Jamie Connell
April 17, 2025
By Capt. Jamie Connell
Florida Keys Fishing Report Capt. Jamie Connell tackles backcountry, inshore and offshore fishing around the Lower Florida Keys.
April 17 Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We’ve had a fairly mild weather week, but it looks like the wind is increasing on Friday and it will be 25 mph out of the east all weekend. On the bright side, it will be warm and sunny, but there will definitely be a lot of wind. If you have the right boat for the conditions and you can make it offshore, the fishing has been good with some sailfish, blackfin tunas and some early season mahi mahi starting to show up. The inshore fishing was great this week. The tarpon seem to be around pretty thick right now and you can find them in most of the channels and basins in the backcountry. They can be more difficult to locate on the windy days because it’s harder to see them roll on the surface. Whether you’re poling a skiff or you’re on a trolling motor, it’s important to take your time, move slow and pay attention. If you have a side scan sonar on your boat, this could be a great weekend for it. Although it will be windy and there will be some challenges, sometimes the tarpon eat really well on the warm, windy days. They seem to be less aware of boat presence.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
PREVIOUS REPORTS April 11-13 Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We’ve had some wind out of the north this week, which means we had dip in the air temperature and it will be a little cooler this weekend. We have the Viking Key West Challenge this weekend, so there are a lot of big sport fish boats in town. The fishing days for the tournament are Thursday and Saturday so it may be busy offshore those days. The fishing offshore has been good too; you can find a bit of a variety of fish out there now, like sailfish, kingfish, blackfin tunas and mahi mahi. Inshore fishing was decent this week; we had some tarpon around, but the weather conditions made fishing challenging. There was a lot of wind and clouds this week so that can make spotting the fish more difficult. However, sometimes tarpon can be more bitey on windy days. I think the wind helps disguise the boat and the fish are less aware of your presence, which makes them more inclined to eat. There have been a lot of bonefish on the flats this week too, if we get nice sunny weather this weekend, that’s a great option in the shallow water. You don’t need a skiff either, you can just get out of your boat and wade the flats.
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Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
April 4-6 Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We’ve had a breezy week down here and it looks like more of the same for the weekend. The wind is supposed to be coming out of the east around 25mph, so it may tough to get offshore for most boats. At least the bite out there has been slower recently, so if you don’t make it offshore, you’re not missing much. It may be a good idea to wait for next weekend to get out there.
One great option on the warm windy days this time of year is to fish for tarpon. The tarpon fishing in the backcountry has been pretty good this week. On the windy days it can be tougher to find them, but there has been plenty of them in the channels and basins. You can target them in a variety of ways, but live bait is usually the most effective. In the Lower Keys we often use pinfish to target them, which you can find at some of our bait and tackle shops. If you’re in the bait shop, it’s important to pick the freshest ones and avoid the ones with red noses and tails. You can also set a trap to catch them or chum them in and use a sabiki rig. Other live-bait options which you can buy or catch would include and not be limited to: crabs, shrimp, mullet and pilchards. The other nice thing about using live baits is that often times, you can catch other fish too like jacks, barracudas and snappers.
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Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
March 21-23 Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast; the weather for the weekend is looking fairly mild with the wind coming out of the east around 10-15 mph and no rain. We have a cold front hitting early Friday morning with big wind and a significant temperature drop, but that should be moving out of here by Saturday. The blackfin tuna fishing offshore has been great if you can make it out there. Typically, early in the morning and later in the day are the best times to fish them, but if you have good live baits, you can bring them up anytime of day right now. You can find them around Key West on the wrecks in 150-300 feet of water.
The fishing in the backcountry was good this week when the weather was right, like Wednesday and Thursday, but the cold-front days can definitely make it challenging. The tarpon should be around this weekend and you can look for them in the channels and basins in the backcountry. You can fish for them with a variety of live baits like pinfish, crabs, mullets and other things or you can use artificial lures if that’s your preference. Tarpon are very interesting fish; they have the ability to eat just about anything, but depending on the day, they can be picky or not interested in eating at all. We use pinfish a lot in the Lower Keys to target our tarpon, more so than other places in the Keys and South Florida.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
March 14-16 Fishing Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We’ve had some cooler wind this week, but it looks like the temperature is warming up for the weekend. We’re still going to have a lot of wind out of the south on Saturday, but the wind forecast is backing off a little for Sunday. Recently, the fishing on the gulf side has been excellent. There has been a lot of cobias on the gulf wrecks, along with permit, kingfish and snappers. The offshore has been slow, so considering and the south wind this weekend, the gulf side may be your best bet for fishing.
The backcountry fishing has been decent. This time of year, it’s the cold fronts that hurt us on the flats. As long as it’s warm, you can see plenty of tarpon and bonefish, but if it’s cooler, the tarpon will take off. You can still see the bonefish, sometimes less than when it’s warm. Also, there’s still plenty of big barracudas on the flats and they’ve been chewing. There is also plenty of life in the basins when it gets cold, fish like trout, jacks and snappers have been in the mullet muds in the backcountry.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
March 6 Fishing Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, we’re having a cold front hit today, but the temperature should be warming up as we move into the weekend. The wind will be out of the south for both days, but it will be around 10 mph on Saturday and 20 mph on Sunday. So if you want to get offshore and fish, Saturday would be the better day. There are still plenty reports of some good blackfin tuna fishing around the wrecks offshore, as well as some mahi mahi and sailfish mixed in as well. The color change has been around the reef earlier this week, that is something to keep an eye out for and it can be a great area to start fishing.
