Fishing Report

I've had a few people asking for a fishing report.  I've been fishing almost every day and haven't had time to put together a quality report.  So, I'm going to send out a quickie.

 

Tarpon are the big story this time of year .  Tarpon season got off to a very slow start this year.  April, May and June normally produce good numbers of the big migratory fish - especially in the evening.  This year, the fish showed up late.  The weather was extremely cool, windy and stormy through April.  This kept our migratory fish from entering their normal haunts around the Florida Keys.  We still caught some good fish - but the bite was not "up to par" for a normal April and early May.  The good news is - they are here now!  We are catching good numbers of the big (100-150 pound) migratory fish.  The evening trips are producing.  This last week we've been averaging 5-6 hook-ups and catching at least one or two monster "Silver Kings" every evening trip.  I expect the tarpon fishing to be excellent all the way through June.  More than likely - it will be great into mid July.  I've caught huge tarpon up to 220 pounds and they will average 100-150 pounds this time of year.  So, if you are after a trophy "fish of a lifetime" now is the time.

 

The trout bite continues to be excellent with average catches of 50-80 fish per trip and lots of really nice size speckled sea trout up to 25 inchers.  For great non-stop action the trout and snapper are the way to go.

 

The redfish and snook have been good.  Definitely more reds then snook - but we have caught some really nice snook up to 14 pounds.  The reds are averaging 2-6 pounds.  We have been catching 10-15 redfish on a good day lately.

 

The shark bite has been really good.  We have gotten into some nice blaktips up to 80 pounds,  big lemons up to 200 pounds and a few bulls up to 200 pounds.  A few weeks ago we boated a 100 pound hammerhead and two sawfish that were 15-16 footers!

 

I have many trips booked through late June.  This time of year usually is booked far in advance.  So, if your thinking about booking - give me a call as soon as you can - to reserve some of the best fishing in the world -  right here in the beautiful Florida Keys.   

 

 

Thanks,
Captain Steve Murray
Phone:  305 - 393 - 1641
Email:  stevemurray126@att.net
Website:  www.tarponheadquarters.com

How's the Fishin?

How's the Fishing?  I get asked this question quite regularly.  How's the fishing going to be today?  To this I respond - ask me tomorrow or get in the boat and we will see.  I can tell you how it's been - but no-one can predict how it will be today.  That's why we call it fishing - not catching.  In general the fishing here is always good.  It's always good for something.  We have such a diverse fishery - there's always something biting.  Even on a slow day of fishing here in the Keys - it's still better than a good day in most other places throughout the world. 

 

That being said - lets talk about how the fishing has been.  The trout bite is really awesome right now.  The sea trout are moving into their spring patterns and we are catching big numbers in the deep water grass.  We have been catching limits of very nice size fish up to 21 inches every day for the last couple weeks.  Great action for anyone who enjoys catching a lot of fish.  It's not uncommon to catch 80-100 on a good day.  We also catch jacks, ladyfish and the occasional pompano while targeting these feisty, tasty speckled sea trout.  Most of the restaurants in town will cook your catch and a few trout will feed two hungry anglers.  There is nothing better at the end of the day - than relaxing in a nice restaurant with a few drinks and enjoying the fish you caught that day.  They don't get any fresher than that.  The mangrove snapper are great eating as well and are always available to target.  I call them - bluegills on steroids because they are usually schooled up in big numbers, easy to catch, they taste great, they fight like they're 3 times their size and the average size is from about 7 to 14 inches.  A big one can be over 20 inches - but those are rare.  Great table fare and lots of action.

 

The redfish were biting well all winter.  We were catching 15-25 a day on the good days.  During the last couple weeks the reds have turned off.  Not so many fish caught - but to me this only means it's going to get better soon.  The good news is the snook bite turned on.  The snook are found in the same places we catch redfish - so, like I was saying earlier, our fishery is so diverse - there's always something biting.  Although the reds have been hard to catch the snook have turned on and some really nice size fish have showed up.   They have been averaging 5 to 9 pounds - and those are some drag screaming bruisers. 

 

Tarpon - oh yea Tarpon.  It's almost prime time for tarpon.  The migratory fish are making their arrival.  There are some fish here now and I expect the large numbers to start showing up soon with the warm weather we've had.  I have a few evening tarpon trips coming up in the next week and I expect to produce some good size fish.  This time of year most of the early arrivals are in the 50-80 pound range - but by mid April the big monsters (100-200 pounders) will be here.  If your into the muscle burn of battling these 100 pound plus monsters - book your trip now for spring and early summer tarpon action.

 

There are many other species we are catching - shark, spanish mackerel, black drum, sheepshead, tripletail and barracuda to name a few.  I love fishing - as much as anyone and we have a very diverse fishery to choose from.  If you want to know how the fishing's been - you can call and ask me.  If you want to know how the fishing is going to be - book a trip and we will find out together.

