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Key West Fishing Report - Offshore
Capt. Ralph Delph
December 4, 2000
Key West - Saltwater Fishing Report
It is good to be back and on the water again.
Well let’s start with the weather and water conditions in the Key West area. Over the past week, the winds have been quite brisk, out of the north at around 15 to 20 knots and sometimes gusting to 28 knots. This has caused the gulf to become somewhat clouded, however the waters on the south side of the keys have remained quite clear along the edge of the reef. The daytime temperatures have been around 70 degrees. Although this may sound bad for the fishermen, don’t despair. This is exactly what we need to get the action rolling on the winter species. The water temperature has been around 73 degrees so that means kingfish. Capt. Robby Delph reported a good number of smokers up to around 40# have been taken on live bait along edge of the 10-fathom bar.
The satellite reports indicate the north edge of the Gulfstream is running from southwest to the northeast and making contact with the reef just west of Sand Key light. This means a strong east bound current along the reef and that means pelagic species. The trolling boats reported a good number of sailfish in front of Sand Key light and there have been some good catches of blackfin tuna and bonito in the area of Vestal Shoals by those using pilchards for live chum. Manny Fernandez form Miami, fishing with friends, Twig Tolle also of Miami and Claes Norberg from Sweden, got in on the action with some good size bonitos on the fly rods. The action has been good for large flag yellowtail along the bar with most boats reporting full bag limits for all on board. However, the strong current has hampered the bottom fishing for grouper and snapper in front of Key West. In order to find cooperative bottom fish, it is necessary to find the slower current, and this means west of the CB buoy. And that’s exactly where Jody Blue and company ended up and was rewarded with a fine catch of American reds and mutton snappers up to 15#, and a nice catch of grouper, reds and scamps, up to around 12#.
As the wind continues to blow, it will be necessary to sneak out between fronts and put up with the choppy seas until the weather settles into the more normal winter patterns. Remember, the key’s run east, west down here and that means that most any wind out of a northern quadrant will allow you to get out for some kind of fishing, on the south or leeward side of the islands.
As the water cools down and the winter species turn on, you can expect the flats action for bonefish and permit to cool off with the weather. When the water temperature falls below 70 degrees, don’t expect to get much more than a boat ride. Right now the flats boys are still reporting some bonefish and permit along with some barracuda action. For those with queasy stomachs, this might be a better choice than offshore.
That’s it for now. Tight lines and good fishing.
Captain Ralph Delph
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