Key West Fishing Reports

If you have been itching to do some fishing, this is one of the best times during the year to do some angling in the Florida Keys. In addition to enjoying the fantastic weather, you have a chance to enjoy a rewarding charter excursion inshore as well as offshore.

With sunny skies, and calm seas, the fishing in the Florida Keys has been outstanding this week. Instead of catching 10 to 15 pound Dorado (Mahi), we've been hooking 40 to 50 pounders this week, marking the true start of the Dorado migration past the Keys. Sailfish season is also still at its peak; our own Dan Smith skippered the Outcast to the south of Key West today to see his anglers catch three Sailfish.

On the Coolcast today, I guided two fruitful fishing charters to the deep waters south of the Florida Keys. This morning, we headed to the color change where the Gulf Stream meets more static waters at a depth of approximately 225 feet. When the Gulf Stream nears the island chain, it brings some great deep sea species along with it, including Sailfish and Dorado.

On the Coolwater, we stayed in the Key West Harbor to fish for Tarpon in the deeper channels. As seen on this bountiful excursion, the Tarpon is really active this time of year. Our party reeled in fourteen of these battling sport-fish on a full-day charter; the biggest fish weighed more than 130 pounds. Cut bait works very well when fishing for Tarpon; we used shrimp boat trash on this trip.

Today, in the morning, I led an excursion off shore on the Atlantic side of Key West to fish the Gulf Stream. We reached the color change at a depth of about 130 ft. My clients managed to haul in an assortment of species, including a Blackfin Tuna, a Bonito, as well as a Sailfish.