Got out on the patches for a trip today.  The patches are sets of coral heads, sea fans, and lively hard bottom that are on the atlantic side of the Florida Keys.  So not exactly the same as the ‘backcountry’ gulf side, but it’s still fairly shallow 15-30 foot of water.  The seacraft boat is great for fishing out here because of it’s high gunwales and bow, so you can get out on these bits of reef even when the wind is blowing a little bit.  Moreso than you could on a skiff anyways.  And the fishing tends to be really good in the fall, winter, and spring when the water is cooler out here.  It’s a great option on half days you can get good table fare, and pull on a big variety of fish.  We had action with barracudas which was fun on light tackle.  Also some various groupers on the bottom including a juvenile goliath.  A huge nurse shark gave us a good battle as well look how big that sucker is!  Hogfish were on the scene too which unfortunately we can’t really keep much any longer due to regulations, but they are fun to catch and beautiful to see.  And of course a variety of snappers out there too that we were able to get a bucket of for a meal.  The phones starting to ring for christmas week and season next year, and we still have some openings around Thanksgiving.  If you want to get out on the water book a trip today call 305-664-2461 and ask for Capt. Trent, or you can use the link on the website to book now!

Got out for a half day today with a father and young 6 year old son.  Fishing was pretty good to us we caught our live pilchards to start the day.  Bait has been pretty consistent lately.  One of the nice things about the fall.  We did have that crazy storm a few days ago that had winds clocked up to 80 mph out at alligator lighthouse though.  That did make the bait and fishing a little tougher for a couple days though things had balanced out now thankfully.  We stuck around some of the mangrove islands in the Bay and had good action with juvenile tarpon!  Hooked several and landed a couple – what a catch for a 6 year old too!  These small tarpon put on a show but you don’t have to pull on them for an hour like the big boys.  We also had some nice mangrove snappers for tablefare later on.  Drifting pilchards against the bush lines did the trick there.  They had such a good time we ended up extending our day a bit longer too.  I have plenty of days open this coming week and until Christmas week really.  Let’s get out fishing we currently are offering discounted rates too!

Had another awesome half day trip today! We caught pilchards early to start the day, plenty of ’em around as mentioned last report. We hit some shallow water patch reefs on the ocean side with the calmer weather. These are small clusters of coral heads and sea fans on the atlantic side, usually in anywhere from 15 to 30 ft of water. The seacraft I’m running now can get out there even on the slightly rougher days and it is often great fishing this time of year. We had all kinds of action with various snappers, groupers, jacks, and more! We had a few nice jumbo mangrove snappers, and even got a large mutton snapper which was awesome! He got us in the rocks for a few minutes and we let him be, and then maneuvered the boat around and managed to get him loose! We also had quite a few yellow jacks which make for great table fare too.

Well it’s slowed down slightly with business now, we’ll hopefully have a busy weekend around Thanksgiving and of course after Christmas. But other than that its a great time to come to the Keys to get the place to yourself. I’ve still been getting out a couple days a week and fun fishing on my own some. Last couple trips we did half days and the snapper fishing was excellent! Big pilchards (baitfish) are around all over the place with the fall weather arriving. So bait is easy to get most of the time and that is often half the battle of a good fishing trip. With those on hand we’ve been finding very good size mangrove snappers which make for excellent tablefare! Also with the pilchards you always have a shot of catching a nice snook, tarpon, jack, grouper, etc… around the bridges or in some of the local honey holes nearby. If you are wanting to get out and fish let’s do it I’ve got plenty of availability and we’d love to get you out there!

Got out for a half day and we had a pretty good fishing trip I gotta say!  Caught some pilchards early on to start.  There has been a good mix of sandy key pilchards and small/medium size razor belly pilchards.  The sandy keys are a little less hardy and don’t live super great especially when it’s hot, but they’re often larger size and nice a juicy so a great snapper or bottom fishing bait.  The razor bellies are much easier to keep alive and work great too and you can often still use them later in a trip as they’ll keep there hum.  Anyways we fished the bridges to start there was lot of activity.  We didn’t catch any tarpon but a variety of snappers, jacks, small groupers, all to be had.  The mutton snappers were boiling on the surface chasing our live baits it was really cool!  We really kept the young man on my boat busy!  Later on we ran around to a nearby island to try for some snook and that was productive as well!  Having the pilchards was key here and we also even caught a juvenile tarpon here too.  I’m fairly wide open the rest of September so if you want to come down and fish give Bud n’ Mary’s a call 305-664-2461 and ask for the SeaCraft charter boat!

