1/23/18 Deep sea fishing report for mid January
Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 06:00AM We had some cold weather for a few days last week here in Islamorada. Temperatures were 50 degrees in the morning, which feels much colder when running on a boat over the water! However, we didn't let it stop the boats from getting out fishing! Temperatures are back to normal the last few days so all us Floridians are happy again. Sailfish have been a main target on the reef and the bite has been pretty decent. The boats have been averaging 2 - 5 shots per day, with a few boats getting even more bites on a couple trips. Capt. Jim Hendrix (who worked with Capt Paul on the Relentless for 12 of the last 14 years) moved his new charter boat "DAUNTLESS" into the marina, and on one of his first charters they released 5 out of 7 sailfish. We wish him the best of luck!
Other fish we have seen while live baiting on the reef and wrecks have included a few blackfin tuna, a couple mahi, king mackerel, amberjack, barracuda, and african pompano. We should see a few wahoo around the full moon next week, especially if the winds are calm. Fingers crossed for that! Bottom fishing has still been the most consistent way to catch dinner and we've seen plenty of yellowtail snapper with a few mutton snapper in the mix. The Miss Islamorada party boat has been fishing almost every day, so if you want an affordable way to get out on the water for the day and catch a few fish for dinner check them out! Remember you can buy a party boat ticket online!
Way offshore the weather cooperated enough a few days to get some daytime swordfishing in. It wasn't calm by any means but still fishable. We fished 3 trips the past week and on the first trip we lost giant swordfish estimated between 400-500 lbs and landed a 75 lber. The next day we had a pair of nice fish at 130 lbs and 151 lbs. The last day we fished we tagged and released two juvenile broadbill swordfish. We had a couple queen snapper and barrelfish one of the trips as well.
Give the marina office a call at 305 664 2461 when you're ready to book your next Islamorada Deep Sea fishing trip and we'll set you up on a great boat!
Tight Lines
Capt. Nick Stanczyk
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