By Captain John Smouse

Team Hooters

Andrew Brace and his friend, Alan, came down from Tennessee for some great fishing this weekend on the ShadowCaster. Both Andrew and Alan are GM’s of the popular Hooter’s restaurant in Downtown Nashville. (and I thought I had a great job) We managed to dodge a few rain showers and put some fish in the boat. Over the two days of fishing both guys caught several nice snook, hooked four Tarponand got two to the boat, a bunch of Jacks and snappers, 10+ sharks topping 125 pounds, a couple bonefish and one great big Barracuda. There is some Great fishing happening in the tourist “off season” so give me a call to take advantage of some great rates!!!!

By Captain John Smouse

Labor Day Weekend

Judy and Dave came down from New Jersey for a pre-wedding getaway and some flats fishing on the ShadowCaster. Congrats on thier upcoming nuptuals in October. The Permit fishing has been great so far this month. We are having some flat calm weather, which makes for awesome “tailing” and “floating” conditions for Permit fishing. Permit will actually float on the surface, with their backs and tails out of the water. Permit fishing is probably my favorite and seeing a dozen or more fish on the surface bobing up and down will surely get your heart racing. Hopefully these conditions will remain for the rest of the month and all those Hurricanes stay out in the Atlantic. Call (305.587.7669) or send me an email to get out on the water and get Hooked-Up.

By Captain John Smouse

Summer Fishing

Bob and his fishing buddy Raymond really wanted to catch a Permit and here is a picture of thier double header. Bob went on to release another and Raymond caught and released a Tarpon about 100lbs. David Plummer and his wife came fishing with the ShadowCaster and released two Permit on a 6Hr Trip. So needless to say the Permit fishing has been great this summer.

Sharks are also a great target this time of year. Above is a picture of the business end of a nice size Blacktip Shark. Along with the Blacktips we also caught a alot of Lemons and a few Bull Sharks this past week. The Sharks are weighing anywhere from 30lbs to over 200lbs. Great fun on light tackle in skinny water.

By Captain John Smouse

June 2010

Key West is covered up in Fish!!!! (Not Oil) So anyone wondering about the Oil situation here in Key West, there isn’t one. We are completely free of any oil form the DeepWater Horizon.

The fishing this summer is exactly how it should be. TarponPermitBonefishSharks Galore. Above are a few fish caught this week. Laura and Kelly Kilbur came back to KW from TX for some great Tarpon fishing in which they managed to release quite a few fish topping the 100lb mark. Laura did it again this year with her 28lb Permit.

Bonefishing has been heating up as the summer moves on with multiple shots every morning. Above is Dr Rob Boone with his first ever bonefish.

By Captain John Smouse

SpringTime

Tarpon fishing is in full swing. The fish showed up a bit late, but what can you do about the Coldest Winter anyone in Key West can remember. But that is all behind us now and Spring Fishing is great. You never know what you are going to catch here in the Key West BackCountry. Above is a 30lb King Mack that hit a live bait intended for the SilverKing. Not what we were after, but a great catch!!! Permitfishing is also great right now and should continue until the fish decide it is time to spawn and move to deeper water.

Look for Tarpon fishing to stay strong through June.

By Captain John Smouse

Father/Daughter Fishing

Lola and her Father, John, had a great day on the ShadowCaster during one of our many cold fronts this winter. Lola released all the fish above along with ladyfish, blacktip sharks and a few dozen mangrove snapper. Thanks again Lola and John and see ya next year!!!!

By Captain John Smouse

Winter in Key West

It may be freezing in other parts of the country, but in Key West the sun is still shining. Although we are experiencing a colder Jan/Feb then usual it still isn’t snowing!!! Above are some of the winter time SeaTrout that frequent our backcountry during the colder months. They may not be the Mighty Tarpon or Elusive Permit, but they sure taste good and provide us with some great action this time of year. Cold Winter = Warm Spring = Huge Tarpon, that is what we have to look forward too!!!!!

By Captain John Smouse

Winter Fishing

With the heavy winds of Ida now passed, Winter is settling in here in Key West. Our days are bright and sunny with winds out of the north. The water temperature is cooling down bringing in our winter time fish. Barracudas are showing up on the flats and this fishery should only get better as the cooler temps continue. There aren’t many fish on the flats as exciting as a Big Cuda. When fishing the shallow waters the fish cannot dive deep, so their only means of escape is going away from the boat. Thus the runs are long and fast. Another winter fish is the Sea Trout, yep we get them down here. Mixed in with the trout are Jacks, Pompano, ladyfish (the poor man’s Tarpon), bluefish, mackerals, and blacktip sharks. Your skill level is not an issue here as this type of fishing is fun for everyone!

By Captain John Smouse

Summer Fishing

Get out on the water to cool off….Summer in Key West can be down right HOT!! A great way to beat that heat is getting out for some fishing in the backcountry. There is usually a breeze out on the water that is not felt on the island. Another great thing about Summer fishing is the lack out fishing pressure. You can fish all day in the backcountry and not see another boat. Dennis and his son came down from North Carolina to take advantage of the “off-season” and it really paid off. It was thier first experience fishing the flats and at the end of the day we had the GrandSlam(catching a Tarpon, Permit & Bonefish all in the same day). Above is Dennis with his trophies. Summer is also the peak time of year to catch the Big Sharks that frequent the shallow water. The most common sharks are the Lemon and BlackTip, both are Big, Mean and SuperFast when hooked in 2 feet of water. Take advantage of the “slow season” and give me a call at 305.587.7669 to get hooked up.

By Captain John Smouse

Permit Fishing is Red Hot!!!!!

June is such a great time to fish in Key West. This is the month that really kicks off the summer fishing. The winds are calm and the water temps are consistent. The Tarpon are everywhere. The Key West Harbor is holding Tarpon in Huge numbers.Permit and Bonefish are flooding the flats searching for a meal. The Kilburs had a couple great days in Key West fishing on the ShadowCaster. Thanks to some great casting by them we managed to land three permit (pictured above) on Day one. Oh yeah, we also landed one Tarpon estimated at 80 lbs. Day two we concentrated more on the Tarpon and got four to the boat after hooking 7. We rounded out Day two with another Permit and a Big Barracuda. So if that sounds like fun to you give me a call @ 305.587.7669 or drop me an email for some Great SummerTime Action.