Capt.ChrisLembo
12-03-2006, 05:28 PM
Key West Report 12/3/06
We had a fair week in Key West as far as fishing goes. The wind blew all week long and kept most boats at the dock. It is a slow part of the season for many guides but that will be changing in the next week as the holidays approach. Water temperature is still falling and the coming week should be good fishing. Once the full moon passes fishing will be on fire.
Offshore is still good for Sailfish, Wahoo, Dolphin and Kingfish. There were plenty of 5-8 pound Dolphin out there and they are close in to the reef. Trolling Ballyhoo close to the reef is productive this time of year as you can cover a large area and Dolphin, Sails and Wahoo will all hit them. Keep one down deeper to specifically target Wahoo and Kingfish. A downrigger or trolling weight will accomplish this. Drifting and live baiting is also productive but you can’t cover as much ground so you may need to pick up and move a few times. Pilchards are easier to find but are still on the small side. It will be another few weeks before a steady supply of large Pilchards will be available.
On the reef the fishing is excellent for Grouper, Mutton Snapper and Mangrove Snapper. Big fish are filtering in to take cover in hard bottom in 80-110 feet deep. The current and wind have been opposite each other so anchoring is a little more challenging and the comfort factor is lower with the waves coming in from an angle. Try drifting over your spot a few times prior to just dropping the anchor. It will help line it up right. Drop a jig down while you are at it. Live chumming has been the most productive this week and that should continue for a few days after the full moon. Keep tossing 3-4 Pilchards out into your chum slick. Some will bolt for the bottom getting bottom fish to move off cover and some will school up in small schools and swim around your chum slick. Bonito, Spanish, Cero and King Mackerel will blast through the surface schools so if one has a hook in it you will be on.
I fished the Gulf one day this week and found tons of 15-22 inch Black Grouper on shallow coral and swiss-cheese bottom. Spending more time would probably have produced more big fish but we had one 25 inch fish on the troll with a stretch 18 and moved on to other things. Schools of Spanish Mackerel were hitting bait wherever you looked and Ceros were thick in the chum-slick. We caught a dozen nice Ceros on the fly and a few just under Black, Red and Gag Grouper on plugs. Large schools of 6 inch Thread Herring were easy to find and a Sabiki picked off a few dozen in no time.
Performance #'s..Here are some photos of gauges of my Contender 27 with twin Yamaha 250 4 strkes. Merc Mirage II 23 pitch props. Low fuel and 2 people and 15 mph wind in the face and a 2 foot chop. It would run a little better in calm water with no wind. that last one says 59 on speed. GPS shows .2 above these speeds. MPH
We had a fair week in Key West as far as fishing goes. The wind blew all week long and kept most boats at the dock. It is a slow part of the season for many guides but that will be changing in the next week as the holidays approach. Water temperature is still falling and the coming week should be good fishing. Once the full moon passes fishing will be on fire.
Offshore is still good for Sailfish, Wahoo, Dolphin and Kingfish. There were plenty of 5-8 pound Dolphin out there and they are close in to the reef. Trolling Ballyhoo close to the reef is productive this time of year as you can cover a large area and Dolphin, Sails and Wahoo will all hit them. Keep one down deeper to specifically target Wahoo and Kingfish. A downrigger or trolling weight will accomplish this. Drifting and live baiting is also productive but you can’t cover as much ground so you may need to pick up and move a few times. Pilchards are easier to find but are still on the small side. It will be another few weeks before a steady supply of large Pilchards will be available.
On the reef the fishing is excellent for Grouper, Mutton Snapper and Mangrove Snapper. Big fish are filtering in to take cover in hard bottom in 80-110 feet deep. The current and wind have been opposite each other so anchoring is a little more challenging and the comfort factor is lower with the waves coming in from an angle. Try drifting over your spot a few times prior to just dropping the anchor. It will help line it up right. Drop a jig down while you are at it. Live chumming has been the most productive this week and that should continue for a few days after the full moon. Keep tossing 3-4 Pilchards out into your chum slick. Some will bolt for the bottom getting bottom fish to move off cover and some will school up in small schools and swim around your chum slick. Bonito, Spanish, Cero and King Mackerel will blast through the surface schools so if one has a hook in it you will be on.
I fished the Gulf one day this week and found tons of 15-22 inch Black Grouper on shallow coral and swiss-cheese bottom. Spending more time would probably have produced more big fish but we had one 25 inch fish on the troll with a stretch 18 and moved on to other things. Schools of Spanish Mackerel were hitting bait wherever you looked and Ceros were thick in the chum-slick. We caught a dozen nice Ceros on the fly and a few just under Black, Red and Gag Grouper on plugs. Large schools of 6 inch Thread Herring were easy to find and a Sabiki picked off a few dozen in no time.
Performance #'s..Here are some photos of gauges of my Contender 27 with twin Yamaha 250 4 strkes. Merc Mirage II 23 pitch props. Low fuel and 2 people and 15 mph wind in the face and a 2 foot chop. It would run a little better in calm water with no wind. that last one says 59 on speed. GPS shows .2 above these speeds. MPH