The backcountry fishing was decent this week. Bonefish and barracudas were the most consistent fish on the flats. The cold-front weather messed things up mid-week, but I think we have some good tarpon fishing this weekend, if it warms up like it’s supposed to. The tarpon should push into the basins and channels in the backcountry. It’s easy to know when they’re around. They come to surface and breath air, so they show themselves. You can target them with flies, artificial lures or live baits, like pinfish or live crabs.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Feb. 14-16 Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We’ve had an excellent spell of weather recently and the fishing has been excellent all around. It is supposed to be windy this weekend, but it’s a warm wind, so it shouldn’t have negative impact on the fishing around Key West. The sailfish and blackfin tunas have been around offshore. This time of year, it’s best to look for a color change in the water, once you get past the reef line, that is where a lot of the pelagic fish will be. You can troll or live bait fish out there, the live baits usually work better, but you will either have to buy them or catch them.
The backcountry fishing has been great right now and we have some of everything around at the moment. The permit fishing has been excellent the past week. That’s great to see for us because it has been slower permit fishing down here for the last couple years. We even have some cobia on the flats as well and its kind of rare to see the amount we’ve see in the backcountry. There has been a red tide just above us in the Gulf and the theory is that the red tide pushed some of these fish down this far.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Jan. 17-19 Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. It looks like we have a nice weekend ahead of us. The wind is going to be around 10-15 mph and it should be warm, so you have a lot options for fishing down here. Also, it looks a big cold front is hitting on Monday morning, so you may want to take advantage of the warm weather while it lasts. If you can make it offshore, the fishing out there has been excellent. The blackfin tuna bite has been consistent around the outer edge of the reef and around the wrecks in 200 feet of water. Usually, early in the morning or later in the day is the best time to target the blackfin. There have been a few sailfish and wahoos mixed in as well.
The backcountry has had a lot of activity recently. There is bait all over the flats and the mullet have been making big muds in the basins. On the warmer days, you can see bonefish on the flats and tarpon rolling in the channels. On the colder days, we’ve had a lot of action in Jewfish Basin with speckled trout, jacks and other fish. We’ve also had a few more barracudas showing up. You can throw a variety of artificial lures as the barracudas, but the tubes lures have been working best for me this winter.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Jan. 10-12 Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We’re coming off our coldest week of the year, but it will be warming up slightly as we head into the weekend. Saturday looks a little warmer than Sunday, but the wind should be fairly mild all weekend and there is not much of a chance of rain. This is a great time of year to fish the shallow reefs and coral heads around the Lower Keys. When it’s cold, the shallow reef fishing heats up. These little coral heads exist all around the island, so try to fish an area that’s protected from the wind.
Typically, I like to fish anywhere from 12-30 feet of water, depending on conditions that day, and I anchor just up current from the structure I want to fish. Chumming works great and I’ll let that start working for a few minutes before I drop a hook in. Drifting baited jigs in the current always works best for me, sometimes you have to mess with the size of the jig to see what’s working that day. My favorite kind of bait for the jig is a live pilchard, but all kinds of live and dead bait can work. There should be a lot of action and a variety of fish, including some tasty ones like yellowtail and mutton snappers. Remember, you will probably catch groupers too, but do not keep them, they are closed until May 1st.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Jan. 2-6 Report Happy New Year and welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We’re coming off a few days of great weather, some of the nicest weather we had in over a month, but It looks like we have a breezy weekend ahead and Saturday will be a few degrees colder than Sunday. Although it’s going to be rough offshore this weekend, that fishing has picked up the last couple weeks. The blackfin tunas have showed up and some of the offshore guides are raising a good number of sailfish during the day. You don’t have run too far because most of the action seems to be happening just past the reef and out to 250 feet of water.
The backcountry fishing was very good this week as well. We even had some big tarpon starting to show up, but most likely that will change this weekend because of the cold front. The big tarpon don’t like the colder weather and they will most likely move out. However, there is a lot of life around the backcountry right now and you should be able to catch some good fish this weekend. I would look for the mullet muds in the basins and channels. If the tarpon do stay, they can be in the mullet muds, but if not, there can be trout, jacks, barracudas, blacktop sharks and a variety of other fish.
Jan. 2-6 Report Happy New Year and welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We’re coming off a few days of great weather, some of the nicest weather we had in over a month, but It looks like we have a breezy weekend ahead and Saturday will be a few degrees colder than Sunday. Although it’s going to be rough offshore this weekend, that fishing has picked up the last couple weeks. The blackfin tunas have showed up and some of the offshore guides are raising a good number of sailfish during the day. You don’t have run too far because most of the action seems to be happening just past the reef and out to 250 feet of water.
The backcountry fishing was very good this week as well. We even had some big tarpon starting to show up, but most likely that will change this weekend because of the cold front. The big tarpon don’t like the colder weather and they will most likely move out. However, there is a lot of life around the backcountry right now and you should be able to catch some good fish this weekend. I would look for the mullet muds in the basins and channels. If the tarpon do stay, they can be in the mullet muds, but if not, there can be trout, jacks, barracudas, blacktop sharks and a variety of other fish.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Dec. 19-22 Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We’ve had a fairly mild weather week, but a cold front is hitting early Friday and it will be cool this weekend. Current temperatures are in the mid to low 70s, but dropping into the mid 60s by Saturday. On the bright side, we’re not getting much rain, it should be sunny, and the wind is only 10-15 mph on Sunday. It may be a little chilly for swimming at the sandbar, but other than that, the weather looks nice getting out on the water this weekend. The offshore fishing has started to pick up and the sailfish bite has been good the last few days. These cold front conditions are good for sailfish too, so that could be a fun species to fish for this weekend.
