Florida Keys Fishing Report week of 10/23/17
Provided by:
http://www.IslamoradaSportFishing.com
(this report may be reproduced in any media format as long as credit is given to:www.islamoradasportfishing.com)
Reminder: The Ask the Captain and fishing forums are open for new members once again athttp://www.islamoradasportfishing.com/forums

 

 

Offshore:
Even with the summer season behind us there is some good Dolphin fishing to be had. Fearless Charters had a great catch consisting of 24 Dolphin and two Blackfin Tuna. The weather turned very windy late week with the passing of an early frontal boundary, a sure sign that winter is on the way. Tuna should be cooperating on the offshore humps long term as the supply of Dolphin dwindles until Spring. Many Captains will deep drop for a variety of Snapper, Grouper, Tilefish and Porgy in the Bluewater throughout the winter.
Reefs:
With the advent of our winter season here in the Islamorada area the reef will become the “go to” venue for a great variety of species. There is still relatively little business since Hurricane Irma, so the sample size is small as far as what is biting. Suffice it to say that there are plenty of captains available to fish as well as plenty of restaurants and hotels open, but it is still the slow season. On the reef the Yellowtail Snapper action is good and there are some Cero mackerel in the mix too. Live bait slow trolling for Sailfish is just beginning and the first Sailfish tournament is the first week of December. King Mackerel are migrating into the Islamorada reef areas and there have been a few captains making good catches with the Kingfish running from 8 to 20 pounds.
Gulf and Bay:
Skiff guides really look forward to the month of November when the Spanish Mackerel show up in big numbers. Captain Lou Brubaker did an exploratory trip to the Gulf and caught Spanish Mackerel, Mangrove Snapper and Trout. This is also the time of season when the Cobia hang on markers and wrecks in the Gulf also. And look for Tripletail on the trap buoys whenever you are in gulf waters. Bait shops have had live Shrimp available and any backcountry species that swims eat more Shrimp in its lifetime than any other forage, so load up on the little crustaceans for your trip.
Flats, Backcountry and Flamingo:
There have been some guides fishing the channels west of Islamorada and getting the Tarpon bite. The Tarpon are being served live Pilchards and Crab under a float. The Tarpon may be “baby’s” from 10 or 15 pounds up to 100 pounds, you never know. There have been a few reports from the Flamingo area and it seems the Snook catches are good. Captain Eric Scoble out of Whale Harbor Marina fished close to home on a half day recently and had his hands full with nice size Jack Crevalle and got one Tarpon about 20 pounds.
CapMel Staff
Latest posts by CapMel Staff (see all)

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR