Lower Keys Fishing Report

            I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend.  There were lots of boats out on the water making it tough to find your own little piece of ocean.  Despite the crowds and new moon there was enough going on to make a great day out of it.  We got the opportunity to do a little bit of everything last week and some things were more productive than others.

            Gulf fishing is not usually on my agenda during the summer months.  We took a day to go back and fish some wrecks and were rewarded for our efforts.  We found quite a few cobias willing to chow down on our pinfish.  Most of the cobias were small but there were enough legal fish to make a few fish fry’s out of.  Don’t go to light on the tackle or the sharks and grouper will take there share.  Goliath grouper are all over these wrecks and if you are planning to pick a fight with one of these bruisers then plan accordingly.  Heavy tackle with locked down drags and BIG baits get you into the action. 

            Blackfin tuna have been moving through the area while mixing in with the bonito and skipjack tuna.  Troll tuna feathers near the reef and big bonito will keep you busy while waiting on a blackfin.  Bonito make great bait for reef fishing so I always keep one or two in the bait freezer.  Out deeper puts you in skipjack territory.  These fish are eaten by some but not one of my favorites.  A HMS permit is required to keep skipjacks even on recreational boats so don’t get caught without it.  If you have never thrown a speed jig at a tuna it is a lot of fun and extremely effective.

            Reef fishing was the best bet this past week.  We found good action with nice yellowtails.  The water was very clear making it tough to get them going.  We had to go down to 12lb fluorocarbon and completely hide the hook in order to get the bites from the bigger fish.  Loads of cero mackerel have been hunting along the reef line.  Try throwing top water plugs for a more visual bite.  These little speed demons will come all the way out of the water after nailing your offering.

            Flats fishing is as hot as the weather.  Try bone fishing in the early morning and late afternoon.  These ghostly torpedoes love to tale in low light conditions.  We found tailing bones on ocean side flats this past week.  The bones like to move off the flats during the midday heat.  If we get rain showers the bonefish will often move back up for an hour or two after the rain passes.  We are getting back to some great permit fishing if you can stand the midday heat.  Look for permit on gulf side flats with moving water.  If you are lucky enough to get the bonefish and permit then try for the grand slam with a baby tarpon on the flats north of Big Pine key.  Good luck and good fishing.