1/11/16 Offshore Fishing Report for Early January in Islamorada

It's finally starting to feel like "winter" here in Islamorada. We've had a couple cold fronts the past week and right now we have a strong north wind and the coolest temperatures so far this winter, a brisk 63 degress... I wouldn't be surprised if this front really sparks the sailfish bite. The sailfish bite has been fair since the new year, most boats have been getting between 1 - 3 shots per trip, and a couple boats have seen more. We wanted to congratulate Capt. Timmy Arce for winning the Islamorada SailFly tournament aboard the Aces High. It's a fly fishing tournament for sailfish, and with no fish caught the first day during very windy weather they were the first boat to score a release on the second day which was enough for the WIN! The Hey Papa also just fished the Key Largo Sailfish Challenge and over the 2 day tournament they released 5 sailfish which gave them a 1st place finish! Great work guys!!! 

Last week there was a big push of wahoo, and a lot of boats got in on the action. The fish ranged from 20 - 50 lbs and when catching them on light tackle they are super exciting. Most were caught on live bait on spinning gear, and a few were caught out of the kite as well. We should continue to see a few here and there throughout the winter.

There's still been a few nice blackfin tuna from 15 - 25 lbs while livebaiting as well. We don't catch the nubmers of them this time of year, but anytime you have a live bait out you have a chance. The king mackerel bite has been decent, the fish have averaged 5 - 15 lbs, and I'm sure we'll see some bigger ones soon. There's also been a few african pompano around the wrecks, which are always blast if you hook into one. 

The reef fishing for snapper has been decent, including mangrove, yellowtail, and mutton snapper. A couple days the current was into the wind which made it tough, but the boats still managed dinner most trips. There was a few big schools of cobia found inside the reef, and the cobia fishing should only get better each week. Having nice weather and sunny skies helps a lot when fishing for them, becasue we are sight fishing inside the reef in 20 - 40' of water. Most of the schools of fish follow big stingrays, and it can be boring for hours and you hunt for them, but if you are fortunate enough to find a school it can be chaotic! 

It's not my favorite time of year to swordfish, mostly because the weather doesn't cooperate a, but we did catch one fish our last trip about 75 lbs, and lost another one on the leader. We didn't get any bites the prior trip, but that's swordfishing. 

Give us a call in the marina office to book a trip at 305 664 2461 and we'll set you up with a great captain and boat. Remember when I say "offshore fishing" it refers to pretty much fishing the edge of the reef in the winter spring aboard the bigger offshore boats. 

Tight Lines, 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk