Middle Keys Fishing Reports

[TheApprentice]

Since I moved to Colorado a little over a year ago, I can honestly say that the only thing I REALLY miss about SoFla is soaking baits on the bridges all night....

It's the little things that count.

Enjoy it guys~!

[gruntking]

Since I moved to Colorado a little over a year ago, I can honestly say that the only thing I REALLY miss about SoFla is soaking baits on the bridges all night....

It's the little things that count.

Enjoy it guys~!

look at this guy

[Green Tide]

I guess i was still in the middle keys just a little below the 7m. yesterday seemed to be a good day to try em.
got to the bridge around 930a and started catching bait as the tide came in. took about an hour but i got a good 2 dozen livies to try with.
started on my way to the spot and saw one other guy in my target area. so i said move over mofo you are in my spot. Just kidding.
i perfer the outgoing at that bridge but set out a couple of rigs on a piling and clicked the baitrunner switch to on. after chatting for a few minutes i got my first bite. it was a short grouper ... again
next bite was a nice 20-22 inch grover that fought a good fight in the current but i managed to get him up. soon after that the rod i had on the side of the same piling goes off and is another nice probably 14-15 incher.
then things slowed for a while. i started using some frozen sardines that i had netted previously. got a couple more nice keepers around 13 i guess.
then the tide slowed so i started using my live bait again getting ready for the better tide flow. as it turned out the incomming was the better tide cause i only got one good keeper on the incoming. but that made my five for the day . it was around 4 pm by then anyways and i wanted to try some casting at another bridge . so i left.
if you guys are coming for the party on saturday you can probably do some good mangroving. plenty of tarpon on the bridges too if that is what you like

[DonOne]

Nice report. You caught your dinner and that big Mango must have been great.
I am a little surprised about the tide, I usually find the o/g better, but that is the way it is sometimes.
Was it live pins you were using ?

[PhishingPhanatic]

Thanks for the report, 22" mangrove is a nice fish.

[Green Tide]

yea 22 is a nice one , i should have measured it with that stick. probably closer to 20 than 22. a pic would have been nice to. that is what is good about those shark tourneys.
after a few years in fishing stories he will grow

[Green Tide]

ok so i go up to grassy key to start trying for some more snappas yesterday. got to a likely spot and put out a 4 p spread mixed with live bait,cut mullet and sardines. the tide is comming in so i am gonna try some mac casting.
those platforms are pretty nice sometimes when you are trying to steer a fish in to you. just a little more angle like that will keep um out of the tunnel.
nothing on the bottom worth talking about and not much on the jig i have been casting. ok time for a cold one and re think just what the f i am doing wrong today.
still trying to figure out how to satisfiy these picky azz fish when the cut mullet pole goes off kind of slow. so im thinking i dont need no nurse shark but i am gonna sink a hook in something.
after the hookset the fish got in gear for about 30 ft and then i hear a splash!!! alright now that sounds better the only problem is he is through 2 driving bridge pilings and is aiming for the tunnel next to me.
i guess the strong head current and me pulling him back from around where i was got him to change direction . i quickly led him back throug the pilings and now i am on the platform and ready for his next run to the tunnel when i see an second fish shadowing him.
im thinking i dont remember ever seeing tarpon do that but what the heck. luckily i was able to get a couple of pics and then as i got him closer i see his friend is a very large member of the mafia and each time he shows up the tarpon darts.
i quickly pulled the hook and he swam off safely.


had the wrong pic the first time

[crashmister]

Ch 2 early before the clean up. Saw some big cudas and poon's stacked up between bridges. Could not get one of em to bite. lot's of small grovers and a tiny YT was about it for the day.

[dan]

Me and Get the Net hit the keys for some tarpon and ended up getting a none stop tarpon bite. I ended up going 2-10 because hook wouldn't stick after a couple of jumps and head shakes or fryed off and GTN went 1-7 on them. Also got some nice snaps in the mix.

[Miami_Chris]

From 6:15am-10am then from 2:50pm till 3:30pm or so.


