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Captain George Clark Jr. of the 43'
Gotta
Mon sportfishing charter
boat located at Key Largo Fisheries docks - MM 99.5 Oceanside.
Capt. George can be reached at 305/522-2638 or via email at
capclark@terranova.net.
Captain George co-hosts "Off The Hook"
fishing talk radio on 1300 am WFFG 6-8 pm Wednesdays.
I’m sure everyone had a great Easter and if you ventured
offshore this past weekend you probably saw better weather
then previous days especially with the wind. Fishing
offshore has really settled into a nice bite of Dolphin (MAHI).
We are seeing good size fish right up to 40 pounds and these
fish are traveling in packs for the most part. Bird activity
has remained to be the key and bait rich areas where you find
tons of flying fish are a perfect place to start. This last
full moon did seem to affect the bite a little and with little
cloud cover at night it made hunting rather easy for these
Dolphin. Most of the action has come by way of trolling
rigged bally hoo on mono rigs although we have been able to
pitch some big chunks of fresh cut Bonito and flying fish
too. When all else fails you can chuck a live pilchard at
them and I’m sure they will eat it. The Wahoo bite has been
steady recently. Fish from 18 to 40 pounds have been common
and if you work at it you can probably see a handful of shots
while on the troll. Black and red or blue and white with a
bally hoo trailer have been deadly for the hoo’s. The key is
to cover ground and run your baits far enough back that they
stay in the water so your baits swim. The mighty black fin is
another fish we are seeing daily. Although these fish aren’t
giant by any standards, they are up to 20 pounds and will
readily eat a trolled bally hoo or small cedar plug fished out
of the rigger way back. Unless you are fishing around the
humps you may not see much in the way of bird activity unless
you get further offshore where the skip jacks are pouring
thru. Find the tuna and you could find a bill fish. Blue
marlin are here now and normally hang around food sources, so
keep your eyes peeled when you do locate a mahi school and are
engaged in catching schoolies. Amber jacks are thick on the
spots out deep and reef fishing is getting better every day.
So get out there and have some fun.
Capt.
George Clark Jr.
The winds this week have been horrible blowing strong from the
South East making the sea big. We managed to take our time
getting out there just simply putting and keeping the bow into
the sea. Luckily the swells were spread out enough to ride up
and over them without beating ourselves up too much and
fishing has really been great. If you haven’t heard big
dolphin are showing up here in the upper keys already and you
don’t have to go far to be in the hunt. Since there has been
plenty of flying fish and bally hoo just off the edge of the
reef, the dolphin have been chasing bait fish around as close
as 100 feet or less. Frigate bird activity has been
plentiful. Capt. George Clark Sr. has landed good numbers of
dolphin this week up to 35 pounds either on the troll or
pitching baits to fish under these black birds. Along with
these bigger dolphin have been some good Wahoo too! The color
of the week has been black and blue with a bally hoo behind
it. The Wahoo have been good size and several fish tipped the
scale at 40 pounds. These fat fish have been fattening up on
small bonito so find the tuna schools and you should get some
Wahoo bites. Tuna have been scattered around out there and
our best bite has been from 200 to 300 feet of water. Any
small lure that smokes a bit and resembles a flying fish in
color will get bit. Even dark cedar plugs that swim erratic
have been dynamite for the black fins and skip jack tuna.
Make sure you fish these baits back a good ways and for best
results make sure you troll at least one or two rigged bally
hoo also. King fish are chewing steady out side the reef and
this week we have landed some good ones. Sail fish are moving
thru too and although most fishermen are targeting other
species, sails are here and you may get a shot or two on the
troll. Yellow tail snapper are biting very well from 60 to
100 feet and since the water temperature has jumped up a
little the past few weeks these fish are fired up and
schooling. Heavy doses of block chum will create a feeding
frenzy with these brilliant snapper and by drifting baits back
on light tackle will ensure you get some action. So lighter
winds will make it possible to get out further this week and
I’m sure some very nice fish will get fooled. Get out there
and good luck.
Capt. George Clark Jr.
www.rodeocharters.com
If you can manage
to sneak out into the blue you may be surprised to see how
good the fishing is right now. Everything has bounced back
and even sail fishing is productive lately. Mahi fishing has
been better than average; and for this time of year, we are
seeing decent numbers of larger schoolie size fish. Mahi grow
fast and the average fish are 8 to 10 pounds, but we are also
seeing a few bigger than that too. The beautiful part of this
is that many of these blue and green acrobats are in shallow
and I’m never amazed when we find fish inside of 100 feet.
Similar to sailfish, mahi do -- and will repeatedly -- travel
inside the edge while chasing ballyhoo and flying fish. They
just get locked into feeding and get tunnel vision and before
they know it these fish are just above coral heads and sea
fans swimming fast for a meal. Watch for black birds working
in tight to the reef and slow-troll rigged ballyhoo under
them. You will catch fish and they may be a nice size. Tuna
are hanging tough and most of this activity is either out deep
around the humps or inside from 130 to 250 feet. There are
plenty of bonito mixed in with them but the black fins are
there too and ready to catch. Continue to fish smaller squid
lures and even micro cedar plugs for these guys and girls.
