By: Capt. Bruce Andersen
Here we are in the month of September already. Time flies, and every year seems to go by quicker than the one before. We’ve made it through the hottest part of the summer and fall is approaching fast!
Late summer and early fall are my favorite times of year to head offshore here in the Florida Keys. There is a lot of activity offshore, and one of my favorite things to do is to go to one of our offshore seamounts or humps and target blackfin tuna. These fish can be caught trolling or vertical jigging, but my personal favorite way to catch blackfin tuna by far is with live bait. We can usually catch blackfin tuna year-round here in the Keys, but I have always found that the most consistent time for the best tuna fishing is the period of time from mid-August through mid-October. Especially the month of September!
In the Islamorada area, places like the Islamorada hump, the 409 hump, the middle hump, and the west hump should all be holding tuna. The days where the gulf stream current is flowing over the humps will usually be the best. The gulf stream brings the crystal clear deep blue water that offshore pelagics like tuna and mahi love. It also creates rips over the humps where the current is deflected towards the surface creating an upwelling and a line of waves that are usually just down current from the peak of the hump. You’ll normally see these rips along with plenty of birds working when there is high activity.
In addition to the tuna, mahi fishing is usually still very good this time of year. Keeping your eyes peeled for working birds, weed, lines, and debris on the way out and on the way back in will usually pay off. On top of all this, there’s always a chance of a wahoo. Last summer, we actually got amazingly lucky and caught one of the nicest wahoo we saw all year by accident while we were tuna fishing! Hopefully we’ll have a great fall season this year with plenty of tuna and mahi offshore and I’m looking forward to seeing you out there.
— www.captaineasycharters.com
You can reach Captain Bruce Andersen at Capt. Easy Charters,
MM 85, call 305.360.2120 or email at: captbrucekey@comcast.net