Florida Keys Fishing Seasons

Florida Keys Fishing Seasons

Information in this section is a brief description of fishing seasons here in the Florida Keys and Key West. Written here by Capt. Steven Lamp of Dream Catcher Charters in Key West, Florida. Listed Below you will find a small article written about the different seasons in a selected area with links that take you to that fishery within this web site.

Great Barracudas

• What Charter Fishes For Them
  • Backcountry Fishing
  • Flats Fishing
  • Light Tackle Wreck and Reef Fishing
  • Fun Fishing
  • Selections vary as to your taste, offshore, inshore, are all great. Mix and match these fish with others to make the most of your day.
• When is best
  • In the Backcountry and Flats these guys get huge and in great number starting in around November and stay real strong and good fishing all through the winter here till about March, April when the waters warm and most move offshore. Top water, Live Bait, Plug, Fly fishing.
    Offshore Barracudas lay on the wrecks and reefs in large numbers ready to strike anything that looks like a meal.
• About these fish
  • Barracudas average 10 - 25 lbs depending on where you are and the season with larger ones reaching 40 lbs.
  • Hard violent hits with razor sharp teeth, acrobatic air assaults with tremendous blistering runs. A great fight on light spin gear, Fly fishing or trolling and fantastic trophy.
  • High Catch Ratio for all experience levels. Number one sport fish in the Florida Keys.
  • Little or no Food Value

Blackfin Tuna

• What Charter Fishes For Them
  • Light Tackle Wreck and Reef Fishing
  • Deep Sea Fishing
  • The Light Tackle boats have a bit of advantage with speed and agility to chase the schools of fish as they come through on a feeding warpath. The Deep sea boats however can carry up to 6 persons and tend to be a bit more comfortable.
  • Charters for these fish are extremely seasonal and very hard to get a good guide during a run. Call early.
• When Is Best
  • Late October through February these fish in the Atlantic rushing the reef feeding on pilchards and whatever else they want.
  • In March and April the blackfins are in the Gulf behind the shrimp boats gobbling up shrimp trash with albacore making a fun day of catching fish.
• About These Fish
  • Veracious eaters you will catch if you have found them. Hard fighting fish with lots of fun on spin gear, light stand up as well as a BLAST with fly gear. Hard hitting and fast running Blackfin tuna offer the angler a huge bit of fun. A great way for 4 guys to spend the day catching fish.
  • Ranging is size from 10 - 35 lbs.
  • Catch Ratio is very high when the fish are running. Many stories of anglers asking to come in early due to sore arms.
  • Food Value is HUGE!

 

The Florida Keys Bluefish

• What Charter Fishes For Them
  • Backcountry Fishing
  • Fun Fishing Charters
  • Light Tackle Wreck and Reef Fishing
  • Flats Fishing
  • Deep Sea Fishing
  • Any one of the above charters catches these fish either by accident or on purpose for entertainment.
• When Is Best
  • November through March and as late as April.
• About These Fish
  • The entertainment fish of the Florida Keys, bluefish can sure wake up an other wise slow day of fishing and add another species to the list of hard fighting toothy critters.
  • They come through in masses feeding on everything. An easy cast to hook up and your on!
  • Fly-fishing this fish is a lifesaver for new saltwater fly fishermen. Catch as many as you like to hone your skills. Hire a bay boat or backcountry charter for this. You will also catch Jack and Spanish Mackerel in the mix.
  • Kids love them as easy catch and hard pulling fish on the fun charters, great opportunity to take the whole family fishing and catch lots of fish.
  • The Fight is great, pit bull style and hard to stop. very unpredictable and easy to release unharmed.
  • Food Value is (I think) poor.

Bonefish

• What Charter Fishes For Them
  • Flats Fishing
  • Bonefishing Charters
  • Backcountry Fishing
  • Selections above are the recommended charters to book for these famous fish depending on the number of people you chose to bring and the style you would like to fish. See our Bonefishing Charters page for more details.
• When Is Best
  • Typically the months are March Through Late October. The last and the first good cold fronts will certainly start and stop the bonefishing. Strong months are in the Fall Late August, September, October.
• Geography Differences
  • The Upper Keys traditionally holds the largest and the smartest bonefish in the Florida Keys. Some reaching 15 lbs.
  • The Middle Keys all the way to Key West hold the most numbers of these fish with catches of 15 and 20 fish in the 4 - 10 lb range reported in 6 hour Backcountry fishing Charters.
  • The Marquesas Keys also hold bonefish.
• About These Fish
  • These fish eat well and offer a HUGE long run that is seemingly unstoppable. Much Sought after sport fish of the Florida Keys and Key West.
  • Medium to high catch ratio. Not the most entertaining thing for smaller kids. Can be an obsessive sport costing many dollars in repeat charters.
  • No Food Value.