 

Thanks,
Captain Steve Murray
Phone:  305 - 393 - 1641
Email:  stevemurray126@att.net
Website:  www.tarponheadquarters.com

Sunny Warm Weather Fishing

It's January and the weather is in the 70's, it's sunny almost every day and the fish are biting.  There aren't too many places in the United States, or most of the world for that matter, where you can make a true statement like that. 

 

The redfish are schooled up big-time right now.  Low tide situations are producing large numbers of fish in the channels, run-offs and the deeper cuts along the mangroves.  On the really high tides they are schooled up on the flats as well.  Mike and Fran Chapin were in from the Chicago area for there annual winter fishing trip.  They experienced some intense non-stop action of the powerful, schooled up feeding redfish.  We boated more than 50 reds in the 2-6 pound range and some bully black drum up to 7 pounds.  The action was fast and furious.  Sore arms and smiling faces at days end.  There's been a few snook in the mix as well and some real bruisers up to 14 pounds.  Very nice to see our snook population coming back from the cold snap we had a few years ago. 

 

The trout bite remains as good as ever.  We've been getting some nice fat fish up to 22 inches.  These beautiful speckled sea trout are great fun for the whole family.  It's not uncommon to catch 80-100 in a 1/2 day trip.  The action is fast.  Doubles and triple hook-ups when the bite is on.  For consistent action it's hard to beat the trout, snapper and spanish mackerel bite this time of year.  If you're someone who enjoys bending the rod - fish after fish - these are the species to target.  This is a great way to get a kid hooked on fishing.

 

The shark fishing can be good this time of year - although I do prefer the warmer months for more consistent action.  George Luburich is a regular and he's the kind of guy who wants something large on the end of his line.  We landed a nice 6 pound snook, several jacks and ladyfish and then it was time to go after Jaws!  We cut up the jacks and ladyfish for bait.  Baited up the shark rod and let the big man hang on and wait.  George boated a big stingray and his brother-in -law landed one of the biggest sharks I've seen in the backcountry - weighing in at a whopping 350 pounds.  Happy guys heading back home to the north.  George will be back again in the spring for his annual tarpon trip.  The big 100-200 pound tarpon will start showing up in March and the peak time will be mid April through June. 

 

If the cold weather is getting you down - pick up the phone, book a trip to the beautiful, warm, sunny Florida Keys and "Lets Go Fishin"! 

 

 

 

Thanks,
Captain Steve Murray
Phone:  305 - 393 - 1641
Email:  stevemurray126@att.net
Website:  www.tarponheadquarters.com

Fishin in the Keys

Fishing in the Keys is great - as usual.  This year has been a little on the warm side for early winter.  If you are coming from a cold part of the world - I'm sure you won't mind a bit!  Even though the waters have been warmer than normal for this time of year - the fish are still in their winter patterns. 

 

The spanish mackerel are "game on" just outside the park.  We caught a few nice tripletail and a small cobia along with 25-30 feisty spanish mac's on one of the less windy days last week.  The redfish have been good and some really nice size snook have moved in.  The reds are averaging 2-5 pounds and last week we boated some great size snook in the 8-12 pound range.  It's nice to see the snook population is getting better and better over the last couple years.  They are still "no take" and that is helping the fishery tremendously.  The trout bite is very good - but they are also "out of season" through December.  Nice size fish up to 22 inches and very good numbers.  Fun for "catch and release".  It you want some "eaters" the mangrove snapper are schooled up in big numbers and make for great table fair.  We landed a 25 inch gag grouper in one of my snapper holes on Friday (yum).  We are also getting some nice black drum and sheepshead.  For you shark fans - the warmer weather has kept some of these "toothy critters" lurking in our shallow waters.  We landed two nice lemon sharks in the 80-100 pound range earlier last week. 

 

I've got several trips over the next couple weeks and the fishing should be great. 

 

Happy Holidays everyone!  Hope to see you on the water soon.

 

Thanks,
Captain Steve Murray
Phone:  305 - 393 - 1641
Email:  stevemurray126@att.net
Website:  www.tarponheadquarters.com

The Redfish are Coming! - The Redfish are Coming!

No, not The Redcoats - "The Redfish"!  Ever since the cold blast we had back in January 2010 the redfishing has been excellent.  This last weekend it was as good as it gets.  My brother was in from Bozeman, Montana and we loaded up the 21 Redfisher and headed to the Flamingo area for some great redfish fishing.  We worked hard the first few hours hitting the deeper Island moats.  It was tough, we only landed one red and several ladyfish.  It was high tide and I figured these fish must be "up on the flats" so we headed for a luscious grass flat with good water flow and as we pulled up slowly with the trolling motor - the water "came alive" - tails, pushes, wakes from redfish everywhere!  Quick, get a cast in there!  Bam, Bam - two reds on and several following our hooked fish in toward the boat.  Then the water really came alive with well over 500 redfish scurrying across the flats.  They were working a section of the grass flat about 200 yards long and 50 yards wide.  They would move away when we hooked up and after a minute or two they would move back into our range and Bam, Bam hooked up with another double.  They were all 2 to 5 pounders and this went on for about an hour.  A big thunderstorm moved in on us and we left the reds - still biting.  We boated well over 70 fish.  It doesn't get any better than that! 

 

Last week we worked the flats up in the Bites (or what is better know as Bays in most areas).  The baby tarpon were out in force and we landed 3 for about 7 on jerk baits and swim baits.  These baby tarpon were making crazy jumps and headshaking that can toss the hook in a hurry.  They were averaging 2 to 8 pounds.  Lots of fun on light spinning rods.  We also got into a few nice snook and redfish.  Snook up to 8 pounds and reds up to 6 pounds.  The trout and snapper bite has been excellent as well.

 

The Fall is always a great time to fish.  The high tides pull lots of feeding fish up on the grass flats and when they see a free offering they readily except - usually in a very aggressive manner.  The change in the season is right around the corner and these fish will again change there feeding habits - but that's OK - I think I know where they will be. 

 

Come-on down to the Keys for some great fishing!

 

Thanks,
Captain Steve Murray
Phone:  305 - 393 - 1641
Email:  stevemurray126@att.net
Website:  www.tarponheadquarters.com

Hot Hot Hot - Fishin Too

Temperatures are hot and so is the fishing.  We don't expect anything less this time of year.  The redfish bite has been red hot.  This past Wednesday we got into as many redfish as you wanted to catch.  Every cast was a nice red - and most of the fish were in the 20- 27 inch range - and it was literally EVERY CAST!   After catching 40-50 beautiful reds - Mike and Roland decided they would like to try something else???  Roland wants to get a shark - so, we left the reds, still biting, and hit one of my red hot shark spots.  Roland (from Germany) doesn't get too many sharks where he is from - and getting a huge man-eater shark on film was a big thrill for him - and the film will make a big hit with his buds back in Germany!  He battled and caught a nice 100 pound lemon shark and another 150 pound plus bull shark before we headed back home.

 

Ken and Patty (from Illinois) were in today and also wanted the catch the toothy critter (shark).  We hit a big muddy water spot and pulled in some nice tasty shark bait (ladyfish).  Then off to the shark spot.  In our 1/2 day trip they boated 7 teeth gnashing terrors of the sea!  They had a an excellent trip and got some great photos.

 

The trout are gorging themselves as well.  They are getting ready to make a mid summer spawn and some of these trout are big fat gators at 22 inch plus fish.  Lots and lots of action with most in the 12-19 inch range.  Hot, hot action - great fun for the family and excellent table fair. 

 

The snook are still hit and/or miss - but on the days we are finding them - we are getting some really nice size fish.  We landed a beautiful 14 pounder last week, lost one that was easily 16 pound plus and many feisty size fish in the 5-12 pound range.  Great fun, always a few drag screaming runs and jumps - and we are finding them in some of the same areas the redfish are frequenting.  So, hot action on the reds with some nice snook in the mix.

 

This is a great time to fish the backcountry.  The tides are high - allowing us to get up on some of the flats that are inaccessible in the winter and spring.  The water is warm influencing these fish to be more aggressive.  They will chase an artificial bait this time of year and eat it "in a heartbeat" - and that's always a huge thrill.  Weedless swim baits work great and I love seeing a big red, snook or tarpon "Blast" a fast moving artificial lure!  The tides and wind are key - and morning or late afternoon/evening are best.  Give me a shout if want to experience some great hot, hot, hot fishing.

 

 

Thanks,
Captain Steve Murray
Phone:  305 - 393 - 1641
Email:  stevemurray126@att.net
Website:  www.tarponheadquarters.com

Hot Fun in the Summertime

The fishing in and around the backcountry continues to be great.  The trout bite is fantastic with several 30-50 fish half days.  The redfish are chomping up the shrimp and gulp shrimp.  Catching some nice ones on the gold/silver spoons and several different swim baits.  Getting some nice snook in the mix as well.  We caught a beautiful 12 pounder last week.  For you shark fans - the sharks are as abundant as they can be.  Plenty of Bulls, Lemons and a few Black Tips.  The Tarpon were killer this year - but the warm weather has caused the big migratory fish to vacate the area a little early this season.  We are still getting the local Tarpon around some of the bridges and in the backcountry. 

 

This time of year the water is a little higher and allows us to get up on some of the flats that are not so easily accessible in the winter and spring.  For those who like casting swim baits, spoons and even some top water plugs - this is the time to do it.  Summer and fall offer the best opportunity to fish these artificials and the warm weather has the fish very aggressive. 

 

The live bait fishing is always good for everything and still the best bet for snapper and tarpon. 

 

The Summer and Fall are excellent times to fish - but it gets a little warm out there.  So, a 4 hour or 6 hour trip is the best - either morning, late afternoon or evening trips are the way to go.   Give me a shout and lets go fishing!  

 

 

Thanks,
Captain Steve Murray
Phone:  305 - 393 - 1641
Email:  stevemurray126@att.net
Website:  www.tarponheadquarters.com