Florida Keys Fishing Report week of 11/12/18
Provided by:
http://www.IslamoradaSportFishing.com
(this report may be reproduced in any media format as long as credit is given to:www.islamoradasportfishing.com)
 

Offshore:
With the frontal boundaries moving through the Islamorada area, the Dolphin season is officially over according to most. There will and are recently Dolphin being caught though. The bulk of the offshore activity will revolve around the Humps. There are two, the Islamorada hump and the 409 hump. These underwater seamounts create an upwelling of deep ocean water bringing a plethora of bait with it. This condition is what brings the pelagic species such as Blackfin Tuna, Bonito, Dolphin, Wahoo and more. It is the Tuna that is the main target of anglers. Reports from the humps last week tells us that the Tuna bite is very good, but the activity has attracted many Sharks.
Reefs:
Most charters are staying on the reef these days as fishing is great. There have been lots of Sailfish caught and released this past week and this should be the norm for the winter. The King Mackerel are on fire in depths from 90 to 200 feet of water. Captain Paul on the Reef Runner caught some big King Mackerel and also while trolling found some nice Dolphin. Captain Don on the Kay K IV had a ball with a great Yellowtail Snapper bite. Don reported that Sharks slowed down his Snapper action though. They also caught Kingfish. The Dee Cee on a half day ran into a mess of Dolphin in close to the reef and was back to the dock by 12:30. Captain Lou Brubaker fished the Parch reefs on a half day and his clients had a ball wailing on nice Mangrove Snapper, Red Grouper, Porgy, Jacks and Yellowtail Snapper.
Gulf and Bay:
Well, here we go. Gulf time is here. The mainstay of Gulf fishing will revolve around the Spanish Mackerel. I say revolve around because there are lots of good incidental catches included. Snapper, Tripletail and Cobia to name a few. Bamboo charters got into Mackerel, Lane and Mangrove Snapper on a recent trip to the Gulf. Captain John Gargan fished the Mackerel and got nice Snapper too. There will also be Seatrout, Jacks and Ladyfish in the Mackerel chum.
Flats, Backcountry and Flamingo:
Several guides have been running four hour trips and staying close to home while fishing the backcountry. The target is mostly Snapper. The Mangrove Snapper are found in ditches around islands and in channels connecting grassy lakes. Captain Tim Klein fished the Cape Sable area and connected on Snook and found some Tripletail drifting around.
CapMel Staff
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