Even ballyhoo rigged on light wire will get you some bites and
the results are generally good size fish. Along with the tuna
are kingfish and Wahoo, especially when you get in closer to
the reef. Predators that feed on these tuna will follow
traveling fish, but the packs of fish are typically inside
where most of the baits are. Bottom fishing remains to be
very good and the amount of fish seems to be getting even
better. Muttons and grouper can be fished for outside of 100
feet around good bottom while massive schools of yellow tail
snapper continue to congregate. Amber jack fishing is very
good right now. Deep wrecks and structure hold these
schooling freight trains. These easily excited jacks will
hammer live offerings as well as metal jigs worked vertically
off the bottom. Along with the AJ’s are plenty of sharks just
waiting to chomp something; so if you like good battles,
sharks are perfect for testing tackle. Go have some fun and
give us a call if you want to get out on the water for some
fabulous keys fishing.
Thanks for
reading, Capt. George Clark Jr.
www.rodeocharters.com
Now
that we are in our final stages of winter time fishing we are
seeing better numbers of migratory fish showing up. Dolphins
have almost settled in to the point we are at least seeing
them now on a daily basis. Don’t get overly excited just yet
though. The real run hasn’t started we are just witnessing
some fish that are moving thru and they are all sizes.
Mornings have been busy on the edge in 140 feet and deeper as
packs of dolphin are chasing down flying fish while black
birds dip and dive just above them hoping to pick off a free
meal. If you watch which way the flying fish are spraying and
follow the birds you can locate these erratic swimmers and
either pitch them bait or cut them off at the path with your
trolling rigs. There has also been some fish hanging around
floating debris and not only dolphin, but Wahoo and triple
tail too. Try trolling by such debris with a weighted rig and
a bally hoo rigged on wire to hang into a Wahoo. Another
great to fish for now and have very good success are black
fins. These football shaped tuna are great sport and equally
eat well too. Whether you are a sushi fan or enjoy some of
the best fresh tuna salad you can imagine then try trolling
for these beautiful fish. Make sure you bleed these black
fins as soon as you land them by cutting the membrane located
just under their gill plates and submerge them quickly into a
slushy brine to get the temperature down fast. Taking care of
fish is important and salt water brines are the way to go.
Speaking of Wahoo, we have had some chances here lately and
while we high speed troll for best results we have boated some
and heard of others doing the same. The Wahoo have been
between 20 and 40 pounds and are hanging around tuna and
bonito schools. Bottom fishing has also been another steady
fishing opportunity and most fishermen have had no problem
catching amber jack on the humps and wrecks and mutton snapper
and grouper in on the edge of the reef from 100 to 140 feet of
water. The amber jack will fall victim to live baits and the
snapper and grouper will scarf down bally hoo plugs or live
ones too. Yellow tail snapper are biting over the reef. King
fishing remains to fill the gaps for the live bait fishermen
targeting spotty sail fishing. Life is good here in the
Florida Keys so get out there and have some fun. Give me a
call if you want to go catch some good ones.
Thanks,
Capt.
George Clark Jr.
If you are going to head offshore from the upper keys soon
then here are a few tips to catch fish along with our fishing
report. Lately we have really seen things changing, but new
opportunities keep popping up daily. Dolphin fishing has
really lit up recently and the fish we are catching are very
nice size. Large schoolie Mahi and even fish up in the
twenties are just off the edge right now. An abundance of
flying fish are tucked in tight to the reef. From fifty feet
on out you will see these bird like fish getting out of the
water when they are chased by predators. Bird activity around
these large bait pods has helped locate these aggressive
Dolphins and the key has been using small blue and white
combos that look like flyers. Even rigged bally hoo works
well here and these nice mahi can eat one down quickly. We
are also seeing more black fins and bruiser bonitos too.
These fish are chasing flying fish too and the same lures will
work fine. King fishing has stayed steady and once you locate
these mackerel you should be able to either jig them or live
bait them up with frisky cigar minnows or pilchards. Bally is
an option, although hard swimming baits work best. Amber
jacks continue to show up and hang on deep wrecks and good
bottom structure out side of 200 feet. Live blue runners are
great bait for these bigger fish and they are biting steady
right now. Metal jigs are another presentation that will
effectively get you bites also. When dropping metal jigs or
buck tails make sure you try this technique on braided line so
you can connect on each strike. Since braid doesn’t stretch
your hook sets will be solid and your hook penetration should
be deep. Along with the jacks you may also find a grouper or
big mutton too. Reef fishing has been good here of late and
the mutton snapper are moving around looking for that next
meal. The mutton snapper have been 8 to 12 pound fish and.
Yellow tail snapper have been chewing steady out side of 60
feet. Get a good chum slick going and you shouldn’t have a
problem getting these tasty yellow fish to eat a strip bait or
silver side minnow. These fish have been over a pound and as
big as three. Cobias are popping up inside of 100 feet and
recently we have been able to see some cruising on the surface
going down sea. These brown fish are mistaken for sharks
sometimes and will likely eat a pin fish or grunt pretty
fast. Inside the reef we will find packs of cobia hanging
around working rays or nurse sharks. The cobias have been 15
to 30 pound fish and will exceed 50 or 60 pounds. So get out
there and enjoy some of this great fishing and if you want to
enjoy a day with us please give us a call and we will set it
up. Good luck.
Thanks,
Capt. George.
www.rodeocharters.com
This week has been a little tough all around the board.
