5/1/16 May Fishing report for Islamorada

April came and went so fast I didn't even get a chance to fill everybody in on the Offshore Fishing in Islamorada the last couple weeks. The second half of April we saw a decent mahi bite overall. Some days all the boats did very well, a few days half the boats did well while half the boats struggled, and a couple days the fish just weren't out there in Big numbers and some of the boats only found a couple. The good news is the mahi fishing should only continue to get better and more consistent as we get into summer. The blackfin tuna showed up in good numbers the last few days, mostly footballs in the 3 - 7 lb range, but there has been a couple in the 12 - 25 lb range too. On the humps we've still got amberjack and some big sharks too. The predator released a white marlin today while trolling, and last week the Bn'M released a 250 lb blue marlin! Islamorada isn't a marlin destination by any means, but it doesn't mean you can't get lucky and catch one! With today being the 1st of May that means our shallow water grouper season is open, so a lot of boats fished the reef today. The grouper bite was decent, with most of the boats catching a couple keepers. We saw mostly black groupers on the dock, with a couple gag and red grouper too. A lot of boats have been catching yellowtail snapper, and a couple days last week the Miss Islamorada had perfect fishing conditions and limited out! There's been a few big mutton snapper as well as a few nice mangrove snapper in the mix too. The permit have been hit and miss on the wrecks, but a few boats have got in on the action with fish from 15 - 35 lbs. We also had a good bite of sailfish for a couple days when the conditions were just right last week. The reel McCoy had 8 one day, and 5 two days in a row after that. A few boats caught a couple and a couple boats put in some effort but no luck. It is definitely toward the end of sailfish season, but I'm sure there will be a couple here and there the next month. Way offshore the swordfish bite has been steady and we saw two really big swordfish at the marina the past week. Capt Nick Stanczyk put his clients on a 341.5 lb broadbill swordfish the other day, and the day before Capt. Travis on the Indeginous caught one of similar size while filiming an epiosode of "Reeling in the Keys"! May is a prime month for swordfish so if you want to try your luck, give the office a call at 305 664 2461 and we'll set you up. Don't forget to check out our new outfitter store with the largest selection of Pelagic gear in the Florida Keys next time your at the marina too! 

Tight Lines, 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk