Mixed Bag

Report Date: August 5, 2015

Fishing has been extremely consistent this past July. Towards the beginning of the month there have been moderate south east winds and a full moon which marked a giant migration of good sized mahi mahi heading north.

I was lucky enough to witness this one day while motoring down to Islamorada. We left out of Key Biscayne and navigated south. As soon as we hit the edge of the gulfstream it was an utter winged migration. Two hundred birds on the water heading south. I followed these birds for some time but never had a strike. They were following a massive school of tunas that would not eat.

As we got further south there were bird flocks every few minutes travelling north at a rapid pace. The birds were following dorodos. In about three hours we had our limit of citation sized mahi (8-15 lb). Strong north current is one of the keys to the mahis migration making it much easier to travel. According to reports from the local Florida Keys charter boats, they haven’t seen a run of these quality sized fish in many years for this duration of time.

  After mahi fishing we decided to take a quick shower and come back out for the mangrove snapper bite. Our anchor was set just after dark with two chum bags in the water. It didn’t take long and there were fish darting in and out of the chum slick. By 11 pm we were finished and had our limit of mangrove and yellowtail snapper. The clients had a blast catching these snappers on 8 and 12 lb test.

  Shortly after I got to Miami the mahis had passed through and we began fishing the edge of the reef. Most of the trips I have been doing are morning halves. This means we leave the dock at 7 and get back at 12 before it gets too hot. On these trips we have been catching lots of bonitas, barracudas, sailfish and wahoo. Trolling the reef has been very effective for me over the past week.

  Bottom fishing has been very good also thanks to a strong north current. On the wrecks we have been catching some big grouper, amberjack, red snapper, and mutton snappers.

  I just got a report of some great swordfish catches offshore at night. This is a desirable trip as we approach our peak season(August, September, and October) this time of year with the calm seas and mild weather. Nothing like getting away from the city lights and stargazing waiting on a giant swordfish to take the bait.

I still have dates available in August. If you would like to get the kids out on the water before they start school, sport fishing in Miami wouldn’t be a bad option!

Hope everyone is having a great summer,

Sincerely,

Capt. Fred David

 

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