Really, fishing has been up and down for the most part and we
have seen little consistency. Sail fishing has been less then
a pick and south current has been the culprit along with what
seems like just not many sails. The hot spots have been
pockets on the edge where bait is holding up. Kingfish
however, are biting decent and if you have sailfished lately
then you know what I mean. Nice kings are out there:
from 100 feet out to a couple of hundred. Cigar minnows or
really just about any flashy bait will get you bites. Even
dead baits will work when you get covered up with mackerel. I
like drifting jig and ballyhoo combos back,
then retrieving them quickly to get hook ups. The
action is fast and furious and it occupies your time better
then waiting for strikes. Jumbo bonito are another hard
fighting fish we are seeing more of in these same areas. Bone-heads
are popping up in packs and tormenting surface baits with
little regard. Blackfin tuna
have made a showing in close to the edge also. Although we
haven’t caught many each day while live baiting,
we have landed some healthy ones. Wahoo are another fish we
have only been able to find every once in a while. Capt.
George Clark, Sr. put a
nice one in the boat this past week and the fish tipped the
scale at 45 pounds. So more quality then quantity! Mahi have
been kind of the same although these dolphins aren’t quite as
big as the Wahoo there have been some perfect fish that average 7 to 8 pounds and they
have been traveling in small packs. Bottom fishing is another
option too. Muttons are still biting ok and if you have a
tough time locating anything else try working the edge of the
reef with ballyhoo plugs down on the bottom while drifting.
These great snapper fight well and cook up even better.
Yellowtail snapper have fired up again and good numbers of
fish are schooling up from 60 to 80 feet. So get out there
and give it a try. If you work at it a little you should be
able to make a day out of it. Besides fishing is fun any
how. Good luck and let’s hope we see better reports next
time.
Capt.
George Clark Jr.
This has to be the coldest winter we have seen in years.
Maybe not cold by some peoples standards, but extremely frigid
from what I’m used to. These silly fronts continue to creep
down here and keep the water from warming up. Does this
affect fishing? I would have to say a little bit. Although,
fishing has been pretty good in some areas if you know where
to look! Reef fishing has been mostly what charter captains
have done lately. It is what our clients enjoy doing this
time of year anyway; Anchoring down and popping up the kite
has been very effective as far as getting the rods bent.
Kingfish have really been the go to species the last couple of
weeks. They are eating anything right now and the numbers
have been big. Schools of kings are scattered up and down the
reef line from 100 feet of water out to about 180 or 200
feet. The size of the fish varies from 4 to 5 pound fish up
to 30 plus pounders. AKA slime dogs, kings are a great
fighting fish that love to blast surface baits and the runs
are blistering. Live anything will work and you can catch
these mackerel on jig rigs and even spoons or lipped plugs.
However, make sure you add some wire to your rig to compensate
for their terrible dentures and treble hooks are great too.
Along with great king action we are also finding plenty of
snapper and an occasional grouper on the bottom. Ballyhoo,
prepared either as a plug or butter flied, attached to a 30
foot 50 pound leader fastened to a 7/0 circle hook has worked
just fine -- although a live pilchard or cigar minnow will get
eaten equally as well. The mutton’s haven’t been giant fish,
but the majority have been over the 16 inch minimum. The
yellowtail snapper have also been chewing well this week and
there have been good fish in as shallow as 20 to 30 feet where
we catch bait. Sailfishing has picked up a little since the
Poor Girls tourney and I expect another wave of snooters to
show up considering the amount of bait fish that’s out
their. Mahi have been showing a little lately also and
schoolie size fish are popping up out side of 200 feet with
more regularity. Along with these scattered dolphin we are
catching a steady supply of black fins and bonito. Small
feathers and bubble jets are fine for these guys, although
most of the tuna are 4 to 5 pounds. Amberjack and almaco
jacks are holding on good reef bottom and some of the offshore
wrecks. Live, high speed baits, like blue runners will work
perfect for these fish and the jacks are 20 to 40 pounds on
the average. Inside around the shallows we are getting some
better reports on keeper hogs, muttons and porgies. Hook up
lure jig heads and live shrimp work great for this style of
fishing and live ballyhoo will get chomped by nice cero
mackerel on these spots. So although fishing isn’t red hot,
it is pretty darn good. Go get em!
Capt.
George Clark Jr.
www.rodeocharters.com
Do you
know the thing I like best about Florida? If you get
frustrated with the weather you don’t have to wait very long
before it changes. So within a few days after a wicked cold
snap, the sun can pop out, wind lighten up and things can heat
up quickly. Lately we have enjoyed some of the best weather
in the past several months regarding perfect conditions and
great fishing. Although this is still sail fish season and
they are still here and biting well, there are so many other
things happening too! For instance reef fishing has been
great. Mutton snapper have lead the way here with grouper
running a close second and yellow tail snapper are just in a
league of their own and biting very good. Mutton snapper are
a keys favorite and the numbers of fish right now may be as
good as we have seen in several years. Although these tasty
fish haven’t been giant by any means they are 4 to 6 pound
fish. That is the size of a very large yellow tail and we are
catching some up to 12 or 13 pounds too. On the grouper scene
we are finding some mixed size blacks and reds in these same
depths from 120 to 135 feet around good live bottom. We have
had no problem letting these under size fish go by using a
venting tool and grouper are tough fish that respond well to
acupuncture. Along with this great rod bending fishing we are
also enjoying a great bite of kings too. You can always tell
when the bite is good off of Key Largo because even the
Islamorada charter boats will make the run up here to get in
on this steady action when things are slow to the south. I
attribute this to bait concentrations off the edge of the reef
and this changes quite often. These crazy mackerel are eating
like wild dogs and you can catch them on just about anything
from spoons to plugs and a wide variety of live offerings as
well as jigs and even strips fished on light wire. The kings
are 4 to 5 pounds on up to thirty plus pounds. Further
offshore the humps have been active with old Mr. Rubber lips
or reef donkey’s better known as amber jacks. These bruiser
fish are suckers for live blue runners or large cigar minnows
and will gladly break your back and fight until they get to
the boat. Along with the aj’s are almaco jacks and plenty of
big sharks too. Right off the bottom on these spots are
vermillion snapper and yellow eye snapper and these fish can
be taken on chicken rigs with smaller chunks. We have
recently had some Wahoo sightings too. Wahoo have slid into
the upper keys and from the edge of the reef in 130 feet on
out to 250 can be targeted with rigged baits or trolling
plugs, just remember to kick up your speed a bit and you
should get a few knock downs. Mahi have also popped up once
more and the magic depth has been from 350 feet to 500. Work
weed edges and current rips for best success. Good luck!
