This is Capt. Matt Bellinger with a fishing report for the Islamorada area . The weather has been something of a roller coaster this week , going from one extreme to another and back again . Winds have been up and down and swinging the compass . As a result we've had to be flexible and willling to change plans with the changing conditions .
Sunday and monday offered good conditions for poling the shorelines against the mainland with shots at big redfish in loose schools as well as some big snook that were laid up in the shallows enjoying the afternoon sun.
These fish were nervous as long tailed cats in a room full of rockers due to the gin clear water that was found all along the shoreline back in the Everglades . These fish were hard to feed , but if you could find some dirty water along the points , you would find some eaters. The key seemed to be to work the water with weedless jerk baits such as Berkley Power Baits and concentrate on the edges of the muddiest water you could find . The reds were holding on the border picking off mullet as they came out of the dirtiest water. These were big fish to 10 lbs and all willing to duke it out.
The patch reefs out in front of the Keys that lay in 10 to 20 feet of water were holding good numbers of grouper to 10 lbs as well as snappers , mackerel , porgies , yellow jacks and a few cobia . All it took to pick a fight was a few blocks of chum and some live shrimp . All you had to do was anchor up current of a patch of coral and get a chum slick going back behind the boat . A 10 lb test spinnning outfit and just enough lead to get your bait down to the bottom and hold on . I like circle hooks and a sliding egg sinker or a Hank Brown jig tied off with 20 lb flourocarbon leader on the business end of my spinning rig .
Mid week brought some very nice sea trout action in the Rankin Basin area . These fish ran from tiny 10 inch babies to some real nice fish in the 25 inch range . The great thing about these fish is that they will eat just about anything you throw them . Shrimp tipped jigs always do the trick as well as bucktails and various plastic baits .
Thursday afternoon there was a good bite of tarpon around the area bridges on the last of the incoming tide . These fish were running between 30 to 70 lbs and were eating cut mullet of the bottom .
Friday and saturday saw windy and cooler conditions set in and made for tough times . There were snook to be had along with black drum in the East Cape area out west and as the weather warmed up saturday afternoon the big trout fired up to end out the week .
You can't catch them if you don't get out there , so make plans to take a kid fishing and have a great week .