Got out with John and his family down from Michigan today. We had gorgeous weather with a light breeze out of the east that did kick up a little by the time we went home, but not too bad. We caught a handful of good mackerels and some big pompano out on a gulf wreck in the morning with the last of the falling tide, some very good rod benders! Also we had plenty of action with jacks and smaller mangrove snappers. We had a few shots at some cobias, but it was tough to get through the little stuff to get it in front of them. One cobia did chase a shrimp for a good little ways, but unfortunately something stole it away from him! After that we fished for some big stuff and had good action with some variety! We caught a big blacktip shark, a nice bull shark, a nurse shark, a sting ray, and then finished up with about a 70 lb goliath grouper. We had a few other bites we lost but funny to catch different species every time. After that we tried a few spots for some redfish but the water was pretty muddy and nasty with the wind kicking up, so we didn’t have much luck and headed on home. But all in all a fantastic day fishing in the everglades and gulf in december!
Backcountry Fishing Reports
12/27/16 Christmas Week 2016 Fishing
Just got back in town last night and the snow birds are here! At least the post-christmas ones that are on vacation. We got out for a half day this morning and caught some mackerels in the gulf. The fishing wasn’t as good as it was before I left, there was a lot of ‘green algae’ water out around the mackerel grounds, however after making the 50 minute run you are kind of committed. Luckily we were able to pick away and probably ended up catching about a dozen nice size mackerels, as well as some blue runners and mangrove snappers. All in all still a fine morning half day trip in the florida keys. The winds were not too bad, maybe a 10-15 mph easterly breeze. Tomorrow looks to be decent I’m out for full days the next couple days, but I still have Friday and Saturday available if anyone is looking to go! Friday we look to be getting a decent cold front (finally) and it will drop into the low 60s perhaps, but it’s not gonna stick around long as it is getting back into the 80s a couple days later.
12/19/16 Islamorada December Inshore Fishing Trip
Got out with Jeff and George, a couple regulars of mine who I love to fish. We caught the mackerels good this morning first thing. Had to wait a bit for the tide to get going, but once it did it was a fish every cast. We probably caught 30 or so mackerels in a little under 2 hours. After that we tried the channels where we found some tarpon, sharks, and other creatures yesterday. The tarpon were there but didn’t seem to want to play, but we did hook a huge ‘mud marlin’ sawfish which we had on for a while, though never got up to get a look at although we did get the leader multiple times. We also caught a very large blacktip shark. After that we went into the everglades creeks and George caught his first redfish, his first snook, and almost got a tarpon for the slam but unfortunately he came off after a few jumps. Anyways all in all it was a great day here fishing in Islamorada in December!
12/18/16 + 12/17/16 December backcountry fishing report Everglades Florida Keys
12/17/16 – Did some mackerel fishing on a half day today. We hit the edge of the gulf with a bit of a breeze out of the southeast. Chummed it up and jigged with our shrimps. We had great action landed probably 20 macks, some blue runners, and a few yellowtail snappers. On the way in we stopped for some mangrove snappers. It was tough to find any big ones in the time we had, but managed a couple keepers. Good rod bending action and a few fish for dinner!
12/18/16 – Today we started out the same way as yesterday. Crushed the mackerels for 2 hours, I had 3 guys so this was something easy to do where they could all fish at the same time. We probably caught close to 50 mackerels I’d say. Some blue runners mixed in as well. After that we hit the channels to try for sharks, and got lucky and found some tarpon and other big stuff in the mix as well! It’s so warm right now that the fish think it’s spring time, so you never know what you may get unless you try. We caught several blacktip sharks that put on a good show jumping and spinning. We jumped one tarpon and a bit later caught one – about a 70 lber nice fish. We also finished the day with a large ‘mud marlin’ sawfish which was probably 300 lbs. What a way to finish the trip! Anyways things should stay warm for a bit longer so this type of fishing is a possibility for sure. Give me a shout if you are wanting to get out!
12/16/16 Backcountry Fishing December Report
Got out today with my dad for a little ‘fun fishin.’ We brought some live shrimp and didn’t mess with catching other bait, and it worked well for us! We had a good time fishing way back in the everglades. We stopped at some creek mouths to start the day and landed a nice snook and a black drum. After that we caught a nice cobia just offshore of the beach of the cape, about a 25 lber. Plenty of small jacks too! After that we tried some creeks for snook and redfish, but didn’t have much action in the first few stops. Once the tide started coming in we tried a different creek and there was much more life there. Lots of ladyfish, jacks, snappers, etc… We did pick away at the snook and caught 4 or 5 in there. We also got into a good school of tarpon as the tide got higher further in, and ended up catching a nice 30 lber on shrimp. Unfortunately he shook the hook as we were leadering him into the net, but we got the release on him. After that we stopped in a few other areas, caught one more snook off the beach line, then we caught a snook, nice redfish, and a few more black drum in another creek before calling it a day. All in all a great day! Fishing the next 3 days and then Wednesday, but I am available Tuesday if anyone is looking to go. After that we are going out of town until the day after xmas, then i’ll be busy busy busy through new years! I still have a few days open for that week too though so gimme a shout.