Capt.
George Clark Jr.
www.rodeocharters.com
This week I have some great reports of nice fish being caught
by angler’s ice fishing in Florida bay. Well maybe not ice
fishing, but man has it been cold on the water. We have gone
out there during this cold snap and I would prefer staying
indoors if we see it this cold again. Unfortunately our
clients are from the North Pole and this is t shirt weather to
them. Thanks guys! Anyhow, even with these cold windy
conditions we have proved to ourselves that the fish just
don’t seem to care much and that there are plenty of fishing
opportunities for fishermen to bend the rods. One of my good
clients, Evan Whitson got out with us a couple days this past
week and brought his buddies from New York State. We mixed
things up and bounce from reef fishing to some of the wrecks
and even drug some lures around on the surface. Reef fishing
seems to be steady and the last couple of trips we have boxed
some really nice mutton snapper while we were sailfishing. We
always intend on having at least one bottom rod down when we
live bait and two if possible. These muttons have been
abundant right on the edge starting in 120 feet to 140.
Deboned ballyhoo or even plugs work very well for this and in
between getting shots at sails it can keep everyone busy. The
muttons are 4 to 10 pound fish and you also have the chance at
a red or black grouper and maybe even a bruiser yellow tail
too. King fishing has also been productive in these same
depths. We have been feeding the kings live small runners,
but pilchards and cigar minnows work equally. Wahoo alley has
started to come to life too. Although not many fishermen are
working the hoo’s off the reef there are some fish showing up
and although the water has been dusty all it’s gonna take is a
little easterly wind for a while to clean things up and the
Wahoo will snap. Wreck fishing seems steady also and the
jacks are continuing to stack up over the structure. Live
baits and a variety of cut bait will continue to get you
action around these spots and you may even want to try a
little jigging for something different. Tuna and mahi fishing
has been hit or miss, although we have seen fish consistently
throughout the winter so far. The mahi can range from peanut
size fish that are traveling in schools to packs of gaffers.
Up off of ocean reef Capt. Zane Albury reports steady sailfish
action and plenty of mackerel from the whistle north. Capt.
Chan reports steady snapper bites and also better numbers of
bottom fish this week too. If you are looking to get out this
week and have some fun catching some of these wonderful fish,
give us a call at or e-mail at the information above
Thanks,
Capt. George Clark Jr.
I had to
laugh a little when my four year old dug thru his drawer and
found a winter time knit hat and two matching mittens. I
thought is this Key Largo? It definitely reminds me how cold
it gets in other places and thank goodness it doesn’t last too
long here in the conch republic. Any ways, I do know that
shrimping has been very good during these last two fronts in
pretty much all the cuts and channels that connect Florida bay
to the ocean side. Hey this is the time of year hard core
shrimp eaters salivate for. A lot of effort goes into
catching those tasty critters and these folks are good at it.
Along with the shrimp are plenty of blue crabs also. The crab
fishery seems to be doing fine and some of these blue claws
are giant. It won’t take many to have a nice crab boil. This
week has changed a little since last week and we are seeing an
influx of big bait pods just inside the reef. Acres of
pilchards have found their way into areas and although they
move around out there, they don’t travel that far. Bird signs
are a great clue to finding these tightly concentrated
schools; some as big as a football field. You can expect when
you do locate them that there will be all sorts of fishy
activity under and around them. Cero mackerel are quite
plentiful out there as well as better numbers of kings. These
slashy hunters are targeting almost anything with a tail and
heart beat. Put it this way, if you wash your hands over the
side of the boat you risk losing a finger in some areas. The
kings have been 12 to 20 pounds while the Cero macks are 6 to
10. Sail fishing has been a little better too. Yesterday we
had 3 shots in the first 15 minutes of fishing and saw
numerous bait showers throughout the day. So expect another
rush of snooters in big numbers the next couple of weeks.
Tuna and bonito activity has increased finally and most of
what I’ve seen has been shallow from 120 feet out to 200.