One teen is fishing & I hear a splash. I look and see his rod floating. A poon hit his bait & it went over. Scotty & Ron said that way he had his rod set it was going over. I go over and see them looking at it & told to get another rod & try to fish it out. Current took away a nice shimano stradic. Then he says this is the 2nd one today that goes overboard. I just walked away after that. Lol



]

hahah that was me who lost the two rods , pretty bummed about it actually, but what can you do, and by the way im 22, i know i got a baby face . i had a feeling it was the boatless dudes next to us, but its weird saying whats up to complete strangers from the interenet haha

anyway, on to the fishing report. fished friday 5pm- satruday 10 am. tons of bait, until the tarpon and cudas crashed the party and completely destroyed them. snapper bite was good, with most being on the smaller side. some yong dudes came for a while and wrecked the tarpon on shrimp and gave us 4 snappers they caught. from 4- sunrise the tarpon and cudas were on a staright feeding frenzy and ended up jumping about 4 tarpon and missing abunch of strikes on a plastic shrimp on my stradic 5000 . the morning resulted in cuda cut offs and a tarpon hook up, all on live pilchards. ended up leaving with 8 snappers, 4 which were given to us. could of left with our limit, but who wants 10 inch snappers, and came back with 4 rods instead of 6, which sucks ass, but what can you do.

heres the only pic i took

[GET THE NET!!!!]

Miami_Chris. That was me and my friend Dan that gave you guys the grovers. Looks like we shoulda stuck it out but we hit another bridge and had some more non stop poon action. Sucks about loosing your stradic man.

[Green Tide]

looks like you still have one stradic left.

[Miami_Chris]

that was a before picture haha. lost the stradic and the bg60. pretty lame haha

and get the net, crazy you guys are on the forum haha, should of known. thanks again for the snappas dude, and yea the tarpon drove off the bait and stacked up under the lantern, just drifted a plastic shrimp back and watched them eat, pretty fun stuff. good job on the tarpon, you dudes wrecked them

[GET THE NET!!!!]

that was a before picture haha. lost the stradic and the bg60. pretty lame haha

and get the net, crazy you guys are on the forum haha, should of known. thanks again for the snappas dude, and yea the tarpon drove off the bait and stacked up under the lantern, just drifted a plastic shrimp back and watched them eat, pretty fun stuff. good job on the tarpon, you dudes wrecked them

No problem. I had a feeling that the tarpon would head over to your light sooner or later there was just to much bait in it for them to ignore.

[Green Tide]

Tried finding some bait to net yesterday starting out at 130p. Wish i got there about an hour earlier bc the tide had already changed but was still fairly slow.
So i decided to set out a couple of rods down and under to watch while i casted a white jig around . Had a biki ready but only seen one school of hoos and they didn't last long on top thanks to the pelicans.
Just as the sun was going down I got my first keeper at 13. He hit a cut pin on the pole i just picked up Saturday at the flea market. the rod is a nice 7'6 custom rigged with fugi reel seat, short butt which ought to help my wife handle it. the guides are ceramic insert type the inner section is black with a green outer rim which matches the mainly green wraps not to mention the connection to my screen name. The reel is a 12 dollar brand new special but my wife likes it for its light weight. The drag stiiiiiiccckkkksss most of the time.
So i have my baitrunner 3500B on one of the other matching flea market pole . it has a live pin and is not doing much so i kept trying different spots.
Bam my wifes pole starts bouncing again this time it is a 16 and feels much larger as he is heading for the tunnel and i know i cant depend on the drag if he gets too straight on the line. i get him over to the eddy and head out of the water. Snap a couple of pics and in the cooler he goes.
The bite slowed and i didn't get to stay for the tide change but i do have a couple to clean this morning.
got on my hat with the darth vader wings.
13 on cut pinfish

16 on cut pinfish

is this right JP

i gotta work on sizing these pics better

[Miamipescador]

Thanks for the report GT, very nice grovers!

[Miami_Chris]

Chris i have some advice for you. 1 never leave you rod low to the ground like that with a bait out there is no leverage and well you seen the resul always lean again the highest part of the rail. Also fish with looser drag then you normally would if you are leaving a rod unattended when we walked past you i said to strizile thats an accident waiting to happen sorry for your loss and try what i told you in the future to avoid losing gear. Keep em tight

haha yea dude, i know, i even loosened the drag before setting the rod down, but didnt pull out line to see exactly how loose it was. i was dead tired from being up for 24 hours straight and put the rod down to start picking up. oh well, expensive lesson learned. my pops and brother pretty much ragged on me the whole way home, as both rods were mine and they couldnt believe i lost two rods.

and awesome job greentide, the snapper bite seems to be on with this warm weather we have. looking to get down there again soon once i get a new setup this weekend

[PhishingPhanatic]

Rory likes the grunts somewhat better. Correct me if I am wrong Rory

Rory likes grunt for big nurse shark... Nah, he is the Mutton man on grunts

Grunts = muttons
Pinfish = mangroves