Florida Keys Fishing Report
Find out where the fish are running with our weekly fishing reports from the Florida Keys, Miami Offshore and Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

By Islamorada Sport Fishing
Posted Monday, March 1, 2010

 
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Islamorada Sport Fishing

Offshore:
A few small Mahi were caught by charter boats fishing the reef this past week. This was probably due to the hard onshore wind we experienced mid week. The offshore season is still weeks away, but any time there is a blow from the South or Southeast a showing of pelagic species such as Dolphin can show up and provide taste of what is to come.

Reefs:
There were a few Sailfish flags flying on outrigger lines this week at the charter docks. The Sailfish bite has really cooled down, but there will still probably be good catches to be had for a few weeks yet. King Mackerel are the mainstay of reef action right now. The Kingfish range in size from 8 to 28 pounds. Capt. Paul Johnson on the reef Runner says they must fish the baits deep, as the birds have been ravenous and will not leave a surface bait alone. The Yellowtail Snapper catches have been fair to great depending on what day one fishes and what conditions prevail on the reef's edge. On the top of the reef in 20 to 35 feet of depth the Cero mackerel are going gang busters. Capt. Fred from Whale Harbor Marina gave up trying to get baits deep enough for a Snapper/Grouper bite as the Cero Mack's just cut off every bait offered. Fred switched over to long shank hooks on monofilament and wailed on the Cero's on 10 pound spin.

Gulf and Bay:
Well here it is "in a nut shell", as my dear ol' mother used to say..If the weather is calm enough to run into the Gulf you will have a great catch! Spanish Mackerel highlight the action as usual in the Gulf. They are in good supply and have shaken off the cold attitude and are once again pretty easy to find and catch. Cobia have shown up in many reports, although mostly are on the small side. Cobia must be 33" from tip to fork to be legal to keep. One day last week just before a frontal boundary passed, there was the unusual fog day. Visibility was 50 feet in some cases and provided a spooky and potentially dangerous day on the water. Go slow and be careful!

Flats, Backcountry and Flamingo:
In the Flamingo area it is all about the Drum; Red Drum (Redfish) and Black Drum and Seatrout. Live Shrimp and a troll rite fished in channels and moats around islands will provide good action on the three aforementioned species. We still had a couple of very cold days last week and as March and hopefully SPRINGTIME approach things will stay consistently warm and more predictable. Guides have still been sighting plenty of Bonefish on the Oceanside. A few Permit have been showing up on the slick calm and warm days. It will be soon that the Permit will be found on the shallow coral heads on the Oceanside.