These fish have been busting flyers off the surface and
although they aren’t giant fish they probably average 6 to 10
pounds. If you like bouncing the bottom then you’ll like to
know that the mutton snapper are stacking up on the edge in
120 to 135 feet. We have had no trouble catching these tasty
fish and even a few grouper too. Live ballyhoo have worked
great and even plug baits have been money. The muttons are 6
to 8 pounds on the average and you can mix in a few mammoth
yellow tails when you do this. Capt. Lain Goodwin had a
banner day here lately working the shallow patches recently
capturing good numbers of just about everything. Lain got on
some stocky gray snapper and healthy muttons inshore and some
hefty keeper hogs too. Lain said he encountered most of his
action while fishing around these areas when the water was
murky. Hook up jig heads and shrimp were all he needed to
bend the rods and ballyhoo plugs for the muttons and grouper.
Hey fishing is very good during these cold times and if you
can stand a little wind and a slight temperature change then
get out there and do it. Enjoy the ride and good luck.
Capt. George Clark Jr.
www.rodeocharters.com
This week the sail fishing exploded here in the upper keys and
south Miami. Two large tournaments gave anglers a jolt of
excitement when the reef cup and mayor’s cup over lapped each
other. The reef cup was four days of fishing with each boat
fishing three days and picking a lay day. There were over 500
fish released during the reef cup between 61 boats and the top
3 teams released 21, 20 and 20.
Captain Zane Albury kept his streak going another year placing
once again taking 3rd place overall. The mayors
cup saw even bigger numbers of releases and within two hours
of fishing there were over 200 hundred sails let go. These
are amazing numbers of bill fish and really show how well
circle hooks are working in regards to letting fish go
unharmed. The other factor is we don’t boat any fish during
tournaments so the fish aren’t stressed out any worse or beat
up on boat decks.
This week we have also found good numbers of dolphin coming
thru and in some areas we also found very nice edges with
thick Sargasso weed and loads of bait fish hiding in it. We
caught plenty of nice mahi all 5 to 10 pounds and some even
bigger fish were landed up and down the reef. Nice black fins
were blowing up angler’s bally hoo too. We caught one really
nice one this week while live bait fishing. King fishing has
been steady when you find where they are hanging. Capt.
George Sr. had trouble keeping kings away from his baits
recently and caught some nice mackerel up to 20 pounds and
Cero mackerel up to 10 pounds all on the live baits. The
Vermillion and yellow eye snapper have been chewing very well
out past the 300 foot depth. These schooling fish will eat
almost any small morsel when you get right over them and squid
is an easy bait to use for them. The snapper have been 2 to 5
pounds and we are catching them sometimes several at a time on
the chicken rigs. AJ’s and almaco jacks are on the humps and
where the jacks are you can expect to see some shark
activity. Down deep around the bottom we have been able to
find a few muttons and maybe a grouper or two, but when the
sharks begin to take a couple it is time to leave and find
another mark of fish. Sand bars, lemons and bull sharks a
just a few of the species we are seeing right now and when we
look hard enough we also see a few t heads cruising on the
surface. So if you like pulling on big nasty fish drop down a
bonito slab connected to a big circle hook and heavy wire and
hang on. Yellow tail snapper have been active lately and
Capt. Chan of the party boat GULF-STREAM docked beside us at
Key Largo Fisheries has had good numbers of nice tails. The
tails have averaged 2 to 3 pounds and Chan has also caught
some really nice muttons and blacks of late. The bite has
really relied on the conditions and when the current has been
going to the North East the fish really bite much better.
Patch fishing has heated up again too and most fishermen that
put the time in are finding some mutton's inshore and some
good hogs on the shrimp. So fishing is in full swing right
now and most charter businesses are getting people out daily.
Give us a call if you want to go have some fun.
Thanks,
Capt. George Clark Jr.
www.rodeocharters.com
On the
front line!
Cold fronts
here in the keys may seem mild to all of our northern
visitors, and they probably are compared to snow drifts and
white out blizzards, but to us keys folks everything is
relative. I can’t stand cold weather and I won’t fake like I
do either. We live in the tropics, although it is the only
time I break out long pants and pullovers. The fact is warm
weather is better to me -- and fishing in it is great. These
last little fronts really chilled things down and the positive
side of things may be that it stirred things up. Sail fishing
has been far from great lately, although we are finding a few
each day. Kings have also been a little on the lean side
while we are live bait fishing for sails, but we can locate
more mackerel around the wrecks and stay on them better if we
anchor down.
Cero macks
are plentiful inshore from 50 to 20 feet where we find big
schools of ballyhoo. There have been a ton of muttons inside
the reef too. Fish live ballyhoo way back (out of the
riggers) for some fun mutton fishing. Even though the cuda’s
can be plentiful in there, the mutton snapper will find those
baits and pop them off the surface. You may even find a
grouper or two also while dragging the livies around slow over
broken bottom. Patch fishing has also improved a little and
we have caught some really nice size yellow tail snapper and
some good size porgies and hogs. Further offshore we have
been able to pick a few Mahi while targeting the black fins.
The dolphin have been 5 to 8 pound fish while the tunas are
mixed in size. Wahoo fishing has been a pick still and we
haven’t seen that big push quite yet. You can, however, get
lucky and find a few out there; but that varies from day to
day and depths change too as to where they are hanging.
The wrecks
outside of 200 feet are swarming with life right now and
leading the way is Amber jack. Big jacks are nasty fighters
and most fish are 30 to 50 pounds and will smack live runners
or butterfly jigs instantly. These big fish require at least
50 pound leaders minimally, so rig a little heavier for these
guys.
