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Well fishing has really picked up this week in the Florida Keys! Some of the bigger dolphin are out there now, along with lots of good sized school fish! We caught two fish yesterday; both were well over the 30 pounds! What was really exciting was my anglers were able to sight cast to the fish and both fish were caught on 12 pound test line off of Key Largo! The day before produced one fish in that weight class but also lots of school fish in the 10 pound class.

The fish have been hard to entice though. There is still alot of bait out there and the fish all seem to have full bellies. We caught a sailfish last week while trolling for dolphin and have seen alot of free jumping billfish. We had a blue marlin grab a schoolie dolphin and it always pays to put one out while you’re working a school of smaller fish.

On the rips and sea mounts the tuna bite is still good, the amberjacks have slowed down on the Key Largo hills, but that only helps the fact that now you can target the yellow-eye and blackfin snapper! We C-R-U-S-H-E-D them yesterday! They are great to eat and we were catching them
three at a time. The reef fishing has been excellent at night and will get even better on the full moon.

Inshore, the tarpon are the game, their here now in a big way. They average 50 to 100 pounds. They're probably the hardest fish to land in the ocean. They are aggressive feeders, but difficult to put in the boat! It's a release fishery and they have no ''bill" to hold on too! Snook fishing is great and you are aloud to eat these tasty critters!

Spring and summer fishing starts early this year in the Florida Keys Wednesday, April 11, 2007

200 pound swordfish landed by 13 year old on Saturday March 3

Aaron Martinez landed the fish of his lifetime Saturday night.  The monster swordfish was caught drifting squid in 1500 foot of water 30 miles Southeast of Key Largo.  The fish hit within 15 minutes of setting lines.  Captain Ron rigged whole large squid on 50 pound tackle about 9:00pm at Floyd's Wall.  Each bait was carefully set to predetermined depths attached to a balloon lit with a light stick.  One balloon started moving swiftly away from the others shortly after all lines were set.  Captain Marc grabbed the rod, reeled up the slack line and set the hook.  He quickly handed it off to Aaron and the fight was on.

Aaron was quickly strapped into the belt and harness and fought the fish standup on a Penn 50 two speed reel.  It took 5 minutes for the fish to even realize it was hooked but once it got angry the fight was on.  For almost two hours, Aaron battled with the fish.  The fish changed tactics several times, jumping several times to try and spit the hook and sounding deep on other occassions.  The massive fish finally came along side just before 11:00pm and Captain Ron and Captain Marc both put gaffs in the swordfish. 

Once aboard the swordfish still had enough strength to throw a fit.  Ron and Marc held onto the gaffed fish for ten minutes before it was finally subdued and packed in ice.  The fish measured exactly 9 foot from bill to tail with a 39" girth.  Great job Aaron!!

If you would like to get a shot at a fish like this one, give us a call at 305-304-9129 or book online HERE.  Dauntless is ready to head back out to the blue water and bring in a bigger one.

The last 6 weeks has been extremely warm for this time of year.  We may set a new record high today with temperatures in the mid to upper 80’s.  The warm weather has caused to sailfish bite to slow down tremendously and we have been targeting other species such as tuna, kingfish, cero mackerel, grouper, snapper and sharks.

Tuna fishing has been outstanding when the weather has allowed the 17 mile ride offshore to the Islamorada Hump.  Both trolling and live bait fishing with pilchards have produced very good numbers and size on the blackfin tuna.  Wahoo have also been in the area of the hump also in numbers.  We went 2 for 4 on 30 pound fluorocarbon a couple of weeks ago when all four lines were hit by wahoo.

King mackerel fishing has been producing some very nice fish just outside of the reek the last few weeks.  Many fish over 20 pounds and up to 35 pounds have been taken using live pilchards and ballyhoo.  The cero mackerel have been very abundant both on the Oceanside and bayside.  On several occasions the wind has been blowing over 20 knots and anglers have decided to go bayside to stay out of the large swells.  These trips have produced very large numbers of cero mackerel up to 10 pounds and some great shark fishing.  Ron Howell released a 250 pound bull shark and two spinner sharks well over 100 pounds his last trip out there on Monday.

The red grouper fishing has picked up very nicely the last couple of weeks with fish up to 15 pounds common.  The mutton snapper bite also remains strong with fish up to 20 pounds.  Yellowtail snapper fishing continues to produce very good numbers of fish both on the patch reefs and in the deeper waters just outside the edge.

