Captain Parkes Blog: Key West, Islamorada, Florida Fishing Reports

Still no oil in the Keys and no evidense that we will get any in the short term

Still no oil in the Keys and no evidense that we will get any in the short term. The fishing offshore has been quite good over the last couple of weeks with plenty of Blackfin Tuna to chase around and Mahi under the birds in 400 to 800 ft of water.

This past week the Grouper and Yellow tail fishing has been excellent. There are photos on the website that show the great catch we had the other day. I am told thet the mutton snapper fishing is also excellent in deeper water. We will try this next week. The weather has been very hot. Fortunatly we have excellent airconditioning on the boat to escape the heat for a couple of minutes at a time.

We had a charter this week with a couple who had not done this before for fishing offshore. The winds were blowing at 20knots and the seas were in the 5 to 8ft range in the morning. I was concerned that the day might be too much for them and therefore checked on them from time to time. They had taken bomine the night before and that morning. NO sea sickness at all! These were two very adventurose people from outside of Dallas who seemed to enjoy the day! The next time they do this I believe they will be disapointed if the seas are less than 3 ft.

With all of the strong east wind blowing into the Keys over the last week we have had great fishing

With all of the strong east wind blowing into the Keys over the last week we have had great fishing. Between the Big Bite and the boat next to me we have caught Wahoo, Dolphin, Blackfin Tuna, Yellow Tail snapper and Amberjacks. Sometimes we have caught all of the above in the same day! No giant Dolphin yet but that will happen any day. Any Mahi over 40lbs is considered a large fish. We caught one a couple of years ago that was over 60lbs! On the 25 and 30lb tackle that we use on the Big Bite any fish over 10 lbs will put up a great fight. The reason we use the 30lb equipment is just in case we tangle with a 50lb fish. We have also caught Wahoo to over 60lbs and they will fight as hard as any Mahi for the size. By the way if you catch a 50lb fish on 30lb gear that comes to almost a two to one ratio between line strenght and the wieght of the fish. If you are large mouth Bass fishing that is the same thing as catching a 20lb Bass on ten pound line. Hard to do since the largest Largemouth Bass in Florida is less than 16lbs! So come on down and test your fishing skills on the Big Bite with a fiesty Mahi or Wahoo.

The cost of a Charter for a day of Fishing in Islamorada

The cost of a Charter for a day of Fishing in Islamorada. Fuel has gone up 30% since the first of the year. Diesel fuel even more. For free on the Big Bite every day that we fish includes water, Ice, Fishing liesense for all on the boat. Very good fishing equipment that will get the job done. This includes 22 poles and reels with line on the boat all the time to catch anything from a 500lb shark to a fiesty 3lb yellow tail snapper. Chum, bait and a large assortment of lures for all types of fishing in the Keys. Two kites to fly for sailfish in the winter. Keeping the engines maintained at all times, One generator for the Airconditioners, heater and Frezzer. Three airconditioners and a hot and cold water sytem to maintain. The cost of dockage and electricty. This is what it takes to keep a charter boat runing if you do it right – oh – I forgot – the cost of the Captain ( ME ) and the crew and owner ( ME Again ). Here comes the pinch line – THE RATES ARE STILL THE SAME AS LAST YEAR! Call us, the fishing is excellent right now!

We started off with three Blackfin Tuna

We had a great day fishing! Two Gentlemen from the Orlando area who belong to a fishing club were on the boat for the day. The wind was blowing and the seas were high. This can mean a hard day of holding on but as we all know it is also a day when the fishing is excellent! All that wind puts oxygen in the water and keeps everything else moving around. We started off with three Blackfin Tuna – around noon we caught a very nice Wahoo and on the ride back towards home plate we caught a very nice Mahi! Down in the Keys we refer to this as the Trifecta of fishing! All of this action in less than 8 miles from the dock. The Wahoo is the hard part. We caught it on a down planer in 450ft of water. These are fish that can be found anywhere but usually not that far off into the deep water as this one was. The bright blue colors make these fish really stand out. Using the light tackle on the Big Bite required that the Angler had to bring the fish to boatside three times before we could slip him through the back door. As we all know the Wahoo may be the fastest fish in the water. On rough days when I took the boat across the gulf stream to the Bahamas I would troll a heavy lure 12 to 14 knots and often catch a Wahoo on the way. Come on down to Islamorada in the Keys and catch the Trifecta on the Big Bite!

These are the best days in the keys with almost all fish biting – bottom and top water species

Blackfin Tuna are back and biting early in the morning just off the reef in 150 to 300 ft of water. Some of the fish caught are close to 20 lbs which is a nice size for Blackfins. They are caught on small lures – jet heads, poppers and feathers. Hooks used are 5.0 but the leaders need to be long and under 60lb fluorocarbon. Dolphin are in the same area as the Blackfins and will also eat the same baits. The larger dolphin are offshore and we fish for them with Ballyhoo. Both fish are great fighters on light tackle. We are fishing with 20lb to 30lb equipment. If we are targeting the dolphin we will use the 30lb tackle.

These are the best days in the keys with almost all fish biting – bottom and top water species. If you want to catch a shark this is also a great time of the year to drift a large bait in 200 ft of water to catch a large Bull Shark off the reef. Hammerheads are also passing through and they make a great picture close to the boat. We always keep a couple of large baits in pens next to the boat for these occasions. Blue Runners and Jacks work well for this type of fishing. So come on down to Smugglers Cove in the Keys and spend a great day out on the water on the Big Bite.