Key West Fly Fishing

Since our last report, the first legitimate cold front of the year came ripping through the Florida Keys. Low temperatures dipped into the low 60’s and highs struggled to reach the low 70’s for a couple of days. The front also generated a day of strong winds out of the north.

Prior to the front, the permit fishing had been perfectly mediocre. While most of the day was spent poling flat after flat looking for a handful of fish, there were brief spells that showed how good the permit fishing can be in Key West. Most of the fish were large and the majority of fish that I targeted were aggressively mudding in 3-4 feet of water. Although we didn’t connect on any fish, the good spells of fishing helped maintain everyone’s focus throughout the day.

After the front, John and I headed to the Everglades. We figured that the weather for fishing the park couldn’t be better - cool temperatures, moderate north winds and blue bird skies. We couldn’t have been more wrong. While the conditions were great, the fishing was dreadful. We managed to only catch one small redfish (blind casting across a depression on a flat), get only one other shot at a redfish trailing a stingray and luck into a nice shot at a big tarpon (100 plus pounds) cruising through some muddy water. The tarpon must have been partly frozen as it refused several casts with different flies that brought the offerings right across its nose (the best presentation when the water is the color of whole milk). Despite what we had hoped, the fish in the park must have been as put off by the weather change as our fish in the Lower Keys. It should improve as the rhythms of winter take a firmer hold.

The weather this weekend looks good. Highs in the lower 80’s, a little bit of southeast wind, and good tides should be the recipe for some decent permit fishing. We’ll let you know if something truly exciting happens.

I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Hopefully, you are able to spend the holiday with your friends and families.

Drew

The weather that John began his last post with, changed and brought about change to the lower Keys. After the warmest October on record in Key West, a cold front pushed through ushering in cooler temperatures and winds out of the north. This front has definitely brought a shift in the fishing and our approach.

After the arrival of the cool weather, I was again on the water with Graham Anderson and Dave Blair, owner of Fish Tales Fly Shop in Calgary. Despite the cool weather and high winds the permit fishing was suprisingly good. The mornings definitely seemed to provide the most consistent action with a strong falling tide until midday. The fish, although not as active as the past several months, were tipping and tailing as they searched the flats for crabs. The last two days that we fished we had about 15 or 16 shots each day, not numbers that will knock off anyone’s socks but not bad for the days after the first cool down of the year. The last morning Dave connected on a nice fish in the Marquesas, his first permit in the Keys.

The middle of this past week, the fishing definitely followed the weather’s lead and cooled off. Flats where we had been finding decent permit and bonefishing, had very little activity. The few fish that we saw were generally cruising about and not looking too interested in feeding. This is typical behavior as the fish try to adjust to water temps in the low 70’s (the coolest since March).

I spent the past couple of days fishing with Steve Morris from Knoxville, TN. He had fished earlier in the week with Alex, who had to head to the Bahamas on Thursday. The first day was brutal, almost no permit and only one group of very chilly bonefish. Yesterday was a little bit better. Although the permit were not thick, most of the fish that we had shots at were consistently tailing and mudding. We did catch a nice 8 lb bonefish out of a school of 12-15 fish. Additionally, the barracuda are beginning to show up on the flats and jacks are beginning to shadow mudding rays. Winter is definitely on its way.

I hope to get up to the Everglades sometime in the coming week to chase some redfish and snook. I’ll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I need to get back to the fly tying bench and work on some new crab flies and watch some college football.

Drew

For anyone out there who has been longing to be in the Florida Keys this past week, don’t worry.  The winds have been cranking and the fishing has been slow (guide talk for terrible).  And before the wind started we had 4 1/2 days of clouds.  Still a few fish were caught, but a definite let down from the previous weeks.

I last fished on Sunday the 28th with Richard Berlin from Boston (a happy Sox fan).  We had mediocre fishing during the morning low in the backcountry.  Some schools of bonefish pushing around.  Richard managed to catch a solid 5lb fish.  The incoming gave us only a smattering of shots at a few bones and permit.  Richard came tight to a 15lb permit that chased down a rapidly stripped shrimp fly, but the hook didn’t stick.  It woud have been a great way to end the day.  That same day, Drew and permit addict Graham Anderson from Calgary managed to land a 8lb bonefish and 13lb permit in quick succession to end the day.

My previous two days of fishing with Richard produced only one other bonefish (7lbs).  On our second day a cast into a school of tipping/waking bones yielded a 10lb Jack and a cast into a school of hard-tailing permit found a 3lb cuda.  We didn’t manage to catch a bonnethead to complete our trash can slam.  Oh well.

Before the clouds arrived I managed to sneak out on a canceled day with Drew and long time friend Chris Guarino.  The fishing was fairly slow until the falling tide in the afternoon.  Drew lost a large bonefish (10+) next to the boat and I managed to land a 12 lb permit. 