Had Stephen out for a 3/4 day fishing locally around Islamorada.  We tried for tarpon and saw quite a few rollers but they weren’t too cooperative for us.  But that didn’t stop us from having a great time!  We got into some nice groupers – I’ve been finding some good grouper on a rock pile as of late and we got several including a big goliath which was really cool.  Other action too with various snappers and the like as well as some big rays on the big rods.  Still a lot to do here in August and September and not too many people so you get the place to yourself.  If you want to book a trip let’s connect and get you on the calendar!  October is also a great time to come down as things begin to transition to the Fall and the air drys up and cools off slightly plus we get a lot of bait showing up with good fishing to follow.

Got out for a couple of half days today and we had some good fishing locally in Islamorada.  Bait was catchable nearby and that’s been nice.  Some days its harder than others but I try to keep a little bit of stock on hand at least dead when we need it.  We had to get rained on a bit but it was worth it we ended up going 4 for 5 on nice local medium sized tarpon!  Otherwise the weather was hot and calm we had a good bit of wind and rain over mini season last week.  But I think August will yield some good tarpon fishing still I know theres been other bait around too and other fishing options as well.  If you want to get out give me a shout!

Great half day of tarpon fishing around town today! We fished some of the local canals and channels and wound up catching 3 tarpon. A smaller one and a couple larger size ones. July can still offer some great opportunities for tarpon and it’s not as crowded with people down here which works out well for anglers. We often fish differently than we do in the spring, sometimes using pinfish or even dolphin carcasses. I will be taking some evening trip for the month of July too which can be a great time to be on the water. So if you want to go fishing let’s do it!

Been out on some half days recently and as of late the local Islamorada fishing has been decent.  More bait has shown up including pilchards and mullet which is good to see as we get more into summer time.  Bait is key to productive fishing and I like to catch it fresh when I can!  Shrimp unfortunately haven’t been in stable supply, so having some catchable baitfish nearby helps for sure.  So lately we have found a few small and medium resident tarpon around the bridges and channels.  The other day we also caught this giant snook fishing around the bridge jetties which was pretty cool!  There are a good handful of resident snook spots and if you have live pilchards like we did, you can sometimes catch a few nice ones close to home.  It’s a great way to break things up while you are tarpon fishing.  And you may get some nice mangrove snappers, jacks, and other things while you do it too.  July is right around the corner and I expect we should have some good fishing then.  July is often a great month as the crowds begin to die down and a lot of fish are settled into the hot summer conditions.   Tarpon fishing can be really good and snook fishing is often good too.  With all the bait around and cleaner water in the bay it looks promising for the summer I think.  Give me a shout if you want to get something booked or you can click the link on the website here and book direct on Fishing Booker!

Well it was a busy May sorry wasn’t able to keep up with the reports as much as I’d like.  But we had good fishing through May with lots of tarpon, big local mangrove snappers, and a few snook and other critters mixed in on many days.  Last few trips we had half days and we were able to still get on some tarpon here down in Islamorada.  There aren’t quite as many around as there were in April and May as we get more into Summer time and the big spawning fish move north.  But we can still have really good fishing and there isn’t as much fishing pressure either, so it’s still a great time to come down and target some silver.  June so far has offered ideal weather with a lot of calm days which is a total contrast to last year which overall was a very windy summer.  We’ve had a fair bit of rain mixed in but to be honest it hasn’t really stopped us from fishing as we’ve been able to avoid it for the most part, and much of the rain happens in the afternoon or overnight.  in July I’ll be offering some more evening trips as well not many guys are doing them that time of year.  If you want to get out give the office a shout at 305-664-2461 and ask to book Capt. Trent!