April 23rd 2023 – The weather has stayed pretty decent with some wind shifts around the compass here in Key West but the wahoo and mahi bite have been pretty good here in Key West. Looks like the sailfish bite will come back on line soon.

Fishing Report

This past week has been good for deep sea fishing off Key West or many of the boats in the fleet. Catches of mahi and wahoo are pretty common these last few days. Most of the fish reported were caught in less that 800 ft of water. My boat the INXS has been doing very well on Mahi Mahi and the occasional wahoo as well. We have been very consistent in our catches once we dial in the way the fish are working..

The last few days have provided some great South winds at less than 10 knots. This makes the run to the fish easy and calm. The variables are the weeds. Friday I got into a nice weed line at 650 that went for miles with a really nice edge to it. Picked through the toss backs to Catch a few and really appreciated not having to shag the baits too much. After spotting some frigates working I then found a monster piece of bamboo that was stacked pretty good with mahi that complimented my box of keepers with 8-10lb fish on the regular. Being on a half day trip I was unable to really work it too much so I called in a colleague and they got some hits as well as I pulled off and went back to the ranch.

Yesterday was a whole different story. With a shift in the winds from SE to S then SW the weed was tossed and not really well lined up. The bulk of the weed had big peninsulas that held the mahi on the North side of the monster patch at 600 off of Key West.. My mate had to do some shagging but we put together a nice box of fish for our anglers before heading in a little shallower to try for a wahoo or a sail. Mission accomplished. We managed a good wahoo and some more mahi for the box. As we were wrapping it up I started to see some free jumping sailfish near the reef, we ran out of time to really work it but we did not do to bad for a 6 hour day working only the weed and not finding a floater. Our guys were pretty happy and so were we.

See The Reel From Facebook Of One of our Wahoo Catches On The 22nd.
Wahoo Caught On Board INXS

Fishing Forecast

Looks like the weather will stay pretty consistent this coming week with winds mostly SE or S at different velocities. Who the hell knows what the Gulf Stream will do but more current will certainly be a blessing. Current against a steady wind puts a nice edge on our weed lines. Since last weeks wahoo catches were so numerous throughout the fleet I think things will stay strong.

Fishing Charters

While it has been a slower than normal year for the Key West charter fleet that certainly means there are some openings in the schedule of some of the boats here. Give us a call, speak to Gennifer she handles the schedule of several very productive deep sea fishing boats here in Key West and will get you squared away on a trip that will match your budget and time line. She can also help with recommendations for places to stay and eat here in Key West. www.thekeywester.com

Call Us Direct 305-292-7212
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Email Me steven@fishingkeywest.com

Pro Tips – In the weed we use a weedless ballyhoo rig led off by a Iland Tracker trolling lure. This really helps in the shagging on our long outrigger lines. On our shorts I like to use an Iland Mistress lure that makes some racket behind my teaser, the bigger fish seem to whack at that. The Wahoo come from a pink Iland Witch with ballyhoo on wire at 20ft. Strip baits also work very well here. Mahi Bellies or bonito strips.

Here are some of the rigs we use