Islamorada Fishing Reports by Captain Greg Eklund

January 4th, 2009

Happy New Year to everyone!!  We have just wrapped up two weeks of Holiday season fishing here in Islamorada.  Several of our visiting anglers had some amazing catches during the past ten days.  The photos above are of Guy Malaby from NJ who caught and released this 105 inch Atlantic Sailfish on 12lb. test aboard the Cloud Nine.  The battle took a little more than an hour and we estimated the weight of the fish between 100 and 110 pounds.  Earlier that day he also released another Sailfish that was well over 90lbs.  These are two of the largest Sails we have landed aboard the Cloud Nine in the last few years and it is great to see these awesome fish reaching maturity in our area.  A Big Congrats on completing these two epic battles in heavy seas on the same day!!

Besides the Sails we have been catching alot of King Mackerels.  These fish make for great action and have ranged between 5 and 40 pounds the last ten days.  The large supply of baitfish along the edge of the reef has continued to provide us with an ample supply of live bait each morning.  Ballyhoos, cigar minnows, blue runners, and pilchards have all contributed to our catches over the last two weeks.  The Cobia fishing has been improving the last few days.  We have found several rays holding fish during the last few days and it seems that the new year has brought with it some consistent Cobia fishing.  A few wahoos and some yellowtail, mangrove, and mutton snappers have rounded out our catches lately. 

We are due a strong cold front this week which is good news for our fishing as they tend to cycle the migratory fish and bring us some new targets.  This is a great time of year to come down to the Keys and experience some of the best live bait fishing we have to offer.  Give me a call or send an email and we’ll make arrangements to get you aboard and in the middle of this great winter season fishing.  Happy New Year.  Capt. Greg

December 22nd, 2008

Happy Holidays from the Beautiful Florida Keys!  The Fishing this past week here in Islamorada has been excellent.  We experienced a long gap between cold fronts this past week and the weather has been beautiful.  This let us enjoy all of the different species that have shown up in our area to gorge themselves on the plentiful baitfish supplies. The Sailfish are still here in great number.  Several schools of Sailfish layed up along the shallower ledges of the reef after the last cold front and have been biting with regularity.  The bite slowed slightly over the weekend but we got another mild cold front this morning and they perked up today.  The King Mackerel are here in great number now and we have been catching kings between 10 and 40 pounds.  These fish make great light tackle targets and many of last weeks groups enjoyed catching these fish both on 12 lb test and fly tackle.  I expect these schools to improve over the next few weeks as the bait supplies are holding strong. 

The  Cobia fishing has been excellent the last few days.  Fish  in the 20 to 40 pound range are following the big southern black rays in the shallow sandy areas inside the reef and are giving our anglers some great fights.  These fish make great dinner and are some of the hardest fighting fish we have here in Islamorada.  This great bite should also continue as we move into the new year.  The bottom fishing has been picking up lately.  We have caught some nice Muttun Snappers to 20lbs and a few early Black Groupers.  These fish are mainly on the shallower ledges of the reef between 90 and 145 feet of water. 

This is a great time of year to come and experience some of the best winter time weather and fishing the Florida Keys has to offer.  Come on down and fish with us a few days, we would love to put you in the middle of this great fishing.  Happy Holidays from all of us here on the Cloud Nine, we look forward to fishing you in the new year.  All the best, Capt. Greg

December 9th, 2008

The HOT Sailfish bite continues here in Islamorada.  We just finished up the first Sailfish Tournament of the season here in Islamoradalast weekend.  30 boats released 400+ Sailfish during the 3 days.  Huge masses of sardines and cigar minnows have arrived along the deeper edge of the reef.  We normally have to wait until early January for these baits to arrive so we are excited that they are here now.  This bait has created a super size fast food source for the Sailfish and we are currently holding large packs of Sails that are using this bait as their primary food source.  The Sails have been balling up the bait bothsub-surface and on the surface which is creating some amazing fishing conditions.  We have been using Kites to position our baits over the feeding schools with great success.  This is an exciting way to catch the Sails as it gives the anglers the opportunity to see the Sails chase the bait around behind the boat before they get the bite.  We are using Gloomis kite rods and high speed Shimano trinidad reels to catch these fish on 12ib. test. 

All of this bait has also brought us several other species of fish to our area.  Yesterday in addition to several Sailfish we also caught a limit of large King Mackerel to 40 pounds and several Cobiato 25 pounds.   I spoke with a few fisherman to the North of us earlier this week and they reported catching large quantities of Cobias to 60 pounds.  This means that the migration of the Cobias southward is in full swing and we are going to see big numbers of these fish in our area any day now.  I would also expect the excellent King Mackerel fishing to continue as the bait schools we are holding along the ledges of the reef should remain in place through the current moon phase. 

This is an amazing time of year here in the Florida Keys to fish along the ledges of the reef.  The migratory fish such as the Sailfish, Cobias, and King Mackerel are encouraged to hold in our area by the large quantityof bait.  This creates an optimal situation for us and our visiting anglers to catch large numbers of these fish everyday.  Come on down and join us for some of this amazing fishing this month.  I look forward to entertaining you are your group here in the Sportfishing Capital of the World.  Happy Holidays!  Capt. Greg

November 21st, 2008

Sailfish, Sailfish Everywhere!!!  Here in Islamorada we have been invaded by huge numbers of Sailfish during the last ten days.  North to Northeast winds associated with the passage of a succession of cold fronts has stacked the bait on the edge of the reef and brought us huge numbers of Sailfish.  This scenario has created an amazing bite for visiting anglers and produced some huge numbers of releases for the boats out fishing.  The bulk of the action has been centered around the Sailfish “showering” or pushing large schools of Ballyhoo baitfish in 35 to 60 feet of water.  This is a very exciting way of catching the Sailfish as you actually get to see the fish you are throwing the bait to.  It goes like this.  I work the boat from the top of the tower down the edge of the reef.  As we move down the edge I will either see the fish swimming or view a shower.  The boat is then throttled up and positioned so that you see the fish and cast a live bait to the fish.  We have been baiting 15 to 20 fish a day and having good luck early to mid day getting the fish to eat.  In the afternoons we have resorted to flying live bites from the kites to add a little stealth to the program as the Sailfish have been a little more choosy after feeding so freely on the ballyhoo in the morning.  This pattern should continue for the next few weeks as we enter the busy season here in Islamorada and continue to receive the cold fronts courtesy of the southern branch of the jet stream.

The Dolphin have still been in the area during the last few weeks and have been best in 200 to 400 feet along the inshore edge of the gulfstream current.  This fishery will come to a close soon as the water temperatures have cooled into the upper 70’s.  These water temps will push the Dolphin further Southwest towards Mexico and the warmer waters and schools of bait off the Yucatan Peninsula.  Not to worry though because we have some late fall/ early winter goodies in the form of Cobia, King Mackerel, and Groupers to look forward to during the next few months.  All three of these fish make great light tackle and fly target and we welcome their arrival to Islamorada as a change of pace and target. 

The Snapper bite has continued to be excellent, although the schools of fish are now starting to transition form the edge of the reef towards the Patch reef in 18 to 30 feet of water.  These fish make for quick action and provide a delicious source of dinner for our anglers.  An hour out of our day makes for plenty of time to catch dinner and get us back out to the edge of the reef chasing the Sails around.  We are starting to get busy in December and January with bookings so if you are coming our way and would like to fish aboard the Cloud Nine with my crew and I make your reservations soon.  There is plenty more excitement to come during the next few weeks as we begin our Sailfish Tournament season the first week of December.  Come on down and Join us on the Cloud Nine and get in on some of this great fishing Action!!  Happy Holidays, Capt. Greg 

