3/19/17 March Offshore/Reef fishing report

We had a pretty strong cold front last week with temperatures in the high 50's. I really was hoping it would spark the sailfish bite, but there was just a few here and there for the offshore fleet. The Reel McCoy had 3 releases one trip, a handful of boats had 1 fish on a couple trips, and a lot of boats put in a few hours a day targeting sailfish without any luck. If the current and wind line up just right we should see some big numbers if we get our "spring time tailing condition", but we can't predict the conditions and if/when it will happen. I'm sure we'll continue to see a few sails here and there. A lot of king mackerel moved in the past week, with a few really nice size ones in the mix. There's been some in the mid 30 lb class and Gimme Jimmy weighed a 40 lber. We've seen a few mahi and blackfin tuna as well. This time of year we usually see a little bit of everything, but not always a ton of one thing. There's been amberjacks on the wrecks and humps, as well as some sharks for fun. 

The bottom fishing has been very steady. Some boats have caught giant yellowtail snapper up to 6 lbs and mangrove snappers up to the same size! There's also been a few mutton snapper in the mix. I'm hoping the grouper stick around till May 1 st, because a lot of boats have reported catching and releasing some nice black and red grouper. A couple boats also found schools of cobia, and hopefully we see more and more of them the next few weeks. We've seen a ton of barracuda on the reef too. 

Give the marina office a call when you're ready to book your Islamorada Offshore fishing charter and we'll set you up! 305 664 2461 

Tight Lines 

Capt. Nick Stanczyk