Key West - Del Brown Tournament Results - 7/22/06

The Del Brown Permit Tournament ended on a stormy Thursday. The previous day, Wednesday, saw three more teams land permit. Capts. Mark Krowka and Simon Becker poled their anglers into the running, each boating a permit, but Capt. Kris Suplee out did them all on the second day, landing three. The storms that rolled through on the final day of the tournament washed away any chance of anyone catching up. In the end, Capt. Suplee and his angler Warren Hinrichs won. Capt. Dale Perez and angler Doug Mayer took second, while Capt. Bill Houze and angler Will Benson captured third.

Today, Saturday, July 22, the storms have moved off, leaving sunnier skies and calmer winds. Anglers fishing the flats should expect to see bonefish, permit, tarpon and possibly some redfish foraging for a meal.
Offshore, chicken dolphin are still the staple, but marlin, and some sailfish have also been raised. On the bottom, the snapper and grouper fishing continue to catch the attention of anglers.

Key West - Del Brown Update - 07/19/06

Fishing Update ...
Tuesday, July 18, the first day of the Del Brown Permit Tournament, proved a challenging one. The wind barely rippled the water in the morning and only picked up a little during the day. Adding to the challenge, the clouds returned, limiting the visibility of the guides and anglers. Under these tough conditions only three teams landed a permit on the first day - those captained by Capt. Bill Houze, Capt. Dale Perez and Capt. Justin Rea. These three boats are tied for first place with 150 points each.
Today looks like it is going to be another tough one for the participants, as there was only a whisper of wind this morning, and the clouds are lingering.
Tomorrow, fortunately, the wind is predicted to break the 10 mph. barrier, making it easier to get with in casting range of the fish without spooking them.
For those not fishing the permit tournament, the early morning and evening hours have produced some good fishing, especially for tarpon and bonefish.

Key West - July 15, 2006

It was a wet week for us down here. We had periods of heavy rain and some good thunderstorms mixed with generally cloudy skies, which kept many anglers off the flats. Those who went out between the storms found some decent fishing for bonefish and permit, and if they timed it right, they were rewarded with flats teaming with tails. Some reported seeing over a hundred in an hour or two. As for the tarpon, only a few of the big boys remain, but there are still plenty 15 - 50 pounders to jump start your day. Today dawned with a drenching rain, but has cleared up considerably. We now have blue skies and calmer winds. It is a good time to get out there.

Offshore, dolphin are the main attraction with many anglers wearing out their arms battling schoolies on light tackle. Fewer big cows and bulls were caught this past week, but fish in the 15 - 30 pound range were not uncommon.

Next week, The Del Brown Permit Tournament starts on Tuesday, July 18, and runs through Thursday, July 20. Hopefully, the weather will improve as permit are tough enough to catch as it is.

Key West Update - June 29, 2006

Occasional storms and water spouts continue to pose some obstacles for flats fishing, but the fishing is good enough to make it worth getting rained on. From the Contents to the Marquesas, tarpon, bonefish and permit have presented anglers with many opportunities to hook up. Several of the tarpon have been in the 120 to 150 pound range, so if you are still looking to tangle with one of the big boys, this weekend should be a good time to get it done.

Offshore, anglers are having the best luck for dolphin in 700' of water. Plenty of schoolies are being caught along with some in the 30 - 50 pound range. Many anglers have reported seeing free jumping marlin busting on the dolphin, so there is a chance of hooking one of those, too. On top of that, the mutton snapper bite has been hot lately in the evenings.

Whether you are fishing shallow or deep, it is a good time to get on the water.

Key West

Fishing Update ...06/27/06
The clouds and showers that continue to filter across the keys, have not shut down the fishing. Yes, the visibility has been tough at times, but there have been plenty of fish caught on the flats during the past few days. The new moon tides have been good for bonefish and permit. These same strong tides often bring in a fresh push or two of tarpon. Even if it does not, there are still plenty cruising around if one is interested. With good opportunities to catch bonefish, permit and tarpon, this is a great time of year to catch the Keys Grand Slam.

Fishing Update - June 21, 2006

Despite the occasional thunder storm and broken cloud cover, the flats fishing has been productive these past few days. Anglers are getting good shots at tarpon, especially early, bonefish and permit. With a 10-15 mph breeze picking up during the day, the conditions are good for sneaking up on your target, but it is not too windy to make it impossible to get a good presentation.
Offshore, there are still reports of good dolphin fishing. You may have read about the new 70 pound 12 ounce record caught recently, but there have also been numerous fish in the 30 - 50 pound range brought to the boat. Some sails and marlin have also been spotted out by the wall.

Key West Update - June 19, 2006

June 19, 2006 Hello to everyone again from The Saltwater Angler. After last weeks little weather episode this weeks fishing was a welcomed sight. Winds calmed right down to around 10 miles an hour and even though we had passing thunderstorms they were short lived, and never really affected you while fishing. The tarpon fishing was back in full swing with fish all over the flats and in the channels. Of course the fly rod was definitely the way to go with the light winds. If you know how to throw a fly rod, it can be a far more effective tool than a spinning rod when the fish are on the flats. Whether you are throwing a live crab or a soft plastic, either one makes a splash that can spook the fish. In some situations you see the fish coming from a long way out that will allow you to throw way in front of the fish, but the conditions don’t always allow for such easy sightings. Much of the time there’s either a cloud over head or bad glare that makes a lot of your shots at close range and that’s when the spooking begins with the spinning rod, and makes the fly so much more efficient. If you haven’t thrown a fly rod and like to fish on the flats give it a shot. Not only is it more satisfying when you land a fish, but you’ll see where it can be a better way to fish in shallow water and calm weather.

