Key West Pro Guides Offshore Report - September 2024
By: Capt. Paul Tryon
For today’s live action call 305-747-4650
Our KEY WEST Fishing is moving into season!
September is a slower month for fishing in Key West. The waters are quite warm, and the weather is unpredictable. One of the nice things are the many different fish you can catch with so many less people on the water.
As fall arrives, we enter a period of great action. Over the next few months some of the best fishing of the entire year comes to us. Each cool front that crosses the U.S. helps cool down the waters to the north, sending more and more fish our direction, the Gulf Stream. We should hope to start seeing these fronts get closer to us in October, this is what starts our awesome fishery.
Deep Sea/Offshore:
Our offshore fishing continues with decent but ever slowing action for Mahi Mahi. Mahi (Dolphin fish-Dorado) are plentiful, schooling fish that still can provide explosive action at a blistering pace most days. High leapers when hooked up, beautiful colored fish that also are a favorite for many on the dinner plate. Later in the season this year smaller fish have been plentiful, but the larger Bull’s (males) have been fewer. Wahoo are prized and very sought after, elusive sport fish that peaked during July & August in our waters. Wahoo will be migrating away from Key West during September so as we get deeper into the month the Wahoo will noticeably lessen. September brings improvements to our already quite good Spanish and Cero Mackerel action as they now enter into the “excellent” range which lasts for several months. Typically, by later September the Kingfish migration will have brought decent numbers of good-sized fish to our offshore waters. Big Kings are always good for exciting action!
The predators remain aggressive with September also being an awesome month for large Barracuda. We have moved into an exciting period for offshore angling however, we always believe a ½-day charter still has some challenges with ever changing travel times between marina and fishing grounds. Best bet book at least the ¾-day (six-hour trip) especially if you are a party of three or four or more and get on the water early. We recommend four as the maximum passenger count on any light tackle boat for the ultimate fishing experience.
September Deep Sea/Light Tackle Offshore
Target Species:
Barracuda…”Excellent”
Dolphin (Mahi-Dorado)…”Good”
Kingfish…Improving (late September)
Marlin…”Excellent” (However the Marlin population is small in our waters therefore very hit or miss for the angler’s success)
Shark…”Good”
Mackerel…”Excellent”
Wahoo…”Fair” (slowing gone by months end)
Notable:
This is a time of more stable water temperatures so fishing conditions in general are more settled in. We still recommend fishing morning trips if going shallow as they remain the most productive over the later afternoon hours for the serious angler but again the afternoon trips are good. The PM half-day trips have improved and can be quite enjoyable, especially for those people just looking to stay in calm waters and enjoy a few fun hours catching fish. Reef trips in the afternoon, fishing in slightly deeper waters along with the patch reefs can be very good trips for later in the day departure times. Sharks are plentiful and active. Pursuing these heavy weight monsters on light tackle is challenging to say the least and talk about something you cannot do at home!
Let’s go Fishing!
Call Key West Pro Guides today to book your charter
305-747-4650 daily 8 AM to 9 PM.
Remember 2-4 weeks in advance is recommended for peak fishing season dates December through June. April, May and June are the busiest months of our entire fishing calendar! Our legendary guide team is always in high demand.
We look forward to your call!
www.keywestproguides.com
305-747-4650
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