Amberjacks Archives

Islamorada Fishing Reports – 5-12-2022

May 18, 2022 by SteveKasiske

Hello everyone, and welcome back to this week’s report! Another great week in the Islands of the upper Florida Keys, and yet another weird week of weather. Just when you think the fronts are over, we get one in the 2^nd week of May…pretty crazy. Anyway, it is what it is, so it definitely could be worse.

Offshore Fishing...Epic Swordfish!

The offshore bite this week has been on the slow side as well, with very little current offshore. The fleet has been picking up a few Mahi’s here and there, but there isn’t a “real” body of fish up here just yet. It appears that down south there is a decent body, and we are waiting for it to move up here, or a new batch move in with some current. Tunas are slow on the Islamorada and 409 humps, except for the Feather Tunas, but the larger ones are on the Marathon hump if you can make the trek. Plenty of Amberjacks and sharks on all the humps, so no reason not to catch anything. Deep dropping has been on the slow side with the lack of current, but I am sure it is all going to pick up soon enough. Way offshore on the Swordfish ledge there has been some pretty epic fishing. A lot of bites over the past couple weeks, and a lot of fish being caught. A few sea monsters caught as well in the 500 pound range, but lots of smaller fish in 40-120 pound range. A lot of fun out on the ledge the past couple weeks for sure, and the weather is getting right again, so I am sure there will be more caught.

Reef & Wreck Fishing... Slowly Heating Up!

The fishing this week on the reef has been pretty good. The Yellowtail Snappers have been biting pretty good, as well as the Groupers. Some nice Yellow Bar Amberjacks and Cero Mackerels on the reef have made for some great excitement. The wreck fishing has been slow, but only because there is nearly zero current. Had a trickle up the road today, but was barely enough to move the boat, so the bottom fishing hasn’t been too great. We have managed a few here and there, but nothing worth spending a lot of time on.

On That Note

Looking forward to the weekend and this beautiful weather. Hope to see you out there!

Islamorada Fishing Reports – 4-29-2022

May 18, 2022 by Mark

Hello everyone, and welcome back to this week’s report! The winds have finally subsided and it looks like we are going to have a stretch of nice weather for once with NO COLD FRONTS! Pretty amazing that we are finally getting to see some consistency as it has been a LONG winter. Whatever it is we will take it! The fishing this week has been pretty good with a mixed bag of just about everything.

Offshore Fishing is Producing

The offshore has produced some swordfish, mahi, tuna, Amberjacks, and sharks.

Reef & Wreck Fishing... with Bait Comes Fish

The wrecks and deep ledges have been producing some mutton snappers, amberjacks, throwback groupers, permit, bonita, and jack crevalles. On top of that the reef fishing has been really solid with the yellowtail snappers in full spawn. There have still been a few sailfish running around, and even a few wahoo around the reef edge and the wrecks.

Fishing has been pretty good, and a lot of it has to do with the amount of bait around. As soon as the wind died out the pilchards showed their faces and there’s bait all over the shallow patches making the chumming optimal.

On That Note

A lot of opportunity right now, and it should only get better as we swing into summer. Looking forward to this nice break from the wind, and some great fishing! Hope you all get a chance to get out this weekend, and if you do be safe out there!

Islamorada Fishing Reports – 05/28/2021

May 28, 2021 by Mark

Hello everyone, and welcome back to this week’s report! It has been a windy week here in the Upper Florida Keys up to the end of the week, but as of Thursday it is pretty awesome out! Looks like it is going to be a beautiful Memorial Day weekend!

Mahi, Tuna, Sailfish, Amberjacks, & Sharks Offshore!!!

The fishing this week has been pretty good, as the mahi bite is picking up as the moon progresses. Not a lot of big ones, but decent numbers of schoolies. The story on the hump is the same with the smaller tunas, sharks, and jacks…plenty of them…..go for it. There’s been a nice edge in 300’ of water, and it has had some sails and bigger tunas, but I don’t think it is going to be around for too long with the weather changing.

Reef Fishing & Wreck Fishing

The reef and wrecks have been decent thus far, but the water is pretty clean so we will see.

On That Note

It is going to be busy out there, I am sure of that with the nice weather, so pick your poison and pick it early. I think anything you want to do will work, at least enough to feel successful or put dinner on the table.

Bait has been the worst of it, but as of this AM there were a few schools showing up down south. Well, that’s it for this week! Have a safe weekend everyone!

Islamorada Fishing Report – 07-16-2020

August 4, 2020 by Mark

Hello everyone, and welcome back to this week’s report! Another beautiful week here in Islamorada, as the weather has been pretty nice all week. Of course we had the normal summer showers and such to work around, but that is just part of living in paradise in the summertime!

Fishing on the Reef

The fishing this week has been pretty good, especially on the reef. The mangrove snapper bite has been in full force as these tasty critters continue to spawn. The yellowtail bite has been pretty good too, as they are mixed in with the mangroves in a lot of areas, but nonetheless have been pretty solid on the deep reef too.

Offshore - Deep-Sea Fishing

A few nice surprises this week with a few sails showing up out in the deep, and a few blue marlin as well. The offshore report this week has remained a little stagnant, but did show some promise late in the week. It appeared that some mahi’s were trying to move back into the area.

The last couple day we were able to catch out limit of schoolies, and a few nicer fish. The best of the offshore bite has been on the west hump live baiting for the tunas. There’s a pile of nicer tunas out there, and they are on the west and 409 humps as of Thursday afternoon.

The swordfish bite this week has had a couple whoppers in it with 2 fish caught in the high 300 pound range, and a few smaller fish seems to be the word on the street. Make no mistake this is going to get better as the late summer and fall gets closer.

Fishing the Wrecks

The wreck fishing this week has been decent as well, but not red hot by any means. A lot of king mackerel around, jacks, sharks, and bonita, but the bottom bite is one day to the next. The bottom fishing has been really inconsistent this year, and I wish I could tell you why, but I can’t. It just hasn’t been a great year for bottom fishing. Very inconsistent current, if any, so that is what I am going to chalk it up to.

Charter Fishing

Well, I am sure we will find a way to get it done no matter what is going on, and I am sure you will too! If you need a boat, or any advice email me at jchappe7@bellsouth.net and I will do my best to get you squared away. Have a great weekend everyone, and be safe out there!

Islamorada Fishing Report July 4th, 2019

July 5, 2019 by Mark

Islamorada, Florida Keys - Fishing Report

7/4/2019

Hello everyone and welcome back to this week’s report! Another great week with some great fishing!

The Offshore Bite

The offshore bite has had its ups and downs, but most boats have seem to pull through. Some decent fish out there if you can find them, and still plenty of shakers around so keep on them and it will pay off.

Swordfishing

The sword ledge produced again this week with the best of it being to the west. This should only get better as we move toward the fall.

Tuna, Reef & Wreck Fishing

Deep dropping, Tunas on the humps, everything is pretty solid offshore. The reefs and wrecks are going off right now with lots of kings, Jacks, and a few groupers and muttons around the wrecks, but the big news is the mangrove spawn. These guys are going off all over the reef, and some really nice ones, so get in on the action! Plenty of YT’s around as well so go get them! Well, that’s all for this week and be safe! Happy Independence Day!

Tight Lines,

Capt. James Chappell