Best bet in fishing: Blackfin tuna off the Islamorada Hump
BEST BET
IslamoradaSportFishing.com reported offshore captains have been catching blackfin tuna off the Islamorada Hump and some nice queen snappers while deep dropping. Sailfish and kingfish were biting along the outer reef line. On the reef and patch reefs, anglers were catching yellowtail, mutton, lane and mangrove snappers, porgies and hogfish. Out in the Gulf, anglers were bending rods all day long catching large Spanish mackerel, bluefish and snappers. The fish were eating live shrimp, jigs and artificial lures.
MIAMI-DADE/BROWARD
Captain Paul Roydhouse of FishingHeadquarters.com out of Fort Lauderdale reported the fishing offshore of Port Everglades in 100 to 200 feet of water has been very good with daily catches of dolphins, kingfish, sailfish, wahoo, bonitos and blackfin tuna on or near the surface. Over the deeper wrecks amberjack and catch and release groupers are being caught. Captain Jay Cohen from the charter boat Spellbound out of Haulover Inlet reported during recent offshore charters outside of Haulover Inlet his clients have had steady action from Spanish mackerel to 10 pounds and bluefish just outside the swim buoys along the beaches. Along the outer reef in 100 feet of water kingfish in the 20 to 40 pound range have been landed. Along the blue water edge from 200 to 600 feet of water sailfish and a few dolphins are being caught.
KEYS
Captain Richard Burson of RU Fishing Yet? Charters out of Key Largo reported with the windy, wet and cold conditions recently he has been mixing things up by fishing the patch reefs offshore of Key Largo where he is catching mutton and yellowtail snappers, porgies and a few catch and release groupers. On other days he has fished the Florida Bay area and had success on black drum, sea trout and snook using live shrimp and then last he has been catching good numbers of Spanish mackerel and snappers in the Gulf waters.
TREASURE COAST
Captain Scott Collins of Getting Lucky Fishing Charters out of Jupiter reported sailfish and kingfish have been in depths from 120 feet out to 300 feet of water. The sails and kings were eating live baits fished under a kite. Over hard bottom areas in the same depths mutton snappers are biting. The snappers were eating live baits and cut baits fished on the bottom. Nedra Maxwell of the Sebastian Inlet District reported snook season has reopened but only a few slot size snook have been landed off the jetties of Sebastian Inlet. Most jetty fishermen were catching and releasing over size redfish that ate Sea Hawk jigs. Other anglers were catching pompano using sand fleas and clams and fishing closer to the surf. Plenty of slot size black drum, a few sheepshead, bluefish plus a few flounder were being caught by jetty fishermen as well.
FLORIDA BAY
Local angler Pat Sundman fished Florida Bay out of the Flamingo Marina and caught seven snook to 26 inches, seven slot size redfish, two black drum to eight pounds, a dozen sea trout and two tripletails. All of the fish were caught using Hookup lures tipped with Gulp soft plastics and live shrimp and shrimp fished under a Cajun Thunder float. Captain Alan Sherman of Get Em Sportfishing Charters was Sundman’s guide. Captain Bob LeMay reported spending a few days this past weekend fishing the backcountry of Oyster and Whitewater bays. Using jigs and shrimp under a float his clients caught lots of sea trout, redfish and a few snook.
SOUTHWEST COAST
Captain Jon Fetter of Catching the Cure Fishing Charters out of Fort Myers reported the sheepshead bite has been terrific in his area. Sheepsheads are biting pieces of shrimp fished on a No. 1 1 circle hook and a No. 3 split shot. For the sheepsheads target areas that have blown down trees, oyster bars, islands and dock pilings. Redfish are feeding on shrimp under a popping cork fished along the deeper mangroves and a few snook are being caught using this technique in the same areas. Plenty of sea trout are feeding in the passes and over the grass flats.
FRESHWATER
Alan Zaremba of World Wide World Wide Sport Fishing Inc. reported fishing the urban canals this past week his anglers had pretty good action from snook, large peacock bass and a few largemouth bass. Zaremba reported he is seeing more snook in these canals then he has seen in the past 27 years.
Capt. Alan Sherman
This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 9:18 PM with the headline "Best bet in fishing: Blackfin tuna off the Islamorada Hump."