Key West Flats Fishing with Capt. Mike O'Brien Fishing Reports

Mike Crowell got this nice poon in early June while fishing with me off the Mothership Eleven

I took these photos last week on a super rainy day.  My angler, Tom and I waited for a tiny window in the heavy rain and lighting to sneak back out and got a fish on the second cast then the fish jumped, and she was a big one. The rain picked back up to torrential and we fought it for almost and hour before leading it and getting the hell off the water with big smiles on our faces.  Corona time!!

Tarpon fishing is getting good.  Water is 85 .

Bones are around in good numbers and Permit too?

Now is a great time to fish the Lower Keys and Key West.  Practice your casting because April is usually WINDY.

We are gearing up for the March Merkin next week. Looks like a big cold front is coming the night before the first day of fishing. I tied up some sweet flies and the skiff is ready. Alan and I got a nice permit in the Del Brown last July and hope to do as well or better in the MM.

I fished the Cuda Bowl this year with Jay Decker and his son Kai.

Jay got a scoring fish on fly the first day and Kai killed it on the second day to win the Junior division .

I had a great time with good friends and hope to do it again next year.

Pete Kutzer from Orvis fighting and landing a nice Barracuda in the Sugerloaf Showdown run by the Lower Keys Guides Association.

I was at the Bonefish Tarpon Trust symposium last weekend in Weston , Florida with my good friend and Client Jay Decker from Patagonia.  We set up a small booth and talked about the cool new line.

I saw lots of friends from the fly angling world and made some new ones too.  I sat in on the Permit and Tarpon panel discussions and got some new perspectives on these fish.

A lot of time, money, and love is going into protecting tarpon, permit, and bonefish for now and the future.