Yearly Archives: 2021

December is here bringing several newly arriving fish species to pursue. Fantastic action for Key West angling continues through years end.

From the Backcountry to Offshore the overall population and wide variety of species in our local waters is changing yet still offers the light tackle angler so many options…

Deep Sea/Offshore:

Our offshore fishing conditions will settle in vastly improving our light tackle action. Gone are the warm water species replaced with some outstanding and explosive species for the trolling fan. December kicks off the Kingfish action. Big “Smoker” Kingfish are providing excellent action well offshore and occasionally nearer the reef. The Mackerel family is here in huge numbers in general with quality size Cero and Spanish of late. December remains an excellent time to target the action-packed Black Fin Tuna very respectable and excellent eating fish. There is nothing better than crossing paths with a school of Black Fin on the hunt…total chaos but crazy fun.

The Wahoo action will greatly increase during December, these speed demons can get up to 50+lbs. And are not only insanely good eating, but know to smoke lots of drag too. The iconic Sailfish bite continues to improve with January being the real kick off for our most productive period which continues for months into the spring. Unfortunately, we say good-by for the most part to the wonderful Mahi (Dolphin fish) as the cooler water temperatures force a migration for most of them away from our local waters. Soon as this is said we will have a few days of Mahi action fire up…there seems to always be a few Mahi around in our waters but in fairness to the angler…think of them as a wonderful bonus fish when they come in the boat.

The apex predators remain active with December being a good month for large Barracuda. We are moving into an exciting period for offshore however, we believe a 1/2-day (four-hour) charter still has some challenges with ever changing travel times between marina and fishing grounds. Best bet book at least the 3/4 day (six-hour trip) especially if you are a party of three or four or more.

Reef & Wreck:

December can bring winds however the waters on the reef verses further offshore will remain comfortable most days. This continues to be a good time for the angler with concerns about rough sea conditions to head out to the nearer shore wreck sites as well. The “reef donkey” is here in big numbers and ready to dislocate the angler’s shoulders. Amberjack fishing is typically very good for the next few months especially deep dropping on the most remote deeper wreck sites.

The Cobia action becomes excellent for the next few months leading into new year. Cobia typically run in decent sized groups of 3 to 5 fish, often at the surface providing some outstanding sight casting opportunity to the angler. The Snapper family continues to produce numbers during December as typically the Yellowtail and Mangrove numbers make up for solid numbers, as well as the larger Mutton Snapper. The Grouper family will usually not disappoint for December as the last month to harvest Grouper before our season closes in Atlantic waters on January 1. Our elusive Permit will still be making their presence known but at best I would place them in the “good” range. Always challenging, the Permit is a sought-after sport fish and prized by anglers from around the planet. December will still offer the angler a fair chance for success.

Backcountry:

Always a fun and productive trip the back country this time of year moves into an excellent time for fast paced action while targeting a very wide variety of species. Anglers will appreciate our calm, crystal clear waters. The overall population of fish in the backcountry continues to grow with several sport fish species, edible fish, and predators to target but also numerous schooling species arrive to provide non-stop action most days. Schooling species such as Trout and Pompano, huge schools of Jacks, Lady Fish, Blue Runners, Grunts, Porgies…the list is nearly endless in December keep it fun all day long and great for the younger anglers with maybe a bit shorter attention span. A perfect trip for the hard-core light tackle angler to the novice angler. A perfect trip for the family or groups numbering up to 4 anglers per boat. Backcountry boats are 4 passenger maximum vessels.

Tarpon time is over in the backcountry. Remaining is our small resident population of juvenile Tarpon however these fish are super sensitive to changing conditions and become very “hit or miss”. Some Tarpon are still here but we typically do not target them for the next few months. A bonus fish during December for sure.

The Mangrove and Yellowtail Snapper fishing remains excellent in the backcountry. For serious “table fare” harvest we definitely recommend the reef & wreck trips now, but to include a few “keeper” fish for lunch or dinner will not be a problem in our shallows.

The predator fishing continues. Giant Barracuda and several species of Sharks in the shallows are on the hit list. Our Monster Shark charters are awesome and continually produce multiple larger sharks even on the 1/2-day trips. December is predator time so these aggressive species are always ready to go “head-to-head”. We “highly recommend” a backcountry charter this time of year and especially for those guests looking for a shorter than full day trip.

