KEY WEST -  Key West weather was certainly a factor for all types of fishing this week. Cloudy skies, fronts moving in and out, and rain kept some boats at the dock. There are always a few brave souls who need to feel the tug of a fish on their line. Those few were rewarded with some good fishing offshore.
            The wahoo bite has tapered off but there are still some healthy fish being caught on the calmer days.
            Captain Bennett Taylor on the Outer Limits had an action packed day of fishing offshore this week. In his medley of fish were two sailfish, a 45- pound wahoo, king mackerel and tuna.
            “We had four fat blackfins over 20- pounds,” Taylor said.
            There have not been too many large tuna in the area since late November so these fish were certainly a welcome sight.
            In addition Taylor’s anglers landed a few dolphin that were worth keeping.
            Captain Chris Lembo on Incognito out of Murray Marina has been spending his time on the reef edge and inside the reef. Lembo runs a 27- foot Contender and for several of the rougher weather days fishing inside the reef proved both comfortable for his anglers and productive for fishing.
            “There has been a lot of current inside the reef,” Lembo said.
            Lembo has been taking advantage of this unusual current fishing for yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper and grouper. He also mentioned there have been some cobia near by and they have landed a few of them.
            This is one of the best times of the year for cobia. They are caught in the Lower Keys all year long but school up in the winter months. Their prime water temperature seems to be close to 72 degrees.
            Lembo has been splitting his day between the reef and offshore waters when the weather permits. Slow trolling for sailfish and deep dropping for tilefish are among his afternoon activities.
            Captain Jake Perry on Mean Green has a similar program for his full day charters. Perry joined with several other light tackle guides out of Murray Marina have been entertaining a group from the Shimano corporation. Each year Shimano field tests some of its new products in one of the most versatile fisheries in the United States, right here in Key West, FL.
            Perry noted he has had some good luck fishing on the reef edge for yellowtail snapper and cero mackerel. He’ll fish this way for the early part of the day and then move offshore to 130- feet and anchor.
            “The blue water has been doing some crazy things,” Perry said describing the water clarity.
            “Conditions seemed to change fast; blue powdery water was quickly replaced by clear blue water,” Perry said. “The clear blue water came with a ripping current,” he added.
            Perry explained that he had seen these conditions before but very rarely. The current was almost kicking blue water up onto the reef in swirls.
            The end result, a good sailfish bite. Perry hooked two that day and landed one on a live pilchard. He noted that several other boats reported hooking sailfish on live thread herring while fishing the rips in 130- feet or less.
            For more information on fishing with Captain Jake Perry visit his website at www.meangreenfishing.com.
            The inshore waters and flats have been the most challenging this week since the skies were mostly overcast. The best way to make this type of day productive on the flats is to fish where a flat drops into deeper water. Blind casting a tube lure or artificial will nearly always get eaten by a barracuda or a lively jack crevalle.
            The water temperature registered 70.1 degrees in the backcountry off Sugarloaf Key yesterday. That is a bit cold for tarpon and bonefish but there is always hope that a few sunny days will get the game fish moving up on the flats again.