Middle Keys

Keys

July 18th, 2007

Fishing report for 7-18-07 from D. M. Navarro @ the World Class Angler in Marathon.

We are only a week away from the big lobster hunt with an invasion of so many people that you can have trouble counting them all on the water. Starting this weekend, we will see the influx of boaters searching out those elusive ‘secret’ holes that only about 200 people know about. It will be a busy time here but what about now?

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that there is nothing to do. Just think how many places in the world would like to have this many options of fishing every day? It is just that there are not too many exciting things to report in the summer. Yes, there are some spectacular catches happening almost daily but it has varied from venue to venue. It is hard to highlight one fishery in the summer because most all are equal in productivity, and right now, that level is very high.

Taking them one at a time, I’ll start offshore with the dolphin action. It has been very good well offshore with mixed results within the first 5 miles from the reef. The good news is the weather has been cooperative for the most part in giving most anglers the ability to go well offshore. The best action of late has been 25 miles plus beyond the reef. This can get expensive for some using that much fuel. But, for the most part, the larger and more numerous fish have been in this area. The problem with predicting dolphin fishing is that with all of the movement, it can change from hour to hour, much less from day to day.

For those of you that do not like to be that far out, try fishing fairly close in and take your chances. You should find some fish anyway and you will have the option of returning to the reef for some bottom fishing. It has been very good for yellowtail in the daytime along 55 to 75 feet of water. In the evenings, the mangrove snapper seem to turn on in these same depths. Use your machine to find the schools and not just a depth finder thinking that the fish are covering the reef. They will be in pockets and they too move at will.

The tarpon action has been excellent around the area bridges as well as on the flats. The best times around the bridges has been the early evenings using live mullet, live pinfish or live crabs. The flats tarpon have been very accommodating to live shrimp, live crabs and flies. Quite a few fun fish as well as nice snapper have also been around the bridges. Don’t skimp on bait as there has been enough action from all of the species to make you go through it pretty fast.

Both the bay and Hawk Channel have been fair to good with snapper action as well as quite a few grouper. The best time of day to fish both for good action has been the evenings. This is also more comfortable for the anglers with the summer temperatures and light winds. You could end up feeling like the only thing missing is the apple in your mouth during the heat of the day with no wind. In both these venues, the use of good chum will ensure action and make the difference from fishing to catching.

The same is true for the wrecks. The advantage of fishing the gulf wrecks in the summer is the ability of getting out there without having your kidneys switching sides on the way. They are easier to find in the summer with calm waters. They have been loaded with permit and some very nice grouper. Look for some big lane snappers as well as muttons near the bottom.

No matter which way you go, you should get some nice action as all of the types of summer fishing are in good shape right now. Make sure you have enough bait as well as fluids for you to drink to beat the heat. You may want to try to hit several areas in a day with the long days that we have now. After all, that is why you are here!

Captain Dave Navarro is a lifelong resident of Marathon, Owner of the World Class Angler in Marathon and captain of the charter boat, “Dave’s Dream.”