Notable:

This is a time of lower and more stable water temperatures so good fishing conditions continue, friends. We still recommend fishing morning trips if going shallow as they remain the most productive over the later afternoon hours for the serious angler based upon the tides of course. The PM half day trips can be quite enjoyable especially for those people just looking to stay in calm waters and enjoy a few fun hours catching fish. Reef trips in the afternoon fishing slightly deeper waters along with the patch reefs can be very good trips for later in the day departure times. Sharks are plentiful and active. Pursuing these heavy weight monsters on light tackle is challenging to say the least and talk about something you cannot do at home!

Species to key on:

Offshore: Sailfish-Kingfish-Blackfin Tuna-Wahoo-Barracuda

Reef & Wreck: Grouper (season closes to harvest December 31 in Atlantic waters)-Amberjack-Cobia-Yellowtail, Mutton & Mangrove Snapper-Barracuda-Sharks

Back Country: Snook-Snapper-Redfish-Sea Trout-Cobia-Permit-Barracuda-Sharks

Let’s go Fishing!

Call Key West Pro Guides today to book your charter!!

1-866-259-4205 daily 8 AM to 9 PM. We look forward to your call!

November has arrived with cooler temps and several newly arriving fish species to pursue.  

Fantastic action for Key West angling continues through the fall time frame.  

Deep Sea/Offshore: 

Our offshore fishing is rapidly changing and vastly improving for light tackle action. Gone are most of the warm water species replaced with some outstanding and explosive species for the trolling fan. November typically brings red hot Kingfish action. Big “Smoker” Kingfish with numbers growing daily will be providing excellent action from the reef to well offshore. The Mackerel family is here in huge numbers in general with quality size Cero and Spanish of late.  

November is an excellent time to target the action-packed Black Fin Tuna. There is nothing better than crossing paths with a school of Black Fin on the hunt…total chaos but remarkably fun. We already have had several outstanding catches of Blackfin this season. We often see a spike in the Wahoo action during November. Wahoo are fish that produce memorable takes, and long line stealing runs not soon forgotten by anglers. The iconic Sailfish begins to come to life with each cold front that pushed them south to our waters 

Unfortunately, we say goodbye for the most part to the wonderful Mahi (Dolphin fish), as the cooler water temperatures force a migration away from our local waters. In fairness it seems we always have a few Dolphin here but the most productive time frame is behind us for this year. The apex predators remain active with November being a good month for large Barracuda…Barracuda are aggressive in the cooler water temps and will provide outstanding violent strikes and great battles especially for the light tackle fans. We are moving into an exciting period for offshore, however, we believe a 1/2-day charter still has real limits for the remainder of our next few weeks/months. Our recommendation is to book at least the 3/4 day (six-hour trip) with the full day giving us all the tools to work with for you.   

Light Tackle Reef & Wreck: 

November can bring some light to medium winds, however the waters on the reef verses further offshore will remain comfortable most days. This continues to be a good time for the angler with concerns about rough sea conditions to head out to the nearer shore wreck sites as well. The “reef donkey” is here in big numbers and ready to dislocate the angler’s shoulders. Amberjack fishing has already been red hot and will remain so for a couple of months now. The Cobia action remains solid with good numbers and average to larger sized fish being taken regularly through the end of November.  

The Snapper family continues to produce numbers. November is not typically a great Mutton month here but of late we have had some outstanding Mutton trips…who knows if or when it may end. The Yellowtail and Mangrove numbers make up for any Mutton’s absence most days. The Grouper family will usually not disappoint for November for the table fare anglers. Our elusive Permit will still be making their presence known but will be slowing from a peak activity month in October. Always challenging, the Permit is a sought-after sport fish and prized by anglers from around the planet. November will still offer the angler a good chance for success.  

Back Country: 

Always a fun and productive trip, the back country this time of year also offers an abundance of visible marine life and tropical birds on the Mangrove Island shorelines with mirror calm, crystal clear waters. The overall population of fish in the back country remains large with several sport fish species, edible fish, and predators to target. A perfect trip for the hard-core light tackle angler to the novice angler or the family or groups numbering up to 4 anglers.  

Tarpon time is over in the back country as the migration of adult fish has taken place. Remaining is our resident population of primarily juvenile Tarpon and these fish are super sensitive to changing conditions and become very “hit or miss”. Some Tarpon are still here, but we typically do not target them now! On the days when conditions are right, we have been hooking up on juvenile Tarpon, those fish to about twenty pounds or so and still great fun on light tackle. Not the Tarpon action certainly of March through July but if you happen to hit it right there is some fun to be had.  

