Compass Rose KW

Newly Weds permit fishing in Key West

2010-07-14T20:26:00.003-04:00

It was her first permit and a big one. Congrats

What a way to start a marriage. She caught this one on 12 lbs test suffix using 20 lb suffix flouro leader. Great job and she never gave up or wined about it. Unlike Francesca. HAhahahahahah

Thanks guys it was fun

True American Red Snapper in Key West

2010-07-14T20:21:00.003-04:00

The red snapper are a blast to catch. They are a deep water snapper that reside on both the Gulf side of Key West and also the Atlantic side. They fight hard and nibble at the bait. Just a lot of fun to catch and great to eat.

Sailfish Season in November

2009-11-04T16:16:00.003-05:00

In Key West we have two sailfish seasons One in November-December and then again in March thru the beginning of May. Sailfish are one of my favorite fish to target because of their great fight and ariel acrobatics. There is nothing like catching a bill fish. Whether your kite fishing, live bait bumping or sight fishing they are an amazing fish.

Blackfin Tuna with the Tony's

2009-11-04T16:06:00.003-05:00

November is one of my favorite times to catch tunas off the wrecks chumming with pichards drawing them up to the surface. You can catch them on fly or spin or even conventional gear. This group is a kick in the pants. They are a group of guys from New York who have known each other since they were in grade school and have remained friends ever since. The boys have a unique honor of mentally scaring me with an image that is burned into my brain.

Some charters your haoppy to see come and some go. hahahah Just kidding.

Fishing with Billy Currington

2009-11-04T08:29:00.005-05:00

Well had a great time fishing with Billy last month. We had a fun two days filming his new video How Country Boys Roll. We went out lobster diving, fishing for sharks and then a sunset party with bonfires down on the outer islands. He is really a great guy and as down to earth as you would imagine. Billy was a blast and I look forward to playin in the Key West with him again soon.
Capt Mike

Wahoo Season is Here

2009-11-04T08:19:00.002-05:00

While wahoo are here all season long the November bite is always one of my favorites. There are a couple of different ways to fish for wahoo. Whether you chose High Speed artificials or live bait bump trolling or drifting, the result is the same. A blazing fast run as the line melts off the reel then a tense moment at the boat at the gaff followed by one of the best dinners you have ever had. Wahoo are a great fight and great table fare.
Brian Whitehead had a fun late afternoon trip wahoo fishing in 150 feet of water.

A Tough Day Out on the Water-not Really

2009-10-30T11:13:00.004-04:00

I was out filming last week with the lovely ladies of DonnaWenture television show from Italy. What a fun morning. They were a blast to spend a morning with on the flats shallow water shark fishing. We originally had other plans but it was blowing 20 knots,so we went into the back country for a calm morning.

Blackfin on a green and yellow Rapala diver

2009-08-12T23:10:00.002-04:00

Even blackfin tuna like the diver plugs. This one ate the yellow and green dolphin plug.

Baby Wahoo

2009-08-12T23:06:00.002-04:00

Wahoo aren't shy they'll try to eat something bigger than they are, it's fun to see. This one ate a Rapala Deep diver 20

November Wahoo

2009-08-12T22:35:00.003-04:00

November is right around the corner and I'm really looking forward to the wahoo fishing. In November the wahoo show up in numbers and line up in anywhere from 90 feet of water out to 250 feet of water. There are a number of ways to fishing for them but I perfer one of two ways. I like to pull the Williamson artificials or Rapala deep diver plugs. Or the other way I like to fish for them is live baiting slow troling speedos and live bonitas.

Fishing the Fort-The Dry Tortugas

2009-08-12T22:25:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite trips in Key West to to Run down to the Fort and fish the shrimp boats on the way down. The Dry Tortugas are an amasing place. Kind of like the land that time forgot. A typical trip to the fort is a ytwo day trip one day shallow water grouper snapper fishing and shrimp boat tuna fishing then the next day working our way home in the deep water for grouper, red snapper or dolphin wahoo. Here are just a few fun pics from the fort. The tuna literally boil next to the boat.

