Winter time fishing in the Florida Keys

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Winter time is still upon us in the Keys and fishing has been decent.  Lately it's been a mixed bag on all of our winter time actvities as far as fishing goes.  Shrimp is the bait of choice with water temperatures below 70 degrees and that means you don't have to waste time looking for bait which is always a plus.  The everglades has been a good mix of red and black drum with some snook mixed in.  The occasional sheepshead or trout also are making their precencse known.  In the gulf the spanish mackerel bite has been on fire and that is a very consistent thing.  Today we had to work at it but late morning we got into a decent bite of reds along the shallow shorelines, with a few snook and black drum mixed in.  The higher water at the end of the incoming tide had fish happy laying in the sun with the calm weather and it was fun fishing.   Further in the gulf the triple tail fishing has been very good too.  Today we found lots of larger size ones (mostly keepers of 15+ inches).  A fellow captain buddy of mine even bagged a 14 lber today!  We lost one that was about 10 lbs by pulling the hook unfortunately.  Out on the ocean side the patch reef fishing has also been very good.  That is a great option for half day trips.  Fellow captains today reported a good mix of snapper, porgy, and some nice hogfish out there.  Shots at permit are not uncommon either this time of year on the nice days like today when it is cooler and the wind lays down.  Look us up if you are interested in fishing in the Keys.  Tarpon season is just around the corner and the spring time is booking up fast which is prime fishing!

Capt. Rick Stanczyk
[email protected]
Florida Keys Fishing Charters at Bud n' Mary's