The 1/2 day to 3/4-day morning departure trips continue to produce well. However, the afternoon water temperatures are not as high now so the later part of the day with good tides can be awesome. Permit can be pursued on the shallow patch reef and isolated shallow wrecks of the back country and the bite is good on quality size fish most days. The Redfish action kicks off during November most years while Snook on the given day continue but we would place them in the “good” to “fair range” now.  

Cobia fishing continues as we locate small “wolf packs” of say two to five cruising Cobia to pursue. This is also a time of fast paced “excellent” action from the schools of BIG Jacks, including some huge Yellow Jacks continue to be red hot. Not only are the Yellow Jacks an absolute blast on light tackle and top water, but they are also delicious! Towards the middle of November, we should see the ramping up for Trout fishing. Speckled Sea Trout are already here but the action has not exploded as of now…stay tuned friends! These are one of the best “indicator” species to showcase the full transition into our fall patterns.  

The Mangrove and Yellow Tail Snapper fishing remains good in the back country. For serious “table fare” harvest we definitely recommend the reef & wreck trips however to include a few “keeper” fish for lunch or dinner will not be a problem in our shallows.  

The predator fishing continues. Giant Barracuda and several species of Sharks in the shallows are on the menu. Our Monster Shark charters are awesome and continually produce multiple larger sharks even on the 1/2-day trips. This is predator time so these aggressive species are always ready to go “head-to-head” so you adrenaline junkies out there should try sight casting top water lures to cruising Barracuda!  

Notable: 

This is a time of lowering and more stable water temperatures so good fishing conditions continue to improve from already good action, friends. We still recommend fishing morning trips if going shallow as they remain the most productive over the later afternoon hours for the serious angler. The PM half-day trips have improved and can be quite enjoyable, especially for those people just looking to stay in calm waters and enjoy a fun few hours catching fish. Reef trips in the afternoon fishing slightly deeper waters along with the patch reefs can be very good trips for later in the day departure times. Sharks are plentiful and active in the shallow waters of our back country. Pursuing these heavy weight monsters on light tackle is challenging to say the least and talk about something you cannot do at home!  

Let’s go Fishing! 

Call Key West Pro Guides today to book your charter 866 259 4205 daily 8 AM to 8 PM. We look forward to your call! 

October is here bringing cooler water temperatures, improving our action for the Key West angler. 

From the Back Country, out to the Reef & Ship Wreck sites to the Blue Waters Offshore the overall population and wide variety of sport fish and predator species in our local waters now offers the light tackle angler so many options…

October Weather Averages:

Air Temperature 85/76

Rain Days 11

Wind 10 MPH

Deep Sea/Offshore:

This is the time of year when the offshore angler understands our run times and distances become a bit longer to reach the more productive fishing grounds offshore. Our recommendations are for early take off times but the “slightly better” fall afternoon air temperatures do allow the angler to remain comfortable providing a now much better full day charter to be experienced. However, we believe a 1/2 day charter still has real limits for the remainder of our next few weeks/months. October weather can be somewhat unpredictable therefore our captains will adjust and fish to the conditions of the day for the best results.

The Dolphin (Mahi Mahi) bite remains good but is dwindling somewhat from the past few months. Dolphin ruled the offshore weed lines through September. Late October draws the Dolphin action pretty much to a close. Black Fin Tuna will pick up providing the angler with some outstanding days. October usually kicks off the Blackfin action for a couple of exceptional months. When the Blackfin Tuna fire up it signals the soon to be arriving Kingfish. Typically during October we enjoy the beginning of several months of excellent Kingfish action. Our Spanish and Cero Mackerel remain quite active traveling in large schools. October continues to be a time frame for behemoth Barracuda as these apex predators remain super aggressive. The rare Marlin “can” come this time of year well offshore way beyond the ½ day charter range however will always be extremely “hit or miss” in our local waters. Anglers should keep in mind that although a bit smaller in variety to pursue most of these arriving pelagic species are “schooling fish” so when contact is made it becomes total chaos with strikes on every line in the water…a great problem to deal with for sure!

