Lighter side of OU Key West

By Capt. Ted Lund  

Last week was quite an event, with the Lower Florida Keys seeing the second lowest record temperatures in more then 150 years of meteorological record keeping in the Southernmost City. With the mercury dipping to 40 degrees, water temps hovered around the 50-degree mark, wreaking havoc on a variety of species. Fortunately, water temps have rebounded and so have the fish — with a vengeance. 

Some of the best fishing right now is occurring in the backcountry, with pompano, Spanish mackerel, big ladyfish and some nice mangrove snapper filling the bill. We’re also getting some seatrout, a few redfish, jack crevalle, blacktip sharks and have even seen a few tarpon starting to roll. 

As the mercury rises, we’re expecting to see some good permit fishing and even a few bonefish start knocking around. It’s a great time to get out the fly rod, as you’ll never know what you are going to catch. 

Offshore, light tackle enthusiasts are enjoying great tuna fishing, along with king mackerel, sailfish and the occasional wahoo in the mix. It’s possible to target most of them on light spinning tackle or fly rod.