Sailfish are one of my favorite fish to target down here. They are beautiful and they put on a great show. One great thing about living in the Keys is that you do not have to run far to find the sailfish, they are usually around the reef or just past it. Look for frigate birds diving, a color change in the water or bait spraying; all these things can be a sign for that the sails are nearby. You can target them a variety of ways, but I like to live-bait fish. In the Lower Keys, there are guys who sell live bait from their boat, but you can also catch it on your own with a cast net or a sabiki rig. Everyone has different preferences on bait too, but pilchards, ballyhoo, threadfin herring and google eyes all work great. Depending on the size of the bait, I’ll use a 4/0 to 6/0 circle hook and 40- to 50-pound leader. I always like to have a spin rod ready and rigged with a bait too, so you can quickly pitch a bait to fish if it swims in close.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Dec. 13-15 Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We had some mild weather early in the week, but then a cold front hit Wednesday night and brought the cool air and big wind. The temperature is gonna rise back into the 70s for the weekend, but the wind will still be blowing 20-25 mph out of the northeast.
This time of year, when it’s blowing hard out of the northeast, you can fish around the shallow coral heads in Hawk Channel, on the south side of the Keys. You can find the coral heads on any gps or map and they are in water 10 to 40 feet deep. It should not be too rough around Hawk Channel because the wind will be northeast, so you can use the Keys archipelago to shield you from the wind. With that being said, the further you go from the islands, the rougher it will get. I like to anchor just up current from the coral heads and use the current to drift my chum and bait toward the structure. My favorite kind of bait for this is a live pilchards, but all kinds of live and dead bait can work. You typically have a lot of action and there is a variety of fish, including some tasty ones, like snappers and groupers.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Dec. 5-8 Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We had some of our coolest weather of the winter this week, but the temperature is warming slightly as we head into the weekend. The temperature is gonna be around 70 degrees both days this weekend, but it looks like less wind on Saturday, so that may be the better boating day. Typically, we can have great offshore fishing this time of year, but this week it was slow. I heard of a couple offshore guides finding a few mahi mahi and few bonitas, but overall the offshore fishing was slow. It will get better soon though, maybe on the next cold front or if the current picks up out there.
We had pretty good flats fishing for a while, but the low temperatures this week made it tougher. We didn’t get many shots at bonefish and I didn’t see any tarpon. If the temperature comes up at all, we should see these fish again. Our winter species are starting to show up in the backcountry basins though, so that’s a great option. Fish like trout, jacks, pompanos and others start to show up in the mullet muds in the basins. You can fish for them by drifting in and around the mud slicks with bucktail jigs and other artificial lures. There is typically a lot of action and some of the fish are great eating.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Nov. 22-24 Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. It looks like we have our first real cold front of the year arriving just in time for the weekend. The temperature looks like it will be dropping to the high 60’s for the weekend, so it may a little chilly for the sandbar. However, on a positive note, it will be sunny with light winds. Although it will be cool on the water, this is the perfect weather and the correct time of year for offshore evening tuna trips. Whether you prefer to troll or live bait fish, there are number of guides in Key West who catch the large blackfin tunas. You can catch them at any point on the day, but usually late in the day is best.
Fishing on the shallow flats tends to be a little tougher this time of year. Once the water temperature starts to drop, we see less bonefish and permit on the flats. We still have great fishing in the backcountry though, we just fish slightly deeper water, like in the basins and channels. Quite often the fishing in the basins and channels can get better when it gets colder. This time of year, you can catch all kinds of snapper species, speckled trout, pompano, jacks and a variety of toothy predators. You typically have great action and you can take home some tasty fish for dinner.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Nov. 7-10 Report Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We have had some terrible weather around us for a while now and it finally may be letting up this weekend. The chance of rain will be around 40 percent on both days and the wind will be around 15-20 mph. That is far from a great outlook on the forecast this weekend, but compared with the weather we have been dealing with, it’s a significant improvement. As I write this, we currently have Hurricane Rafael a couple hundred miles to the west of us and we’re still getting hit with a lot of wind and rain, so most likely Saturday will be the first day we can get on the water. I do not have any fishing reports from the last few days, as the weather has been too bad to leave the dock.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys Report-Updated Oct. 17 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, we’ve had a lot of weather this month and unfortunately it looks like more of the same for the weekend. This time, it isn’t a hurricane, its cold front coming down from the mainland. Saturday is probably out of the question for boating with a high likelihood of rain and wind around 30-35 mph. Sunday looks a little better with the wind around 20 mph and a minimal chance of rain, but overall it’s still going to be a little spotty out on the water.
If you can fish on Sunday, you will probably want to stay more in the backcountry where it’s shallower and you can find protection from the wind. The fishing has been good around the basins and channels out back right now. We’ve had a lot of bait move in this past month, like mullet, pilchards and ballyhoo. Once the bait shows up, the predator fish are not far behind. Right now, in the backcountry, you can catch mangrove snappers, jacks, barracudas, tarpon and variety of other fish.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys Report-Updated Sept. 26 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, as I write this, Tropical Storm Helene is brushing past us. Conditions are not too bad here, the wind is gusting to 50 mph and there are sporadic bands of rain coming through. We got lucky on this one, but I hope everyone up in the gulf coast is prepared and ready for this storm. As far as the fishing goes, I do not have much to report on because this week we have been preparing for this weather.
