Florida Keys

Date: August 25, 2008

Offshore:
A rainy Fay kept boats in safe harbor until Thursday this week. Wind roughed up the seas and muddied up all keys waters with the passing of Tropical Storm Fay. As the weather abated a few boats got booked and gave it a try with surprising results. The Dolphin were thick as fleas from nice size school fish to slammers. Capt. Paul on the Skipper from Whale Harbor Marina had all the school fish his clients wanted and included six slammers up to 35 pounds. The Mahi were close at nine to twelve miles.

Reefs:
The reef was absolutely filthy muddy, but the Yellowtail Snapper like it like that and several boats boxed a limit of Yellowtail Snapper. The seas were still rough as of this report as the wind was up and down with frequent squalls. By the weekend the skies were mostly blue with a west breeze. No word on the King Mackerel bite, but we are in a recovering mode in a slow business time. Look for the action near the reef to dominate the Oceanside report as the Kings and Sailfish will soon appear in good numbers.

Gulf and Bay:
Not one single report from Gulf waters since Fay reeked havoc on the area. Florida Bay and Gulf waters are for sure muddy and grassy, a scenario that would make angling very difficult for sure. As another week passes, similar angling as in the past several weeks should occur. The Trout and Snapper will dominate the fishing action until the water starts its cool down come October. Then look for the Spanish Mackerel to make a showing and the Cobia start to pop up in the Gulf.

Flats, Backcountry and Flamingo:
A few skiffs were staking up on Oceanside flats trying to intercept Bonefish late week and results were for the most part poor. There is still enough mud in solution to make conditions far from optimal. Also, as for the Tarpon situation, Capt. John Gargan and Capt. Lou Brubaker fished an evening trip on Friday and ended up with a big goose egg for a score. A discussion with a commercial Lobsterman was positive with the thought that the “bugs” would move with the passing of the storm and harvests would be good. On Saturday two guides reported good results in Flamingo with Snook, Redfish and trout cooperating very well!