KEY LARGO FISHING REPORT

	WET DOG CHARTERS
	Fishing Key Largo and the Backcountry of the Everglades National Park
	(305) 304-9481

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All photographs are the copyright property of Captain Terry Hilker.

April 24, Newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Jarrod Casner from Kansas City were on their honeymoon vacation in Key Largo. The day before, they had the opportunity to take a snorkel trip out on the Reef at Dry Rocks and then went down to Theater of the Sea for the Dolphin Encounter. Went they met up with me the next day, I just knew that their excellent vacation was going to continue. As this was their first venture into Florida fishing, we opted to locate some of the big Trout that have been going off. We found several nice Mullet Muds in the Everglades backcountry and caught quite a number of them using either DOA or live shrimp suspended under a Cajun Thunder popping rig. We next went to a creek, where even bigger Trout were to be found. In addition to the nice Trout, we also caught some nice Mangrove Snapper. In the creek, we were using cut up pinfish and live shrimp.

After having lunch at Flamingo, we set up on an area known to hold Snook, Redfish and Jewfish. We were now drift floating live pinfish across the flat. It was only about 2’ deep. However, the Casner’s seemed to prefer Trout as both caught nice Trout on live pinfish. Jeeze!!!!

While this was going on, I noticed two Gulls, circling near the pinfish baits, when, all of a sudden a five foot Tarpon took Shanea’s pinfish. In just two feet of water, the huge Tarpon launched herself completely out of the water and took off. Shanea reports that in the excitement, she almost lost the fishing rod. Alas, before we could begin to follow the fish, it took another jump and a broke off. It was a nice day, but I sure wished we could have boated that Tarpon. It was a big one.

April 24, Joe Flesher and two of his friends came down to Key Largo for a half day of fishing. We got the skunk out of the boat starting with a nice Gag Grouper. Following that, we ventured into the backcountry in search of Trout. Sorry, but I have no pictures of all the Trout we caught.

April 14, Rick Orfinger and his son, Alex, were down from Daytona Beach. Rick doesn't do much fishing but he really wanted to have his son catch his first Tarpon. We decided on an evening trip as they seem to be hitting better at this time. It was touch and go and was getting quite dark, but Alex got his first Tarpon.

April 03, Shane and Paula decided to have another charter. We went to an area known for nice Snook. One of several nice under slot length ones.

April 01, Shane and Paula from Atlanta wanted a big fish this time down. They come every year to attend the Sony-Ericsson tennis Tournament in Miami. Fishing for quite a while, we were only able to come up with a Redfish - which is rare this time of year in Key Largo. It was getting close to dark and I feared that we might not get a Tarpon hook up. But luck was with us. This fish provided lots of jumps giving me time to come up with several nice memories for them. Although it was a little Tarpon, it was a big fish for them.

March 29, Well, the wind is still blowing hard today but we made the best of it. Richard Leeds brought his son Blake down to the Keys for a day of fishing. We were able to connect with Gag Grouper again. Sorry to say that Blake missed catching "Walter" but perhaps next time. Blake proved to be a very hard fighting angler as he battled several Jacks, and some sizeable Trout. Trout not photographed.

March 25, When the wind is blowing real hard, like 15-20 today, it's necessary, well more comfortable, to get on the lee side of a Mangrove forest. This morning after a late start because my client insisted on buying me breakfast we found such a shoreline.

Mangrove shore lines are characterized by a flat coming right up within 10 feet of the shoreline. Then there is a mud or sand bottom that will be deeper than the adjoining flat. We came up on said flat and sat the motor down about 300 yards from the shoreline. Using the MinnKota trolling motor we moved right up into the edge of the mangroves cautioning my client "Ole Heavy Foot" to move very quietly. It's shallow, but the Pathfinder 2000V TE can handle it.

We are loaded with fresh pinfish and an assortment of plugs - actually one well used Rapala Skitterwalk. Our quarry are Tarpon and Snook.

Moving ever so slowly along the shoreline, Ole Heavy Foot makes cast after cast trying to get as close to the mangroves as possible. Just when you least expect it, WALLA, Ole Heavy Foot hooks into a nice Tarpon but one jump later, the feisty fish shakes the hook. We now have a discussion with my client about the toughness of the Tarpon's mouth and that he needs to perform at least two strong hooks sets when using the Rapala. Imagine, he actually stated that I ought to spend more time sharpening them.

Since we messed up the tranquility of that section of shore line, we moved about about 1/8 mile further down the line. But this time I had Ole Heavy Foot casting a rather fresh but large pinfish deep into the mangroves, again hoping for a Snook or Tarpon.

