Mangrove Snapper Mangrove snappers (other names: gray snapper, mangos, grovers) are probably one of the most prevalent Key West fish species in the backcountry waters. The following week will have a slight breeze out of the north and northeast. The food truck is the kitchen and giant umbrellas keep … First of all, this is a prized catch and no one wants to keep it in the water while I snap some photos. From the blue waters offshore to the natural reef and abundant shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, … My friend Hunter Ledbetter links wahoo to the schools of small blackfins that appear off Key West in early fall. These are the sight fishing species we chase on the flats. Dropping a jig down below a large weed patch or floating debris provides a good opportunity for a summer wahoo. test Key West Web Design | Things To Do In Key West | Things To Do In Key West Inshore Fish Species. If you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, the results can be spectacular with catches ranging from 15 to over 70 pounds. Here’s how to score. The shark zeroing in on the baits is likely a silky shark. Call us 305-292-7212. In Florida, wahoo are probably ranked just below marlin on anglers’ “what I would love to catch offshore” list. It also helps if you have calm waters—a brisk wind seems to put them down. Most captains believe the best bites are four days before or after the full and new moons. © 2004-2020 Fish Key West, all rights reserved. RT Trosset has a collection of chunk flies that he uses in Bermuda and he is itching to catch a wahoo on fly in Key West. They can be trolled at high speeds, dive to almost 40 feet and can catch most anything that swims. Good. For some reason the wahoo will quickly respond to chunks even if there is a bunch of live pilchards in the water. Best Fish & Chips in Key West, Florida Keys: Find 57,865 Tripadvisor traveller reviews of THE BEST Fish & Chips and search by price, location, and more. There are a number of specialized wahoo plugs made by Mag Bay lures, Yo-Zuri and Nomad which are designed for high-speed deep trolling. Barely a stone’s throw from shore, the shallow waters play home to plenty of fish feed, such as shrimp and crab, making it a hotspot for the larger fish to prey. Welcome to my channel. It’s rarely windy and seas are mostly calm, so it is easy to get out for some of the best fishing of the year as the Sailfish come in and action on the reef picks up with the bait … Captain Patrick Cline and his freediving buddies speared seven one day. Join us for our fresh, local seafood and friendly service in a relaxed island atmosphere. Make a mid-winter warm-weather escape – head south for some Key West fishing in December. As the temperatures drop up north and the baitfish migrate south, the numbers of wahoo off southern Florida increase dramatically. These are the best places for budget-friendly fishing charters & tours in Key West: Laid Back Key West; Fun In The Sun Key West; Cowboy Cowgirl Sportfishing Charters; Spear It Charters; Fishy Business Charters; See more budget-friendly fishing charters & tours in Key West on Tripadvisor State License Fla. Nice fish off Key West, with Capt. In just under an hour, travelers can reach Key West’s coral reef by boat located seven miles offshore. With all their thrashing around on the deck, they can inflict some serious wounds if those jaws ever hit flesh. ST39306. Cobia are a very scent driven fish, and they will swim a long way if they smell the … Sharp eyes and sharp teeth. Anglers troll with downriggers and planers, drift live baits, or chum with live pilchards or bonito chunks. Local freedivers simply drift the edge of the reef, hoping to swim into a school. Captain Chris Trosset caught six one day between 40 and 70 pounds. Summer is a great time for flats fishing here in Key West. Speedos and runners, shown here, are prime wahoo baits. They do in fact live up in the mangroves, as well as grass ledges, channels, and around structure in the shallows. Summertime Backcountry Fishing. Wahoo can be caught off Key West year-round, but the best time to chase them here is November through February when schools move in near the reefs. Get the Top Stories from Florida Sportsman Delivered to Your Inbox Every Week. We offer fresh local seafood, as well as options from around the world. RT usually checks with the commercial yellowtail fishermen to find the most active spots, but even that scheme isn’t foolproof. 4 Featured Trips. A Key West offshore fishing experience is one you'll remember for the rest of your life. We will troll some of these plugs on almost all of our winter trips, just to see what happens. The waters off the Florida Keys are teeming with visually stunning marine life, and the crew of Gulfstream knows how to catch … ABOUT US | CONTACT. Anglers can chose to fish the flats u to 2 persons on our flats fishing skiff or use a bay boat for up to 4 persons to challenge themselves in the shallows. Both these methods require special equipment and heavy tackle because the baits need to be moving fast. Hello , my name is Steve. Fish Key West Florida utilizes a variety of different methods of fishing, depending on the time of year, the sea conditions, water and air temperature, currents and other factors. As expected, the trick is finding the speedos. Fishing charters are another way to experience world class Key West fishing, but the price can run a bit higher, starting at about $500 for a half day trip. At times wahoo are so thick off Key West that bluewater divers can actually spear them. Wet your toes on a half day trip or stay out longer and target all three for an Inshore