The bonefishng has been solid, but we have been waiting for the permit, and it seems that they are back in really good numbers. The captains are still catching them on the coral heads and wrecks around Key West but I have seen some fish tailing while tarpon fishing and have heard great reports from some of the captains around the docks. With the calm weather we’ve been having you’ll have to make a long cast at them not to spook one but these fish should be a little more relaxed than some of the fish in the fall because there just getting back from spawning. This is a real long shot but definitely cast a tarpon fly at one if he swims by the boat. Crabs are, of course, their main food source, but they do eat small fish also and have been known to grab a tarpon fly once in a blue moon. If your going to go traditional permit fishing on the fly, then you can’t beat a tan Del Brown merkin crab to cast at them.

No storm in the forecast and light winds so if you have the time to get on the water it doesn’t get much better than the conditions we have now. From all of us at The Saltwater Angler we wish you tight lines and fish boat side.

Key West Update - June 17, 2006

Alberto only caused a minor slump in our fishing. From Saturday through Monday we were socked in with wind, clouds, and some much need rain hitting the Key West area and shutting down the fishing, but on Tuesday the flats were back in action. Anglers found early morning tarpon, and as the sun came up, the bonefishing proved quite good. Schools up to 20 fish in the 3-5 pound range and many larger singles and doubles were spotted cruising the shallows looking for something to eat. A couple of days later the permit were back in good numbers.
On top of this action, the palolo worms hatched again during the recent full moon phase of the past few nights. The reports I heard did not claim as many worms as the earlier hatch, but the tarpon did not seem as picky, either. This, along with recent reports of new pushes of tarpon, has added to the excitement on the flats. Combined with the good numbers of permit and bonefish, it is a good time to start thinking about catching the Grand Slam of the flats.

June 11 Update

Hello from everyone at The Saltwater Angler in Key West. I guess it’s that time of year again and like last year the Caribbean is having no problem whipping up a storm right at the begriming of the season. Tropical storm Alberto passed to the west of Key West but was close enough to put a damper on the fishing. If you remember last year we had a storm right at the same time so let’s hope that we're not in the same cycle. The tarpon fishing which is what I do everyday this time of year really fell off from where it had been. The storm formed to the southwest of us which sent a mini swell even before the storm got here mucking up the ocean side and making fishing very difficult. Not all the fish had left but the ones that were there were very hard to see, so fly-fishing was really frustrating. The fish could still be found in the channels and if you had a sinking line you might get a couple of eats but live bait was definitely the way to go. On a positive note the bonefishng is still decent and there are some larger fish to be caught out there. There are still the schools of 4-5 pounders but singles and doubles in the seven to eight pound range. I haven’t seen the fish tailing much so don’t go super shallow if you're going to fish for them. About 1 ½ to 2 feet is ideal. The permit fishing is still kind of up in the air but I have been getting some better reports from captains. I think the main reason is that the tarpon fishing has dropped off and people are fishing for different species. All and all it was a disappointing week, but the storm has passed and things should get back to normal next week.

Since the hurricane season is upon us lets talk about a way we can use it to our advantage on the water. A fishes lateral line can detect drops in barometric pressure and will feed aggressively when this happens. Hurricanes obviously have a very low barometric pressure and when fish feel this they eat as much as they can because they know it might be a little while before they eat again. It usually occurs about 2-3 days before the storm hits, but sometimes even closer to the storm. Now I’m not saying to go out 6 hours before a storm to have good fishing but if you have a day off before a storm hits, give it a try. From all of us at The Saltwater Angler we wish you tight lines and fish boat side.

Key West - June 3rd

The tarpon fishing has been best at either end of the day. Once the sun gets past 10:30 or so, the tarpon have become tough to feed and have remained so until evening. That is not to say that no one is catching any during the middle of the day, but most of the success has been during these glass calm mornings when the tarpon have been very active. It is during these hours that several guides found "guppy" hatches and fed a bunch of fish. Reports ranged anywhere from 10 -18 jumped. The most boated, that I heard about, was 8.
Permit and bonefish are a good option after the tarpon stop feeding. With the sun higher in the sky the visibility is good for spotting tailing and cruising fish.
Offshore, the bottom fishing has been hot with grouper and snapper. Up top, dolphin and the chance for a marlin have kept the anglers happy and arms weary.

Fishing Update - June 1, 2006

The worm hatch was awesome. The best results I heard about were 14 tarpon jumped and 5 boated in a four hour period. The worms will fade quickly, but it might be worth trying a worm pattern for the next day or two. You still might get a fish to eat it. This morning was perfect for early morning rollers...slack winds building to a light breeze out of the southeast. The next few days look to be about the same with light to variable winds primarily out of the southeast with a possible shower or passing thunder storm. Time to start thinking about the guppy hatch and catching the slam. There has been some good permit and bonefishing for those who can tear themselves away from the lure of hooking a 100 plus pound tarpon.
Offshore the dolphin fishing has been very good along with some solid action on the bottom for snapper and grouper.