Florida Keys Fishing Report – September, 2020 – Mahi, Tuna, Wahoo
The Florida Keys are still pretty busy, which is a surprise. Typically, every year once the kids go back to school, the Keys will see fewer visitors, making it our off-season. This year, Main Attraction fished more charters in July and August then we did in 2019 and September is looking pretty busy too. Our guess is after the COVID restrictions were lifted, people were anxious to get out of the house and have a vacation that didn’t require international travel. What is better than being in the open sea air, with less than 8 individuals on a boat catching fish? Nothing in our opinion!
This past week, we had two bachelor parties fish with Main Attraction Charters. Brandon Wright had his own boat in town, but the wind started to blow and his boat could not handle the seas. He booked a last-minute ¾ offshore trip aboard Main Attraction 2, our 42’ Express style sport fisherman, with Captain Christian and Captain Steve. The guys had a memorable time, catching schools of Mahi (Dolphinfish) and several Wahoo, all while celebrating their friends’ bachelor party! A trip these guys won’t soon forget.
As mentioned, the seas did kick up, as the wind increased each day. These fishing conditions caused the Mahi and Tuna to push closer to shore, showing up in 400’ of water. There were lots of sargassum weed and debris floating, with birds working the surfaces. Although the fish pushed closer, they were very picky and only eating live bait. Our crews made sure they had wells full of live bait, in case they ran into this problem.
Another last-minute charter was reserved by a gentleman, Gustavo, for another bachelor party! They chose the Main One, our 49’ sport fisherman vessel, and fished on Friday, September 4th. Their first hour offshore was a bit slow, but soon after it was like a switch was flipped and fish were everywhere. Captain Marty and first mate Christian loaded the boat with nice schoolie Mahi and gaffers (larger Dolphinfish) for the guys to split. We love this scenario because it gives everyone a turn to bend a rod and get in on the action making it tons of fun.
Captain Marty spotted a big bull and a cow dolphinfish (typically when you spot a big bull there should be a cow nearby, they typically swim in pairs). The cow ate a bait and the rod was handed off to an angler to fight the fish. The bull, on the other hand, was very picky and refused to eat. First mate Christian was able to get a “three-eyed shrimp” and snag him with an incredibly accurate cast. Everyone on the boat was thrilled, they all had a wonderful time.
Although the rough seas make it more challenging for anglers’ stomachs, the fishing has been excellent. August was a great month with plenty of fish around and constant action and we have a feeling September is going to continue to be more of the same. Check out the photos below this article to see some catches of a few other clients had this very week as well.
With Mahi, Blackfin Tuna, and the occasional Tripletail around these are all very good reasons to book a fishing trip with the Main Attraction soon! If you would like to fish with our awesome crews, give us a ring at (305) 289-0071 or visit our contact page.