Foggy Day in the Keys

Today was kind of wierd. We had these periodic fog banks that would move in and just cover us up for about 20 minutes then just vanish. I can tell you the fish didnt care. There were plenty of Permit and a few Tarpon to play with. Kent went 2 for 2 on 100lb tarpon today. The Permit did'nt want to eat the fly for us today, but we will be back tomorrow.

Red on the Rise

Today we had beautiful calm conditions. The water has still been in the upper 60's so the Permit fishing has been tough. We have only been getting a few shots a day at them. We had a mid day low tide and Kent Wriley and I decided to take advantage of a few trout and redfish spots I know. In a matter of a couple of hours we landed a dozen or so trout and a few nice redfish.

Remember these reds are resident fish and I only fish for them a few times a year in each spot. So if you find a population of redfish, dont pound on them day after day like some guides I see out there. They will leave the area for good. Find some new places to fish, and maybe everyone will be able to enjoy some incredible cold weather fishing in the keys for years to come. But if you must hit these fish over and over , always, always practice catch and release on resident populations of fish.

Signs of Life

Well the weather has made a good turn with sunny skies and temps back into the mid 70's. That water still remains cool but a few fish are starting to come back. Yesterday we really got into the Pompano and Mackrel. Although Permit is our target. It was nice to just spend a couple of hours bending the fly rod on a few of the lesser species.
After a strong cold front like we had these are the types of fish that make the first showing. Then the Permit bones and tarpon are usually a day or two behind them. So withthe tropical ESE winds in the very near future we should hooking up with some throphy fish in the days to come.

The light at the end of the Tunnel

Well it's Feb 18th and we are still watching it rain and blow in the Keys. Last night low temps got down to about 52 degrees. Tonight is supposed to be even cooler. The water temps on the oceanside of the keys has dropped into the low 60's. Good thing my angler Kent Wriley is in town until March 9th. We are bound to get some good fishing in one of these days.

The forecast calls for it to start warming into the mid 70's again by wed. So I would guess next weekend will be rocking.

I'll let you know when we finally start catching some fish again.

It's Raining Cats and Dogs.

No good fishing down here the last 2 days. I have been stuck in the house watching it rain.

But it will soon break and we will back into some great days of fishing. This time of year I look back on all of those incredible hot summer days of rolling tarpon and taillng bonefish. It's worth the wait.

It was so hot on this august morning that by 7 am we were soked with sweat, but also covered in Tarpon from 20 to 50 lbs ( pictured above).

Taking out the Boys

The last time Max Whittelsy and his father Tom fished with me. Max caught a Grand Slam consisting of a beautiful 15lb Permit.

Today they weren't lucky enough to have warm enough water to repeat that event. But Max and his best Friend Remmy didn't let that get them down. There were bigger and badder fish out their to conquer.

We started the day by pounding the trout and ladyfish, and filling the live well with baits. We then traveled to the back country mangrove estuaries to catch and release the the Goliath Grouper. These guys are amazing, we landed Five Jewfish and one Gag Grouper on 15lb spin. Three of the Jewfish were caught on one bait. Great Job Guys.

Next Time Dad and I are going to Complete that Permit on Fly Quest.

The Joys of being TWO!!!!

When you are two dad just wants to take you fishing. So on a windy, cloudy, nasty day, Kody and I set forth a "Drag Screaming, Rod Bending Adventure".

The pre frontal conditons gave us exactly that. It was every cast for an hour, The perfect amount of time for a two year old to catch, net and boga grip more trout, jacks and ladyfish than dad is willing to clean off the boat. So as the big rains of a strong cold front pushed us towards the dock. Kody got to learn a valuable life lesson. fishin' is fun until the rain starts. Then it was under dad's rainjacket and a nap for the boat ride home.

We were casting in Self Defence

A week later they were attacking the boat again. I hate it when they do that. It's terrible when you wreck all of your rods in a day of fishing.

This day we landed 3 Permit, a bonefish about five lbs, and a small mangrove dwelling tarpon. This was the first slam of the year in my skiff.

2007 Permit fishing is off to a great start

07' is looking to be a good year for Permit. If January is any indication, Florida Keys Anglers will ripping some Permit lips this spring and summer. I started off 07' by catching my 39th and 40th Permit on Fly and a two monsters to boot (25lbs and 35lbs) approximtely. A day or two earlier I took my neighbor fishing and he caught a very nice 10lb Permit on Fly. All this in the first week of the new year.