This permit, like all of those that have been caught recently by Drew and I, aggresively chased down a stripped shrimp fly.  Quick 12-18 inch strip to get the fish to see the fly and chase.  A brief pause after the chase began to let the fish eat the fly, then re-start the strip cadence.  Continue till the fish spooks off the boat or the fish comes tight.  This sure beats the drop and wait crab fly technique. 

I will be out tomorrow.

John

The lower Florida Keys have been under a windy sometimes cloudy pattern for the past week and a half. Despite this the fishing has not been as bad as the conditions would typically warrant. The cooling water and air temperatures have the fish frisky and active on both the incoming and falling tides.

John and I had the opportunity to fish together today and despite winds of 20-25 knots, we headed out with the plan of ambushing some bonefish. While the fishing and shots were not as fast and furious as we’ve been spoiled with the past several months, the fish were around and greedily ate our flies. John had the particularly hot rod today as he caught four bonefish on five shots. Not a bad average, although that kind of success can make John a little hard to deal with on a small boat. He even managed to buck his trend for the summer of only catching small fish, by fooling a 12 1/2 pound tailer around midday. The other four that we landed averaged seven pounds. We were even treated to a shot at a nice redfish sitting in just inches of water at the bottom of the tide. The fish greedily pounced on the bonefish fly that I pulled just in front of its face.

We also had the opportunity to fish last Monday. We were unexpectedly greeted by 25-30 knot winds, but had a great sky with nice visiblity. The tides were abnormally high and we worked the crowns of flats to the north of Big Pine. We caught one nice tailing bonefish in the first hour of the day. As the water poured onto the flats the bonefish became a little tough to find but we did manage to find a few permit. We ended the day with about 15 shots, both catching a permit, the largest of which was about 15 lbs.

These two days, while not ideal, show two important truths. The fish generally don’t mind the wind, often getting more aggressive when it is up. And secondly, persistance pays off. It is easy to give up when the conditions are tough, but by working with the elements presented, the fishing can provide you with the rewards to keep you focused and action to make the weather more bearable.

Drew

There are times that I can’t help but ask, “Why am I a fishing guide?”  I have many complicated and convoluted answers to this question, but I also have this very simple one: when I get a chance to go fishing, I generally have a good idea where I can find some quality fish to throw a fly at (excuse the dangling participle).  This was definitely the case on Friday morning.

I was able to recruit two fellow guides and friends, Sandy “Thunder Pole” Horn and Shane Wood, aka Woody, to join me for a morning of bonefishing on the Gulf edges to the Northwest of Big Pine.  We had the last of the falling tide for the first hour of the morning.  The fish were there, but they seemed very relucatnt to stick their tails up.  With no pressure to perform for a client, we relaxed and waited out the tide. 

The young flood arrived shortly thereafter and so did our fish.   I figured with three fishing guides on the boat that this should be easy.  I was wrong.  My first shot at a pod of large tailing fish yielded nothing but questions.  Why didn’t they eat?  Do I need a different fly?  Why didn’t we bring any beer? 

Woody and Sandy faired no better.  The armies of bonefish kept marching, we kept casting, and sooner or later things would have to turn around.  A switch to a small merkin yielded a quick hook-up, but 10 schools later, we still hadn’t hooked another.

Again, patience paid off.  About the time we lost our tailing tide, the fishing turned on.  Suddenly we couldn’t keep the fish off our flies.  In 30 minutes we caught three fish (4,8 and 10lbs) in as many shots.  Along with the normal thrills asscociated with a hooked bonefish, this morning we had to fend off the countless sharks of every make and model as they tried to get to the fish before we did.  Fortunately for the bones we won each race, but just barely. 

I caught the last of the three (the little one) and figured we should quit while we were ahead. 

In four hours of fishing we threw to at least 1000 bones, managed only four hook-ups, catching three, and re-learned one important lesson.  Just keep casting.

Later,

John

Well as John accurately predicted the wonderful fishing that we have experienced this summer took a few days off that just happened to coincide with the annual RedBone SLAM tournament. Although we both managed to get permit, a few bonefish and a handful of tarpon all on fly, the fishing wasn’t close to what we experienced in the weeks leading up to the event. Luckily, the fishing was equally lackluster for most teams and former NFL lineman, Mark Cooper, and I took Celebrity Grand Champion honors. Being out of town the following week, I didn’t realize the “controversy” that the win would create.

After the SLAM, John spent several days fishing with Rodger Nye from Swan Valley, Idaho. They had incredible bonefishing all three days and on the last day finished the trip off with a beautiful grand slam.

