Key West Fishing Report

Key West Fishing Report

Happy New Year,

New year’s greeting from your friends here at Dream Catcher Charters.

 Festivities and partying are almost over here in the Southernmost City. Our tourist season came here like someone shooting a gun. Traffic has picked up and I think it took me almost 15 minutes to get to work on Friday. I know that is nothing compared to what some of you in the “real” world have to deal with on a daily basis. Oh, Almost forgot. I did not know that my trucks thermometer in the rear view mirror would go into the 40’s. Yes I said 40’s. Key West experienced an All Time Low temp of 43 degrees this week. I experienced some new things.. Heat, I found out my new AC installed two years ago has a heater in it. Good discovery as it was rather frigid for keys standards in my home this week. Thanks Carrier.

Let’s get to fishing The New Year was off to a shivering bang this year. December of 07 went on the books as some of the best inshore fishing ever in December for the Key West grand slam. I often tell people when they are calling to book on Christmas week that they have a one in five chance for perfect weather. Well, this was the one of five it was truly incredible and the fishing was on fire. We caught bonefish, permit and tarpon all month long. Also, the Trout hung around for the 78 degree water along with some stellar Shark fishing too. A few lucky clients had the chance to catch Hammer head sharks and release them off Key West.  Very Cool….

Now for the Forecast part. I was looking at the Computer models to cheat a bit with my crystal ball and it seems as though we have a Banner outlook for the next two weeks here in Key West, weather wise. Temps are coming up to the norm of 75 daytime and the water temps should remain in the low 70’s or upper 60’s which is fine for this time of the year. Realistically it’s behind schedule. We needed the front to bring things back to normal and set things up for the coming spring and summer. Funny how all that plays a part. The cooler water temps really light things up for the inshore waters of Key West with the Spanish Mackerel, Tarpon, Permit, Trout, Redfish, Pompano, Cobia and more.

All speculation at this point on the forecast but that’s what makes fishing fun. Ya never know what you will get till you wake up and see which way the Palms are blowing.

Come see us soon here at Dream Catcher Charters. We have a lot of fun things happening here with new boats coming in February in the form of a 32 ft Yellowfin Center console and another 24 Yellowfin Bay boat.

December - January 2007

The Rest of the Country is either under a blanket of ice, snow or freezing rain. Not the case here in Key West Florida this week. Being a Native of South Florida its hard for me to imagine the life of living in the snow. I guess it’s easy to understand why so many move here from up north to become fishing guides.

            As my opening suggested the weather here is unseasonably warm. We have been in the low 80’s for the last two weeks and maybe longer. The fishing has been very interesting on the inshore waters here in Key West. I do mean interesting.  With the water temps up in the high seventies that leaves many of our fall and summer species laying around the flats late in the year offering our anglers many surprises in their December fishing.

            On the flats we have been finding bonefish. Yes, Bonefish in December, pretty cool. It’s been fun to add to an anglers already mixed bag a nice shallow water sport fish such as a bone. Permit have been a plenty as well. With the east and south east breezes put on our islands from a high located off the Florida East Coast, the fishing reminded me of early spring. Bigger fish cruising the deeper sides of the flats and looking for table fare. The last week or so has produced lower than normal tides and the fish have had a hard time getting up on top for some classic tailing action but left them on the sides in large numbers ready to eat.

            In the channels our tarpon fishing has not slowed. The catching has. We are seeing plenty of fish but were having some tough times getting them to eat. Fishing every day this month has given us the chance to try out some different ideas to get these fish to feed and we came up with a plan that is working great. We just had to re-evaluate what we were throwing at them. Come to Key West and fish with us and we will share our findings.

            Fun fishing has been stellar. We are catching Trout, Redfish, Flounder, Ladyfish, Jacks, Catfish, and Pompano with the occasional Cobia thrown in the mix. The Cobia we are seeing are not quite legal but fun none the less on fly and light tackle. It’s a blast for those that want a full throttle high catch ratio fishing adventure that includes many of our species all in one day.

            The Forecast is for us to experience a cold front this coming Sunday Dec 16^th. This front may be the first big chill in many weeks. Looks like it will be the tail end of the North Easter that is going to hit the North east. WE NEED IT. Let’s get on with winter. Get the temps down in the water, send the bonefish to their winter homes and bring on the Huge Barracudas, Sharks, Monster Jacks and Bluefish that make up our cooler water fishery inshore. I don’t expect to lose our permit in the cooler waters however our tarpon will head out to the Gulf till the South East Winds Return after the front has pushed our temps down. This is a good thing..

            January expect much of the same. Trending to be cooler and moderate with cold fronts every 4 – 7 days it keeps the cycle going. Booking a charter you can expect a surprise when you wake up to what ever the weather is doing. Just go with it and allow your fishing guide to do his thing to show you a great time on the water.

            Here at Dream Catcher Charters in Key West we are rolling along very well. My self and two of my colleagues are fishing about every day so we are in the loop. This is important this time of the year to make sure the guide you book has his head in it for best results. This time of the year we offer our Yellowfin 24 bay boats as our flats fishing machines for more comfort and safety on the water while the winds are blowing 15 – 20. This offers our guest a great day of fishing without the pounding or wet ride of a flats boat. Our schedule still has some holes in it but not very many, We are almost sold out for Christmas Week and into January, however we do know of many skilled colleagues we can suggest for you, so give our Office a call we are happy to help you Live the Dream……

When you all get a chance this Christmas season lets think about our men and women overseas doing their thing in uniform.

Have a Merry Christmas

Capt. Steven Lamp

Dream Catcher Charters

Key West Florida

Call our Offices 1-888-362-3474

Key West Fishing Report

For December 2007

Living here in the lower Florida Keys sometimes you have to be reminded to seasonal changes by going in to your local stores. The shelves have put away the Halloween stuff and now it is a mix of Thanksgiving baskets and Christmas trees. Hmm, must be close to December. Checking my calendar shows that the temps should be starting to plummet and the fishing will take a change that happens every year in the months of November and December.

            With the business of the fall behind us the streets are quieter here in Key West. Fantasy Fest and Parrot Heads was a great time to be had by all. Fishing wise the tarpon stuck around for late fall appearances right in the harbor all last week during the power boat world championship, some of the spectators in the harbor were greeted by a few rolling fish as they watch the 100 + mph boats run the track. Pretty neat if you ask me, I call that multi tasking. Watch the race - catch a tarpon.

            The fishing out of Key West late October into November was as good as I can remember. It was all here in the inshore waters with the big three for the traditional Key West flats Grand Slam and the transition that happens every year brought us the start of our trout fishing in the back country around the mullet mud’s. Along with the trout the lady fish are showing up in great numbers letting all of us know that winter is indeed on its way. These inshore species are always a great hit with my clients to finish off a day.

            December is an awesome time to visit the lower Florida Keys and Key West with your own boat or to hire a professional fishing guide. The crowds are a non issue on the water and the boat ramps are easy access with plenty of parking. Granted we do get cold fronts that blow to 25 kts but in between and even during you can find fish that will entertain you. This is also the time that we look forward to the start of our winter fishery both inshore and offshore.

            Spanish Mackerel start to flood the harbor and the outlying channels close to shore, along with them you will find Bar Jacks and Jack Crevales. On the flats the larger Barracudas will begin to show up on the white spots in 14 – 24 inches of water, all of them making for great winter backcountry fishing. During the warming trends Tarpon will come into the harbor and channels to feed along with Permit. So as you can see, inshore the month of December in Key West is not the end of summer fishing but the beginning of the winter routine of constant rod bending action.

            Offshore the boats will be focusing on the birds and the defined color changes. The need to run way offshore will be squelched by the abundant fishery that will show up right on the reef in December. Sailfish will continue to grow in number and size cruising along the color changes. Don’t discount the shallow outer patch reefs for Sails, Tuna and other pelagics as they wander in there where the bait is. Catching live Ballyhoo is a great way to almost guarantee your success offshore, they can be found most anywhere. When you get tired of working the free swimmers don’t hesitate to drop a line for some reef fish rewards too. Grouper and Snapper fishing starts to heat up when the water cools down.