Offshore:
The very good Dolphin catches are still going on!! But no, not in the blue water, but on the reef. Since November there has been an unusually "heavy" migration of Dolphin moving westward past Islamorada from 100 to 200 of water and a little beyond. As for the Offshore action it is limited this time of year as usual. Frontal boundaries push the current farther offshore, hence the Dolphin are out of reach as usual in winter. The Islamorada hump will produce some Blackfin Tuna when the current is moving.

Reefs:
Sailfish action was a little slow this week and charters focused more on the King Mackerel with great results. Kingfish were caught on Party boats and charterboats all along the reef. Captain Jack on the Hang em' High out of Whale harbor Marina limited out on King's two days last week. When deep trolling for the Kingfish, one may encounter a Wahoo, a nice bonus. There have been a few Wahoo boated by charters while fishing the King's. There were Dolphin in the mix also as there has been for months. Seemingly at random while Sailfishing, a school of Mahi-Mahi will appear and cast to by the anglers making for a nice bonus on the day. A few guys have been Yellowtailing with fair results. Patch fishing was good too as reported by captain Jeremy from the Whale Harbor dock. Mangrove Snapper, Porgy, Hogfish and Mutton Snapper were all taken in 15 feet of water on light spinning gear.

Gulf and Bay:
Once again the Spanish Mackerel was the highlight in the shallow Gulf waters. Captain Lou Brubaker had Jeff and Bradon from Utah out in the gulf and the boys just hammered the Spanish. The duo also fished the Miss Islamorada out of Bud and Mary's marina and did a number on the King Mackerel earlier in the week. One report from the Gulf tells of a great bite on the Gag Grouper. All the Grouper were released as the Grouper season is closed until April. There are some Seatrout and Mangrove Snapper being caught while on the Spanish Mackerel grounds. Skiff guides have been looking at the trap buoys in the Gulf for the Tripletail with little result. The Tripletail, one of the tastiest of fishes, should be making a showing soon though.

Flats, Backcountry and Flamingo:
With the new moon last week the tides were radical and left little water up on the flats. The Flamingo area was pretty productive on the low end of the tide. Several captains reported good catches of Redfish with some Snook as well. And of course there were the Trout, Jacks and Ladyfish to round out the melee'. Cutting up a Ladyfish and using an 8/0 circle hook on a length of wire in the Flamingo area will produce Sharks, Lemon's, Bull's and Blacktips. Captain Dave Atkinson reported half day trip recently with his angler catching and releasing one Bonefish about 6 pounds.