Offshore Report - August 14, 2008

July- August summer months came in & out for us here in the Keys pretty quickly. Fishing is and has been our usual summer variety - slow offshore and slow during the day on the reef.  Offshore water temperature has been steady at around 84.5F and a slight increase close to and inside the reef. The current has been light, and there is a lot of scattered weed. Good for bait fish to hide in.

Offshore has been tough fishing. You need time on your side to make things work offshore. A few boats get lucky and find something closer to the reef but your odds will improve if you venture out past the wall. I found a little better current and slightly better organized weed-lines in the 200 foot depths and there were plenty of schoolie Dolphin to play with. A few bigger fish were mixed in and we found some fish up to 20 pounds this week.

Sailfish are out there and scattered throughout all depths. Marlin are scattered from around 600 feet out to the wall. I had a Ballyhoo slashed by a small Blue Marlin just as I was bringing it in to check for washout. Wahoo will be deep under any floating debris that you find. Big Dolphin will also hang deep so work anything for a good 20 minutes before moving on.

Reef fishing has been slow during the day with the combination of clear water and light current keeping the bite slow. The heat of the day is close to unbearable and reef fishing will be much better at night. Look for Mangrove, Muttons and Yellowtail along the 100 foot deep drops and hard bottom. Grouper will also be in the area but most should be a little deeper right now. Live Pinfish as small as you can find will work best. Bonito strips work as well but tend to get pecked at by the smaller fish. Sharks and Cudas are prowling the reef and deeper wrecks so get the fish up as quickly as possible.

Deep dropping has been a little better but the current is still a little light. Rosefish, Tilefish and Snowy Grouper have been biting in rocky bottom in 575 feet. A 5 hook rig with Squid and Bonito strips will work fine and make sure to use plenty of light.