Light Tackle and Offshore Fishing In March

As a result of the spring warm-up, we've seen a spike in both light tackle and deep sea fishing of late. Over the last week, we've seen some great results at the reef and off-shore aboard our charter vessel the Coolcast. Friday, we headed out to both the reef and the Gulf Stream. We hauled in out limit of Yellowtails, weighing up to 6.5 pounds, on the reef. The King Mackerel were also running - my clients caught four, ranging up to 32 pounds. We hooked a Sailfish on both the kite as well as the flatline with live Blue Runners out where the Gulf Stream approaches the Keys at a depth of 160 feet. One fortunate angler also nabbed a 17 pound Blackfin.

Since spring has finally arrived, the water has warmed up and the Tarpon have begun to bite down here. Tuesday, we had a great day in Key West Harbor, landing six of eight Tarpon, with the biggest reaching 160 pounds. From now until the end of August, anglers will have the opportunity to catch and mount a trophy Tarpon.

Tight lines and trophy trips,

Captain Damon Santelli