Cobia (Ling)

• What Charter Fishes For Them
  • Backcountry Fishing
  • Flats Fishing
  • Light Tackle Wreck and Reef Fishing
  • Deep Sea Fishing
  • Fun Fishing Charters
  • Any one of the above charters catches these fish either by accident or on purpose for excellent sport food and entertainment.
• When Is Best
  • November through March and as late as April. Many fish are caught year round by accident. The large numbers of fish are on the wrecks and flats starting in January through April.
• About These Fish
  • Cobia can be a great delight to any day of fishing. fun to catch and they seemingly fight to the death.
  • They look allot like sharks and will often approach the boat without being scared.
  • Flats fishing back country fishing and light tackle wreck and reef fishing target the cobia with Fly fishing gear. Be ready for a battle.
  • On the flats Cobia are found tailing rays and sharks in the Winter and early spring. They eat really well most anything you can throw to them.
  • Few fish over 32 inches make it back in the water
  • Catches as high as 15 in one 8 hour charter near the wrecks have been reported.
  • On the Flats and in the Back Country 1 or 2 is a great day mixed with other species.
  • Food Value is STELLAR!!!

Dolphin (Mahi - Mahi, Dorado)

• What Charter Fishes For Them
  • Light Tackle Wreck and Reef Fishing
  • Deep Sea Fishing
  • Fun Fishing Charters
• When Is Best
  • Catching Dolphin All year is not uncommon here in the Florida keys. The best months though to ensure a good chance at a large one is March, April, May. Dolphin are here In great numbers in June, July and August as well. The deep summer months offer a gerality of smaller fish.
• About These Fish
  • The most prolific (fast growing) fish in the ocean that we know of. Dolphin can grow to 20 lbs in one year. Reports have them swimming from the Florida Keys to Virginia in as little as two weeks.
  • They eat constantly. They Love blue water, weed lines and fresh food.
  • Dolphin can be caught using live bait, fly fishing gear, trolling (preferred method) and sight fishing.
  • Charters for dolphin fishing can also be for Marlin, Tuna, Wahoo, and Sailfish.
  • Food Value is EXCELLENT!!!

Groupers (Red, Black, Yellow mouth, Scamp)

• What Charter Fishes For Them
  • Light Tackle Wreck and Reef Fishing
  • Backcountry Fishing
  • Deep Sea Fishing
  • Fun Fishing Charters
  • The more serious fishing for these fish is done on the Light tackle wreck and reef boats on a Dry Tortugas Fishing adventure.
• When Is Best
  • You can catch grouper here all year round. To Target them the cooler months seem to be better for the larger fish in the shallower waters.
• About These Fish
  • Bottom fish with an attitude is the best way to describe all of the groupers. Huddled up around wrecks and reefs with enough relief to live under they wait in ambush of the unsuspecting bait fish to wander by.
  • Grouper can be caught using live bait, Jigs, trolling and in some cases fly fishing.
  • Food value is Excellent.

Jack Creavalle (Jacks)

• What Charter Fishes For Them
  • Light Tackle Wreck and Reef Fishing
  • Backcountry Fishing
  • Deep Sea Fishing
  • Fun Fishing Charters
• When Is Best
  • Wintertime inshore for these guys and all year round offshore for them.
  • Baqy boat or backcountry trips are a great way to go on Jacks.
• About These Fish
  • BIG FUN on light tackle. A great way to spend a day catching fish.
  • Hard fighting, they eat live bait or artificial really well.
  • Surface plugs are a great way to entice a strike in the near shore channels.
  • Catch ratio can be very high in large schools of these fish. These fish mix in with bluefish, Blue Runners, and Lady fish.
  • Sizes vary from 3 to 35 lbs.
  • Food Value is Poor.

Kingfish

• What Charter Fishes For Them
  • Light Tackle Wreck and Reef Fishing
  • Deep Sea Fishing
  • Live baiting for these fish offshore is a HOOT! Ask about our Kingfish charters.
• When Is Best
  • Wintertime from mid November to late March into April.
• About These Fish
  • These fish hang on the reefs feeding on baitfish.
  • Hits are Hard and Furious, blistering runs.
  • Larger fish are called "smokers" Smaller fish are called "snakes".
  • Light drag and long runs with delicate mouths make this fish a fun challenge.
  • Hard fighting, they eat live bait or Trolled Lures and Ballyhoo.
  • Catch ratio can be very high in large schools of these fish.
  • Food Value is Ok, if prepared properly.

• ladyfish

  Permit

  redfish

  Sailfish

  shark black tip

  shark bulls

  shark lemmon

  Snapper Mangrove

  Snapper Mutton

  Snapper Yellowtail

  snook

  Tarpon

  trout

  Wahoo

  Blue Marlin

  White Marlin

  Goliath Grouper

  Red Snapper