 pound tarpon a couple weeks ago. The weather had been warm and mild enough to push a few schools through the lower Keys and it made for a sensational day and a half of fishing until the cold weather moved through again.
Look for more permit on the flats now through the end of March. Permit are one of the most difficult species to catch on a fly. They can range from 5 pounds up to 40 pounds and their wide body makes them a great fighting fish on both light tackle and a flyrod.
Bonefishing in the lower Keys will remain kind of dormant until the temperatures warm up. There are a few bonefish around but they may be skiddish and in very shallow water trying to stay warm.
February 9, 2006 at 10:54 am · Filed under Florida Keys Fishing
Watching the temperature drop in Key West is nothing we ever really want to see. I moved here for the year round fishing ability and lately the temperatures are dipping so low that I am getting flash backs to winter in New England. The good news is that skies are clear and it’s perfect visability for flats fishing.
The past couple days we’ve gone through a dramatic change in our fishing and weather. Last Friday I was fighting the largest tarpon I’ve ever hooked and it was the first one of the season! It presented a great fight and barely jumped from the water because he was so large. I hooked him in pretty shallow water and notoriously the area we were fishing was very difficult to get close to tarpon because they get so skiddish in shallow water.
Saturday afternoon we got slammed with an impressive line of storms and then the cool weather settled in. The first couple days were calm and beautiful and yesterday the wind picked up quite a bit. Despite everything the barracuda fishing has been excellent. Folks that don’t know this toothy creature intimately… they are a great gamefish and on the flats they put on almost as good a show as tarpon do when they jump. Barracuda are ravenous and during the winter months they are just itching to eat just about anything you put in front of them. My anglers the past 3 days have had some great luck with barracuda on fly. It’s one of the largest fish on the flats this time of year and they were on every flat we poled. In the mix this time of year are plenty of jacks, sharks and even cobia. Cobia come onto the flats in January and February.
February and March also mark some great days for permit fishing. If you are a permit fool like I am, I’ve got a few days open in February and early March. The winds can be a little tough so if you need to practice your double haul, do so. March is one of the best times for permit because they are ’stocking up’ by eating a lot before their yearly spawn on the deeper wrecks and reefs around the Lower Keys.
February 4, 2006 at 7:29 pm · Filed under Florida Keys Fishing
We spent last weekend at the Fly Fishing Show in Somerset, NJ. Not doing a trade show ever in my life left me kind of wondering what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to see many familiar faces from our small close-knit fly fishing community. The last show I attended was in 2003 so we were due to show our faces and tell some great fish stories. I met a lot of very nice people from the tri-state area and some of the best guides on Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod. If you happen to be an avid fly fishing enthusiast, I suggest a visit to this show someplace in the country. You can learn more about the industry, places to go fly fishing and try out some of the newest in fly rod and reel technology.
I came back to Key West late on a Monday night and the next two days would be very challenging. I was priveledged to be part of a television production this week that will air in April as far as I’ve been told. It was a different kind of television show that put the “best of the best” fishing celebrities from Florida up against each other. One of them fished with me on the flats for two days. Day one we missed a couple nice fish, but that is to be expected. The second day we had a banner day and even landed a bonefish which put us in the money spot for advancing to the next day. Besides a bonefish we also had some very large sharks to the boat, great barracuda, jacks and some shots at permit. It was a new experience for me, TV land is much different than real life. We fished hard and if you tune in to the Outdoor Live Network sometime in April you can view the “Ultimate Playground” and maybe see some footage of me fishing.
Yesterday was a landmark day for me. My first tarpon of the season and he was a whopper! 140lbs. and fighting hard. I think I know why they have the term “Tarpon Belly,” because my entire stomach is red from the butt of the rod lodged in it for the fight. For a guide who doesn’t get to fish much, this put me in a very good mood for the entire season. The tarpon are around and I just hope after this next front blows through that they will still be making the rounds on the flats. It would be great to have an early run of them.
