OT - Florida Keys Fishing Trip

TexasRebel

A little late to post this but the family and I went down to the Keys the week of the 4th and had a great time.  Had to christen my dad's new boat by getting some blood on the deck for sure.  My son and daughter both got to catch their first fish and what a trip to do it on.  SWMBO is hell of a fisherwoman too.  Caught Mahi, Yellowtail Snapper, Mutton Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, Blue Line Tiles, and a rose fish (that's the weird looking reddish one).  Nothing like fresh fish for dinner. 

hoosier_egger

Great job! 

Killit_and_Grillit

Living large right there. Your dad got him one sweet boat!

TexasRebel

Killit_and_Grillit said:

Living large right there. Your dad got him one sweet boat!

Lol yes it's nice.  It's a far cry from what we used to fish on down there.  It's weird not having to spend 2 or 3 days of your Keys vacation working on an old Grady White.

FrostyEgg

Holy mahi! That should keep the freezer full for awhile.

TexasRebel

Yeah it was kinda like that scene from Forest Gump....fried mahi, grilled mahi, mahi sandwich, blackened mahi.......Never get tired of it though.

NPHuskerFL

Nice fishing trip

FrostyEgg

TexasRebel said:

Yeah it was kinda like that scene from Forest Gump....fried mahi, grilled mahi, mahi sandwich, blackened mahi.......Never get tired of it though.

For sure. It's a really versatile fish.

Foghorn

That's awesome.  Where in the Keys?  We used to go to Summerland Key pretty regularly.  

TexasRebel

Foghorn said:

That's awesome.  Where in the Keys?  We used to go to Summerland Key pretty regularly.  

Ramrod!  Right next to Summerland.  Been going there since I was a baby.  Such a blessing to be able to experience it down there.  Most of the places have recovered pretty well from Irma.  Still a little rough but the tourists were certainly there which means money coming in!

Foghorn

TexasRebel said:

Foghorn said:

That's awesome.  Where in the Keys?  We used to go to Summerland Key pretty regularly.  

Ramrod!  Right next to Summerland.  Been going there since I was a baby.  Such a blessing to be able to experience it down there.  Most of the places have recovered pretty well from Irma.  Still a little rough but the tourists were certainly there which means money coming in!

Very cool.  We rented a waterfront house (Atlantic front) and rented a boat to go diving/snorkeling out at Looe Key and off of Little Palm Island (there is a patch reef there).

We learned the way out to Looe Key by doing one dive trip with the operator on Ramrod.

TexasRebel

Yeah Little Palm got hit really bad by Irma.  Could be another year or so before they're back operational.  That patch reef right there is pretty great.  I used to go stay with my grandparents for the whole summer when I was a little kid so we would take the little boat out there and snorkel around.  Still very beautiful.  Looe Key is still just as beautiful as it always was.  There are huge Goliath Grouper out there that have been fed so many times by boaters that they'll just come up and wait.  Really cool to see those guys in the water.  Kinda intimidating but still cool.  We're at the very end of the canal when you took the dive boat out.  Last house on the left right before the channel markers start.  Love it down there. 

Sea2Ski

Beautiful haul! All excellent eats right there! 

NC_Egghead

Looks like y’all had a great time! Nice boat! Summerland Key is where BSA has one of their adventure bases. I spent a week out there a few years ago snorkeling and fishing. Nothing like eating the fish you caught that morning. Good times!

Foghorn

I know that canal well.  

Sorry to hear about Little Palm.  Is the "Truman" still operating?

pUreHkcoL

Truly some great family time there. Cherish every moment you can, while you can. You are a lucky man. 

bgebrent

“Nothing like fresh fish for dinner.”  Truer words have not been said, especially same day catch.  Looks like good times.

Jupiter Jim

You all rocked out some awesome catching! and catching is always better than Fishing. That boat is spot on only because of the Mercury power! The wife and I have spent hundreds of hours fishing off Long Key, always stayed at Edgewater Lodge. Life has changed for us and we don't even have an ocean fishing boat now. Thanks for sharing with us.

TexasRebel

Foghorn said:

I know that canal well.  

Sorry to hear about Little Palm.  Is the "Truman" still operating?

I'm not sure to be honest with you.  Dolphin Marina is completely shut down as well so I don't know what they've done with the Truman.  Hear they're turning that into a private marina with little cabins and stuff.  That's cool and all but that takes away a very convenient source for fuel for us.  So no more public fuel dock there unfortunately. 

TexasRebel

pUreHkcoL said:

Truly some great family time there. Cherish every moment you can, while you can. You are a lucky man. 

I'll tell you what....you are absolutely correct.  One of the greatest experiences of my life was seeing the excitement on my kids' faces when they caught their first fish.  It was surreal.  I realize that I am lucky to be able to experience moments like that.  Truly amazing.  Hell I only caught like 2 or 3 out of all of those fish lol.  Way more fun watching them. 

Foghorn

TexasRebel said:

Foghorn said:

I know that canal well.  

Sorry to hear about Little Palm.  Is the "Truman" still operating?

I'm not sure to be honest with you.  Dolphin Marina is completely shut down as well so I don't know what they've done with the Truman.  Hear they're turning that into a private marina with little cabins and stuff.  That's cool and all but that takes away a very convenient source for fuel for us.  So no more public fuel dock there unfortunately. 

That's unfortunate.

How far out did you go for the fish - particularly the mahi?

TexasRebel

Foghorn said:

TexasRebel said:

Foghorn said:

I know that canal well.  

Sorry to hear about Little Palm.  Is the "Truman" still operating?

I'm not sure to be honest with you.  Dolphin Marina is completely shut down as well so I don't know what they've done with the Truman.  Hear they're turning that into a private marina with little cabins and stuff.  That's cool and all but that takes away a very convenient source for fuel for us.  So no more public fuel dock there unfortunately. 

That's unfortunate.

How far out did you go for the fish - particularly the mahi?

This time the weed lines were actually pretty close.  Just 10 or so miles outside the reef.  In the past, we've gone out 20 or 30 miles out to 2000 ft of water.  We caught most of them this time in about 700 or 800 ft.  Weeds were everywhere along with birds and flotsam.  That's mainly what we're looking for.  We also caught a mahi and brought in a school close to the boat in 60 ft of water while yellowtailing right off the reef.  I'm 33 and have been fishing down there my whole life and never seen that before.