Helene should be cleared out of here by the weekend though and you should be able to get out on the water. The forecast is looking nice, with wind around 10 mph and minimal chances of rain. There will most likely be a lot of debris from the storm, so be careful driving around. The visibility in the water may also be pretty dirty so lobstering and spearfishing may be challenging. The water may need a few more days of calm weather before it clears up.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys Report-Updated Sept. 19 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. The weather has been a little hit or miss this week. At times it’s been stormy and gross, then the sun comes out, the wind drops and it gets really nice. We had to delay our departure a few mornings, but we were able to get out and have some good fishing. We also had some enormous high tides this week and you can expect the big high tides to be during the late mornings and afternoons this weekend. Keep that in mind of your planning a trip to the sandbar this weekend. Also, if you plan on launching a boat, sometimes these big tides can make launching a boat tricky at some boat ramps, but that is just something to be aware of. On a positive note, you have a significantly less chance of running aground when there is 4 feet on water on the flats.
These tides do make flats fishing very hard because it is hard to spot fish when there is a few feet of water on the flat However, fishing on the lower tides has been great for bonefish, especially when the sun has been out. We do have lots of bait showing up in the backcountry right now, like mullet, pilchards and ballyhoo. There is usually some good fishing around the bait schools, like tarpon, jacks, snappers and lots of toothy predators. If you want to bend some rods this weekend, fishing in the bait schools is a good option.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys Report-Updated Sept. 12 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast; it still feels like summer down here and the fishing has been reflective of that. It has been a super hot week and the forecast for the weekend looks like more of the same. The weatherman is calling for sunny skies and light winds, so this is a great weekend to get out on the water. Overall, the fishing has been great the last few days. The offshore fishing was slower last week, but it picked up this week and I had reports of good mahi mahi fishing out in the deep. The backcountry fishing remains consistently good for targeting tarpon and bonefish.
Considering the wind forecast and minimal rain predictions, you should be able to go wherever you want on the water. If you’ve been planning that trip to the Dry Tortugas or that long range trip out to the gulf to fish the towers or deeper wrecks, this is could be the weekend for you. Or if some of the closer lobster spots have been picked over at this point, you can run further west and look for less pressured areas. It’s definitely slow season on the island, so boat traffic has been minimal and the visibility has been excellent. This one the best times of year to get out on the water and its also way cooler than being on land.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys Report-Updated Sept. 5 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. The weather looks nice for the upcoming weekend. The weatherman is calling for winds out the East, around 10-15 mph and it will be mostly sunny, so it should be a nice weekend out on the water. The island has been quiet this week, which is normal for this time of year, so there has not been a lot of boat traffic on the water. The offshore fishing has been slower this past week. The offshore guides were saying there is not much current and the water is green. If you’re offshore and it gets slow, you can always fish the wrecks, just past the reef line, south of Lower Keys. There are a number of wrecks out there, in water from 150 to 300 feet deep. They are marked on all modern GPS instruments. You do not have to anchor over the wreck, you can drift over them and drop all kinds of live and dead baits down to the structure. You can catch all kinds of fish, like snappers, groupers, amberjacks and a variety of other fish. There is usually a lot of action and some tasty fish as well. The sharks can be thick around the wrecks, so be prepared for them to try to eat your catch.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys Report-Updated Aug. 29 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We’ve had a lot of stormy weather this week and it may be more of the same for this upcoming holiday weekend. Right now, the weather forecast is calling for a 60-70 percent chance of storms from Saturday through Monday. Typically, when the weather gets questionable like this, it’s best to just wake and see what the radar looks like that day because it can be hard to predict when the storms will happen. There may be nasty weather in the morning, but the storms can clear out and the afternoons can get nice, or vice versa.
Whether you end up fishing offshore or inshore, this a great time of year to use live bait because its relatively easy to come by. Also, whether you’re inshore or offshore, it's usually the most effective way to fish. There are a lot of pilchards on the south side of the lower keys right now and there are a lot mullet in the basins in the backcountry. You do not need both kinds of bait, either one will work well. The big mud slicks in the water will give the mullet schools away in the backcountry and the pelicans diving will give the pilchards away on the ocean side. There are a few people who sell live bait down here, but it's most efficient to be able to throw a cast net well and make sure your live well is working properly.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys Report-Updated Aug. 22 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We’ve had some great weather this week, a lot of heat, but very calm and sunny. It does look like the wind is picking up as we head into the weekend, though. It’s supposed to be blowing 15-20 mph out of the east and the chance of rain is increasing to 50 percent. You are definitely going to want to keep an eye on the weather radar again if you’re on the water. If you can’t get offshore, the lobstering is still good in the shallows. Some of the spots have been picked over, but there’s plenty of areas that are still holding good numbers and nice size lobsters.
