Fishing Report and Forecast
Fishing Report For Key West
April 8th 2017 – Only the heartiest of Key West anglers will be jumping for joy when you see what the weather holds in store for us this coming week for fishing here in Key West. A late cold front came in on Friday dropping our air temps down to the upper 60s at night. We expect the cooler temps to remain through Sunday till the winds switch to come out of the East. Then the establishment of a high pressure system will go in to place offering us “sporty” conditions through next weekend (April 15th) with 15 to occasionally 23 mph winds all through the forecast period. The full moon is on Tuesday the 11th and that will have some affects as well I will discuss later in this report.
Ok, so what does that mean to me and my fishing next week.. Well, its gonna be windy. Easterly winds are a tough wind for us on the reef and offshore here in Key West. Its blowing right down the reef, there is no block of the fetch. The farther you go offshore the more you will earn whatever you are going to catch. In teh backcountry it will be a lot less rough but still tough. No doubt if rough water is your nemesis the backcountry is a great place to be.
The blue water deep sea fishing bite will stay strong. April is our month for consistent Sailfishing and that is the name of the game deep sea fishing with these conditions, however you are going to earn every bite with high seas and stronger winds. I am certain that it will be Awesome as the sailfish come marching down the color change just outside the reef. As I write this the sailfish are chewing well. A Great week coming up for the sail fishing bite but it will be a tad rough in case you did not get what I was saying. Availability right now on the deep sea fishing boats that we work with is getting limited due to everyone wanting a sailfish. Call us to see if we have anything open for you.
The Wreck and Reef fishing will be tough this week. I am sure the bite will be great! but the conditions will be tough. Both the Gulf and the Atlantic waters will have 3-5 ft seas in any depths worth fishing. The yellowtail snapper bite has been great along with the mutton snappers, Jacks and cero mackerels. A few cobia have been caught on the reef in the Atlantic. Out in the Gulf of Mexico the kingfish are showing up in some areas making a live baiters day. Again.. Rough waters will be your concern. The fishing has been great. Im not sure I would try and talk anyone into the Wreck and Reef fishing this week coming up. I am thinking most of the light tackle center console boat fishing guides will probably stay short and work the Key West harbor for tarpon or sharks instead of heading offshore to get beat up.
Backcountry Fishing is always the safe venue when the spring high pressure establishes itself over Bermuda. Also called the “Bermuda High”. The backcountry fishing guides are able to get out in among the islands and stay out of the winds but still in the fish. April is a great month for Tarpon fishing here in Key West and the fish are here. A little slow down in the bite over the weekend as the latest cold font passed through but they will be back to chewing hard again by Tuesday is my guess and from there it will be a hard press to get them to stop all the way through summer. Keep up on my tarpon fishing reports. Elsewhere in the backcountry we have been getting into some fun top water barracuda action. Tossing plugs and fly fishing for these guys is a real fun way to fish. Jacks, sharks and trout are also the game this time of the year and we can get you out there without breaking your bank or you tossing your cookies.
Flats fishing this time of the year is just the beginning. We specialize in flats fishing for both our fly fishing and spin fishing enthusiasts. When we think of flats fishing we thing backcountry fishing with discipline. Sight fishing for targeted species on the flats will be a bit of a challenge this week coming up. First off the Permit have headed out to the reef to make babies so that makes one species of the Key West Grand Slam tough to catch. We are seeing some bonefish and I would say that by Wednesday an angler could have a decent shot. Tarpon seem to be the big focus right now by most of our anglers but whit the winds the way they are forecasted to be I would stay with a bay boat instead of a technical skiff to keep it comfortable and have more shots at success.
We are still getting out fishing. We had some cancellations on our tarpon fishing charters this week if you want to fill those spots in.
Call Us.. 1-305-292-7212
Text Us..
1-786-847-3808