November Inshore Fishing Shaping Up This Week

November 5th 2017 – What a beautiful day here in paradise on this full moon weekend. Winds are light out of the North North East and the waters are getting nice and clear. We have had a full weekend of fishing and folks are having a great time with our Key West fishing guides here at Dream Catcher Charters.

The flats Fishing bite has been pretty tough this weekend. Not a lot of bonefish were found and the permit seemed to be scattered all over the place on this big full moon tide. With lots of water moving in and out the flats fishing species can be unpredictable even for the most seasoned fishing guides. We expect that by Tuesday the of this coming week the tides should mello out a bit and the flats fishing will be back on line with some great opportunities for our shallow water sight Fishing enthusiasts.

Flats Fishing Forecast – November is not well known as a “great” flats fishing month on our Key West Fishing seasons. It’s a little late for bonefish and starting to get late for baby tarpon in numbers. Permit fishing and barracudas on the flats will be strong throughout the month into December on the inbetween the fronts days.

Flats fishing This next week I would put my money on some good shots at permit on the flats and possibly baby tarpon along the edges or in the backcountry channels. I would look for Bonfish along the way but dont count on them in cooler water temps. This will all be getting really good right up till about Friday when our next front is scheduled to be here. Don’t forget your shallow water barracudas that will be waiting in the shadows to pounce on the copious amounts of bait we have all over the backcountry and on the flats, they can really offer a great show along the way.

Backcountry fishing has been “ok” this last week after the first cold front but I would not say it was epic. things were tough from the sudden drop in water temps from 84- 71 degrees over a 3 day period. Don’t get me wrong, we love a good cold front but the first one of the season is a bit shocking. The response has been some jacks, good snappers and barracudas with a mix of sharks and baby tarpon. These fish are just now starting to chase the massive bait schools out in the backcountry. It seems the offshore reef species are already starting to make it to shallower waters as we have caught some nice mutton snappers and a few grouper in the shallows. I have not seen such large schools of mullet in many years mixed with ballyhoo and white bait. Bait showers are not common in the backcountry off Key West but this week they have been numerous so we know the fish are here but having some issues getting them to hit our offerings. That will all change in the forecast.

Backcountry Fishing Forecast — November is a transitional time of the year. It’s when we switch from summer to winter in about a week so the changes can be drastic and sometimes a little abrupt. I prefer we get the early cold fronts to get our water temps down and steady and bring in the winter team of species. Looks like this year I get my wish.

This next week we expect things to shape right up with the slower tides and the influx of our winter team of sport fish here in Key West. The trout should be making an appearance with the lady fish, jacks, pompano and the bluefish. Ont eh Southerly winds I expect the tarpon bite will be decent with a good shark presence for those that our our shark fishing anglers.

To See What The Rest Of The Year Has In Store For You Visit Our
Key West Fishing Seasons Page

We fish the backcountry and the flats in our state of the art shallow water bay boats. With 12 inches of draft we are able to get super shallow and cross rougher pieces of water with ease. A very versatile package that keeps our anglers in the fish with smiles on their faces.

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We depart Out of the Only Backcountry Marina In Key West. Sunset Marina.

Call Us.. 1-305-292-7212
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1-786-847-3808

About Capt. Steven Lamp
Dr Catcher Is - Capt. Steven Lamp - Owner of Dream Catcher Charters is a veteran Key West fishing guide for flats fishing, deep sea fishing, wrecks and reef fishing, and fly fishing. An expert waterman and licensed captain since 1986. A Veteran of the United States Coast Guard Heavy Weather Search and Rescue, I.G.F.A. Certified Captain and Standing regional board member of The Florida Fishing Guides Association