The inshore fishing has been excellent recently. We’re starting to see some bait schools showing up in the basins and around the mangroves. You can catch a lot of fish around the bait, like jacks, snappers, barracudas, sharks, tarpon and a variety of other fish. If you have a cast net, now is the time to use it. You don’t need live bait to catch those fish though, you can use different artificial lures, like bucktail jigs, soft plastic bait fish and other top water baits. The bait is just starting to show up, so you should be able to fish around the bait all fall and winter.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys Report-Updated Aug. 15 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. We’ve had beautiful weather this week and overall, it’s looking good for the weekend. The wind will be down, but there is a 50-60 percent chance of showers in the afternoon, which is fairly common this time of year. Regardless of what you’re doing on the water, you should always keep your eye on the forecast and the weather radar. The storms can pop up quick and it’s always a good idea to have a safe place to shelter or an escape plan if the clouds build up and it starts getting dark. If it’s just light rain showers, it’s not a big deal, but once the lightning starts, it gets really unsafe.
All around, from offshore to backcountry fishing, it has been really good down here. Between bonefish and tarpon there is a lot of action on the flats. It’s mostly smaller tarpon, around 30lbs, but they have been pretty fired up, chasing the bait schools. Also, there are plenty of bonefish schools on the flats right now too. In the offshore world, the mahi mahi fishing continues to be consistently good, with a lot action and plenty of keepers.They are starting to get some blackfin tunas showing up in the deep water as well.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys Report-Updated Aug. 8 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, I hope everyone made it through Debby with minimal damage. There is nothing major to report down here from the storm, just a bunch of cleaning up. The weather for this weekend looks great though, so you’re going to want to get out on the water. I don’t have any offshore reports since the storm, but generally there should be some good mahi mahi fishing after the storms roll through. There is usually a lot for floating debris for the mahi to hide under, just be careful of that debris when you’re driving around.
The regular Lobster season opened Aug. 6, so this will be the first weekend you can go harvest lobsters. There haven’t been too many boats out yet, I think the storm kept some people away. Also, the water visibility was pretty dirty, but it’s cleaning up fast. It’s important to know the regulations before you dive for them, you are allowed six lobsters per person and the carapace must be at least 3 inches long. It’s also a good idea to have the proper dive gear and have a visible dive flag for other boaters to see.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys Report-Updated Aug. 1 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast; we’ve had beautiful weather during the week, but unfortunately this weekend is looking terrible. At this point in time, I’m not sure yet if it will be a named storm or just a lot of wind and rain, but either way, I would advise to stay off the water this weekend down here. Stay safe and get out there next weekend.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys Report-Updated July 25 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, I hope everyone enjoyed a safe and bountiful mini lobster season. It was a little breezy for mini season, but the forecast is looking great for the weekend. The wind will be around 10 mph and there is a minimal chance of precipitation. It could be good idea to get offshore this weekend and take advantage of the light winds. The mahi mahi are still around, but they have been a little harder to find because there has not been a lot of floating seaweed out there. However, if you can find some fish, there have been some nice size ones, up to 20 pounds. You can also catch some tunas offshore, so it’s always a good idea to keep something small way out back in your trolling spread, the tunas are usually eating small stuff this time of year. If you are fishing deep and the mahi fishing is slow, you can always go deep dropping. Any kind of structure you mark from 400 feet, out to 1,000 feet can have some tasty fish on it, like tilefish, rosefish and a variety of groupers. Depending on current, you may need a few pounds of lead to get to the bottom, so electric reels are not essential, but they are really nice. Braided mainline is definitely essential. You can also run multiple hooks on your bottom rig because if you miss a bite or two, you know you still have hooks with bait, so you don’t have to bring it up. You should also get bit pretty quickly; it’s not the type of fishing you need patience for.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys-Updated July 11 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, we’ve had fairly mild wind all week, but there was a lot of overcast and hazy conditions. The forecast for the weekend is looking mediocre, with the wind around 15 mph, out of the east and 40 percent chance of rain. If you can get offshore, the mahi mahi fishing has been excellent. This time of year, if you’re heading out deep, it’s always a good idea to keep a lookout for areas with seaweed, floating debris and bird activity. All these things usually lead you to mahi mahi. You can also catch them in a variety of ways, like trolling, live baits, artificial lures, and you can even fly fish for them.
The sight fishing on the flats was challenging this week, due the cloudy conditions, but there were fish around. The tarpon fishing was pretty good the last few days and that’s always nice when its cloudy. They roll on the surface and breathe air, so they tend to give themselves away easier then some of our other fish. We should have good tarpon fishing through most of the summer, too. Lastly, we do have the new, single-day lobster season on Sunday, so good luck and stay safe out there.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys-Updated June 26 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, after a rough couple weeks, we finally have nice stretch of weather down here. The weekend looks pretty nice at the moment, the wind should be around 10-15mph and there is a 50% chance of rain on Sunday. The offshore fishing and reef fishing have been great, so this can be a good weekend to get out there and catch some tasty fish like mahi mahi, snapper and grouper. The Key West Marlin tournament is a few weeks away and that is always a fun event for the fishing community down here. If you’re looking to spend a few days offshore before the lobster mini season, this a great tournament to fish and you have the chance of winning a lot of money.
Although, we’re starting to reach the end of our tarpon season in the Lower Keys, we still have good amount of fish around. They have been biting well around the harbor in the mornings and were still seeing a good bit of fish moving on the ocean. The big groups of fish will be moving on shortly, but we’ll still get shots a big fish throughout the summer, it’s just less consistent than in the spring. The juvenile tarpon should be around all summer as well, they are usually, 10-30lbs and typically, we fish for them around the mangroves or in the bait schools.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys-Updated June 20 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, we’ve had a lot of wind down here and it’s not looking much better for the weekend. The wind will be dropping down to about 15-20mph, which is an improvement from the current wind at 25-30mph, but the chance of rain will be around 50-60 percent this weekend. I don’t have much to report on, as far as the offshore fishing goes, just because I don’t know of anyone who as made it out recently. If you can make it out there this weekend, the mahi mahi fishing should be good because there has not been much pressure on them and considering all the wind we’ve had, there should be some floating debris.
