2/21/17 Mid February Offshore Fishing Report

We are moving right along through February 2017 here in Islamorada, Florida Keys. We've had a mix of weather, a few days with cooler temperatures, some days with wind, and it looks like some rain for tomorrow, but should clear back up after that. The Islamorada Bartenders sailfish tournament took place eight days ago, and the "Broad Minded" took 2nd place with releases and the Cloud Nine took third place with 3 releases. The sailfish bite has continued to be the same so far this year, with a few fish around most days, with a couple better days and slower days in the mix each week. 

We finally saw a few cobia hanging up the past week when we had some calm weather. It's not the numbers we usually see, but hopefully we start seeing more and more. There's been a few african pompano around the wrecks, a good number of king mackerel, a few wahoo, some mutton snapper, and some blackfin tuna. On the reef we've seen yellowtail and mangrove snapper. Also a couple of goliath grouper. 

Further offshore a couple boats made the long run to the marathon hump and it paid off, with multiple boats catching nice blackfin tuna in the 15 - 30 lb range. There was also a few mahi, which was a bonus. There's been some deep drop fish including queen snapper, blackbelly rosefish, vermillion snapper, and a few yelloweye snapper too. We did a couple swordfish trips, catching 2 fish on one trip and missing two bites the following day. The Catch 22 also fished a swordfish trip last week but reported no bites. 

Give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 when you're ready to book your next fishing trip and we'll find a great boat for you. Remember we have lodging options here too! 

Tight Lines, 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk