Yearly Archives: 2007

Hello from Key West, This is Capt. Paul Tryon with Key West Pro Guides and TailChaser Charters, here with your November/December fishing report:

Winter is trying her best to make it our way. We have had a few cold fronts move through, none to strong, so the weather has stayed warm and sunny. The water temps have cooled a bit and the fishing is getting really hot. The past few weeks have been very productive on the wrecks and reefs and we are seeing the backcountry and flats fishing starting to heat up too. Get ready for some great winter action!

Here’s how things are shaping up…..

Offshore:
The offshore fishing has been getting better with quite a few boats reporting some nice Black fin Tuna, Wahoo and Sailfish. The Gulf Stream has averaged more than 35 miles south of Key West; we have had a few really nice color changes in the 140ft. range to the east, making the Sail fishing pretty good. Setting up for a troll or drift along this color change can also make for some great Wahoo and Kingfish action. As the water temps continue to drop with the approaching cold fronts, the Sailfish and Wahoo action should increase with great results. On the reef we are starting to see some nice Black fin tuna showing up, Most of them are from the upper teens to close to 30lbs. and are very aggressive feeders when live baiting with the live Pilchards. Our live bait situation is pretty good, we have been able to consistently catch more than enough.

Deep off the Reef:
The deeper wrecks off of the reef have still been good with Amberjacks, Barracuda, Bonita and smaller sharks. With the currents being light and the wind in the right direction, we have been anchoring up on the deeper wrecks lately and simply having our way with the fish! Dropping whole ballyhoos to the bottom has produced nice Black and Gag Groupers along with my favorite the Mutton Snappers. Dropping a fresh live Ballyhoo to the bottom is sure to get nailed! Now that we have the water temperatures starting to cool off, the Black fin tuna should start showing up in real good numbers and will start to spread out over more of the deeper wrecks. The last few deep water wreck trips have each found a few hungry black fins and what a blast they are on the light tackle.

Wrecks and Reefs:
The Gulf wreck action has been really good and should continue to get hotter with each day of cooler water. We always have great Cobia action in the fall, most of these brutes average 20lbs.+ and some routinely get hooked up in the 30 to 40lb. range. The Cobias have been showing up lately on the closer in wrecks and reefs and always like to hang on the channel markers, hoping we toss a bait there way. The snapper and grouper bite has been good with gray snappers being caught up to about 5 lbs. The sharks are very active; most of them are Bulls, Black tips and Lemon sharks. As soon as you get a good chum slick started they are as far back in it as you can see. These powerhouse fish are very strong fighters and a challenge on light tackle. We have been battling nice size schools of Bonita at some of the other farther out gulf wrecks and by tying off to any of the dozens of shrimp boats anchored in the gulf. Shrimp boat fishing is some of the best action trips you could possibly go on.

Flats/BackCountry:
The flats and backcountry trips are heating up really good now. The waters are nice and clear and we are finding plenty of fish. The Permit are on the edges of the flats and seem to be enjoying the cooler waters we are getting. The average size permit the past month has been around 20-25lbs. and very eager to feed. The bone fish are in good size schools with the average size fish weighing in around 7-8lbs. There are still a few smaller Tarpon here, the morning and late evening bite has been the best with the water temps rising. Some of the Tarpon schools are hundreds thick and we are seeing several schools at a time all in the 30-40lbs. range, perfect for fly or light spinning. The Barracuda and Sharks are all over the flats; just about any bait thrown their direction is sure to get looked at. Basically any species that you target on the flats will be a good choice for a very productive trip in December.

This is Captain Paul Tryon, Give me a call to book your day with some of Key West’s best guides here at Key West PRO Guides and have some fun fishing! Until next month, keep those reels screaming! For booking information with Key West PRO Guides or TailChaser Charters, you can call me at 866-259-4205 or visit my website:

www.keywestproguides.com or www.tailchasercharters.net

Tight lines,

Capt. Paul Tryon

Hello from Key West, This is Capt. Paul Tryon with Key West PRO Guides and TailChaser Charters, here with your April fishing report: Hello Spring! We have finally been seeing a break from the relentless March winds that we have been dealing with the last few weeks. The fish are showing up all over the place and I real good numbers. Looks as if this spring will be one of our best yet, here’s how things are shaping up!

Offshore:
The Gulf Stream has averaged between 12 and 35 miles to the south of Key West, we have had a few color changes pretty close, anywhere from just off of the reef in about 80feet to almost 310 feet of water. There have been quite a few Sailfish caught on the color change using live baits with a few Wahoo hitting the docks every other day or so. The biggest was more than 54lbs, caught by Capt. Robbie Nevius on the ‘Jerkwater’, what a hog! The slow troll has been the key in getting the larger ones to bite, we have had a pretty good showing of Speedos to use for live bait, the amount of hookups of Sails, Wahoo and Barracuda have once again proven these baits to be the best. The Black fins are starting to show pretty well on the deeper wrecks, the problem hasn’t been getting them to eat; it’s the large schools of bull sharks and huge Barracuda that are munching on them up right at the boat. We are still managing to get a few in the box, excellent table fare!!

Deep off the Reef:
Deeper off of the reef, the wrecks have started to produce more Amberjack and Almaco jacks. Jigging has been the way to go with hookups just about each cast. Our live bait situation is pretty good. We have plenty of Pilchards on the grass flats, lots and lots of 8-12” blue runners in the channels and plenty of big fat Threadfin Herring on the markers. When the currents are light and the wind is in the right direction, we have been anchoring up on the deeper wrecks and simply having our way with the fish! There are a few nice Black fin showing in the large schools of Bonita some of the Black groupers are still hitting the docks are in the 20-30lb range with a few more than 40lbs. Dropping whole ballyhoos to the bottom has produced nice Black and Gag Groupers along with my favorite the Mutton Snappers. Dropping a fresh live Ballyhoo to the bottom is sure to get nailed!

Gulf Wrecks:
The Gulf wreck action is heating up nicely; we have been getting reports of large schools of Grey Snappers on the shallower patch reefs and huge schools of Cobia on the further out wrecks. When booking your charter, make sure whomever you pick has the proper Federal Gulf of Mexico Permits to get you out to the best wrecks. Many will tell you the fishing is great close to shore, but those wrecks are hit hard, just a little bit further makes all the difference in your catch! The wrecks and reefs out in the gulf are providing some great Cobia action, we have been limiting out each trip with the biggest to the dock at more than 52lbs. These brutes are hitting just about anything thrown their way and are providing some great fights. The Kingfish action has been pretty steady now, the school fish are in the upper teens to more than 20lbs. for an average and are pretty easy to get turned on. Most of the usually spots in the Gulf are producing limits each trip. We have also been slow trolling for them with great results, most in the upper twenties to mid thirties, great fighters as well.

Atlantic Wrecks and Reefs:
The yellowtails are here in good numbers and great sizes; the average has been between 2 to 4lbs., and they are very eager to feed. We usually fish the 60 to 110foot depths over the backside of the reef and set up a real good chum slick, where they stack up behind the boat turning the water yellow. Getting your limit this time of the year is pretty quick and easy if you know where to go. The Yellow jacks are taking over some of our better reef spots, these brutes are sometimes a bit tricky to get on the line, but great fighters and great eaters!

Flats/BackCountry:
Tarpon, Tarpon, Tarpon!!! Finally they are showing up and in great numbers. All of our Flats and Backcountry boats are reporting multiple hookups on nice large fish. the key has been live bait and an early takeoff, before the sun gets up. There have been lots of really nice Permit around, you will find them feeding on the shallow flats where the water is a little warmer from the sun, also very eager to take you crab and run! As always the Barracuda and Sharks are all over the flats; just about any bait thrown their direction is sure to get looked at. Basically any species that you target on the flats will be a good choice for a very productive trip in January.

This is Captain Paul Tryon, Give me a call to book your day with some of Key West’s best guides here at Key West PRO Guides and have some fun fishing! Until next month, keep those reels screaming!

For booking information with Key West PRO Guides or TailChaser Charters, you can call me at 305-296-6602 or visit my website:

www.keywestproguides.com or www.tailchasercharters.net

Tight lines,

Capt. Paul Tryon

Hello from Key West, This is captain Paul Tryon with Key West PRO Guides and TailChaser Charters, here with your January fishing report: They say January is one of the coldest months of the year, maybe in the Midwest, but not here in Key West. The weather feels more like spring than winter and the fishing is definitely different. We have been having beautiful conditions on the water more days than not. Beautiful weather and great fishing has provided some spectacular fishing opportunities these past few weeks; this should continue for some time and only get much better as the months go by. Take a look at what we have been doing and what we see ahead for this month.

Offshore:
The Gulf Stream has averaged between 18 and 32 miles to the south of Key West, we have had our color change pretty close, anywhere from just off of the reef in about 100feet to almost 300 feet of water. There have been quite a few Sailfish caught with an outstanding showing of Wahoo the past few weeks. The biggest Wahoo to hit the dock last week was more than 56lbs.!! We have had reports of much larger ones on the hook, but these guys were far to big to get to the boat. The slow troll has been the key in getting the larger ones to bite, we have had a very nice showing of Speedos to use for live bait, the amount of hookups of Sails, Wahoo and Barracuda have once again proven these baits to be the best. As we get into the later part of this month we hope to see the Black fin Tuna show, they have been around here and there, but no real numbers yet.

Deep off the Reef:
Deeper off of the reef, the wrecks have been producing a few Amberjacks, some nice Muttons, decent Black Grouper and still just a few Black fin Tuna. Our live bait situation is pretty good. We have plenty of Pilchards on the grass flats, lots and lots of 8-12” blue runners in the channels and plenty of big fat Threadfin Herring on the markers. When the currents are light and the wind is in the right direction, we have been anchoring up on the deeper wrecks and simply having our way with the fish! There are a few nice Black fin showing in the large schools of Bonita some of the Black groupers are still hitting the docks are in the 20-30lb range with a few more than 40lbs. Dropping whole ballyhoos to the bottom has produced nice Black and Gag Groupers along with my favorite the Mutton Snappers. Dropping a fresh live Ballyhoo to the bottom is sure to get nailed!

Gulf Wrecks:
The gulf wreck action is simply awesome, we have been getting very large schools of Redfish showing up, most well over the slot limit and some topping 28lbs. the schools are very large, the fish very hungry and the action non-stop. We hope this will continue for some time as they are great battlers and the smaller ones great eating. The wrecks and reefs out in the gulf are providing some great Cobia action, we have been limiting out each trip with the biggest to the dock at moiré than 46lbs. These brutes are hitting just about anything thrown their way and are providing some great fights. The Kingfish action has been picking up steadily now, the school fish are in the upper teens to more than 20lbs. for an average and are pretty easy to get turned on. We have also been slow trolling for them with great results, most in the upper twenties to mid thirties, great fighters as well.

Atlantic Wrecks and Reefs:
The yellowtails are here in good numbers and sizes; the average has been between 2 to 4lbs. and they are very eager to feed. We usually fish the 60 to 110foot depths over the backside of the reef and set up a real good chum slick, where they stack up behind the boat turning the water yellow. Getting your limit this time of the year is pretty quick and easy if you know where to go. The Yellow jacks are taking over some of our better reef spots, these brutes are sometimes a bit tricky to get on the line, but great fighters and great eaters!

Flats/BackCountry:
We still have our resident schools of Tarpon around, they are quite large with most fish averaging between 40 and 60lbs. a pass through the channels on the gulf side will blow your mind at the sheer numbers of them just cruising by. With the water temps not as cool as they should be, we have actually been targeting them more with some success. There are a few permit around, you will find them feeding on the shallow flats where the water is a little warmer from the sun, also very eager to take you crab and run! The Pompano have finally showed this winter, some of them are very nice sized and in good numbers. We haven’t seen as many Sea trout as past seasons; we hope this will change soon. As always the Barracuda and Sharks are all over the flats; just about any bait thrown their direction is sure to get looked at. Basically any species that you target on the flats will be a good choice for a very productive trip in January.

This is Captain Paul Tryon, Give me a call to book your day with some of Key West’s best guides here at Key West PRO Guides and have some fun fishing! Until next month, keep those reels screaming!

For booking information with Key West PRO Guides or TailChaser Charters, you can call me at 305-296-6602 or visit my website:

www.keywestproguides.com or www.tailchasercharters.net

Tight lines,

Capt. Paul Tryon