But this was a day like no other. We did see more laid up Tarpon but they were much too skittish. The Snook apparently are still a bit too cold along this shoreline so we had a rousing day catching these critters:

March 24, The Petrozza family was down from New York. With the full moon, fishing was kind of tough. We did get this nice Jack Crevalle. Usually, when you find Jacks, Snook are also around.
March 20, Redfish are not found around Key Largo in March. But here is one that we dug out of the Mangroves.
March 10, Trout fishing continues to be fantastic although they are a bit small. Shane H. and Paula were down from Atlanta. They enjoyed the Trout and Snapper action.
March 05, Since it's a bit windy, we stayed close to Key Largo and fished a nice little patch reef in 15 feet of water. Rich Shrecengost from Pennsylvania came up with this nice 31", 18# Black Grouper.
February 14, Actually, the Trout are bigger than this, but it was such a nice picture of Tara W. that we had to include it. Trout, Snook and Redfish are being caught near Flamingo.
January 21, Continuing our December hunt for the biggest Snook, Sara picked up this nice Tarpon. For whatever reason, Sara was using a rod with only 10# line. Thank God, for Power Pro and the Shimano Stradic reel. This is an excellent size Tarpon for light tackle. Sara fought him for about 10 minutes.
January 07, Taking advantage of a nice warm calm day, Rich Shrecengost, from Pennsylvania got to catch some Dolphin, usually a summer thing.

December 03, Went to East Cape for fishing this day. Found a new creek and naturally, Sara pulled out another big Snook. However, this one has a story to go with it. Since Sara did not have faith that this new spot was a Snook hangout, she decided to have a snack after casting her mullet up the creek opening. Moments after laying her rod down on the deck, the Snook ate her offering. I was at the stern, still getting the boat properly anchored. All of a sudden, I saw Sara run right off of the boat in the direction of the creek. She actually took 2 steps on the water before going down. The object of her interest was the fishing rod that was now being pulled away from the boat through the water. At the last possible moment, Sara grabbed the butt of the rod thus saving the day. She swam back to the boat, handed me the rod, climbed back on board, retrieved the rod from me and landed the Snook. I was simply amazed to see how fast she got back on board considering she had her rain gear on over regular clothes. Adrenaline, I guess. She does owe me $35.00 for a reel cleaning.

November 06, Took Sara and Lacy fishing today. Big Jacks were everywhere, but I thought a few Snook might be in there with them. Of course, Sara landed this 34", 10# Snook.
October 23, As the NE wind was blowing hard today, Hal Deck now wanted to experience some backcountry fishing. We caught a few trout and Jacks. When we needed some fresh bait, we went up into the mangroves against some creeks flowing out of the everglades. His Pathfinder was able to get in very shallow, having a draft of only 12 inches.
October 22, Hal Deck, having just purchased a new Pathfinder from the Maverick Boat Company, wanted to try it out offshore. Caught some nice Grouper, Spanish Mackerel and Mangrove Snapper. It looks as though the fish are already moving in shallow for the winter.
October 9, Angel Gomez, age 83, experienced his first ever fishing trip. He learned to cast downwind catching trout not far from Key Largo. Following the half-day fishing trip, he took a date to Key West for the evening. Sure hope I will be as healthy as him later on.
Sept 18, Scott Bower from Homestead had a great day hooking up with several Snook and too many Jack Crevalle.
August 14, R. K. Campbell and Jason had a great fishing for Snook, Goliath Grouper, Trout and Jacks. While Redfish were on the menu, none were served.
July 28, Lobster mini-season is upon us and in response, we took advantage of the bugs. Tom and Lindy D'Auito caught their limit each day by 10:30 AM.
July 22, Hal Deck from Gainesville, FL wanted to catch some Dolphin offshore. There were plenty of weed lines and birds diving to make it a successful day.
July 16, Alex Miranda from Tampa got his first Snook on a flat of of Flamingo.
June 15, Went to the Shark River in search of big Snook but came up with nice Grouper. White bait and Mullet are plentiful.
June 08, This was Eddie's first ever backcountry slam. The Snook are everywhere in Flamingo. On the beaches, in the rivers, and on the flats.
June 06, Took a break from flats fishing and went offshore in 15' of water to catch Hogfish while snorkeling. No spear fishing allowed.
May 21, Tarpon have been everywhere but it seems that they are only feeding at night. This one was caught just after dark on a pinfish. It hit as soon as the pinfish hit the water.

Wet Dog Fishing Charters, 103650 Overseas Hwy., Key Largo, FL