by Capt. Mike Wheeler
Well the warm waters of summer are finally here. The Key West fishery is now in full summer mode. It is time for schoolie dolphin to dominate the offshore fishery and the tuna to bite early and late in the day. Water temps will be reaching into the 80s and making fish more docile and less aggressive when it comes to feeding. On the Reef the mangrove snapper and yellowtail are feeding. The commercial closure has left the yellowtail looking for food and all too eager to feed. It has been a lot of fun and will continue. Offshore this time of year with the calming waters is a great time to troll plugs for wahoo around debris. The wahoo tend to feed more aggressively on calm days, so hunt for the debris and catch your share.
The Gulf wrecks this time of year begin to slow down waters are warm and the big sharks dominate the wrecks from shallow to deep. The long range gulf fishing this time of year slows and the Atlantic becomes our primary target.
The back country or the flats waters are warming making the early bite and the late bite the time to fish. The larger tarpon have moved off to deeper waters but the smaller tarpon are a blast to catch. During the morning hours the fish will be up on the flats but as the waters warm in the mid-day sun they will drop off the flats into the deeper cooler channels. There are still permit bonefish and tarpon in the back country this time of year and the good thing is the number of people fishing begins to thin out. The fish are less spooky and more apt to feed just have to find the cooler waters to get the job done.
Take time in the morning this time of year to hydrate before you go fishing. It can make all the difference in your day.
Capt Mike Weinhofer
Compass Rose Charters | 305-395-3474
www.KeyWestFloridaFishing.com