Chris Gaylor and friends had been planning their trip to Key West for months… especially the fishing part of the trip!  With Dolphin on our minds, we were pleased to find a nice weedline, color change, and east bound current in only 300 feet of water.  Thirteen Dolphin with a 34-pound Bull the biggest.  Dinner is served!!

Very busy right now, running every day, sometimes two trips a day.  But, I just had to post this pic.  The biggest Dolphin caught by a charterboat this year in Key West.  58 pounds on our certified A and B Marina scale.  Capt. Steve pictured with the alien-headed beast…  Yes, caught on board the Mr. Z!!

Dave and Cindy Allen, from Michigan, brought their sons out fishing aboard the Mr. Z today and weren’t disappointed.  We started on the reef just to get some quick action with Macheral, Barracudas, and a Grouper.  As we went to head South (like every other boat running past us) Capt. Steve noticed a wooden pallet floating in 189 feet of water.  As we began to get close to it, I could see the little “V’s” on top of the water circling the wood.  “There’s fish here!” I screamed and all of the lines went down.  It looked like some sort of odd mating dance from up on the bridge as the Allen family tried to keep the rods and lines straight and untangled.  Capt. Steve was the dance leader, directing with his gaff, and one by one the Dolphins ended up resting comfortably in the cooler.  23 in all ranging from 6 to 17 pounds.  We caught so many that Capt. Steve got out my son, Zachary’s, little 6 pound spinning reel for the Allens to try their ultra-light fishing luck with!  Always better lucky, than good! and “Don’t run past fish to catch fish!”

Tom Banks whipped this 24 pound Cow (Female) Dolphin last Friday.  The smile says it all!

I know, it sounds like the opening line from a bad joke, but it’s true.  We spent the morning with Dan Fillenwarth and the boys trolling South and not doing much at all.  We stopped and did some drops with the electric reel and did manage to put a couple of Tile Fish, Rose Fish, and a nice Snowey Grouper (off the bottom in 820 feet of water!) in the box, so dinner was taken care of.  As we started to troll back to the North, the deep troll went off and the reel started screaming my favorite Wahoo tune.  At the same time, the shotgun rod went off and we wound in a World Class Rainbow Runner.  This is a clue!  Rainbow Runners never hang out in 800 feet without something to hang around.  Both Capt. Steve and I said the same thing at the same time, “There’s something floating around here!”

A few wide circles around the general area revealed a huge truck tire floating low in the water surrounded by the most outstanding pile of baitfish, Dorados, and 2 out of 4 Wahoos!