Well we have had a super wet spring here in the Lower Keys and we just encountered our first named storm of the Hurricane Season. Weather aside, the offshore fishing has been excellent, with some of the best Sailfishing the Keys have ever seen. We had a good push of sailfish in March and now again in May. May is usually late in the sailfish season, but this year all the conditions were right and it turned on. We have been looking for them around the color change and throwing live baits at them. There have been plenty of big blackfin tunas around as well. The dolphin fishing has been decent, we’ve found fish every time we went out, but we haven’t been able to put a big catch together this year. The mahi fishing should just be getting better over the next couple months.

Reef and wreck fishing has been consistent. The mutton snapper bite has been excellent this winter and spring. We have caught them on the shallow reefs when the weather has been snotty and there have also been some big ones on the wrecks offshore. There have been blackfin tunas, amberjacks and some rainbow runners on the offshore wrecks as well. The yellowtail snapper fishing on the reef has been decent, usually you can find good action and nice size fish out there.

The tarpon fishing in the backcountry has been inconsistent. When we have the right weather the fishing has been good, but when the weather doesn’t cooperate, it makes it harder finding fish. As it is, we have still had plenty of good days, especially with the fly rod. We have hooked a few tarpon on fly this year that have been well over 100lbs. The bite has been the best early and later in the day. The bonefishing around Key West has been excellent, the days when the tarpon are not eating well, we’ve been going bonefishing.

Spring Fishing Report

Jamie Connell