It is a great time of year for fishing in the Florida Keys with many options available. On a full day we often change things up by doing some offshore and reef fishing.  Dauntless Charters is located in Key Largo, Florida just minutes north of Islamorada and an hour south of the Miami airport.  If you are planning a trip to Key West, stop for a day or two and check out the Upper Keys.  The fishing and diving here are the best in all the Florida Keys.

The sailfish bite has been best when a cold front is on the way or here. The drop in pressure, increased seas and cold weather seem to spark their feeding. The sailfish have been working together to ball up huge schools of baitfish just outside the reef. This is an amazing site to see hundreds or thousands of baitfish, usually ballyhoo, jumping out of the water with several bills and sails working through the boiling water. We move quickly to get into the feeding frenzy and toss a live ballyhoo into the mix and the fun begins with a 30 to 80 pound billfish hooked on 20 pound tackle.

Snapper and grouper fishing have been improving daily as the weather cools. Larger grouper move to Atlantic waters from the Gulf of Mexico this time of year and the migration is underway. Live bait, ballyhoo, pinfish, and pilchards, along with cut bait are proving successful on these tough customers. Yellowtail snapper have been increasing in size with Captain Bryan catching two huge flags over 8 pounds on live ballyhoo bottom fishing last week.

King, cero, and Spanish mackerel are all here in full force now. These toothy critters will really scream some drag as they run with the bait. Florida Bay has been producing limits of cero and Spanish mackerel of 10 per person. While the king mackerel have also been limiting out on the reef while sailfishing with 2 per person.

The blackfin tuna bite has been very strong at the Islamorada Hump when weather has permitted the 16 mile run offshore. The tuna have been averaging 8 pounds with several exceeding 20 pounds. These footballs put up a tremendous fight on 20 pound spinning tackle. Catches exceeding 20 tuna in a couple of hours of trolling has been the norm when seas are less than 5 foot and we are able to make the run to the Gulf Stream.

Give us a call and book your trip early as the busy season is upon us and dates will book up quickly. We are located just about an hour South of Miami in Key Largo, just minutes North of Islamorada.

Sailfishing in the Florida Keys consists of live bait fishing just beyond the reef in 100 to 300 foot of water.  The most popular bait is live ballyhoo.  We use four baits, two on the outrigger and two on flat lines on 20 pound spinning tackle.  Sailfish will strike at the bait with their bills to wound the bait and then come back around to swallow it down.  It is important to allow just the right amount of time for the sailfish to swallow the bait before setting the hook.  Once the hook is set, the fight is on.  Sailfish are often out of the water more than they are in the water and put on a spectacular display with jump after jump screaming line off of the 20 pound spinning tackle.  Multiple hook ups are common and we almost always have to chase the fish with the boat.

After 15 to 60 minutes, the sailfish tires and comes along side the boat.  We reach down and get the bill and unhook him holding the fish along side for a few pictures before turning it loose to fight another day.  Every year the sailfishing gets better and better due to the 100% catch and release fishery here in the Keys.  Baitfish are also more prevalent than ever with the net ban over a decade ago stopping the over harvesting of ballyhoo and other important baitfish species.  If you ever wanted to have the thrill of a lifetime by catching and amazing billfish on light tackle, this winter in the Florida Keys would be your best bet.

If table fare is your game of choice; then winter time provides some great opportunities with blackfin tuna, wahoo and kingfish available offshore.  Blackfin tuna get bigger this time of year at the Islamorada Hump with fish over 20 pounds common.  We use trolling feathers and cedar plugs on 20 pound spinning tackle with light fluorocarbon leader to get the tuna snapping most often.  Occasionally we will use live bait when the fish are right on top of the Hump and we have some left from sailfishing in the morning.  Tuna are often a nice change in the afternoon after sailfishing in the morning on a full day charter.

Wahoo are also here in numbers, two weeks ago we have four wahoo on at once near the Islamorada Hump and as the water cools the fastest fish in the Ocean will show up in big numbers here in the Keys just beyond the reef.  Dauntless spent ten days in the Bahamas the end of November and focused primarily on wahoo.  We boated dozens of wahoo up to 55 pounds, see the photo galley for pictures.  Ashley Blackburn also landed a 53 pound Bull Dolphin that a nice frigate bird pointed out to us while wahoo fishing.  Dauntless is available for special Bahamas trips if you are interested just give us a call and we will put a package together for you.