Grand Slam! while they are chumming up these big mounds of coral and structure, cobia seem to make their way into the chum slick. (Priced by the pound) A globally distributed species favoring deep, warm ocean waters, wahoo are caught up and down the Florida coast. Wahoo seem to appear in waves for several days, then disappear for a week or more. Seven Fish restaurant in Key West Florida. Fun in the Sun offers fishing tours and boat charters and are located in Key West Harbor. The plan is usually to drag two of the deep diving plugs along with a skirt on the surface. There’s no telling when you will run into a wahoo. But by the end of the week the weather will start to clear up. Key West Fish & Chips, 633 Duval St., is an ideal combination of food truck and traditional restaurant with an outdoor courtyard and table service. The high-speed planer rigs require pretty stout drags, so the smaller fish simply tripped Hunter’s planer and never really took out any line. If you hit a day when wahoo are cruising the edge of the reef, chumming with a combination of live pilchards and bonito chunks will certainly bring them into fly rod range. Wahoo really love bonito chunks and as soon as one appeared with a hook in it, they were in business. The wahoo don’t seem to have a problem coming to the surface for a live speedo, but that might have a lot to do with the cooler water temps in the winter and the abundance of baitfish. Fish Key West Florida utilizes a variety of different methods of fishing, depending on the time of year, the sea conditions, water and air temperature, currents and other factors. Light tackle spin fishing or fly fishing your choice. If we’re moving from one spot to another, it never hurts to try to dredge up a wahoo. Key West is home to the third largest barrier reef in the world and the largest in North America. Fall is a lovely time in Key West and Key West fishing in November is perfect for those who want to spend all day on the water without fighting the heat. Our Key West party boat fishing charter is the longest running deep sea fishing party boat in Key West, Florida. As the years passed, I came to a greater appreciation of just what a great catch a wahoo of any size is. Tackle is heavy and he keeps the boat moving so the angler won’t be fighting the planer while the wahoo swims around on a semi-slack line. I caught my first and only wahoo on fly in Bermuda while chunking and throwing a fly that was just a big ball of dark red fur… it looked just like a chunk of bonito. Every December I get calls from Key West captains with reports of amazing wahoo catches. These are all immediate contact hook sets, so outriggers are ineffective and any more than three lines means chaos and tangles when a fish hits. We’ve racked up the local knowledge to make this fishing experience one you can’t forget! RT prefers to use lighter tackle, so his favorites are the Mag Bay Desperado and the purple Rapala X-Rap Magnum 40. Remember to check out our Key West fishing Seasons guide to see what the fish are doing while you are here in Key West. I’ve seen wahoo come right up behind the boat and gobble up chunk after chunk. The bite’s best at night, but you can catch … I rode along with Ledbetter last September after he reported catching wahoo when they weren’t supposed to be there. Tucked away in Safe Harbor, Stock Island, the Hogfish Bar and Grill is a true “locals” spot that avoids the pretension and hype of more touristy areas.The freshest seafood straight from the boats to your plate... Panoranic waterfront views and outdoor dining, fresh local seafood. I’d really never used planers before and learned a lot that day. Captain Patrick Cline, another Key West expert, was deep dropping for tilefish in 800-plus feet of water one day when a wahoo simply appeared behind the boat. They are home to gamefish like the permit, bonefish, tarpon as well as many others like barracudas, sharks and jacks. Winter brings an excellent run of wahoo to Florida’s southernmost fishing grounds. The Almaco Jack is a member of the Jack family Carangidae, which … Both had blackfin tuna in their stomachs. BLOG; RATES; VIDEO CLIPS; PHOTOS; GUESTBOOK; LINKS; FAQs; Custom Charters; Shark Fishing; Blue Water Fishing … The plan is to anchor up at the end of the bar (an elongated, isolated section of the outer reef southwest of Key West) or on a wreck and live chum the pilchards for blackfin tuna and anything else that might swim by their floating buffet. Reef Fishing Is Great In The Summer Fish the reefs just off Key West with us on board our state of the art 36' Yellowfin center console. Imagine Sailfish, Dolphin, Black fin Tuna, Wahoo, Kingfish, Grouper, Yellowtail & Mutton Snapper, Cobia, Amberjacks, Goliath Grouper and many more outstanding species waiting to battle with you! Seller of Travel Ref. Robert “RT” Trosset standing far right. From Key West offshore fishing – trolling the open Atlantic for big game like Blue Marlin, Mahi … Key West Split Fishing Charters | #1 Service in FL Keys, Key West Party Boat Fishing Charter (Max 65 Guests), Fish Key West Premium Party Head Boat Fishing Experience (Max 10 Guests), Key West Private Inshore Light Tackle Fishing Charter (up to 14 passengers). Today, wahoo are as unpredictable as ever. This lit up wahoo couldn’t resist a lipped-diver. There are also a number of skirt lures designed specifically for wahoo, most of which are long and thin or produce a lot of bubbles. Come with me as I take you on some of my kayak fishing trips. The light tackle captains in Key West usually start their days by cast netting 50 pounds of live pilchards and housing them in massive livewells. Many