Key West Fishing Report
February has been on fire! –
So I don’t want to speak too soon but I feel that this cold winter is behind us and it has certainly paved the way to some incredible backcountry fishing these last couple weeks. With the water temperatures steadying out there has been fish all over the place. Our big push of tarpon that showed up are still around and have been cooperating very well. It is a little unusual to have to many tarpon all over the place this time of year but I’m not complaining!!
Now to our flats fishing segment.. There are permit all over the place! And big ones to boot. As I have previously mentioned spring is a great time of year to hunt permit on the flats but you have to be able to deal with the wind. This time of year is notoriously windy and can create a challenging obstacle for some anglers, but if you can work through it the pay off is there.
Barracudas are finally chowing down and are a blast to catch on light tackle. Shark fishing has been great with a good push of big bull sharks in town and a bunch of hungry lemon sharks patrolling the shallows. One of the best parts about shark fishing this time of year is that there is a ton of bait all over the place. It make it easy when you can hit one spot and load up on some jacks and then spend the rest of the day pulling on big sharks.
Pro Tip: Be sure to crimp the barbs on your hooks when shark fishing and have a sturdy de-hooker available when you get the shark boat side. If possible try and remove the hook with the shark in the water and crimping the barb makes this a hundred times easier.
On another note this has got to be the most productive spotted sea trout season I have ever seen in the Florida Keys. They are absolutely all over the place in the backcountry and it is a very easy/productive fishery for all types of anglers. Cobia have started to make an appearance in the backcountry as well and are always a welcome sight both on the end of the line and on the dinner plate.
Key West Fishing Charters
with Capt. Nick LaBadie
