1/15/18 Early January reef fishing report

The new year is rolling right along here in Islamorada. Business has been stready and We've had a few really busy days where almost all of the offshore boats fished. The Miss Islamorada Party boat has been getting out almost every day, and now you can buy a party boat ticket online!. The next 3 - 4 weeks is prime time to get down here to fish before we hit mid february and the crowds arrive. On the reef we had a few good days of sailfishing where most of the boats had between 3  - 7 sailfish releases, and then we had plenty of decent days where boats averaged 1 -2 sailfish. The Islamorada SAILFLY tournament took plast last week and Team Relentless brought home first place with 2 sailfish releases on fly over the two day event. In addition to sailfish there's been a decent kingfish bite and then the usual mix of other fish including blackfin tuna, barracuda, a couple wahoo, and a couple dolphin. 

 

The bottom bite was really good a few days with lots of yellowtail snapper, some mutton snapper, porgy, vermillion snapper etc. There's been grouper around too, but remember they are catch and release until May 1st. We have had a couple of strong cold fronts where water temperatures dropped which slowed down the yellowtail snapper bite, as well as a couple days with weak current that didn't help either. We've seen some amberjack, african pompano, and sharks on the wrecks as well. 

 

Way offshore I made it out on a handful of daytime swordfish trips since the new year aboard the "Broad Minded". We had 1 fish on 3 trips, 2 fish on the last trip, and one trip we didn't have a bite. The Bn'M also fished one trip but reported no bites. Most of the fish have been 50-100 lbs, but we did have one really nice one at 254 lbs! We also caught a few queen snapper deep dropping on the way in and out from the swordfish grounds. 

 

Give us a call in the marina office at 305 664 2461 when you're ready to book your next fishing trip! Remember we have lodging options available too! If you want to order sandwiches or breakfast "Galley Girls" cafe opens up at 6 a.m. The best way to order lunch for fishing the next day is to pre order the night before at 305 664 0166. 

Tight Lines

Capt. Nick Stanczyk