I expect
good things again while the surface temperature begins to rise
a little. Look for Cobia to continue to get better in the
near future and watch for another good push of sails heading
south. Good luck and good fishing! Capt. George
This week we enjoyed a
slight change in temperature here in the upper Keys as the
winds shifted and blew from the North. It wasn’t anything too
drastic and we didn’t have to break out the heavy coats, but
these little changes are positive when it comes to catching
fish. When water temps warm and conditions get too nice,
fishing in general just doesn’t stay consistent. Fish get
lazy after gorging themselves in early morning rituals and
they take long breaks during the middle of the day. Sailfish
have really slowed lately due to the fact many fish are
holding tight further North off of Jupiter and maybe even
farther than that. Now
that we are seeing colder weather sliding into the South I
expect another push of bait and plenty of fish following
them. We are still seeing good numbers of Mahi just off the
edge and even further offshore around the humps. Dolphin
fishing is more of a pick in regards to how many fish are
actually coming thru and the black fin tuna population is very
similar. However, wreck fishing has turned the corner and we
are consistently catching nice snapper and Jacks off of the
structure and deep reefs. Chicken rigs are great for this
style of fishing and also bottom rigs with either live cigar
minnows or pilchards work great for big muttons and grouper.
We also find some good kingfish and even a few African pompano
hanging too. Sharks are also making a better appearance and
unfortunately they generally enjoy what we are reeling in. I
guess they have to eat too! Another fish we are starting to
see more of lately are Cobia. Cobia hang around wrecks and
right now we tend to look hard for them inside the reef where
the sand is. These brown fish like to hang with sting rays
and sharks so keep a close eye out for them and sling them a
big grunt or pinfish. Cero Mackerel have been steady inside
the edge where they torment schools of ballyhoo on a daily
basis. These fish really enjoy ballyhoo and although they
might go after a minnow or pilchard, Cero’s will make short
work out of a fresh hoo rigged on light wire. So drag some
live ones around from 50 feet of water on in and you should
have no problem getting covered up frequently. Yellow tail
snapper will bite when the current is moving behind the boat
and we are starting to see more black grouper in these same
areas. Drop down a live tail and if there is a black hiding
in the rocks you should get bent. Keep them out of the
rocks! In shallower,
around the patches, we are
catching good numbers of gray snapper and even a few muttons.
When the water is dirty the fish have been chewing well, but
clean water has made it tough to buy bites. I just move
around until I find the dirty stuff. Remember that you can’t
catch them unless you get out there, so get going. Good luck!
Thanks,
Captain
George Clark Jr.
www.rodeocharters.com
Well we’ve had some windy days and a couple real flat ones
here lately and fishing has been steady for the most part.
Sail fishing has really slowed down from what it was 2 weeks
ago, but if you put in the time you should be rewarded with a
few shots. If you are in search of plain old action bending
the rods try king fishing or hunting Cero’s in the shallows.
Either mackerel are very aggressive fish and enjoy tormenting
sail fishermen by wounding or cutting hooks off. When you
find these concentrations of crazed macks slide a few live
baits out on light wire and treble hooks. It does take the
right baits to fire these fish up and live cigar minnows or
pilchards work great, however, bally hoo will work if you
don’t have the others. When targeting mackerel you can also
try fishing at least one deep bait down in the water column to
find fish hanging down towards the bottom. Speaking of
fishing just out side the reef, from 50 feet on in there have
been a ton of Cero mackerel pounding bally hoo schools. Along
with hungry sails, Cero’s hang in there and blast away at
shimmering bally hoo. The other bright spot this week has
been more Mahi squirting thru the upper keys. Further
offshore, out in 250 and deeper we have been finding some
decent weed edges that have been holding some fish. These
fish have been nice size averaging 8 to 12 pounds and although
it’s not summer time there are enough fish out there to make a
day out of it. Along with the Mahi have been a steady bite of
black fin and skip jack tuna around the humps and deep
wrecks. These fish can be fooled on small lures or you may
want to live chum them with minnows or pilchards. The water
has been very clean for the most part so use light leaders and
circle hooks to get connected. Belly hook these baits and you
can get them to swim down a little also. Around the wrecks we
are seeing some good amber jack activity too accompanied by
some sharks. Cobias have also made a showing and are in on
the reef as well as the wrecks. Bottom fishing is good as we
are catching nice yellow tail snapper and muttons. Grouper
fishing hasn’t been very good this winter, but we are picking
up a few here and there. We expect to see a little more
activity after another strong cold front.
Good luck,
Captain
George Clark Jr.
I
guess I will start out by saying how much my family enjoyed
Christmas and it was fun to have my aunt and uncle come over
from Boca Grand for a few days. Good food and great company
always compliments the holidays for me. As far as fishing is
concerned, good things are happening out there and although
the wind has been whipping hard the fish just keep showing
up. I swear if the conditions were great all the time out
front here, we would have the greatest fishery around. That’s
never going to happen though, so we will fish some bumpy days
too. This week is normally a slow one for the charter
businesses, but we are starting to book quite a few for
January and so on.
Fishing has stayed very steady if you have been able to get
out. Sail fishing typically is best during the end of
December and all of January and we have been able to connect
here lately when we target them. These recent fronts have
driven sail fish pods into the upper keys and also pushed them
into the edge of the reef where they forage on bally hoo. I’m
looking forward to heavy numbers of sails this season and more
fronts are welcome to keep the bite strong. Again we are also
finding huge numbers of King Fish balled up in these same
areas. These fish are aggressive enough to eat live bally hoo,
but live cigar minnows or pilchards are the perfect size for
these mackerel. Bigger kings prefer bigger baits and live
Speedo’s are choice for this, just add wire and trebles. We
have also been picking away at the nice black fins and
schoolie size mahi while sail fishing. On the troll we are
locating decent schools of tuna and have been able to boat
good numbers of fish up to 15 pounds. These quick tuna enjoy
eating flying fish so try to use smaller lures that mimic
flyers, so blue and white combos work great rigged on mono.
