Spring is Springing, Fish are biting!

Finally, after the coldest winter in Florida Keys recorded history (130 years), Spring is springing forth with warmer air, water and fish! I took a 50 pound Tarpon this morning (March 26) on a cockroach after a 10 minute fight. Dan Cook of Montana took a 12 pound Permit on a deep water gotcha bonefish fly on Tuesday, March 23. Permit are MARCHING! Tarpon are SCHOOLING! I knew it would be a good morning today when I saw a tailing Bonefish as I was idling through the creek at 8:00 a.m.

March fishing like a cold January!

We continue to struggle with record cold temperatures here in the Keys. Not only that, but when the weather does warm up it is only a temporary phenomenon, followed by a cold front that brings rain and more cold weather behind it. We have not seen a normal March that is characterized by average temps in the mid to high 70's and water temps consistently in the mid 70's. The Tarpon and Permit bite have been off as a result. It is a struggle to even find them except in the man-made creeks and basins around the boats. Perhaps April will bring more seasonable temps and better fishing. We must hope for a more seasonable warm up!

Record Cold Winter Weather

The coldest January and February I have ever seen here in the Lower Keys and Key West has kept the water temperatures in the 50's and 60's for most of the two month period. Our Tarpon, Bonefish and Permit do not thrive in such cold waters. We have had poor fishing with a few exceptions on a few days when the air has warmed the water up to 70 or better. Going forward we are hoping that the Spring air will come early in March so that our water will warm up and the flats fishing will improve. In the meantime, I am tying new fly patterns for Tarpon, Permit and Bonefish.

Catch and release for Tarpon, Bonefish, Permit.

Fishing is good right now in between cold fronts. Resident Tarpon, Bonefish, Permit are all available in Lower Keys and Key West.

Big 3 Live and Well in Key West & Lower Keys

There are reports of dead fish in the Florida Keys from the cold early January weather. However, there are ZERO reports of Tarpon, Bonefish and Permit mortalilty in the Key West and Lower Keys area BECAUSE we didn't get as cold this far south as they did in Biscayne Bay and Florida Bay in the upper Keys and the Everglades. I have personally been fishing since the big cold snap and we have seen many Permit, Bonefish and Tarpon where they are normally seen here in the Lower Keys and Key West. In my last blog, I was venturing out to find a Tarpon tag transponder with Mike Larkin of Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. The signal was too weak to pick up and the battery must have expired. Despite searching on Friday, Jan. 29 for nearly 3 hours in the last known position, we came up empty. We did see several Permit and Bonefish on the flats, however. If anyone is flats fishing around the Barracuda Keys, Marvin Keys, Snipe Keys or Mud Keys, please keep an eye out for this gray and black antenna device that floats and may be stuck on in the branches of some mangroves. Thanks and tight lines!

Despite Cold January, Fish are Biting!

January has been a month of record cold temps during the early to middle part of the month. Now we are experiencing a normal pattern of warmups followed by cold fronts and more warmups. Recently, a school or two of thousands of Permit was sighted in the Gulf near the Marquesas. There are also resident Tarpon around in the creeks (they are biting!) and deeper channels and around the marinas. NO reports of fish kills involving Tarpon or Permit have been reported in the Lower Keys and Key West. (If you hear of any such reports, please let me know - 305-304-5880). I have also not heard of any Bonefish kills south of Big Pine Key. However, there were lots of reef fish that did not live through the cold weeks. Today we are going out to hunt for an electronic beacon as part of the Tarpon Tagging program for the Tarpon and Bonefish Trust. We are also hunting for Bonefish and Permit. Wish us luck!