Southbound Sportfishing Key West Report January 13, 2011
Capt. Richard Houde
January 13, 2011
Key West - Saltwater Fishing Report
2011 has started out great! The weather has been generally good and a the fishing has been good. 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.
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!
There has 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 up shallow and a few Kings in the high teens over the past few days.
On Tuesday, 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!
Black Fin Tuna are starting to bite also. Early in the Morning or late in the afternoon is best if you're trolling. Use small baits and run them far back.
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