Those rascally Wahoo are around if you can find them. We make
sure we have a couple Wahoo rigs in our spread when traveling
from spot to spot. Most of the Wahoo activity has been
between 140 and 200 feet and the magic lure has been a black
and red bullet head with a bally hoo. Now I like sail fishing
and even trolling around for pelagic species, but many of our
customers this time of year return to go bottom fishing. So
with that in mind we have and will be working the reef and
wrecks around Key Largo. Not only can you catch great eating
fish, but a huge selection of colorful species that fight
valiantly too. Recently we have been finding nice numbers of
Amber jack and Alma co jacks around these areas. Both live
bait and metal jigs have worked flawlessly and we have also
picked away at some hefty muttons and blacks doing this. The
other day I had Mel Calhoun and his daughters out for the day
and we managed to find a pile of chunky Vermillion snapper.
Even know it was a bumpy, snotty day we managed to send our
clients home with a mess of fillets and everyone enjoyed
bending the rods. I’ll let you know what happens here this
coming week and enjoy New Years, responsibly of course. Catch
em up!
Captain
George Clark Jr.
www.rodeocharters.com
My report this week is a lot like the past
couple and hopefully we can expect more of the same here in the
near future. It's not a bad thing when you hear us talking
about big numbers of sail fish, giant schools of kings and
Wahoo, tuna and even bottom species biting well. In all
actuality fishing has been extremely consistent for a while
now. Sailfish are the hot commodity considering each week holds
at least 2 maybe 3 tournaments. That's what happens when we
target fish strongly for a few months during the best time of
year. The upside is that the sails are biting great and big
numbers of fish are popping up routinely each and every day.
I'll probably wear out mentioning this bait scene each week,
although that's the fuel which drives the machine. Food supplies
stretching up and down the reef are
like fast food joints every few miles off of a busy turn pike.
Even though these fish are migrating daily, they stop off at
their favorite part of these reef systems to chow on a variety
of bait fish. Lately we have seen generous numbers out deep
from 120 to 160 feet. Strong North East currents off Key Largo
have helped these graceful animals metabolisms speed up enough
to burn more calories and feed longer during day light
hours. King fish have also moved in and their numbers have been
equally strong.
Man-made structures, such as wrecks, are ideal places to fish
for kings right now and these crusty haughnts are full of bait
life and other hungry monsters. The best way to inspire these
larger mackerel is to entice them with either live offerings,
such as frisky cigar minnows or pilchards rigged on wire
stingers; although spoons, buck tails or metal jigs can be ultra
effective when worked erratic through out the water column. You
may also find other species that want to join the festivities
too. Wahoo and tuna are other fish that are being targeted
right now and the zone is 130 to 250 feet. We are mostly
trolling for these fish and at a pretty good clip. 8 to 10
knots has been the sweet spot and they are normally swimming in
the same areas together. Mahi have pushed thru periodically and
lately we have found some nice size schoolies running down the
edge.
If you're sailfishing you will probably get into a few Mahi for
sure. Bottom fishing has started to pick up and this week most
of the captains I spoke with have reported better numbers of
mutton snapper and black grouper. These fish have been located
just out side of 200 feet, so it won't be long before we see
more activity in closer to the beach. Back around the wrecks we
have also bumped into some Cobia, African pompano and Amber
jack. I would like to wish every one
a wonderful Christmas and there isn't a better present then a
few hours out there banging up the fish. Happy holidays and
God bless the men and women around the globe protecting our
wonderful country and all of our families.
Thanks and God Bless,
Captain George Clark Jr.
www.rodeocharters.com
<http://www.rodeocharters.com/>
Even now the
wind keeps on blowing and cold breezes from the North are
working their way into South Florida, fishing only gets
better. It definitely looks like a banner year for sail
fishing. Perhaps maybe one of the best in the past twenty
years! Waves of snooters are following these fronts into the
keys and setting up shop on the edge of the reef. Bait is
very thick right now and ballyhoo populations are extremely
dense blanketing large portions of the reef. Along with the
hoo’s we are seeing abundant supplies of cigar minnows and
sardines, blue runners, pilchards and Speedo’s. All this food
fuels these waves of sailfish that are here visiting.
From now thru February you can tune into the vhf radio on
every weekend and listen to Captains calling in hook up and
releases while we all compete to win these events. The
difference though will be the amount of fish each and every
boat catches per tournament. When you drive by all the marinas
every afternoon take a gander at the flags on the outriggers
and you can also get an idea how many fish were caught and
released. I’ve got sailfish on the brain right now and who
wouldn’t get excited when you can catch double digits daily.
Sails aren’t the only game in town either. Tuna fishing has
been exceptional lately and if you are live bait fishing you
may bump into a few fat black fins. Today we got covered up a
few times with some healthy Mahi too. Even though dolphin
prefer a little warmer water,
we do get our fair share during the winter months. King
fishing is excellent too and Cerro macks are in the shallows
chasing bait. The large bait balls we have been fishing
around since last week are still popping up in as shallow as
30 feet. Today we found a couple and not only Mackerel were
blasting big holes thru them, but tunas, Bonitos and sails had
them on the run while black birds and terns attacked from
above. It is crazy fishing when you locate one of these
spheres of sardines. You just never know who will be cruising
down deep around it. Wahoo are here as well. We always drag
a couple of rigged baits this time of year just in case and
the Wahoo are hanging from 130 feet out to 250 especially
around the bullet Bonitos and Speedo’s. So I’ll give fishing
a big thumbs up right now. It really makes it worth going
even when the wind blows and it seems cold. Besides, it’s
much more frigid up North and we don’t have to cut a hole in
the ice to get it done. Good luck guys and girls and go get
bent.
Capt.
George Clark Jr.
www.rodeocharters.com
It’s time to sail!
Sail fishing is very good right now and we attribute that to
cooler water and massive supplies of food for them. Cigar
minnows, pilchards and sardines are really getting thick on all
of the usual bait patches. Up and down the reef line from Ocean
reef south huge schools of bally hoo are settled in on the edge
from 50 feet of water and inshore around mostly every patch of
coral. Big bait concentrations are the main focus when it comes
to predator fish and along with the pods of sails we are seeing
plenty of mackerel too.
The weather has been very easy on us this week calming the sea a
little from the norm and when it’s flat out there you can see
fish busting baits as far as you can look the sail fish have
been scattered around and we have been catching them off the
kites pretty good. We have also been finding good numbers of
sail fish in shallow showering bally hoo. Just off the edge of
the reef from 100 feet of water on out we have bumped into some
passing black fins. These tuna travel along the edge of the reef
and are eating the hoo’s but also foraging on smaller bait fish
such as sardines and flying fish. The tuna are 8 to 12 pound
fish and grille up nicely. Around the wrecks there has been a
ton of fishy activity and along with the normal bottom dwellers
we are seeing a few Cobias starting to show up. Muttons and
grouper are there too and the rugged amber jack too. On the
troll, fishermen are catching some kings and wahoo fishing is
hit or miss. Chances are though, if you find areas clouded with
Speedo’s and smaller Bonito you are going to get into a few
Wahoo. Capt. Chan from the party boat Gulf-Stream reports nice
catches of larger yellow tail snapper on the deeper side of the
reef in 140 feet of water. These tails are generally bigger fish
that can swim around in the stronger current and Chan says quite
a few of them have been 4 pounds or better. Those are considered
flags and it doesn’t take many to make a fish fry. The areas
that are holding larger schools of these bright yellow fish are
also infested with predators such as sharks so wind fast.
Fishing will be up and down over the next few months, but from
what I can see right now expect a great sail fish season and
consistent bottom bite. The mackerel shouldn’t be a problem
either. Now that more fishermen are getting out more frequently
it will be interesting to see who does what. So get out there
and get into some of this great winter time action and enjoy the
ride. Until next week, have fun.
Capt. George Clark, Jr.
September 06, 2007 - Key Largo Offshore Report
I’m sure that every one enjoyed the
holiday week end with family and friends. Hopefully you had
a chance to enjoy this fantastic weather out on the water
too. We got out a couple of days and saw great fishing as
well as outstanding bait migrations on the edge of the
reef. Since it has been very calm, almost glassy
conditions, I have a tendency to keep a sharp eye out for
anything out of the norm. When I arrived out to the edge of
the reef where the lighter aqua colored water turns to a
solid deep blue I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was in 20 to
30 feet and the water was trembling for as far as I could
see. Massive schools of bait fish were shaking all over the
place. If you watched carefully every so often you could
see giant busts in the middle of the shakes. Not that this
was a new experience for me but you can’t help getting
excited. Spanish sardines, cigar minnows, bally hoo,
runners and even Speedo’s were all making noise on the
surface. That could only mean fishing was going to be
good. Bait fishing was easy and we loaded our large bait
wells quickly and ventured out to our first spot in 130
feet. After anchoring down and getting all the rods set up
we fished two down on the bottom and a couple on the
surface. Within minutes we were rewarded with a nice black
grouper and a hefty mutton off the bottom rods. Before we
could fire two more baits down a surface bait was crashed
and shortly after a good king fish was put in the boat.
From there on out the bite stayed on a steady pace. Tom
Burrows from Jensen beach/Key Largo and his son Scott from
Tampa took turns trading with Bob Rehberg also from Tampa
and Gene Palrud from Key Largo and after it was all said and
done each guy boated numerous fish. The catch consisted of
a thirty pound black grouper, 8 muttons, 1 king, 2 Almaco
jacks, 2 African Pompano and trigger fish, and Bonito. So
every one had fun and also took plenty of fish home. Just,
a great trip for great people. So the reef bite has been
smoking hot lately. The next day we had 6 black grouper and
12 muttons and a few kings too. Off shore the Dolphin bite
has been good when you can find them but my money is on
staying in on the reef. I think there will be plenty of
good fishing now that we are seeing all this bait. Since
every thing has been late this year expect the Dolphin bite
off shore to stay good for a while along with the tunas.
The reef scene will follow suit too. Sword fishing has been
great also giving fishermen a good number of shots nightly.
If you want to go and get them give us a call and take
advantage of this perfect weather.
Thanks,
Capt. George Clark
www.rodeocharters.com
Located at Key Largo fisheries mile marker
99.5 ocean side.
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