|
Fishing Report and Forecast For Key West
Florida
June 07, 2008
Hot times are here.. Its June
again and the heat is here but with a high pressure system sitting on us
giving some nice brisk winds to keep things cool and the occasional non
threatening rain storm drifting through to make things nice and Keys Humid
like.
Inshore the fishing has been typical. The tarpon season is a little
off with inconsistencies in numbers of fish and eating patterns but all in
all every trip has had the chance to have one on here at Dream Catchers for
the most part. I have seen this before, when this happens we generally get a
great push of fish later in the summer making tarpon season last longer,
that would be very cool for those looking to do some inshore fishing and
take advantage of the Key West summer rates on accommodations.
The flats have been steady for us here at Dream
Catcher Charters offering up great catches of bonefish and permit on a daily
bases as well. In the last three weeks I can think of 6 different trips that
anglers on our charters caught a grand slam, and some coming ever so close
with a lost permit or tarpon at the boat not quite getting it. On the flats
as well we have been getting into some trout as well this late in the season
offering our anglers a bit of Extra on their day on the flats. The redfish
are being consistent as well.
Offshore our anglers are living the dream catching all sorts of fish.
The last week held for us some great weather and we ran some trips to the
Dry Tortugas to catch some MONSTER permit on the towers and wrecks along
with Some excellent bottom fishing. Things were "Just Right" to make some
memorable trips out there.
Closer to Key West we have been crushing the
dolphin and when the fun of that game slows a bit we have been doing some
deep dropping and reef fishing limiting out on all sorts of large bottom
dwelling species such as Red and Mutton Snappers with some nice grouper as
well. A really great mix of fishing to make your day well rounded.
Inshore and offshore we have it all here at
Dream Catcher Charters.. With state of the art boats from Yellowfin Yachts
and the newest fishing gear we cater to your every need as an angler of all
skill levels light tackle, spin fishing and fly fishing we have it all. We
are also the only charter in town that has a guarantee. We
guarantee that you will have a professional highly qualified fishing
guide with the latest well maintained gear in the business or your money
back.
Come see why so many people keep coming back
year after year to fish with us at Dream Catcher Charters.
See You Soon.
Capt. Steven Lamp
April 1st 2008
March is behind us now and looking back it was a great
month of fishing for us here at Dream Catcher Charters. We had all sorts of
great reports from many of our trips with catches of Tarpon, Permit,
Bonefish, Huge barracudas, Jacks, and Trout. As the rest of the country had
record snow fall and a "real" winter we only had to put our jackets on a few
times to fend off a chilly north wind. Traditionally with March the winds
started around the second week and have yet to let up indicating the change
of seasons here in Key West. Leading old winter out and ushering in the
Spring and summer flats fishing that the Florida Keys and Key West are
famous for.
For April we expect things to tone down a bit as far as
the wind goes and the Gin clear waters have already shown up with an
invigorating invitation to come and fish. April is a great month for all of
it on the flats.
Here at Dream Catchers our anglers will have some awesome
tarpon fishing which is our focus this month. Fish ranging in size from 60 -
150 lbs that come in out of the gulf to feed on copious amounts of bait
fish. An angler fishing with us on a 4 or 6 hour trip can expect to see
Hundreds of fish to target. Unlike the summer April water temps stay very
mild all day long so, the tarpon bite is more tide related than water temp
offering our anglers shots at fish all day long. In the back for our flats
fishing and fly fishing enthusiasts we have laid up fish that will be
gathering in the basins first thing in the morning. A calm morning coupled
with the right fly or delicately placed crab and you will have the time of
your life fighting one of these great fish.
Bonefishing has been good all through March I only expect
it to be even better in April with the flush of the clear water and plenty
of food around the bones will be pretty much all over the flats. Permit as
well will be found very strong in the beginning of the month as they get
ready for the traditional spawn out to the reef. I have seen fish starting
to stack up on some of the wrecks that I have been fishing. Check out the
Offshore report.
Charter Availability is getting tight with us
here at Dream Catchers. For tarpon we still have some slots open for our 4
hour evening trips on the bay boats. We still have some limited availability
for our morning flats and backcountry trips. Best thing to do is give us a
call and see what we have. If we are not able to help you we know someone
that can.
At Dream Catcher Charters we are on the water
every day and stand behind each and every charter that we run with a
professional guarantee. We guarantee the nicest boats with Yellowfin Yachts
and Lake and Bay flats boats along with the best equipment and professional
service. We have an office located over the beautiful Sunset Marina located
on Stock Island just minutes from anything in Key West with Free Parking.
Our office hours are 9-6 everyday with someone standing by to answer the
phones or your email to help you plan your entire Key West Vacation.
We look forward to earning your business.
Semper Paratus
Captain
Steven P. Lamp
Happy New Year,
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 me here in Key West I 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.
Key West Inshore Fishing Report for
Oct - Nov 07
Capt. Steven Lamp
The calendar says October
however the mercury is thinking it must be August. Here in the lower Florida
Keys and Key West we are definitely still in our summer patterns. The
inshore fishing has been everything that one would expect for the late
summer and early fall with larger bonefish and permit lurking the flats with
the extra bonus of a much later than usual tarpon season. As of writing this
report we are still catching sizable tarpon in Key West daily.
Key West comes alive in the
fall with the hard core visitors that truly love Key West for its culture.
With room rates down (except during Fantasy Fest) and the weather
traditionally starting to cool things off a bit, Key West as a destination
is an awesome place to visit this time of year. Seems like every weekend
there is some sort of party brewing making the night life fun and enjoyable.
As locals we are all breathing another sigh of relief for our hurricane
season being as uneventful as it has. To learn more about Key West and the
events check out
www.gotothekeys.com to see what is going on.
The fishing forecast at
this point is anyone’s guess. Traditionally things start to cool off and
that means lots of fishing action right through November.
The cooling scenario drops
our water temps a bit and really changes things up. More species come to Key
West looking to get their fill on baitfish and shrimp. The mullet muds
inshore will start to increase as the temps get cooler and there you will
find an ample supply of trout, reds, pompano, bluefish, spanish mackerel and
of course the high flying lady fish. This does not mean the flats are void
of our big three. The bonefish will seek a bit deeper water and come on the
flats in the top of the warm days to feed on the higher tides. The permit
generally will not be affected, in fact Late October and November permit
fishing is really incredible. The tarpon will start a fluctuation of warm
versus cold. After a good cold front in November don’t discount the nice
South Easterly that follows a few days later for some hard core tarpon
action as they come in out of the gulf to feed, some of these fish are
huge.
Offshore things change as
well. With increasing northerly winds our offshore captains can taste the
sailfish. Here again don’t discount the South Easterly’s for some large
dolphin and other migratory species lurking around under the birds. On the
reef one can expect the black fin tunas to come on for the traditional Feed
Fest over the deeper wrecks and humps along with an ample supply of our
smaller kingfish population. On the bottom expect the grouper and snappers
fishing to get better as the cooler waters come. The late fall can be windy
but the fish get closer to shore making for shorter runs for the fun. That’s
a good thing these days with the price of fuel.
Planning a trip to the Keys
bringing a boat or not the fishing is incredible this time of the year.
Hiring a guide is a great way to go as it certainly lowers the learning
curve and in the long run saves you time and money on your well deserved
fishing vacation. Feel free to contact us at Dream Catcher Charters, we will
be delighted to offer you our professional fishing guide service or share
some local knowledge to help you find your way here in Key West. Check us
out on the web at
www.chartersofkeywest.com.
While your hear in the
Florida Keys be sure to listen to AM WFFG 1300 for My fishing show called
“Live the Dream” fishing in the Florida Keys every Wednesday at 5 pm and
don’t forget to also check out Fish Monsters Radio with your host Capt.
Scott Hopp and his cast of characters from 7am-10am on Saturday mornings for
the weeks fishing wrap up and forecast.
Sept Oct 07
Last week I fished with and we
won Celebrity Grand Champion honors with Wade Boggs in the 17th
annual Mercury Redbone celebrity tournament. Wade and I were fishing
with Mercury Representative Brent Wood. Wade Boggs and I have fished this
tournament and a few others many times to a win in the past years and have
gotten to know each other quite well. This was Brent's 2nd time salt water
fishing and as many times in tournaments, coming from fresh water I am sure
that Sight fishing was a big change for this bass fisherman he did very well
in his own right.
Fishing next to Wade Boggs has
to be daunting alone let be the fact he is a hall of fame baseball player
and a national hero in many arenas that he works in. That being said Brent
and Wade Boggs shared the deck of my boat for two days and we had some
excellent opportunities with Bonefish and Permit.
In the wash at the end of the
tournament Wade had caught 2 species of fish, a Bonefish and Permit. I knew
that Mark Cooper his competitor fishing with Capt. Drew Delashmit and Vaughn
Cochran had caught a single tarpon on the fly. Although the points were the
same (200) I knew that Wades two fish would win over Coopers single fish as
this is how the SLAM goes. The angler with more species wins over angler
fewer. This made for some good antics at the awards ceremony as Gary Ellis
awarded Mark Cooper the win for his single fish much to the false protest of
Wade Boggs. Wade was a great sport through the whole thing. He has won this
division in the past and made for a ton of fun running away with the trophy
only to bring it back and hand it to Mark Cooper for Mark to later return
the trophy back to Wade. Big fun.
The fishing has not slowed. The
tides are different but September is shaping up to be what we all know and
love about it. Bonefish, Tarpon and Permit. The flats are alive and well.
With no (knock on wood) storms yet this year and none seemingly in the long
range forecast it looks like October will be awesome too. There are days we
have been catching 2-8 bonefish in a single trip.
That's not all. Redfish,
Black Drum and sharks have all been a hoot as well. We are doing the
Mangrove slam almost daily with the Goliath Grouper, Redfish, and black
drum.
No matter your skill level
you are sure to get some fun out of a day fishing with us here at Dream
Catcher Charters. |
Traditionally
its tarpon season here in Key West Florida. Well these past few weeks
have been "ok" for the tarpon fishing. We have been averaging 3 - 7 hook
ups on a 4 hour trip focusing on them. The best part of this particular
Tarpon Season is that we are still catching our late spring and fall
fish as well. The permit fishing has been great even though they are on
the spawn this week. We had some really nice catches last week on
permit and bones. 
