Southbound Sportfishing Key West fishing report, Saltwater Fishing Report

Now that 2010 is over, it's time to welcome the New Year. We made it through 2010 with all its turmoil, Hopefully 2011 will be a better year. The year has started out great! The weather has been generally good and a the fishing has been Great. After the turmoil caused by the BP disaster,The New Year has started out well for fishing in Key West. We never saw or had any oil, but the perception we did really hurt business. As long as BP can "keep a lid on it", it should be a great year!

Sailfish are still coming up on the reef to feed on the schools of ballyhoo, (bait fish). Sailfish are also being caught offshore, both trolling and live baiting.

It's unusual this time of year, but there have been a surprising number of dolphin, (Mahi or Dorado, not Flipper) caught over the last week, mostly due to some mild weather and a few days of South winds. Most of the Dolphin caught were fairly small, in the 3-6 lb range, perfect for table fare. There were a few big fish caught, we caught a 25lb bull on Sunday. I’d be happy with that fish in May when big dolphins are expected!

we've still been some good mackerel action along the reef and Kingfish are starting to show up. It’s a bit later than expected, but we caught some nice sized Ceros mackerel up shallow and a few Kingfish in the high teens over the past few days. The Kings are usually along the deeper edge of the reef.

Earlier this week, we finally got a decent Wahoo bite. It wasn’t ballistic, we’re still due for that, but boats were consistently catching Wahoo from East to West. The strong cold front that came through on Wednesday, will probably put the kibosh on the Wahoo bite for a couple of days, but expect more fish to be caught after the seas calm a little. This weekend should be good. At least we know the fish are finally here. Better late than never!

The winter is the time of year when Black Fin Tuna are starting to bite in the Keys also. Early in the Morning or late in the afternoon is best if you’re trolling. Use small baits and run them far back. Troll fast and if the fish are up, troll around them, not through them and drag your baits trough the school. Your boat will put the fish down, whereas a couple of baits skipping by will likely just cause a couple of hookups. Tuna like a fast bait, so don't be afraid of some speed. 6-8mph is no problem for a Tuna to catch a bait. Don't slow down after the first bite, keep up your speed and you'll probably get a couple of fish on at the same time

About the Author:

Captain's Bio: I have over 25 yrs experience on the waters around Key West Fl and every day is still exciting to me. The great thing about fishing here is you never know what you'll see.

Sailfish, Sharks, Mackerel, Wahoo, Tuna, Dolphin, Barracuda, Snapper, Grouper and more can all be caught in these waters and sometimes many in the same day! That's why fishing in Key West never get old.

In the winter months we use a lot of live bait and light tackle and we encourage a more "hands on" approach for the costumers that wish to. We prefer to teach you how to fish rather than just take you fishing.

One of the best compliments I ever received is when a group got off my boat and said they "didn't feel like they had gone on a fishing charter....the felt like they had been out fishing with friends"