The flats fishing has been challenging due to the weather conditions, but there’s still fish around. If we can get a little more sun and a little less wind, we should be able to connect with a few more fish. Even on the windier days, fishing for bonefish has been pretty good. They don’t seem to mind the wind that much and it usually makes them less spooky. Casting in the wind can be difficult, but on the flats, the wind can help hide the boat from the fish and they are usually less aware your presence. You have a much better chance of getting away with a bad cast on these days, the fish may not spook out if you land your fly or jig on them.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys-Updated June 13 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, the weather this week has been brutal, but it looks like it’s getting a little better as we move toward the weekend. Saturday looks like the best day right now with lighter wind than Sunday. Due to the current weather conditions, I do not have any reports from the reef or offshore, but if you can get out this weekend, there should be plenty of mahi mahi around. It’s prime time for them. Finding a big one can be challenging, but most of them have been legal and there is a lot of action. If you want to fill your freezer with delicious fish, go look for mahis this weekend.
Fishing on the flats has been tough this week, the heavy cloud coverage, rain and big wind has made the sight casting really hard. We were able to hide out in the mangroves and find a few smaller tarpon, but we didn’t get many shots at big fish. The fishing should be improving by this weekend as the weather improves. The tarpon should be swimming around Key West harbor and in the channels and basins in the backcountry.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys-Updated May 30 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, we’ve had beautiful weather all week and great fishing, but it will be windy this weekend. The weatherman is saying there will be wind out of the east around 20mph this weekend, but it should be mostly sunny. Even though, the mahi mahi fishing offshore has been great, if you can’t make it offshore, don’t worry. The inshore fishing has been great as well.
The tarpon fishing has been excellent in the backcountry and that’s a nice option for when its windy. You can often find tarpon rolling in many of the basins and channels, where you can hide out from the wind. Live bait usually works best, like crabs, mullet and pinfish, but the artificial lures work as well. You can usually hook jacks, sharks and other fish as bycatch when your tarpon fishing too.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Upper Keys-Updated May 24 Hello everyone, and welcome back to this week’s report! This past week the fishing has been decent as the moon approached with some surprises from the bottom dwellers. The bottom fish have not been as active as we had hoped approaching the moon, but decent enough for the table. The offshore bite was a little up and down, but seemingly became better once the moon arrived late in the week. This is a little backwards, but going from very little current to it picking up makes sense. The reef remained decent post spawn, but slacked on the slow tide. Fish are still hungry and you can catch enough for dinner no worries. The weekend weather looks good for the holiday, and the water traffic will be plentiful I am sure. Looking forward to getting this summertime fishing moving in a consistent direction. Be safe out there everyone! Check back with you next week! Happy Memorial Day!
Capt. James Chappell catchalottafish.com
Lower Keys—Updated May 23 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast. The weather looks nice this weekend, with the wind around 10mph and partly cloudy skies. Fishing has been good offshore, we’re getting into Mahi season now and they’re have been plenty of them around. With the great weather over the weekend, it could be a great time to fish for mahi. You can find them anywhere on the southern side of the reef line, but many times you find more or bigger fish the deeper you run.
It’s always a good idea to keep an eye out for birds, weed lines and other floating debris; any sign of life out there can have fish around it. Trolling is a great way to target mahi, but make sure you have a few spin rods set up with artificial lures or hooks for bait. Many times the mahi will stay around the boat so being ready to pitch a lure or bait can really help you capitalize.
Inshore fishing remains good all around, there is a lot of life on the flats and in the backcountry right now. There are plenty of big tarpon schools in the harbor, as well as in the basins and channels out back. If you can get any live crabs or pinfish, those have been working great, but artificial lures can work on the tarpon as well. There are plenty of bonefish around on the flats too and that fishery should be great through the summer and into the fall.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys—Updated May 16 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, the summer weather feels like it’s starting to set in. The wind is beginning to lay down and it's starting to get hot. This should be a great weekend to get out on the water, with light winds and sunny skies. The Grouper fishing on the reef has been great since the season opened on May 1st. A lot of the light tackle guides are reporting nice sized black and red grouper. You can also drop down to the bottom in some of the deeper structure, south of the Keys, for snowy and yellowedge groupers. Those fish are usually in 400 feet of water and deeper and they taste excellent.
The inshore fishing has been very good this week. There are a good number of tarpon around at the moment and a lot of big schools in the harbor. The bay boat guides are catching them consistently in the harbor on live pinfish. Other live baits and artificial lures can work well too, but pinfish seem to be the preferred bait for most of the guides down here. It’s easy to find where the fish are, they usually roll on the surface in big schools in the main ship channel. You can also mark the schools of fish on your bottom machine.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
PREVIOUS REPORTS Lower Keys-Updated May 9 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, the weather for this weekend finally looks great, with light warm, winds and sunny skies. It will be a good weekend to get offshore and the mahi mahi fishing has started to get more consistent. This is the time of year when you get some bigger fish showing up, along with plenty of schoolies mixed in. Most of the fish are found under birds, floating weeds and other debris. You can catch them on the troll or you can throw live baits and artificial lures at them. Also, if you hook one mahi and there is a school of fish around, make sure you leave 1 hooked fish in the water because the rest of the school with stay with that hooked fish.
