By: Capt. Greg Poland 
It is summertime in the Florida Keys which means it’s time to head offshore early in the morning and catch a mahi-mahi or into the backcountry for some snook and juvenile tarpon along the shorelines then it is time to head back to the dock and into the pool before it gets too hot! Either way you go it would be great to have some live bait with you so get out that ballyhoop or sadiki rig and fill up the live well before you go.
If live bait is not an option and you are headed out for mahi, I have been having good luck with squid which is readily available at the Tackle Center here in Islamorada, or a smaller size trolling lure. I like to put one of each out after locating floating debris or a weed line, and make sure to keep an eye in the sky for birds as they will lead you to the fish!
A pair of binoculars really comes in handy especially for us guys in the smaller non tower boats. Once we find the birds, I like to deploy the trolling lure, so it is out fishing while we look for the mahi. Once the mahi are located, I will usually have a client cast a spinning rod with a squid or that live bait you spent time catching out in front of the fish and hold on tight. Once you have a fish on the line, bring him close but leave it in the water to keep the school around and break out the fly rod or light spinners and have some fun catching them all! If you are lucky, you can catch and release a lot of fish and take a few of the larger ones for dinner.
Have fun out there, stay cool, and if you are looking to get out on the water with me and see how we do it, feel free to contact me.
— Contact Capt. Greg at 305.393.3327 or email gregpoland@icloud.com