While they fished, I headed to Colorado to fish and attend the Fly Fishing Retailer Show in Denver. I was fortunate enough to fish with Bernard Ramanauskas, Scott Fly Rods cane builder and the maker of the beautiful Eden Cane rods. We fished the Arkansas, Chalk Creek, some high mountain lakes, the Eagle and the Big Thompson in a whirlwind tour of parts of the state. I caught some great trout on a variety of techniques and had a blast the entire time. A temporary change of scenery is never a bad thing. I met up with John in Denver and we saw the latest and greatest that some of the fly fishing companies have to offer. It is always a good chance to meet other fly fisherman from around the country and catch up with some old friends. The highlights of the show for me were the reintroduction of Scott’s STS series of saltwater rods and the 7 and 8 weight Scott S4 rods.

As always, on the flight home the sight of the lower keys backcountry from the air reminds me of where my heart truly lies and yesterday John and I got back onto the water. Despite less than stellar conditions, the bonefish are still around and there are some tarpon hanging around as well. We caught a tarpon and several bonefish the biggest of which was an eleven to twelve pound slob that pounced on a lightly weighted merkin in less than eight inches of water. The fish were actively tailing and backing through the end of the outgoing tide which occured around three in the afternoon. Hopefully this fishing will continue right through the end of October and possible a little longer. This is definitely a year in which John and I have both rediscovered our love affair with bonefish.

Capt Drew

Well it looks like Drew beat me to the punch and published a report before I had a chance.  Sorry Drew.  Anyway, I still feel compelled to add a little to his words.  At the risk of hyperbole, I must say that the bonefishing that I witnessed the last two days has been off the charts.  Two days ago, after a morning of excellent baby tarpon fishing (slick calm shrimp hatch) I took my clients (Andrew and Jennifer Watson of Memphis TN) to meet the young flood on a bank Northeast of Big Pine.  We were greeted by armies of tailing bonefish.  Several of the schools numbered well in to the hundreds, while the smaller schools held at least twenty to thirty fish.  For at least an hour and a half we were surrounded by these schools of tailers.  With the rushing tide, tailing depth didn’t last too long and a thunderstorm to the west blocked our light and our fishing came to a screeching halt.

Yesterday after our shrimp hatch died we returned to the same bank for the young flood.  The bonefish were there, but they were very reluctant to tail for extended periods.  The reason for this was quickly revealed as every school of fish was shadowed by three to five lemon sharks.  Needless to say, these schools were reluctant to feed.  However, unlike the previous day, out light was great and once the bank flooded, the bonefish escaped the sharks and started to feed voraciously.  Huge schools of fish (50-100 fish) blowing mud, racing down tide and mudding again.  Such fishing continued for hours, but the intensity caught up to us and we left the fish for more peaceful and tarpon rich waters.  The past two days of bonefishing might best be summed up by the comment made by Andros regular Andrew Watson.  “John, you don’t have to go to Andros, you have it here.” 

With the annual Redbone SLAM tournament (bait chunkers delight) coming up next weekend, I am sure my fishing will tank, but at least it was fun while it lasted. 

Now if you will excuse me, I need to get back to my birdwatching.  The fall migration has begun.  In the time it took to write this I have seen a Kentucky Warbler, Grey Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and several other yet unidentified warblers.  Time to go get out the binoculars and my Peterson guide.

Later,

Capt John

Summer has definitely settled on the Lower Florida Keys this month. With the so called “summer doldrums” the fishing can be a bit of a roller coaster ride. One day fish will be everywhere the next they can be difficult to find and feed. Tides are critical this time of the year, the strong flows associated with the new and full moon bring cooler, more oxygenated water to the flats making the fish happier and often more agressive. August, being one of the slower months (business wise), typically provides us with a lot of opportunities to enjoy some time on the bow of the skiff.

The bonefishing this month has been, for the most part, nothing short of outstanding. Good numbers of strong, fat fish have frequented backcountry banks on both incoming and falling tides greedily feeding across the flats. We have had several mornings of catching at least four fish and loosing several others. Most of the fish have been in the 5-8 lb range, with some larger fish including a personal best 14 lb midday tailer that I caught earlier this month. The fly pattern has not been particularly important as long as it is appropriately weighted to stay in the fish’s feeding zone.

The permit fishing has been a little disappointing. Some days there are good numbers and a few days later on a “better” tide they are scattered and spooky. John and I experienced just that last Monday despite near perfect tides and wind. The permit seemed to be concentrated in small areas, certainly not widespread, and the fish were very unsettled. The fish that we found were quickly cruising and when they did feed and mud they would quickly pick up and start moving again showing very little interest in our offerings. Hopefully the fish will return to their normal late summer pattern as we get into September and October.

The tarpon fishing, epecially in the backcountry, has been a very consistent fishery. Lots of juvenile fish in the 10-30lb range have been swimming the edges of basins and banks and holding under the shade of overhanging mangroves. John, depsite windy conditions, found a good shrimp hatch yesterday getting numerous bites and putting some fish in the air. Additionally, at the end of the day he found several toads laid up in a secluded cove and his angler managed to coax a hundred pounder into biting and giving a brief showing of its magnificent power.