The tarpon fishing has been a decent this past week. There have been fish in the backcountry and fish on the ocean side, but it has been breezy so fishing on the ocean has been tough. If could be good this weekend when the wind lays down. There have been a lot of bonefish around to keep us occupied, when the tarpon fishing has been slower. I have been finding big schools of bonefish on either tide on the gulf side this past week. Using a small bucktail jig, tipped with shrimp will work on those fish, you can also cast DOA shrimp or fly fish for them as well.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys-Updated May 1 Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, this will be the first weekend that grouper season is open in 2024. Considering the weather looks decent this weekend, I’m sure it will be busy on the water, as well as around the marinas and boat ramps. The wind will be coming out of the east around 15mph, so it will be a little bumpy around the reef, but it should be warm and sunny. Make sure you know your regulations for Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, as well as state and federal waters.
The backcountry fishing was very good this week. We’re just now, starting to see some bigger schools of tarpon showing up down here, both in Key West harbor and Bahia Honda. There have been a lot more tarpon moving on the ocean and fish in the basins and channels as well. If tarpon or grouper are not your thing, the bonefishing on the flats has also been great this week, especially on the gulf side. That is another good option for this weekend, especially if it’s going to be sunny and you can see well.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Lower Keys-Updated April 18
Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, we’ve had a breezy week down here, but the weekend is looking nice. It will still be a little windy, around 15mph, but it will be warm and sunny. The offshore bite has been okay this week. There are a few sailfish around, some dolphins and big blackfins tunas mixed in too. Most of the action seems to be close to the reef and out to 300 feet of water. You can catch these fish trolling, but if you can get some live baits, like ballyhoo or herring, those baits can work the best.
As far as the inshore bite goes, the tarpon fishing has been decent recently. There are some fish around in the channels and basins in the backcountry. Fishing for them has been challenging with the heavy wind, but it may be a little easier this weekend with the wind dropping out slightly. You can fish them in a variety of ways. I like to throw soft plastic artificial lures, like Hogys and paddle tail baits. You can also use live baits, like crabs, shrimp or pinfish. These fish can get very big, so make sure you have adequate gear, like a strong main line and a 50lb fluorocarbon leader.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Upper Keys-Updated 3/29
Hello again, and back with a new report for this week from the Florida Keys! Some pretty good fishing all week with some windy conditions, but the Sailfish this week were pretty cooperative as we had another tailing condition develop between Marathon and Islamorada. A really nice edge out in 200-350 created a great condition and some anglers were able to get their chance at double-digit sailfish. A lot of mahi mixed in and even a few cobia and tunas, especially for the guys fishing the kites. A few boats in the 20s with several in the teens, it was a great couple days of fishing. The wreck fishing remains in good condition as we enter the weekend. The front that approached us on Thursday stalled a bit dragging more wind into Friday, but the weekend as of now is looking decent. The reef top has been marginal with the dirty water, but a few areas have been doable for the yellowtail snappers. African pompano have been increasing on the wrecks as well as the permit. Remember, Permit are in a closed season now as well in Monroe county. Bait has been decent all week, so that has been good, and here we go into the weekend! Have a great Easter weekend everyone, and we will see you next week!
Capt. James Chappell catchalottafish.com
Lower Keys-Updated 3/28
Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, we’ve had a super breezy week down here, but the weather for the weekend is looking pretty nice. It will still be windy, around 15-20 mph out of the East, but it should be warm and sunny. If you can get offshore, the blackfin tuna fishing has been great, especially later in the day and evening time. The sailfish bite has slowed down from a couple weeks ago, but there is still plenty of fish out there and this cold front can turn the bite on again.
Fishing in the backcountry has still been good all around, it was tough conditions this week with the big wind, but the fish are still here. I would think this weekend should be great fishing with a more manageable wind and sunny skies. The fish should be eating well, too, because the temperature should be warming quickly coming off this minor cold front that hit today (Thursday). Bonefish are another great option right now on the flats and it's always the most fun when it’s sunny out. Although the wind can make casting with accuracy harder, it can be good for the fishing because it provides cover for the boat and the fish can be less aware of your presence.
Capt. Jamie Connell www.flyingfishkw.com
Upper Keys-Updated 3/21
Hello everyone and welcome back to this week’s report! A fun week here in our little fishing village and some pretty nice weather so far this week. A little bit of everything around this week with some sails, lots of king mackerel, a few tunas and a really nice bite of mutton snapper. The rest of the supporting cast with the amberjacks, ceros, almaco jacks and sharks around to brighten up your day if things got slow. The permit are finally showing up making for the start of spring as they move out of the bay onto the offshore reefs and wrecks to start spawning. This is a really nice treat for our anglers as these guys are tough and will fight you down and dirty. We don’t keep any of them as they are catch and release, but they are a lot of fun to sight fish. The weekend weather is not looking so hot as of now. We have already cancelled Friday and Saturday and are expecting our Sunday charters to be better where the weather is concerned. Check back next week for a new report and see where we ended up! Be safe out there everyone, and see ya next week!