Cuban Rafts in the Gulf Stream

2009-08-12T22:11:00.004-04:00

People are always asking me if we still see Cuban Rafts. Well the answer is yes we see them every once in a while. They can be great dolphin fishing and wahoo fishing. Most times when we find them the Coast Guard has already cleared them and they are adrift. The amasing thing about rafts is they are made of all differewnt types of materials. I would never want to cross the Gulf Stream in one of these inventions. The slow travel across the stream makes them ideal habitat for dolphin and wahoo and triple tail. Some days when you find one your entire days catch can be made right there. You'll spend hours fishing around one.

Permit Spring and summer

2009-08-12T21:58:00.002-04:00

During the spring and summer months the permit are a lot of fun to catch. In the early spring we catch them in 6 to 15 feet of water but as the summer heats the water the permit move off to the deeper wrecks and are a lot of fun to catch. Typically we catch them on 10 to 15 lbs test and it is a blast. The bait of choice is a silver dollar sized live crab.

Lobster Season is here

2009-08-12T21:48:00.002-04:00

It was a fun day with a fun repeat charter Jim Galiano and Jim Ragle and crew snorkeling lobster. This is a lot of fun and the lobsters are found in as little as 4 feet of water. Here you see Maverick and Dakota holding up a couple of the bugs. Just another fun way to relax in the Key West.

Shrimp Boat fishing

2009-06-15T23:01:00.008-04:00

Fishing behind the shrimp boats is a great adventure You never know what is going to be there. We often head down there looking for Blackfin tuna and cobia and muttons but the bonitas are always present. The way it works is you run down there pick up some bycatch from the shrimp boats. It is like being at an aquarium.

Bycatch is a mix of all kinds of various fish the shrimpers drag off the bottom..

This is a typical scene at the shrimp boats the fish just boil next to the boat. It takes a few tricks to catch the blackfin tuna but it is always a lot of fun. You can see the blackfin here underneath the bonitas. They are the black ones. Sometimes you pull up to a boat and it is all bonitas another boat maybe 80% blackfin tuna you just have to hop from one to the next till you find what you are looking to catch. I have even pulled up behind a shrimp boat and seen nothing but cobia or sharks just depends on the boat.

It is one of my favorite places to take a fly fisherman who wants to just catch fish one after another.

P.s. Don't bring any whimpy fly rods they will snap them in half. I have seen it a hundred times.

Capt Mike

Permit Sight Fishing

2009-06-15T22:43:00.003-04:00

Imagine the fun of sight casting permit in shallow water and watching them eat your crab. The pure adrenaline as the permit screams out line trying to escape. You'll quickly understand why they are one of the great game fish in the Florida Keys.

Kids havin Fun with Dolphin

2009-06-15T22:38:00.001-04:00

Mark Block's son was havin' fun with his frist dolphin we had a great day and it so much fun to enjoy fishing with the whole family

Blackfin on Fly at the Shrimp Boats

2009-06-07T21:55:00.000-04:00

Clay McKinnon's Permit

2009-06-07T20:52:00.002-04:00

It's really was a nice big permit, he's just a big man.
ha ha ha ha
Come Back and Play Clay

Dolphin Fishing has Cranked up into High Gear

2009-06-07T20:15:00.007-04:00

It is June and the dolphin are chewing. There have been a lot of schoolie dolphin but there are still some nice ones running around. There was a 65 lb dolphin brought in this week and a number of 20 to 40 lb fish. This dolphin ate a Williamson artficial lure and was a blast for our junior angler to catch. Whether it is a group of guys out fishing or a family trip I take the time to try and teach everyone how to get the big one.

The tarpon fishing in the harbor is still going strong. The worm hatch happened just two nights ago and the tarpon are still agressive and plentiful in the harbor. Give me a shout to see what the weather looks like and we'll get fishing.

Key West Harbor

2009-06-07T20:15:00.005-04:00

Come Fishing !!!...

2008-12-18T21:34:00.002-05:00

Blackfin Tuna Fishing...

2008-11-21T18:37:00.000-05:00

Several of the guys came down from New Jersey back in 2007 to get in a quick weekend of Blackfin Tuna fishing in the Gulf of Mexico... Blackfin are a lot of fun on light tackle which is a specialty aboard Compass Rose...

The trick in finding Blackfin Tuna is running out into the Gulf of Mexico and locating the commercial shrimp fleet. Blackfin Tuna have learned that the shrimp boats will dump their "Shrimp Trash" over the sides after culling out the shrimp after their night of shrimping...