Key West fishing charters go out to what’s called the “patch reefs” to catch an assortment of snappers, groupers, and porgies. We ran south from Boca Chica channel and began trolling in 300 feet of water. Well, the southernmost tip of the US is overflowing with Tarpon, Permit, and Bonefish – the holy grail of Key West inshore fishing. Almaco Jacks are strong fighters and good to eat, so they are always a welcome catch among Key West sport fishermen. Live music on weekends. Wahoo can be extremely dangerous, if you’re anywhere near their razor-sharp teeth. Speeds of 8 to as much as 18 mph will do the trick, depending on the lure and the day. Key West Fish & Chips is located on Duval Street in Key West, Florida. I’ll never forget it. Wahoo tend to stay deep so getting down to their level is very important. It pays to be ultra-careful with them… even the small ones. Key West Flats Fishing makes for unforgettable angling adventure as you hunt trophy game fish and Sharks in the crystal-clear waters of the Keys Backcountry. Most crews troll bonito strips on a long (to 100’) leader behind a planer like the one shown above. This trip is the true Key West experience. Wahoo also follow weedlines and flotsam just like mahi, but they stay deep. We have great flats fishing year round the species vary from time to time. Key West Fishing Report for Fishing in Key West and the lower keys! What was most impressive was that this was in early September. At times wahoo are so thick off Key West that bluewater divers can actually spear them, but the trick is always to find them. Types of Key West Fishing No other location on the planet offers as many options for sport fishing. Gaffs come out quickly and the wahoo is promptly dumped on the deck from which location it tries to kill everyone on board. FS, Published Florida Sportsman Magazine December/January 2021, © 2020 Outdoor Sportsman Group. Some more options wahoo will find sufficient. The first run was awesome and the colors of the fish in the water at the end of the fight were brilliant. It probably followed up the strips on the deep rig, but suddenly there it was. We will even cook your own fresh catch fish upon request! I caught my first wahoo off Key West trolling for mahi in the summer of 1971, when I was a complete novice. Read More, Our Key West light tackle fishing charter provides you unforgettable memories while fishing for the other species of sport fish and flats.... Read More. Of the two we boated, both had blackfin tuna in their stomachs. Key West’s flats and mangroves are full of fly fishing favorites like Bonefish, Tarpon, and Permit. We fish anywhere from form 1 mile out for giant Tarpon to 90 miles out past the Dry Tortugas for a variety of exotic species. Red Fish Blue Fish is a hidden gem tucked away next to Key West's famous Mallory Square. Wahoo are at the very top of everyone’s highlight list for fly fishing and there’s no reason that they can’t be caught in Key West on a fly. Robert “RT” Trosset standing far right. The great wahoo fishing is always hit or miss event, but targeting them in the winter is pretty reliable around either a full or new moon. Key West and the lower Keys are surrounded by some of the best flats in the world. Charter fishing the Key West and Florida Keys on half or full day charters; Shark Fishing; Bottom Fishing; Dry Tortugas; Night Fishing; Reef Fishing; Blue Water Fishing. He’s convinced that if you can find the tuna, there will be wahoo following them. We had a few cut-offs, caught some barracuda, but eventually started catching a few blackfin tuna in the 5-pound range. Captain Chris Trosset, a smoker, and his pup. No. Bonito belly strip with skirt is a charterboat classic that catches a lot of wahoo. Blue runners also work, but the speedos are wahoo candy. Some days they are everywhere and other days, you can’t rent one. Wahoo like this frequently respond to chunk baits. Simple. “Cowbell” style high-speed lure took this winter wahoo off Key West. Grab a drink with us on your way to the Sunset Celebration, and then stop in for dinner on your walk back to Duval! Dream Catcher Charters, is another popular tour company with competitive prices and … When a wahoo hit, there was no question that it was a wahoo… the drag screamed. It never hurts to try this technique. White Street Pier: Key West’s fishing pier (officially Edward B. Knight Pier) is a tried-and-true place to find Tarpon, Jacks, Snapper, Snook, and even Redfish. Fishing Key West is your best most experienced resource for flats, deep sea, reef and backcountry fishing charters since 1994. Yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper, grouper and more.4,6 and 8 hour trips are available daily.. Reserve a table at Seven Fish, Key West on Tripadvisor: See 2,240 unbiased reviews of Seven Fish, rated 4.5 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #54 of 358 restaurants in Key West. They’ll report spotting schools of over a hundred, but then days when they never see any. Flats Fishing Species. This is the fishing trip that put Key West on the map! Wahoo are at the very top of everyone’s highlight list for fly fishing and there’s no reason that they can’t be caught in Key West on a fly. A variety of diving plugs and high-speed lures will take wahoo. All of these fish are available in the calm clear water that the flats have to offer. In certain places and seasons, the odds of catching one increase. Even the locals thought it was a big deal. Captain RT Trosset’s favorite live bait for wahoo is a “speedo”—actually a red tailed scad—which he catches by chumming in open water. 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