Kingfish are also hitting well on the edge of the reef right now using live bait on downrigger or dropper rig near the bottom.  Yellowtail snapper bite has picked up nicely with many fish up to three pounds being caught in 45 to 90 foot of water.  Last December and January produced the largest grouper of the year with fish up to 40 pounds.  Grouper fishing is a battle of wills and strength between an angler and a fish.  No finesse here, just feel the bite, lock the drag and pull as hard as you can to get the fish out of the structure that he is heading back to after eating the bait.  More fish are lost than boated and it can be a frustrating game but there is not much better table fare than grouper when you win.

Our busiest season is upon us and I highly recommend booking as early as possible as many of the Holiday dates are already booked.  If you are ready to book or wish to check on availability, just click HERE for the online booking system.  If you have any questions  or would like to contact Dauntless Charters, just click HERE.  We are only an hour from the Miami airport, less than three hours from Naples, located at Mile Marker 94.5 on US 1 in the Florida Keys just minutes North of Islamorada in Key Largo.

October 26, 2006

Our first Florida Keys cold front of the year arrived just a coupe of days ago and the temperature dropped below 70 for the first time in months. The tuna bite has been amazing and the sailfish will start snapping anytime now. November is still a great bargain time to cash in on some great fishing. Airfare to Miami is cheap, hotels prices are low in Key Largo and Islamorada and I am offering 10% off any bookings for the month of November, just mention this article when booking.

October has produced some of the best catches of Blackfin Tuna I have ever had. Last weekend, October 20, 21, and 22 were amazing. On Friday, we had three anglers from England and tore up the blackfin tuna at the Islamorada Hump all morning long. We also released a white marlin that struck a feather while tuna fishing at the hump. White marlin are rare in the Florida Keys and it was a treat to see such a beautiful billfish along side of the boat. We also landed a 60 pound sailfish two weeks earlier trolling at the hump, you never know what will happen at the hump.

Saturday and Sunday produced at least 60 blackfin tuna a day up to 20 pounds. Four fish on at a time was common. Blackfin tuna are not as large as some of thier cousins like the yellowfin or the bluefin but the meat is sushi grade just like them. We are able to use 20 pound spinning tackle and these footballs scream line and provide great fun on light tackle. The Islamorada Hump is a submerged sea mount located 15 miles offshore in 500 foot of water. The top of the Hump rises to 260 foot of water and the Gulf Stream warm water current runs over the sea mount bringing nutrient rich waters from the deep. The baitfish feed on the nutrients and the tuna and other species feed on the baitfish.

Sailfish season is kicking off now that the fall cold fronts are arriving.  Sailfish season in the Florida Keys lasts from November through April with the best fishing taking place from December through March.  We start the day off early, leaving the dock at 7:00am to catch live bait, ballyhoo.  I have added a 2000 gallon per hour pump and 55 gallon additional live well to ensure lively baits for this season. 

After filling the livewell, we head to just beyond the reef in 100 to 250 foot of water and slow troll live ballyhoo keeping a sharp eye out for tailing or feeding sails.  We use 20 pound test line on Penn spinning reels, leaving the bale open as sailfish will strike their bill at the bait before swallowing it.  We let the fish run for 20 to 30 seconds, then close the bale and set the hook.  The battle is then on, usually the sailfish is out of the water more than in.  We bring it along side after a 15 to 60 minute fight, grap the bill for a few pictures and let it go to fight another day.

Reef fishing in the Florida Keys is a treat for the entire family.  The Florida Keys coral reef only lies 5 miles from the dock and is only a 15 minute ride to the fishing grounds from the dock in Key Largo. Hundreds of species of fish make the reef thier home, including; grouper, snapper, barracuda, sharks, mackerel, bonita, jacks, permit, cobia, and amberjack. 

The action is usually non stop with yellowtail snapper from 1 to 3 pounds and makes great fun for the kids.  Yellowtail snapper are some of the best table fare available anywhere.  Grouper provide a bigger challenge raging from 5 to 50 pounds and can really bend a rod as they try to escape back to the reef for protection.  Barracuda and numerous varieties of sharks are always a thrill to see them strike and come along side the boat.

There are a tremendous amount of fishing opportunities in the Florida Keys this fall and winter.  Key Largo is just over an hour South of the Miami airport for those flying in or living in the Miami area. Call me today or book HERE to get your trip reserved.

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