Grouper season closed
January 01, 2019 Key West 1 photo

Trip Summary

Several grouper closures start Jan. 1 Gag grouper will close to recreational harvest in Gulf state and federal waters Jan. 1, 2019. The same day, several species of grouper will also close to recreational and commercial harvest in Florida state waters of the Atlantic and all state waters off Monroe County. This Atlantic seasonal closure includes: gag, black, red, yellowmouth, and yellowfin grouper; scamp; red hind; rock hind; coney; and graysby. A similar closure will occur in Atlantic federal waters.
Corsair Sportfishing LLC
Key-west, Florida, United States
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If you’re looking for some of the best fishing that money can buy out of Key West, Florida, you can’t go wrong with Corsair 2 Sportfishing. With over 3 decades of local fishing experience under his belt, Captains Russ McKinley or Jeff Rohland ...

Other reports from this captain

February Fishing
February Fishing
February 3, 2025
the school, which will drive them down. We usually catch them on small, light surface baits like dusters or small natural feathers. This time of year, blackfin tunas are our main catch. Once in a blue moon, we’ll catch a yellowfin. Yellowfin are extremely rare in Key West. Blackfin tunas can reach sizes of 40 pounds although most of them are 5-8 pounders, the size of a football. This is a great month to catch lots of blackfin tunas so bring the wasabi! Sailfish is the other main attraction here in Key West this month. This is a good month for sailfishing in Key West. While sailfish are here year round and can always be caught, the concentrated numbers of them bite best in winter through early spring. February is a GREAT month to catch sailfish, in fact, it’s one of the best months of the year. The cooler temperatures of February get the sailfish really lit up and aggressive. The stronger easterly winds of February also help the sailfish action and allows us to do a lot more kite fishing. Kite fishing allows us to go out and present live baits right on the surface of the water and keep them right on the current edge. This is a very effective technique to catch sailfish and although they are never guaranteed, you won’t find better conditions for sailfishing any month of the year. Sailfish are the most sought after gamefish in the entire world and anglers come from all around the world to catch these magnificent billfish. The most awesome thing about sailfish other than their colors and beauty, is the spectacular aerial display they put on during their fight. They jump out of the water like no other fish and take sudden fast runs throughout the battle. If you’ve never caught a sailfish before, it’s a rush like no other. Many other species bite well in February in Key Wst but these top… wahoo, tuna and sailfish are what makes February famous for one of the best months of the year to go fishing in Key West . Some of the other fish that are possible this month are amberjacks and groupers around the wrecks, mahi-mahi are sometimes biting, kingfish and barracudas on the reef and lastly, huge sharks begin making their run down out coastline this month. The shark migration that begins in February and end in late June is truly epic, but is the topic for future fishing report. Good luck to everyone fishing this month. Tight Lines and Let’s Go Fishing
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