 October 20, 2008

Hello Everyone.  Sorry for the lack of  a report last weekend as I was hunting for Mule Deer in Idaho in the middle of a winter storm!  After receiving more than a foot of snow I was glad to get back to Islamorada last week and start fishing again.  We have had some excellent days of fishing since my return.  The edge of the reef is teaming with large schools of bait fish.  Ballyhoo are the bulk of the bait mass but I have also seen some small schools of cigar minnows and sardines.  Their have also been large schools of pilchards along the beach in the morning that we have been catching by skiff before leaving the dock.  As the past week unfolded these pilchards turned into some great leverage in convincing the good numbers of Sailfish and Large dolphin to bite.  The Sails and Dolphin have been using the top edge of the reef and it’s food sources along their migration to the Southwest.  Most of these fish have been showering the Ballyhoo as they heard them up and turn them into a fast meal.  This is an exciting pattern to fish for the Sailfish and Dolphin as you get to see the fish and cast live baits to them.  Adding a scoop of freebie pilchards to the mix when multiple fish are present can turn everything into a munch fest.  We have been averaging 6 to 10 shots at Sails a day and even caught 10 Dolphin between 15 and 30 lbs on Saturday.  All this action is a sure sign of things to come here in Islamorada during the next few weeks.  We have begun our fall weather and migration patterns and it is helping to produce a great start to the season.  Further offshore the Blackfin Tuna bite has continued to be excellent on the 409 hump.  If you get there early and bring plenty of live bait the fish are big, up to 35 lbs, and plentiful.  Three boats went swordfishing this week and produced some multiple releases of fish up to 120 pounds.  I would expect the Blackfin bite to dry up a little on the back side of this moon and the swordfish numbers to increase.  Back along the edge of the reef the King Mackerel bite was a little off the last few days as the water along the edge of the reef has been crystal clear.  We are due a little wind tonight and tomorrow and I would assume that this will help to spark these fish back to biting in short order.  The mutton snapper bite has continued to be good on the reef ledges between 75 and 130 feet.  The muttons have been in the 4 to 7 pound range but a few fish to 15 lbs are mixed in with the schoolies.  The clean water meant lots of blue runners mixed in with the yellowtail snappers.  The Yellowtails have moved up on the top edge of the reef, another signal fall is here, and have been in the 1 to 3 pound range. As you can see fishing is excellent here right now.  Come on down and let us guide you through a days fishing in the Sportfishing Capitol of the World.  All the best, Capt. Greg

September 29, 2008

The Fishing both offshore and along the reef in Islamorada has been strong for several species this  week.  The Dolphin bite offshore has continued to be excellent.  These fish have still been focused around pieces of debris but several schools were also found migrating toward the Southwest.  The bulk of this action has been centered in 650-800 foot depths lately.  The mass of sardines that I have been talking about for the last few weeks has continued to provide the offshore species with ample forage.   The area humps have been loaded with these baits and as a result the Blackfin Tuna bite has been fantastic.  Fish from 5-35lbs have been caught at several of the area underwater mountains.  The fishing for these great eating Tunas should continue to excel until we get a major cold front or the water temps get cold.  Daytime swordfishing in depths of 1200-1600 ft has been good the past week.  Richard Stansyck from Bud N Mary’s reported catching a 180lb fish and releasing two others on Friday last week.  Further inshore along the edge of the reef the Sailfish bite has been a few here and there.  Most boats have been averaging a sailfish a day.  This bite will only better over the next few weeks as we start to transition into our fall cycle around Islamorada.  The King Mackerel bite has been steady.  The Kings are averaging 8 - 15 lbs with a few larger fish mixed in to the schools.  These fish have been holding on some of the area wrecks and FADs in120 to 150 feet of water.  There have also been some nice catches of mutton snapper in these same areas.  We caught several on a half day trip last week and some of the other boats have been reporting some good Mutton action.  The Yellowtail bite has been good when there has been some current.  These fish are between 1 and 4 lbs with the larger fish being taken on live bait.  We also caught a few big Mangrove snapper to five pounds along the inside edge of the reef in 70 to 90 feet of water last week.  While the Mangrove snapper spawn is all but finished there is still a fair number of the larger fish along the edge of the reef.  This is a great time of year to be here in the Keys fishing.  Please come a join us for a special day of fishing Islamorada aboard the Cloud Nine.  You can get more information here!

