Author: Flying Fish Charters
May Key West Fishing Report
Hey Everyone, the fishing in the Keys was mediocre this week, there were a lot of fish around, but the weather was tough. However, the weather did get better just in time for the holiday weekend. The mahi mahi are around offshore, look for the weed lines and frigate birds. They can be anywhere from 200 feet of water to out way past the wall in over 1000 feet. There are still a few sailfish and tunas hanging around, but as we get closer to summer, the mahi mahi will be the most prominent fish we find offshore. Whenever I’m offshore and the fishing is slow, I’ll always be ready to deep drop. It is a great way to put meat in the boat quickly, especially if you are not seeing mahi mahi.
There have been some big amberjacks on the offshore wrecks. You can catch them on speed jigs or vertical jigs, or you can drop a live bait down on the wreck. Make sure you are using heavy gear and you have a lot of drag, you will need to keep these fish out of the wreck and you will have to get them past the sharks as well. There have also been some big mutton snappers on the offshore wrecks. They will eat speed jigs too, but I prefer to drop a live ballyhoo down on a 20 foot long Carolina Rig, made with 60lb Bullbuster fluorocarbon.
The backcountry fishing has been great. The wind had made the tarpon fishing more difficult during the week, but there were a lot of fish around. As soon as the wind dropped out on Friday, the bite really picked up. Crabs have been working great for tarpon all throughout the keys, but they will also eat pinfish, threadfin herring and soft plastic artificial lures. The bonefishing has also been great this past week, we have seen a lot of fish moving around the backcountry flats. We hooked a few bonefish on crab flies, but they will eat jigs tipped with shrimp too. We have also been seeing more permit in the shallows, it seems that some of the fish are making there way back inshore from spawning on the deeper wrecks and reefs.
We hope that you enjoyed this article on the Bullbuster Community. It is our mission to help millions of anglers spend more time fishing and that starts with YOU!
Buy your fishing line online here on bullbuster.net to join a movement!
