We had a couple late season cold front last week and we have another on the way now. March and April are "transitional" months here with regards to fishing and weather. This time of year we see a lot of different fish but not always a lot of each species. A mixed bag is common and with conditions changing certain fish bite better than others. The sailfish bite has been a little on the slow side the past week off Islamorada with just a few releases here and there. However, the Catch 22 fished the Jimmy Johnson Billfish Tournament out of Key Largo last Friday and Saturday, and managed to take 2nd place and bring in $210,000!!! The fished out of Ocean Reef for the two day event and had a charter that had never live baited for sailfish before! They were up against the best tournament teams in Florida that fish all of the big tournaments from Key West to West Palm Beach all winte and Spring. CONGRATS to all those aboard and to all the winners!!
The mixed bag on the reef has included yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper, kingfish, a few wahoo, african pompano, cobia, barracuda and more! Boats have been doing both full day and half day charters, but if you want the best fishing experience we always recommend a full day.
A few boats have been venturing further offshore to the humps as well as to the swordfish grounds. We have seen a lot of football size blackfin tuna on the humps and the big amberjacks and sharks are showing up as well! The "Dauntless" released a white marlin while trolling for tuna too! A few mahi have been showing up, but I wound't say it's enough to specifically go target them. It's been a few here and there, but we did see the "Warbird" bring in 3 nice ones including a 42 lb bull while they were out swordfishing! The swordfish bite has remained decent with the Indigenous catching 2 fish yesterday, and Aboard the Broad Minded we had 1 fish last trip, two the trip before that, 4 the trip before that, 1 the trip before that and 3 the trip before that. There's been a lot of small swordfish in the 30 - 60 lb range but we did have one nicer one at 164 lbs.
Give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 when you're ready to book you're next Islamorada Fishing Charter and we'll set you up with a great boat! Remember we have lodging accommodations on property too! Galley Girls Cafe is open daily from 6 am - 2 pm, for your breakfast and lunch, but we recommend calling ahead the night before at 305 664 0166 to place your lunch order for the following day of fishing!
Tight Lines
Capt. Nick Stanczyk
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