Reef & Wreck:

October continues with calmer waters on the reef verses further offshore. This continues to be a perfect time for the angler with concerns about rough sea conditions to head out to the remote wreck sites as well. The elusive Permit is schooled up on the shallower Gulf Wrecks and typically October can produce some quality trips and individual large fish. Amberjack come to life late in October providing outstanding battles on light tackle gear. Cobia are commonly taken from these same locations and remain in the “good range” for action through November. Our resident reef and wreck species such as Snapper family and Grouper family continue with predictably good action. This is a particularly productive period for large Yellow Tail Snapper on the reef. On the shallower “patch reef’s” the Red Grouper should be plentiful if not huge. Many calm days our Back Country guides will fish these same “patch reef” areas with great success as is commonly done based upon conditions. Most days we fill the fish box with those wonderful “table fare” species such as Mangrove and Yellow Tail Snapper along with the tasty Jack family found in our waters in huge numbers. Sharks and large Barracuda are absolutely everywhere and if you feel well rested, friends they are always ready to go “head to head”. This is the best charter in our recommendation this month to be enjoyed on a 1/2 to 3/4 day charter.

Back Country:

Always a fun and productive trip the back country this time of year also offers an abundance of visible marine life and tropical birds on the Mangrove Island shorelines with mirror calm, crystal clear waters. The overall population of fish in the back country remains large with several sport fish species, edible fish, and predators to target. A perfect trip for the hard core light tackle angler that enjoys “sight casting” to fish to the novice angler or the family or groups numbering up to 4 anglers looking for non-technical yet fast paced action. 

Tarpon time is over in the back country as the migration away from Key West of adult fish has taken place. Remaining is our resident population of primarily juvenile Tarpon and these fish are super sensitive to changing conditions and become very “hit or miss”. Some Tarpon are still here but we typically do not target them now! Consider a Tarpon in October as a wonderful “bonus” fish.

The 1/2 day to 3/4 day morning departure trips continue to produce well however the afternoon water temperatures are not as high now so the later part of the day with good tides can be awesome. Permit can be pursued on the shallow patch reef and isolated shallow wrecks to the west of Key West and the bite is good on quality size fish most days. Snook on the given day continue near the Mangrove Island shorelines and deeper channel edges, jetties, etc. and we would place them in the “good” range. Cobia fishing continues again in the “good range”. This is a time of fast paced “excellent” action from the schools of BIG Jacks including some huge Yellow Jacks which continue to be red hot with the larger fish going north of 25 pounds…an absolute blast on light tackle and top water! Towards the end of October we should see the ramping up of both Redfish and Trout fishing. These along with the schools of Pompano are the first of the fall, cooler water temperature, species to signal the transition from summer time angling.

The Mangrove and Yellow Tail Snapper fishing remains excellent in the back country. For serious “table fare” harvest we always recommend the reef & wreck trips but to include a few fish for lunch or dinner this is never a problem in our shallows. 

The outstanding predator fishing continues. Giant Barracuda and several species of Sharks in the shallows are on the hit list. Our Monster Shark charters are awesome and continually produce multiple larger sharks even on the 1/2 day trips. This is predator time! These aggressive species are always ready to go “head to head” so you adrenaline junkies out there could be sight casting top water lures to cruising Barracuda! The Bonefish population in the back country can provide some fun on the deeper flats especially to the west of the island, and we should continue to enjoy this bonus back country action for all of October before slowing somewhat. For the serious Bonefish angler the flats are still your trip but to include the possibility of Bonefish on the back country trips for a while yet is reasonable. We “highly recommend” a back country charter this time of year and especially for those guests looking for a shorter than full day trip. Note…if you have fly fishing in mind…head to the flats, we do not recommend hard core fly trips from our bay boats.

Notable:

This is a time of still warm but falling water temperatures, so good fishing conditions continue, friends. We still recommend fishing early morning trips as the most productive over the later afternoon hours for the serious angler. The PM half day trips can be quite enjoyable especially for those people just looking to stay in calm waters and enjoy a fun few hours catching fish. Reef trips in the afternoon fishing slightly deeper waters along with the patch reefs can be very good trips. Sharks are plentiful now and active in the shallow waters of our back country. Pursuing these heavy weight monsters on light tackle is challenging to say the least and talk about something you cannot do at home! Black Tip, Lemon and at times Bull are the more common of the several sharks cruising the shallows. Shark fishing in the shallows will provide you with memories of a lifetime. Are you up for it?

Let’s go Fishing!

Call Key West Pro Guides today to book your charter 866 259 4205 daily 7 AM to 9 PM. We look forward to your call!