The most common fish you will catch are the following:
Offshore fishing offers the fisherman the opportunity to seek any number of fish depending on the time of year. In the winter there are king mackerel, blackfin tuna, and wahoo along with sailfish in the deeper waters. The reefs supply with king mackerel, several different species of grouper, mutton and yellowtail snapper, cero mackerel, porgy, grunt (a Key West staple) and barracuda – a catch and release favorite.
By April the sail-fishing in Key West is ranked among the world’s best, with the World Championship Tournament held here at the end of the third week the month. As spring and summer approach the water warms up and the dolphin fishing becomes a primary target. This also brings the time when, while trolling for dolphin, the boats, see and the fortunate ones hook, blue marlin.
Wahoo and sailfish are still in the offering but not as plentiful as in the earlier months. Seas are generally quite calm and it gives all anglers a chance to appreciate Key West at it’s best; warm, sunny and on the water.
Key West offers hundreds of wrecks, anywhere from 20 to 300 feet deep, with each wreck offering some very good fishing. The Gulf wrecks lie anywhere from 15 to 35 miles to the north of the Key West island chain and offer good fishing on cobia, permit, snapper, grouper, and sharks. The wrecks found on the Atlantic side are usually deeper down and will offer the larger amberjack, grouper, cobia, sharks, Bonita, black fin tuna and others native to that region.
All of our Key West wrecks are extremely productive at all times of the year, however with different species hitting at different times of the year. Live baiting and chumming are key to activating or inciting the fish at a wreck to start biting and to keep the fishing going non-stop.
If you like action fishing and are looking forward to a great catch for your dinner, to be cooked at one of the local restaurants, then we would definitely suggest that you try your hand at wreck fishing!
Reef fishing in Key West is like no place else in the world! And every one of our customers would agree with us. Because Key West offers us literally thousands of reef patches all the way from from here to the Dry Tortugas, and the fact that they are seldom fished, means that they are usually fully stocked for plenty of fishing action.
As with wreck fishing, Reef fishing is a good way to ensure some action while out on the boat. Again, the techniques we use to ensure getting some action include live baiting, dead bait and chumming.
The trick for successfully fishing a reef patch or area is by creating an aggressive feeding frenzy between the snappers and groupers, which draws them away from the reef areas. Then, using a combination of live bait and fresh dead bait in the chum line, we also can draw many other species such as yellowtail and mangrove snappers, and others like mackerel and jacks out of their reserve.
These reef fishing trip is a great way for those of you who are looking for all-day action to learn how to sense the “feel” of the bite.
And if reef fishing interests you, then you’ll probably also like wreck fishing. Why not try them both? We have the time if you do!
Capt. Pepe can probably help you out. You can contact him with a quick call:
