Fishing Report - Almost There! Charters

Almost There Charters, Inc.
Key West, FL 33040
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(800) 795-9448

Almost There! Charters Key West Fishing Report

For the latest fishing report, check out Captain Joe:

Key West Winter/Spring Fishing Report February-March-April 2010

Offshore Fishing Our Great offshore fishing has been marred only by the high winds and cold weather associated with numerous cold fronts the past couple of weeks. When we have been able to get out there, sailfish, tuna, and some very nice mahi mahi catches have rewarded our efforts. The nice thing about cold fronts in Key West is that they don’t last long, and I’ve been told by many that live north of us that 50 degree weather for a couple of days is no reason to panic. Ha! We expect the “cold fronts” to diminish as we near the end of February and usher in some great opportunities for sailfish, wahoo, mahi and tuna. Don’t overlook the great fishing on the deepwater wrecks. Expect very good catches of large grouper, snapper, amberjack, African pompano and the occasional monster cobia.

Reef and Wreck Fishing This fishing is always a reliable way to bend a rod and this season has been no different. Very nice catches of cobia, snapper, grouper, jack, shark and barracuda have occurred on nearly every trip. Add in the winter bonus of some nice king mackerel and you got some great reel-screaming action.

Backcountry / Flats Fishing With cooler water temperatures of late, Flats fishing has been tough. Most fish are found in the deeper waters along the flats with a lot of barracuda coming to rest in shallow basins to warm up in the midday/afternoon sun. We are still doing very well with Permit along the edges of the channels. The hot action now is with the sea trout, pompano, ladyfish, shark, jack, and snapper in the basins right now. We are using both artificials and live baits and having a ball with this. We hope this fishery will continue into March. The latter part of February ushers in our early tarpon. If your timing to Key West is good, these early fish are eager to eat just about anything! Warmer water temperatures will also bring about some great permit and bonefish opportunities as well as some unique cobia fishing in the shallow waters. Backcountry fishing offers some of the best action of both large and smaller edible fish than any of our trips. The real bonus is the calm water we have to work with. No one has ever gotten seasick in the backcountry!

This promises to be one of our best fishing seasons yet, so make sure you give us a call at (800) 795-9448 to reserve your boat.
- Capt. Scott and Capt. Joe

Key West Fall Fishing Report October 2009

Key West’s higher than normal temperatures have yielded some excellent late tarpon action, as well as some great action on flats in general. Tarpon have routinely been released in the 40 to 60 pound range. What a nice October on the flats.

Wreck fishing has been superb with cold weather up north we’ve already had some great king mackerel bites and cobia in large numbers. This fishing will get even better as time goes on! Snapper and grouper have been good. Lots of sharks have been caught this October ranging from blacktips to hammerheads. Just about everyone that wanted shark was able to land one… it has been fantastic.

Offshore fishing brought us an unusually active late season of Mahi up until our first cold front. Following the front, sailfish, tuna, and mackerel have shown up in great numbers. The fishing is only going to get stronger in the coming month, so get ready for some great fishing!

Special congratulations goes out to Charles D. and the gang who got some great pictures and had this to say about their trip with us.

“The captain made our entire trip unforgettable and personally I am so thankful that my first vacation in more than 12 years was spent on your boats and with your amazing staff!!”...“My friends who were NOT into fishing have asked me to start planning our next trip and it’s not a vacation it’s now a fishing trip!”

Thank you for the kind words, Charles. We look forward to seeing you soon and congrats again on some nice pictures and wonderful memories.

Key West Winter/Spring Fishing Report February-March-April 2009

Offshore Fishing

Our Great offshore fishing has been marred only by the high winds and cold weather associated with numerous cold fronts the past couple of weeks. When we have been able to get out there, sailfish, tuna, and some very nice mahi mahi catches have rewarded our efforts. The nice thing about cold fronts in Key West is that they don’t last long, and I’ve been told by many that live north of us that 50 degree weather for a couple of days is no reason to panic. Ha! We expect the “cold fronts” to diminish as we near the end of February and usher in some great opportunities for sailfish, wahoo, mahi and tuna. Don’t overlook the great fishing on the deepwater wrecks. Expect very good catches of large grouper, snapper, amberjack, African pompano and the occasional monster cobia.

Reef and Wreck Fishing

This fishing is always a reliable way to bend a rod and this season has been no different. Very nice catches of cobia, snapper, grouper, jack, shark and barracuda have occurred on nearly every trip. Add in the winter bonus of some nice king mackerel and you got some great reel-screaming action.

Backcountry / Flats Fishing

With cooler water temperatures of late, Flats fishing has been tough. Most fish are found in the deeper waters along the flats with a lot of barracuda coming to rest in shallow basins to warm up in the midday/afternoon sun. We are still doing very well with Permit along the edges of the channels. The hot action now is with the sea trout, pompano, ladyfish, shark, jack, and snapper in the basins right now. We are using both artificials and live baits and having a ball with this. We hope this fishery will continue into March. The latter part of February ushers in our early tarpon. If your timing to Key West is good, these early fish are eager to eat just about anything! Warmer water temperatures will also bring about some great permit and bonefish opportunities as well as some unique cobia fishing in the shallow waters. Backcountry fishing offers some of the best action of both large and smaller edible fish than any of our trips. The real bonus is the calm water we have to work with. No one has ever gotten seasick in the backcountry!

This promises to be one of our best fishing seasons yet so make sure you give us a call to reserve your boat.

- Capt. Scott and Capt. Joe

Key West Summer Fishing Report June-July-August 2008

Offshore Fishing
Our Great offshore fishing continues for through the summer. June is the month for large and numerous dolphin, wahoo, and a good showing of billfish. Nice dolphin have been caught between 40 and 50 pounds with a lot of “schoolies” making for a fun day of fishing. These are great trips for our flyfishing guests to bring along a rod and have fun with the colorful, acrobatic fish. Here’s a nice fish taken on light spinning gear in mid May. Congratulation’s to Pete and Capt. Jeremy on a great day of fishing!

Jeremy's Dolphin

Flats Fishing
Tarpon fishing has been especially good so far this year. We expect to continue hooking the monsters through the end of June on a very regular basis. Don’t overlook our night tarpon action as the fishing is exceptional and mother nature will throw in a spectacular sunset as a bonus! Jason’s tarpon hook-up at night last year shows why he’s coming back to fish again in June. Look forward to seeing you!

Jason's Night Hook

Permit and bonefish remain very good with most fish found in the cooler, deeper waters along the flats and channels.

Backcountry
Action is always good in the backcountry with great catches of big shark and barracuda along the edges of the flats as well as an amazing tarpon season so far. Capt. Jamie led Greg to this barracuda with an attitude! Thanks for the pictures Greg. If your looking for a few fish for dinner the snapper fishing has remained good with some occasional catches of cobia thrown in for good measure.

Jamie & Greg's Barricuda

Reef and Wreck Fishing
Fishing remains hot on the many structures we fish here in Key West. Large shark, cobia ranging from 15 to 40 pounds, amberjack to 60 pounds and large 15-35+ pound permit are the big guys on these trips. Always expect great snapper and grouper action on these trips. We are still running into the occasional king mackerel, some in the 35 to 45 pound range.

We failed to include some photos of Gary and Roberts trip with Capt. Rob in our last report. These pictures say it all. Congrats and can’t wait to try it again!

Gary & Robert's Trip 1