February 2, 2010

The Keys have had a bout of cold weather at the beginning of January that sent our fishing into hibernation. It was unfortunate circumstances but the latter half of the month proved to be terrific for barracuda, permit and shark fishing.

We spent a lot of the month just fishing for what was available and in January it can be plentiful. Our days on the water proved to be good for huge barracuda, jacks, bluefish and mackerel. There was even a 21- pound permit on fly caught by my good friend Lance Gleason of Missoula, Montana. You can check out his videos on YouTube by searching for 406Productions.

As for February, we've got a fresh start to a new month of fishing and as the days get warmer and the humidity starts to rise, it's just a matter of time before the first string of tarpon come across the flats.

February and March will be the best months for stalking permit on the flats. Some of our largest permit are here at this time and they are willing to eat.

So we keep our fingers crossed for no more cold fronts (or just the minimum) and get ready to welcome spring.

 

November 26, 2009

The start of the holiday season brings clear skies to the Keys after a bout of torrential rain over the past few days. We are thankful for a lot of things today, for the beautiful place we live in, the friends we have and the nice variety of fish there are in the waters around the Keys.

December through February can present many opportunities for fly and spin fishing. Barracuda, permit, jacks, sea trout, ladyfish and snapper are regulars on the flats and area basins. The occasional bonefish and tarpon are sure to make an appearance if the weather is right.

I hope the holiday season brings you joy this year and best wishes for a great 2010!

 

July 25, 2009

Well the pressure is off for a little while. This past week I fished the Del Brown Invitational Permit Tournament with good friend Greg Vincent, co-owner of H2O Bahamas. This was Vincent's second year fishing the tournament with me. Glad to say that he was on his game and as a result we caught 7 permit on fly in 3 days of fishing. Five of the fish were caught on day 2, a record for Vincent (and for me as a guide).

We were both thankful for our final fish on day 3 to seal the deal and win the 2009 Del Brown. Congrats to all the anglers in this tournament who caught fish.

That should be a good indication of how the permit fishing has been this month. The Del Brown set a record with 27 fish caught over 3 days.

The bonefishing has also been excellent both out west of Key West and in our backcountry. Tarpon are starting to thin out but there are still some good opportunities in the early morning to find some smaller fish up near the mangroves.

 

May 7, 2009

The weather is just getting better every day here in the Lower Keys. Sunshine and lighter winds are starting to prevail which means the tarpon should start moving on the flats a little better in the coming days. Last week was tough with high winds and some cloud cover but we managed to get a few fish to the boat and jump a couple others.

Bonefishing is phenominal right now. The bonefish range from 5- to 8- pounds in our back yard on Sugarloaf Key. They are a great fighting fish and are a lot of fun if you just want to take a break from the mighty tarpon.

There are still some permit on the flats but they are smaller right now because the majority of permit are still offshore on the wrecks and rock piles spawning. There are some bigger permit around but few and far between.

I still have some available dates around July 4 weekend for tarpon, bonefish and permit. July is a perfect time to target the slam. August and September are also great months for relaxed fishing as the boating pressure diminishes greatly by then.