Florida Keys Fishing Report week of 12/3/2018
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)

Offshore:
Captain Brian Cone on his Contagious boat out of Robbie’s Marina got into some Dolphin in the deep last week. The Islamorada Hump is the destination for action on the Blackfin Tuna. Some charters are trolling jap feathers, and some are cast netting live bait prior to making the run to the hump. The live bait may be Cigar Minnows or Pilchards and are used to chum up the Tuna. The process is to cast a “livie” to the where the Tuna come up and bust on the free roaming live baits. Another method is to slow troll Ballyhoo through the choppy water created by the deep ocean current. If you do not have live bait sculpt a strip from a Bonito belly or Mullet and drift it in the vicinity.
Reefs:
Captain Robert Mathias released two Sailfish on the reef last week. Captain Paul on the Reef Runner caught a limit of King Mackerel and one nice Tuna on the reef also. On the Kay K IV they got into the Kingfish and Bonito, Tuna and a Mutton Snapper. On another trip the crew on the Kay K IV released a Sailfish. Many small boat captains are fishing the shallow reef we call the Patches. This habitat in 10 to 25 feet of water has been productive big time recently. Captain Juan Garcia had a ball in 20 feet of water catching Porgy and a variety of Snapper and releasing a few Grouper. The charter boat Early Bird had a nice catch of Yellowtail, Mutton and Mangrove Snapper with a few small Sharks thrown in.
Gulf and Bay:
The Spanish Mackerel are still going strong in the Gulf. The Spanish offer arguably the best light tackle fight going and unless you are spoiled by all the fantastic eating fish available here in the Islamorada area, they are good table fare. Along with the Mackerel in the Gulf, one will catch Seatrout, a variety of Snapper, Grouper, Ladyfish, a variety of jacks, Cobia and Sharks, just to name a few. Look to the lines of trap buoys and find Tripletail. Be careful not to leave any line or hooks on the trap lines or buoy.
Flats, Backcountry and Flamingo:
There have not been many reports from the Florida Bay area, but the word is the catching is very good. Captain Freddie out of Smugglers Cove Marina had a banner day in the backcountry last week. Fred said they caught lots of Snook, plenty of Redfish and a Tarpon on a full day trip last week. Freddie baited his quarry using Shrimp and Pinfish. Captain Charlie Tindall was back there somewhere Permit watching. On a slick calm pre-front day Charlie found the motherlode of Permit. The ultra-spooky Permit were floating in the slick calm and offered a great “fish watching opportunity.
CapMel Staff
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