
Key Largo and The Upper Florida Keys
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By Marc Blackburn
Spring/Summer fishing starts in the Keys The winds of spring have been blowing. Days are getting longer, the waters are warming up and the summer fish are starting to bite. Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi) are showing up offshore. Bigger dolphin are swimming against the Gulfstream. Birds moving in any other direction will be smaller dolphin or tuna. The dolphin are here in very good numbers and the tuna are hitting at the Islamorada Hump. Swordfish…..my favorite and one of our specialties!! They are here year round but spring and summer offer a great opportunity as the winds are calm and fishing for them gets easier. We are batting 100% this year with at least one fish every time we have gone. Squid rigged with cylume light sticks are the ticket, the brighter the night the deeper the bite as baits need to be set deeper. Tarpon are showing up around the Oceanside side flats. These fish are big, mean and spend more time out of the water than in the water. The back country bite for snook and trout has been red hot early in the morning and in the evening near the creek mouths. Snapper fishing at the reef has been outstanding on the deeper ledges with large yellowtail up to 5 pounds being the most consistent. There have been a lot of mangrove snapper showing up and the spawn will start any time now. Night fishing has been the best bite for snapper but daytime catches have been consistent. Our summer fishery is underway here in the Florida Keys, book now and don’t miss out on the action. Key Largo is just over and hour from Miami and minutes from Islamorada.