This has been a windy week for the most part with lots of big seas and rough days. The sailfish have been very slow with only a few odd releases reported during the week. Do not dismay however; as the sailfish season is not over yet. In the next month we should see the sailfish fire up again on the color changes near Alligator and Tennessee. For now, the best fishing seems to be for mahi mahi. Many gaffer and schoolie sized fish were moving through our waters. The fish seemed to be concentrated from 150-350 feet of water. The 600 foot zone was also productive for dolphin throughout the week. The mahi mahi were somewhat picky preferring live offerings like cigar minnows and ballyhoo. I managed to catch a few on chunks and dead baits however; the live bait was obviously a better choice. The tip-off was to keep a watchful eye out for birds working the edges near weeds or a current seem. Every mahi mahi I found had birds present. The king mackerel have been lurking on the various wrecks from Pickles down to Tennessee from 85 feet to 160 feet of water. Live offerings down deep with wire and a dropper loop or downrigger were the best bet. Almost anywhere you go on the reef, king mackerel are present. My largest king this week was 37 lbs, and fell victim to a live ballyhoo on #6 wire. I have been using 12 and 15 pound main lines with 25 or 30 lb leader with much success. I think the lighter line is drawing more strikes. Try it out and see if this will work for you.

Tunas have been good on the humps with feathers and various artificials working well every day we got out. Most of the fish are in the 4-8 lb range with some 12-15 lb fish mixed in. The amberjacks have been very slow on the humps. The annual spawn has been delayed by the recent cold fronts. They will be swarming soon so get your big stuff ready. I like my Avet 30/02 reels for this fishery. They pull as hard as the toughest jack and stand up to repeated punishment. Spool up with 65 lb magibraid from World Wide Sportsman and you are good to go. If you need a rod, head over to see Rick at Key Largo Rods and have him make a special rod for you or pick one off of the shelf. I can assure you that his rods will stand up to the punishment the big aj’s are about to dish out. Not many other rods can do this. I found out the hard way that not all rods are made the same. Rick builds a rod the way it should be — to last the long haul.   He will not cut corners when he puts a “stick” together.  The end result is a product that will whoop fish after fish for many years to come. If it fails, you get a new one no questions asked.

Get ready for another great week here in Islamorada.

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