Key West Pro Guides - Light Tackle - September 2024 Fishing Report
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.
Light Tackle Reef & Wreck:
September can be a calmer time for the angler with concerns about rough sea conditions found well offshore to head out to the offshore reef and wreck sites. In fact, August and September are often times referred to as “the calms” offshore. The Grouper and Snapper family continue to produce. Yellow Tail Snapper will try to eat your arms off most days in September while their cousin the Mangrove Snapper remain plentiful and tasty. Mutton Snapper are not particularly aggressive however. Snapper and Grouper remain the stars on the reef for table fare species to target! Our elusive Permit is always challenging but September remains a good time for these prized sportfish, and they are moving towards better action yet in late September into October. Cobia remain in decent numbers and provide quality action but are now out of the “excellent” range, let’s say more the “good range”. Spanish and Cero Mackerel action improves and becomes quite good for September and can be counted on for fun with lighter tackle. Amberjack on the deeper wrecks can still provide brutal battles for the light tackle angler for early September but will be slowing later into September. The predator action with Barracuda and Sharks continues to be good. September Light Tackle Reef & Wreck …..Target Species:
Barracuda…”Excellent”
Cobia…”Good”
Grouper…”Excellent” (season open to harvest)
Mangrove Snapper…”Good” (slows some later in the month)
Mackerel…”Good”
Yellow Tail Snapper…”Excellent”
Permit…”Good” (improving for October)
Shark…”Good” 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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