Capt. James Chappell catchalottafish.com
Lower Keys-Updated 3/21
Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, the weather for the early part of the weekend is looking questionable at best. The weatherman is calling for a lot of wind and rain on Friday and Saturday, however, Sunday looks much more mild, with a light north wind and sunny skies. Recently, the offshore fishing has been great down here, the blackfins have been biting well. A lot of the offshore guides like running evening tuna trips this time of year because the tuna bite is best later on in the day. The sunset in Key West is known to the excellent, but it’s even better if your offshore catching tunas.
The backcountry fishing has been great as well. The tarpon have started to show up in some of the basins and channels out in the backcountry. As long as it hasn’t been too cold, the tarpon fishing has been consistent so far this month. The permit fishing has been decent, much better than last year. We’ve had some shots at them on the flats and we’ve seen them floating in a few channels and shallow rock piles as well. The bonefish are around too and that should only get better as we head further into spring.
Capt. Jamie Connell
www.flyingfishkw.com
Upper Keys-Updated 3/8
Hello everyone and welcome back to this week’s report from the Upper Florida Keys! Consistent fishing this week and fairly consistent weather for this time of year. Fishing continues to hold on with a nice bite of Kings, a few sailfish and a few blackfin tunas. Throw in plenty of groupers that are closed for the season, a couple mutton snappers and an african pompano here and there and that is what is going on.
I suppose a bite from the yellowtails when the current is moving as well. Nothing crazy to write home about, but the good news is that the water is warming and things are slowly coming back to life. It is really feeling like once we get through this new moon we will be back on track. Need the water to warm up just a little and I think all will be good and just right for the spring fishing to take off. Bait is still pretty tough, but we have been getting what we need. At least enough to make the day and not spend a crazy amount of time each morning catching it, so we will take it. Looking forward to some nice weather for the weekend, and hoping the rain stays away. Check back next week for a new report and what has been happening in the Upper Florida Keys! Thanks for reading, and be safe out there.
Tight Lines
Capt. James Chappell catchalottafish.com
Lower Keys-Updated 3/8
Welcome back to the Lower Keys Fishing Forecast, it looks like we have a decent weather weekend ahead with the weatherman calling for sunshine and a nice breeze out of the south. This time of year, if you can get offshore, I would focus around the color change when you get offshore and that is where the gulf stream water runs into the inshore water. There can be a lot of species to target, like sailfish, kingfish, wahoo, blackfin tunas and other stuff. Depending on weather, bait and what you want to target, you can drift with the baits, slow troll, kite fish, etc. All these baits work well on the bottom too, so it’s a good idea to keep something on the bottom or midway down the water column if conditions allow.
The fishing in the backcountry has been pretty good this week with the warmer weather. We’ve had some clouds and that has made spotting the fish difficult, but there are plenty of bonefish on the flats and some tarpon showing up in the channels and basins. There has also been a lot of big barracudas on the flats and it’s the most that have consistently been around this winter. I like throwing a variety of artificial lures at the barracudas, but whatever I’m throwing, I do not run multiple treble hooks. It’s a lot safer when you’re handling them and its easier on the fish.
Capt. Jamie Connell
www.flyingfishkw.com
Backcountry-Updated 1/26
Hello everyone! The weather hasn't been perfect lately but that's typical for this time of the year. Anglers who fished throughout last week were rewarded with great all-around catches. Captain Lain Goodwin reported a spotty bite in Key Largo with snook, redfish, trout, sheepshead and pompano. Fish the Snake Bight Channel in Flamingo and adjacent deeper moats and runoff for a mixed bag of redfish, snook, sheepshead, trout and black drum. A shrimp and 1/4 oz chartreuse jig head crawled slowly on the deeper edge of the bank and runoffs will get the action. Fish the deeper channels and runoffs in the morning with the falling tide and work the shallow flats with the rising tide in the afternoon. Farther west towards the East Cape Canal and Lake Ingram area fish the mainland shorelines, channels and creek mouths for snook, redfish, sheepshead and black drum. The water levels have been really low so be careful not to get stuck.
The strong winds have kept us out of Gulf waters but when it's not blowing there's some great fishing to have. The cobia have been showing up well on all the farther deeper wrecks. Bring plenty of chum, shrimp and pinfish and you will be all set for some fun fishing. Tripletail are becoming more abundant so keep your eyes on the trap buoys for some good-eating fish. The areas from Sandy towards Sprigger Bank have been best on the warmer days. We had been staying close to park boundaries catching some trout, snappers, mackerel and sharks. Anchor up and deploy your chum bag, rig some 1/2 oz white, chartreuse or yellow pompano jigs with a couple of inches of light wire. Tip your jigs with shrimp and cast towards the chum slick for non-stop action. Always good to have the shark rod out since you never know what can show up. It's a great fishery for any type of angler.
The bonefishing has been spotty with the strong winds and cloudy conditions. Fish the oceanside and bayside flats with an incoming tide, look for pushing fish on the lowest tide and mudding fish as the water rises. The weather conditions have made it tough for sight fishing but most of the anglers that put their time and effort on it got rewarded. Captain Andy Putetti has been on top of the bonefish in Islamorada putting his anglers into some big schools of fish. Couple of permit have been seen cruising the deeper edges of flats and banks both oceanside and bayside. Lots of patience and dedication have provided anglers with some great shots and catches. Don't miss out on the great fishing going on right now in the Florida Keys backcountry!
Capt. Juan Garcia www.fishingcharterinislamorada.com
