Capt. Mike Makowski reported, “When it gets cold and windy most captains think sailfish! The bite was on Monday for those who caught live ballyhoo and slow trolled them near the reef edge off the Upper Keys. Boats fishing from Long Key to Ocean Reef reported several sailfish releases.
“The sails were not the only things biting. There were kingfish averaging 10 to 20 pounds, small blackfin and skipjack tuna, wahoo, and even a few cobias were either seen or caught by boats fishing for sails. The word permit has been heard around some of the docks lately. Expect more of these great fighting fish to start showing up around the local wrecks and reefs as we get closer to April.”
Capt. Chris Johnson says, “There are plenty of backcountry and backwater areas that are relatively protected from the wind and offer excellent fishing. Choose one of the many experienced, professional charter operations to take you for a day of catching on the bayside of the islands.
“It may not be precisely the species you came to the Keys to catch, but it beats not going fishing at all. There are plenty of good-size mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel to fill your dinner plate along with feisty sharks to wrangle. There's also redfish, snook and permit to keep you entertained.”
Last but not least, here are the reported results of the Backcountry Fly Championship: Chris Maroney of Stuart caught a tournament record of 118 inches of redfish and snook to win the Backcountry Fly Championship that ended Feb. 26.
Tournament anglers competed to catch the most inches of snook and redfish on fly. Rules mandated that only two catches of each species over the two days of fishing could be counted toward an angler's total inches.
Maroney earned the title of grand champion fishing with veteran Capt. Mike Hutchinson of Homestead. He also caught and released the tournament's largest redfish, measuring 29.75 inches. Maroney's second redfish was 28.4 inches and his snook were 29.6 and 30.25 inches.
Steve Stanley of St. Petersburg was named runner-up angler for scoring 100.75 inches of fish. He fished with Capt. Steve Thomas of Tavernier.
Islamorada's Rick Moeller secured the largest snook at 30.4 inches while fishing with Capt. Mark Gilman, also of Islamorada.
Twenty-one anglers caught 15 snook and 44 redfish during the tournament's two fishing days.
Yup! I’d say any time is a good time to fish around Key West and the Florida Keys!
Whether you’re a tourist, looking to move permanently to the Keys or just someone who likes the beauty of nature, the great variety of amenities in the homes in our area are just more reason to want to live in beautiful Key West. If you’re interested in real estate in this attractive area contact me, Jimmy Lane, at Key West Real Estate: 305-766-0585.