Cool Cast Charters Blog

On Tuesday, the winds continued to blow out of the north, allowing us to guide charters to the Atlantic side of Key West. I led my clients south on the leeward side of the Keys for some slow trolling off the reef edge with live bait (Goggle Eyes and Blue Runners). My party managed to hook three Kingfish with the biggest trophy weighing 47 pounds. Wahoo have also been biting on live bait, although inconsistently; our anglers caught a 25-pounder and a 45-pounder this past week.

On our charter cruiser, the Outcast, Captain Bill guided clients to a bountiful Tuesday on the waters south of Key West, Florida. Since we saw a breeze from the north, angling was excellent offshore on the Atlantic side of the Keys.

This past Sunday and Monday, since the winds were out of the east, our captain reported hooking three Sailfish in only a day and a half. When the winds have been right this winter, the Sailfish have been red hot. We've also seen some success with other Deep Sea species, such as Blackfin Tuna, Wahoo, and Dorado. Our captains have been successful in depths of 120-foot to 180-foot using live bait on kite and drift.

Our charters have turned their attention to light tackle fishing in shallow water lately because of the high winds in the area. Our own Captain Bill of the Outcast saw some tremendous success angling for sharks in four to six feet of water on the leeward (currently north) side of Key West. His anglers had a great average, snagging twenty-one of twenty-seven sharks on Friday.

With the winds coming from the south, fishing on the north side of Key West was nice this past weekend. King Mackerel were especially active, hitting the live Blue Runners with gusto. Capt. Tony, our expert skipper on the Coolwater, lead a client into the shallows to hook a fierce predator: a 225-pound Hammerhead Shark.