Grouper 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 – 05/21/2021

May 21, 2021 by Mark

Hey guys and gals, welcome back! What a week of wind we are having her in the upper Florida Keys, and it has had us completely shut down since Wednesday. We are planning on going on Saturday, but the winds are going to remain a bit blustery throughout the weekend, so for those in the smaller boats you may want to stay close to shore, in the bay, or bellied up somewhere with a cold one!

Great Offshore Fishing

The fishing early in the week was really good on the offshore scene as the mahi fishing has been great! I would expect it to be just as good, if not better, than it was before the wind and they should be close. The current is surely going to be in tight after this heavy wind, so fishing should be really good offshore. No doubt the tunas, AJ’s, and sharks will be thick on the humps as well. The deep dropping might be a little tough with the gulf stream current having moved in so close, but may push in far enough that the sword grounds won’t be so bad. We will have to wait and see on Saturday.

Hopefully the bait fishing will be possible, but the offshore fish should be hungry, so I am sure squid and other dead bait will work just fine.

Reef Fishing & Wreck Fishing

As for the reef and wrecks, they were in pretty good shape when we left it with a decent bite of mutton snappers, groupers, and miscellaneous critters, so I would expect that it will still be good when the wind slows. Although, with the current pushed in, if it actually is way in, this could make for a difficult condition.

On That Note

Well, that is it for this week, sorry for the short report. Check back next week and we will see how it all ends up! Be safe!

Islamorada Fishing Reports – 07-22-2020

August 4, 2020 by Mark

Hello everyone, and welcome back to this week’s report! It has been a tough one here this week with the torrential downpours and heavy East wind. We have managed to brave it out all week, and thankful that we have had tough groups. Only one that didn’t make it out offshore, so we managed to make the best of it with the snappers on the reef. The fishing has been great with the wind, as I mentioned last week that was just what we needed.

Mahi-Mahi & Tuna Offshore

Lots of mahi offshore, and the tunas are biting good on all the humps. They all seem to have a decent amount of nicer sized fish on them too, so I would say if you can get out there with some live bait it should make for a fun day. No report this week from the swordfishing grounds, as I don’t know anyone who made it out that far, and no report from the deep dropping either. It has been a little rough this week to say the least.

Reef Fishing & Wreck Fishing Report

The reef has had some action this week with the mangrove spawn still going strong, and the fish are appearing to be getting larger. A lot of nice 3-5 pounders caught this week with nicer yellowtails, muttons, and even a few nice black groupers thrown in the middle. Bait hasn’t had much traction this week other than some smaller pilchards, but they have been good enough to get the job done. Rumor has it there’s a nice school out back, but we haven’t been able to make that trek just yet.

Looking Ahead

Not looking too good for next week with Tropical Storm Gonzalo moving toward Cuba, but hopefully it will stay weak and not mess things up too bad. Maybe we will get lucky and it will take the Covid with it!! We can only hope for a cure to this pandemic, but for now we are grateful and blessed that we get to go fishing every day so we will take it!

The weekend weather is a 50/50 with Saturday looking a little blustery, but they aren’t showing much rain in the forecast just yet. Sunday looks nice with the winds calming down to 9-11 knots, so if that sticks it should be a nice day. Not sure what next week will have in store, but you “Lobster Mobsters” might be in for some tough conditions. Time will tell, that is for sure!

Well, that is it for this week! Give me a call at 305-803-1321 or look us up at www.floridakeysfishingcompany.com. We are here to help you out however we can. Be safe out there everyone!

Islamorada Fishing Report – 07-31-2020

August 4, 2020 by Mark

Welcome back everyone to this week’s report on the last day of July! What a great week we have had here in our little slice of paradise, as the weather and fishing has been awesome! Some really great fishing in the Florida Keys, both offshore and on the reef.

Exciting Offshore Fishing

The offshore fishing has been great with a lot of nice mahi-mahi around, as well as some nice tunas. The trick has been live bait, but if you had it, you were going to get it done! Set after set of birds offshore between 600’ to 1500’, with all sizes mixed in. The humps produced the nicer tunas this week, and thankfully the bait has been good, so live baiting was an option. Even a few appearances from nicer sized wahoo, and a few billfish thrown in has made for some really great trips this week.

Reef Fishing & Wreck Fishing Report

The reef fishing and wreck fishing has been solid as well, but the best remains the mangrove snapper spawn. These fish are getting bigger, and has drawn in quite the supporting cast with muttons, groupers, and cobia. These fish get really hungry as they continue to spawn, and can get really aggressive. Not to mention they put up a pretty good fight on the light tackle as well.

Mini-Lobster Season

Fishing has been awesome all week, and we even took a break from fishing and did a few lobster charters for the kick off of lobster mini-season. Lobstering was pretty good all-around it sounded like, as most were catching their limit of 6 per person. The water could have been a little cleaner, but these guys managed to get it done on all trips.

The Incoming Storm

On a different note, it isn’t looking like too much for the weekend. Maybe Sunday, but with the storm moving closer it looks like Saturday is going to be a “bust”, but we are hopeful that Sunday will work out.

That’s it for this week, but stay tuned as we will be back at the end of next week with a new report to discuss how me made out! Be safe everyone, and have a great weekend!

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