Key West Fishing Report - January 2015

While most of the United States has been dealing with freezing temperatures and tempestuous weather, Key West has been as comfortable as ever, with temps fluctuating between the low and high 70's for much of the month. As such, the fishing conditions have been much better than expected, especially in comparison to past years. Tons of different species of fish have been caught on each one of our charters, all throughout the month. With that being said, the two most prevalent catches we saw on our charters happened to be the Goliath Grouper and Red Grouper, two species of fish that belong to the same family. With the warm water and relatively sunny weather, conditions have been ripe during January and seem as though they will remain as such for the foreseeable future.

There have been a great many outstanding hauls during January by many of the anglers that have taken a trip out on one of our many charters for some Key West fishing. While Goliath Grouper and Red Grouper were among the most regular types of species we've seen, there have also been a high number of catches for such species as King Fish, Mackerel and Sailfish. Though both the Goliath Grouper and Red Grouper belong to the same family of fish, they are different in a variety of ways. The most identifiable of these differences is the fact that Goliath Grouper are typically brown with black spots, while Red Grouper have a reddish brown color to them. Goliath Grouper also tend to grow much larger than their Red Grouper counterparts, often weighing in at hundreds of pounds in comparison to the 50 or so pounds for a Red Grouper. Their intake of food is largely different as well. The diet of a Goliath Grouper includes everything from octopi and sharks to barracudas, while Red Grouper usually feed on shrimp, lobster, crabs and small fish. It's also important to note than the Goliath Grouper includes a ban on harvesting of the fish, while harvesting of the Red Grouper is not banned.

The weather, in general, has also facilitated amazing fishing conditions throughout the entire month of January. There was much less rain than is normal for Key West, while the temperatures stayed in the low to high 70's, sometimes reaching into the low 80's. This has kept water temperatures at the perfect condition to allow for a myriad of species to comfortably rest in these waters. Each one of our charters played host to a wealth of noteworthy hauls, which includes our deep sea fishing and light tackle fishing charters. The calm weather has allowed many of the anglers on our charters to have a better chance of reeling in their hauls once hooked during the entirety of the month. As Key West fishing for the month of January has been largely spectacular, it seems as though we can expect more of the same going into the month of February. As such, don't hesitate to drop by anytime.