With the weather less than ideal these past few days our fishing has been concentrated more inshore, and out of the rough seas. Fishing around the inshore patch reefs and mangrove lined back canals has been very productive. The mangrove snapper, yellow tail snapper and the toothy mackerel have been hitting all types of live and fresh bait. Mainly live shrimp, live pilchards, fresh/frozen ballyhoo, silversides and squid have been baits of choice. Of course the live and fresh baits will usually produce with more consistency but the frozen baits will still get the bites and bend a rod. Also, inshore along the mangrove trees we have had a good bite of mangrove snappers and even some redfish have been hitting the decks as well. Live shrimp fished on a 3’ long 20lb test fluorocarbon leader with a small pea-sized split shot tossed up close to the mangroves will produce action all day long. These are especially good spots to fish on the very windy days. You can hide from the wind and still get the warmth from the sun on you while you keep your rods bent and harvest a few fish for the table. Anytime I’m fishing these inshore spots I like to take a dozen shrimp, chop them up very small and toss some pieces in all directions out behind the boat. This will spread that fresh shrimp smell and get the fish in the area into feeding mode. If you need help finding some of these productive inshore fishing spots give our office a call at either 305-289-0505 or 305-509-7273.
Friday I had the pleasure of fishing with Greg from Chicago. We had a great day of shark fishing back in the fall and now he was back with his 2 children and their spouses. It’s always nice fishing with multiple generations on board. Plus with a new born back at the house and another on the way this family will be catching fish for together for years to come. Personally, I believe the best family memories are made out on the water. This is where stories will be made that will be told for a lifetime. With five people onboard we were looking for some good fishing action and a bunch of dinner as well. We spent the day on a few of the inshore patch reefs and found our mangroves, yellowtail, lanes and mutton snapper willing to cooperate. We had a consistent bite most of the day aside from the hour when the tide was slacking, with lots of nice snapper dinners in the cooler and smiles all around. We also had schools of mackerel around the boat all day occasionally biting off our jigs, otherwise being released after getting our jigs back from their sharp, toothy jaws. Loads of groupers were caught too, of course all had to be released including the two that would have been keepers just 3 weeks earlier. A quick ride home before the rain and getting to clean the fish under a covered table ended a very nice day. ~ Capt. Bill
With the football season winding down, and The Giants already out of the playoffs, there could be nothing finer than a Sunday afternoon on the water. With moderate winds around 15 knots out of the east we figured it would be a bit rough for Katy's 18' center console to head out too far so we decided to stick to some inshore patches. We headed off about 3 miles from Vaca Cut to a piece of productive reef in 25' of water. Heading out we were steering straight into the oncoming chop so we decided to throttle back to about 5 knots to not beat ourselves up and troll 2 spoons in the meantime. After about a half hour ride we finally had a Cero mackerel hit our small spoon a few hundred feet from destination. A singing drag and a fish in the box before we anchored up was our little bonus, plus we stayed dry during the ride out. After anchoring and letting the chum flow for a few minutes Katy landed a fat lane snapper on her first bait back. We had started using some old Spanish sardines out of the freezer for bait until the ballyhoo showed up in our chum slick. Once the ballyhoo were with in range we quickly flipped some into the boat and started chunking them up and trading them in for a variety of tasty fish species. In the next two hours we added Mangrove snappers, Yellowtail snappers, Spanish and more Cero mackerel and a 20" Mutton Snapper into the ice box. Katy also had a few nice grouper, including one Red grouper that would have been a keeper if the grouper season was still open. Remember, as of 2010, ALL grouper fishing is closed from Jan. 1st - April 30th. Once back at the dock we filleted our catch and cleaned the boat with a perfect sunset in the background. When all was said and done we had plenty of fish to give out to friends, put some extra in the fridge and make a delicious dish of Mutton Snapper Francaise for supper. Remember, no matter how windy it is there is always a place to find fish around these islands. There is no reason to sit in your hotel room and watch your vacation days slip by thinking it will be too rough, let us help you find some close spots and find some fish! ~ Capt. Bill
1/07/11 - The sailfish are hot in the Florida Keys! Daily reports of multiple hooks ups just outside the reef. Many anglers are reporting seeing pods of 8 sails or more. Jacks are providing great action on spinning rods. Get your fully equipped offshore boat rental from Harbour Point Marine. Call us at 305-509-7273 or visit http://www.keysmako.com/ to see our entire fleet of fishing vessels.