August 13 2022 – Summer time is typically loaded with peanut sized mahi stories in our fishing reports for deep sea fishing. This year things are a little different. Yes there is not shortage of peanuts, micro mahi, chickens and even some larger mahi mahi running around out there. But we can add all that to a better than average wahoo bite this summer. Could it be the unusually stronger winds this year or maybe todays Super Moon? Who knows but I can tell you one thing. Our clients that have been fishing with us on board the INXS on several trips have really enjoyed catching the wahoo along with the mahi mahi.
The mahi fishing has been up and down, however we are consistently getting on the fish for our clients. On the full days we have been making the run out toward the wall which is about 19.5 nm from Key West. On this day we were fortunate enough to get on a weed line just before the wall and sifted through the smaller dolphin to put together some dinner before trolling back to shallower water with wahoo in mind.
Of course while we were out there we had a good size fish on – there is always the story. “You shoulda seen the one we hooked” and he spit the hook on a jump. That mahi was about 15 lbs.
My mate Garrett and I busted some ass to try and get our folks some mahi for dinner and it ultimately worked out. We were always looking at the clock knowing that the wahoo bite was going to turn on in the afternoon and we needed to get shallower before then to make sure we were in the strike zone. If nothing else we knew there might be a late afternoon blackfin tuna bite as well.
The Deep Troll
Since the wahoo fishing has been pretty consistent we installed the second down rigger on board the InXS to make sure we were compounding on our opportunities. I also like to run deep trolls during the full moon for the mahi so it was a double value added.
Once I got the INXS in about 450 ft of water. This area South of Key West has been unseasonably productive for us and other deep sea fishing boats lately for wahoo. We dropped the witches rigged with ballyhoo on the down riggers One was pink and the other was rainbow. Watching my Garmin bottom machine that is equipped with the AirMar R599 LM with the medium frequency wide beam I can see the bait wherever they are in the water column around my boat. This seemed to be my secret for the first wahoo that ate this particular day. I saw the baits on the sonar, slowed a bit and WHAM! The pink witch was hammered and the fight was on. Im not sure its a rigging secret but we tend to drop our baits back a good ways further than normal for a more natural presentation.
Once we landed that guy I felt compelled to go back and look around some more. This paid off with a small mahi, while we were getting that fish taken care of the other deep troll hit. After a good run or three we had wahoo twinzies from almost in the same damn spot. I could see them hovering over the bait balls. A really fun way to close out a decent day of fishing. Both of these wahoo made it to the wall as a trophy.
Our Policy
We check with our clients every day to see what the hopes and dreams are and if we can fulfill them with the current conditions. Either we are managing expectations or putting ourselves up against it. Either way our clients know – on the daily – what we are expecting to catch..
On this day. Mom said, I dont care what we catch as long as I get my first mahi mahi. I just want to catch a dolphin. Well, I would say mission accomplished. We managed a few mahi throughout our day from 450 – 850 ft of water while trolling.
August is typically a slower month for our fishing charters here in Key West. Kids go back to school and things wind down. When booking in the late summer and the fall try and get around the new and full moons for our best potentials such as large mahi, wahoo, sailfish and the ultimate prize a blue marlin.
Curious about the deep sea fishing in Key West. Give us a call or text.
Office 305-292-7212
Text 786-847-3808
Feel free to email me with questions or comments about our days out there.
