Key West Fishing Report Tarpon Permit Bonefish Fly, Plug, Spin Capt. Mark Phillips

	Lower Keys Report 12/05/07 Fishing continues to be good as the water temps hold in the mid 70’s. Lots of larger than average bonefish are moving around on the flats. These fish are moving slower than normal puffing mudds and tailing. There are a few monster Bonefish (10lb+) in small pods gathering in deeper water. Permit are around and very receptive to the fly on the right tides. Lots of low water and weak tides during the cold fronts have made timing critical to find these fish in the right mood.
	November 18, 2007 Key West Flats Report One of the few big, bad blows of winter has passed through this week and water temps plummeted. Water temps during the peak of these fronts can drop into the sixties and nearly shut of the fishing for the coveted SLAM(Bones, Tarpon and Permit) but many other equally exciting opportunities arise. Barracuda fishing is spectacular with many large cudas patrolling the shallow flats. Sight fishing sharks with flies is a great treat when the sight fishing game is unavailable due to inclement weather. More big Lemon , Bulls and Black Tips were caught this week and this will only get better with all the concentration of bait that happens this time of year. Bonefishing is still excellent when you find the warmer water and many were caught during this cold front in certain pockets. When you find the permit they are very “happy” and responsive to eating the fly. You might not have as many shots as Prime-Time Permit in March but all these fish want to eat. From the back of the boat-Mark Phillips
	Key West November 09, 2007 In the midst of a week long cold front the fishing is still very good. Conditions have been tough with 20mph + winds and cloud cover but the fish are on the move in shallow warm water betraying their presence with wakes and fins. Lots of huge schools of bonefish at low tides and a few permit scattered in make for exciting angling opportunities. Permit fishing has been somewhat scarce but what they lack in numbers they make up for with their willingness to eat. Almost every shot seems to turn fish and we have landed some bigger fish this week on fly. Started shark fly fishing this week during high tide and heavy cloud cover which produced excellent results. Here is a photo of angler Patrick Dillon with a nice fly caught black tip.
	Key West Oct. 19, 2007 Friendly skies and light winds made for good flats fishing this week. Fished with Sam Rootjana for a couple of days and despite crummy tides we managed some good Permit and Excellent Bone fishing. Big schools of aggressive bones are marauding the flats right now. These fish are tailing and mudding as they make their way through the flats. Sam caught three nice Permit and a bunch of Bones but the Tarpon avoided us making the coveted SLAM a near miss. Lots of large Snook and some Drum (both Red and Black) are showing in good numbers and promise some new SLAM categories in the near future.
	Key West Oct. 11, 2007 Quick afternoon trip with good visibility and a falling tide produced some interesting fishing today. While poling deep water flat for permit we kept running into large single tarpon. After two or three singles a large herd was moving across the flat chasing baitfish. A quick fly change produced two jumped fish and some frayed tippet. Soon the permit started showing up falling rays. Every fish seen was large and one for sure was a record fish. 10 or so shots over the next hour and a half left you shaking and fishless. A few good shots produced some turned permit but no takes. Next time.
	Lower Keys Fishing Report Oct. 6, 2007 The signs of winter coming are very subtle down here but undeniable. From lots of big barracudas showing up on the flats to the whistling sound of Blue Wing Teal on their southerly migrations, Mother Nature’s course is clear. The Permit seem to be enjoying this change as they are traveling in nice packs on the flats and feeding heavily. My good buddy Capt. Colby Hane "Cleat" came down from Sarasota, FL for a couple of days and it was blowin'. Always seems when I get to fish with Cleat (which are way too few), the weather Gods are frowning (dues paid). Still managed to catch a few nice bones and one very large, Permit. Unfortunately the Permit ran off the flat and cut the line on coral. AAAARRRGGGHHH!
	Key West Fishing Report Sept. 30, 2007 Fished with Capt. Will Benson and Capt. Bill Houze over the past two days and the fishing was spectacular! Windless conditions made great spotting conditions but spooky fish. With Permit the shot always has to be perfect but today you needed to stay low and cast slow to even get near them. After many blown shots on my part, I finally managed to land a small Permit and three Bones. Capt. Will landed a nice tailing Permit in slick calm conditions. Capt Bill was the ace with two Permit landed on two opportunities!

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