While the fishing has been inconsistent at times this month, for the most part it has held its own and provided us with some great fish and memories. The past several days have given us clues that fall is not too far away. The sun is getting a little lower in the sky, the humidity is down and the wind has been out of the east to northeast. As fall begins to take a grip, the permit and bonefish will become main targets.

Capt Drew

Now that the chaos of lobster mini-season has passed the fishing regains it appropriate place as our primary focus. This past week I fished with one of my favorite clients, Graham Anderson from Calgary. We spent five days fishing hard for permit. Despite the outstanding tides and a more than capable angler, we were unable to get any love from the permit gods. Whether it was the west winds, shifty visibilty, stormy weather, or some return to a former level of ineptitude on my part, the fishing was just not what I had hoped for. We fished from east of Key West all the way to the Marquesas, often on the same day, and the fish were not widespread and they seemed to have little interest in even our best offerings. It was a very disappointing week at least in terms of catching.

As usual, the day after Graham left town the skies cleared and winds shifted out of a more normal southeasterly direction. The only way to rebound from a tough week is to go fishing and John and I finally had the opportunity (the first time in months) this past friday. Despite wanting to focus on permit, we left the dock early hoping to get into some early morning hatches for tarpon. We arrived at the basin and were greeted by a number of large fish happily rolling in all directions. Not fifteen minutes later a cloud line swept over bringing winds of 15-20 and ending any chances of getting some fish in the air. For several hours we waited for the tide to come in and the sun to get high enough to begin permit fishing with confidence.

We focused on a small area, thouroughly fishing the flats and making short runs to take advantage of current and water levels. We managed about 18-20 shots at happy, aggressive permit that worked across the flats tailing and mudding in search of food. The first fish that we hooked, grabbed the fly and violently began shaking its head (much like a tarpon will do) as it swam toward me. The fish stayed on and was running against a light drag when it randomly broke off. After a closer inspection, there was some abrasion farther up the leader so the fish must have clipped it on the bottom. Luckily, redemption wasn’t far away and a few shots later I hooked and landed one about 18lbs. Not much after that, John felt and saw the fly pull out of another fish’s lower lip.

Definitely an enjoyable way to spend a day. I don’t know if it was the weather, the lack of guiding pressure to immediately find fish, or the confidence of having some permit fishing under my belt after a long tarpon season, but the day was much more like we expect than my fishing earlier in the week.

Capt Drew

Hello everyone.  Today was a break in the normal fishing routine.  Being the last wednesday in July, it marked the beginning of Sportsman mini-season; a recreational spiny lobster season.  For you non-Floridians, this is when seemingly half of South Florida visits the Keys in what is essentailly a wild west-style free for all.  Two days of diving, snorkeling, bad boating, bad ettiquete, and good eating.  With the immense boating pressure, flats fishing is out of the question.  If you can’t beat them, join them… right?  So Drew, myself and mutual friend Capt Shane Wood (a hard working and talented first year flats guide) set out at sunrise to see if we couldn’t catch a few “bugs” ourselves.  My one “spot”, which was unoccupied, provided us with our limit (6 lobsters per person) in 40 minutes. Safe and sound and back at the dock in less than two hours. 

I know, enough with the lobstering.  What about the fishing?  I just finished up a four day charter with Charles Smid from Moose, Wyoming.  He wanted to target only large tarpon (50+lb) and he had consistent success during his run of charters (he fished four days with Drew prior to our days together).  He jumped nine fish and caught nine more with at least as many missed eats.  His fish ranged from 100lb pigs to 30lb babies.  In our first two days of fishing, Charles and I started each morning in large basins throwing gurglers to tarpon actively feeding on juvenile triggerfish (I swear that this is not BS).  A.M. falling tides and slick mornings are the recipe for these July hatches.  You have not lived until you see a 100lb fish catapult out of the water to eat a tiny gurgler.  It is AWESOME.  Afternoons poling similar basins provided good fishing to large single laid-up fish and shots at schools of aggressive 30-50lb poons.  A shift in A.M. tides ended our hatch fishing and forced us to pole ocean swim lanes looking for the last of the migrants and the lonely locals.  There are never a lot of these fish around this time of year, but patience/perseverance pays as they are willing eaters.  20-30 shots in a day is a reasonable expectation, and that is what Charles and I experienced.  Our last afternoon, we encountered a small push of fish with the beginning of a flood tide at the Southwest corner of the Marquesas.  Two 50lb fish in an hour was a great way to end the trip.

Well, I’d better go.  Its time to spin up a few permit flies for this week’s moon tides and crack open a cold beer in anticipation for the meal of grilled lobster tails and deep fried lobster nuggets.

 ’Til next time,

Capt John