The Mahi are Coming

Mahi come to Key West in March

March 26th 2023 – South winds and hard East bound currents compliments of the Gulf Stream are controlling the bite for deep sea fishing off of Key West this week. The mahi are coming to Key West Fishing and maybe a few others..

Fishing Report

The mahi have come to Key West – Finally! its been a slow couple of weeks but now things are starting to heat up in the blue waters South of the reef off of Key West. Summer like patterns have brought the mahi to us along with some wahoo and now the sailfish are starting to show up as well as of today (Sunday 26th March). The last couple of days the mahi bite has been very good inside 500ft of water.

I was out yesterday on board my 47ft Viking charter boat the “INXS” out of Oceans Edge Resort and Marina here in Key West and we got into some good old fashion mahi slaying. it was just like summer for the exception of the occasional 6+ft swells from the South East and the 2 ft wind chop from the South making it feel like a washing machine out there. None-the-less the mahi were chewing we caught fish ranging in size from not legal to 22″ on the regular with triple hook ups and loads of fun. Some of the solo fish we hooked were larger. A few wahoo were also caught yesterday off of some floating targets that were brought in with the current.

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Mahi Mahi

The Sargassum Weed Report

We thrive on weeds out there when we are deep sea fishing. So do our fish. There is a load of news talking about the huge weed blob down in the Carribean. While I will not say that is fake news its not relevant to us. Yet! So far the weeds are not anymore than the normal pain in the butt while we are trolling but it sure has the fish in it.. The weed line yesterday was in 350 and pretty good shape as I trolled to the East. The lines had loads of frigate birds working over the massive amount of flying fish being chased up by the mahi. All this activity was brought to us by the close proximity of the Gulf Stream current. It was really nice to see all the life out there. While we broke out the weedless rigs we really did not need them as the lines had a “decent” edge and manageable. We even ran our deep troll for a few of our bites yesterday with no issues.

sargassum weed
A shot I took of the Sargassum weed on March 11 23′ This was in about 500ft off Key West. Looks pretty good to me.

Deep Sea Fishing Forecast

While I am no meteorologist I don’t think the folks in charge of our weather forecasts are either.. Three days ago I would not have given you .50 for all of next weeks winds but now it seems like most of the week will be good for the exception of Friday and Saturday where the East winds will be pretty nautical. Keep in mind, on these hard Easterlies there can be a really good color change just past the reef that might have sailfish, bonito, mahi and maybe some blackfins marching down it. Might be a good time to power up on the Dramamine and go for it. The early part of the week looks like a gift for March with light winds and great fishing..

Fishing Charters

Deep sea fishing charters are very accessible this year. We are seeing more and more folks watching the weather before they book, which, Frankly is a great idea IF there is availability – Which Usually there is not in March. Island Genn was saying the other day that she is getting a good bit of last minute calls to set folks up for deep sea fishing and was finding availability. That is pretty rare for this time of the year as most of the boats are usually booked. She attributes the slower season this year to the fact that COVID is pretty much over and people can no travel world wide. Also, during COVID prices in Key West went SKY HIGH on everything and travelers don’t forget. Rates have seemingly come down for the pre planner here in Key West so it might be time to find a deal with the lower occupancy rates.

Give Gennifer a Call if you are looking to go out deep sea fishing in Key West. She handles the schedule of about 12 different boats (including Mine) of all sizes, prices and amenities. All of which will put you on the fish – Daily!

Give her a ring and see what’s going on
Her Office Number 305-292-7212
Her Text — Click Here

Check Out My Web Site
www.fishingkeywest.com

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