January 14, 2010 Fishing Report

Hello from Key West, This is Capt. Paul Tryon with Key West Pro Guides and TailChaser Charters, here with your January 2010 fishing report:

Old man winter has made his grand appearance here in Key West. We have been setting records left and right with the colder than normal temps. While this has kept just about everyone off the water the past few days, the warm weather is only a few days off. These cold snaps slow some of the fisheries down a little, but also make sure that more migratory species continue to make tiher way south to us. All in all, the fishing will improve fishing dramatically as the temps warm up, it's going to be an AWESOME winter season!!!

Here's how things are shaping up.....

Offshore:
The shoreward edge of the Gulf Stream is really close to the reef, about 2 nm. The Black fin Tuna bite has been awesome. Most are in the lower to mid 20lb. range with a few in the lower 30's. The Wahoo bite has started to turn on, we have been seeing them up to 57lbs. at the dock. There have been plenty of Speedos on the reef, slow trolling them has proven deadly. As the water temps continue to drop with the approaching cold fronts, and with the Gulf Stream moving in and out of our area, the Sailfish and Wahoo action should increase with great results. Our live bait situation continues to be really good, we have been able to consistently catch more than enough.

Deep off the Reef:
The deeper wrecks off of the reef have been pretty good with a few really nice Black Groupers, big Mutton Snappers, Amberjacks, Barracuda, Bonita and lots and lots of Sharks. With the currents being light and the wind in the right direction, we have been anchoring up on the deeper wrecks lately and simply having our way with the fish! Dropping whole ballyhoos, small runners and other small baits to the bottom has produced nice Black and Gag Groupers along with my favorite the Mutton Snappers. Dropping a fresh live Ballyhoo to the bottom is sure to get nailed! The last few deep water wreck trips have found plenty of hungry black fins and what a blast they are on the light tackle.

Wrecks and Reefs:
The Gulf wreck action has been good and should continue to get better with each day of cooler water. We have been starting to catch a few Kingfish on the wrecks and hard bottom, most averaging in the 20's, a few in the mid 30's. Live bait is the trick with them, we have been catching our limits every, single trip out! The Cobia action has been getting better, most are averaging in the 17-30lb. range, a few really nice ones have been hooked in the 45-50lb. range. The Cobias have been showing up lately on the closer in wrecks and reefs and always like to hang on the channel markers, hoping we toss a bait there way. The snapper and grouper bite has been good with gray snappers being caught up to about 4lbs. The sharks are very active; most of them are Bulls, Black tips and Lemon sharks. As soon as you get a good chum slick started they are as far back in it as you can see. On the slack tides they are providing constant action with most in the 4-5 foot range. These powerhouse fish are very strong fighters and a challenge on light tackle. We have been battling nice size schools of Bonita at some of the other farther out gulf wrecks and by tying off to any of the dozens of shrimp boats anchored in the gulf. Shrimp boat fishing is some of the best action trips you could possibly go on.

Flats/BackCountry:
The flats and backcountry trips are heating up really good now. The days right before a cold front when the winds are from the south, warming the waters, the fish are up on the flats feeding like crazy. The waters are nice and clear and we are finding plenty of fish. The Permit are on the edges of the flats and seem to be enjoying the cooler waters we are getting. The average size permit the past month has been around 20- 25lbs. and very eager to feed. The bone fish are in good size schools with the average size fish weighing in around 7-8lbs. We are seeing our annual migration of Pompano, most in the 3-4lb. range. There have been nice schools of Sea Trout mixed in with them up to 9lbs. and as always, the Barracuda and Sharks are all over the flats; just about any bait thrown their direction is sure to get looked at. Basically any species that you target on the flats will be a good choice for a very productive trip in January.

This is Captain Paul Tryon, Give me a call to book your day with some of Key West's best guides here at Key West PRO Guides and have some fun fishing! Until next month, keep those reels screaming! For booking information with Key West PRO Guides or TailChaser Charters, you can call me at 1-877-290-4413 or visit my website:

www.keywestproguides.com or www.tailchasercharters.net

Tight lines,

Capt. Paul Tryon

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