September 20, 2008

Hello from the beautiful Florida Keys!  The Fishing has been excellent for Dolphin this past week.  Several pieces of debris produced large schools of fish between 5 and 15 pounds.  The Dolphin are gathered up this time of year in large schools as they pass by Islamorada in the gulfstream current.  The numbers of these fish should continue to be good in the area through October or the passage of the first cold front of fall.  Dolphin fishing has been best in the 650 foot range this past week.  Large schools of Blackfin Tunas to 30lbs are stacked up on the areas offshore humps right now.  These fish are really happy right now as these areas have been holding large masses of bait.  Targeting these fish with fly tackle and lots of live chum is a blast and very effective.  You can also jig, troll, or live bait these schools with great success.  Swordfishing has also been very good this past week.  Fish to 250lbs. are being caught during the day time deep dropping the depths of the offshore shelf between 1200 and 1800 feet.  Swordfishing in Islamorada will continue to be strong through December.  Swordfish are some of the hardest fighting fish in the sea and well worth the effort it takes to catch one.  Further inshore along the edge of the reef the Sailfish action is starting to spool up.  These fish are feeding on Ballyhoo and Sardines that have gathered up on the edge of the reef after the last two storms.  Fishing for these great light tackle acrobats will continue to heat up for the next several weeks. If you want the fishing grounds to your self with plenty of Sailfish now is the time to be here!  Along the Deep ledges in the reef from 150 to 180 feet the King Mackerel and Black Grouper fishing has been productive.  This is a great time of year for large King Mackerel to 35lbs.  These fish make excellent fly and light tackle targets as they can be chummed up to the surface with large quantities of live bait.  Targeting the groupers around the area wrecks will put a smile on the bottom fisherpeople in your group.  The Mangrove and Yellowtail bite has been consistent and is producing fish in the 1 to 4lb range.  It looks as though the storms have gone for the season and the weather couldn’t be better here in Islamorada right now(highs in the 80’s and lows in the 70’s).  Come join my crew and I for some great early fall fishing in the “Sportfishing capitol of the World”.

September 10, 2008

Hurricane Ike decided to drop by for a brief visit this week and interrupt some great fishing.  We received just a glancing blow from the storm and everyone survived the 40-60 MPH winds and rain just fine.  The Dolphin and Blackfin Tuna bite offshore of Islamorada last week was excellent.  Large masses of Sardines were moving by from the edge of the reef all the way out to the currents of the gulfstream.  As they washed over the area humps the upwelling concentrated them and made for the excellent fishing for the Dolphinfish and Blackfin Tunas.  A lot of times when we have storms similar to Ike this time of year it creates a large surge of bait that pushes by our fishing grounds both before and after the Storm passes.  This can create some amazing opportunities for the visiting angler.   It looks like the stage is set for some more great fishing as Ike has already moved off to the west and the seas are returning to normal.  The large crowds present other times of year are here are absent and the fish should remain plentiful which means you should be here catching them.  The Swordfish bite has been solid during the daytime from 1250 feet out.  These fish have averaged 120 lbs the last couple of weeks.  Swordfishing should only improve the next few months as they historically start to concentrate in our area during the fall.   The Dolphin and Tunas should continue to move by as we start to wane the full moon after Saturday 9/13.  Along the edge of the reef a few Sailfish and larger king mackerel to 20lbs are taking advantage of the bait stacked up on the 130 to 180 foot ledges.  There has also been a fair number of Mutton Snapper and Black Grouper on the area wrecks.  Further inshore along the edge of the reef the Yellowtail and Mangrove Snapper bite has been steady.  Come on down and see us we would love to put you in the middle of all this action….Capt. Greg

Hello world — pretty soon you’ll be able to read my recent fishing reports online. Stay tuned for more….Captain Greg.