December 30, 2018
Half Day Today
We stayed in close to keep it comfortable for some of the group. I had hoped to head offshore, but we opted for the calmer waters over the better fishing areas. Sometimes you have to make that choice. 
Mackerels caught in Key West fishing on Key West charter boat Southbound.
December 29, 2018
2 Trips Today
The morning was a little quiet. Seems like it has been a bit slow in the mornings the last few days. But the afternoons have been busier. Released a few bonitos in the morning and caught some Mackerel and a small Dolphin, (Mahi) for dinner. In the afternoon we found a school of King Mackerel. We got lots of bites trolling very slowly, but when you are trolling that slow, (about 3 kts), it’s hard to keep the fish on so you lose a lot of them. We kept 5 for dinner. The afternoon group was supposed to go last Thursday, but the wind was blowing 25+ and it was very rough. I’m glad we were able to reschedule for today. It was calm, warm and sunny. A much nicer day. The weather is something you just have to deal with, but luckily it worked out this time. 
Big Kingfish caught in Key West on charter Fishing boat Southbound 
Kingfish are fun to catch on charter fishing trips in Key West Florida 
Small Dolphin caught in Key West fishing on a charter with Southbound 
Mackerel and a Dolphin caught on Southbound while charter fishing in Key West
December 28, 2018
Fishing was a bit strange today. Started out good. Caught a bonito and a nice Black Fin Tuna right off and then nothing. Not just for us, but from all the boats I was talking to on the radio, it seemed the bite just shut down for a couple of hours. Then, just before it was time to come home and probably having something to do with the switching of the tide, the fish started to bite again. We ended up with some quality fish, a big Black Fin Tuna and a Sailfish, but not a lot of fish. Just a few Bonitos other than the 2 “good” fish. That’s the way it is sometimes. I wish we had more time today, I think it was going to start to get busy and from the reports, I got from a couple of guys that had afternoon trips, it did. But some days you have to catch what you can in the time you have and that’s all you can do. 
Sailfish caught and released in Key West fishing on charter fishing trip with Southbound 
A couple of quality fish, but not a lot of bites on the charter fishing trip in Key West, Florida.
December 27, 2018
Howling Wind
We postponed the trip
December 26, 2018
Half Day Today
A bit “sporty” offshore today. Winds were about 16 when we left the dock, but picked up to around 25 after the sun came up. 
Big Barracuda caught and released on Key West charter fishing trip on the Southbound Caught and released a couple Barracuda and some Bonitos 
Headed toward the Double Rainbow 
Got down toward the end of the rainbows in the picture above and hooked up with some Black Fin Tuna.
December 25, 2018
Merry Christmas to All
Our Christmas Angel on our house No fishing today!
December 24th, 2018
Still cool and a little breezy
A couple of Bonitos offshore, but no Black Fin Tuna today. We didn’t have a lot of time to spend offshore because it was only a half day trip. We headed to the reef to get some more action. Got some nice barracudas and a couple Cero mackerel. The Barracudas are catch and release, but the Cero mackerel are excellent eating as well as fun to catch. 
Big Barracuda caught and released in Key West fishing a charter trip on the Southbound 
Fun to catch but not good to eat. Barracudas are catch and Release on charter fishing trips A couple big Barracudas released 
Cero Mackerel are excellent eating and fun to catch on Key West charter fishing trips A couple Cero Mackerel for Dinner!
December 23rd, 2018
We were hoping for a few more Black Fin Tuna. They bit well yesterday, unfortunately, not today. We managed to get a couple. We did get and release a bunch of Bonitos and got a nice King Mackerel on the Reef Edge toward the end of the day. 
Black Fin Tuna are excellent table fare and strong fighters. Always fun to catch on Charter fishing trips on the Southbound 
Released some bonitos and kept a couple of Tuna and a Kingfish for dinner in Key West fishing on Southbound
Afternoon
Released some Bonitos. They are in the Tuna family, but not considered good table fare. They can be a lot of fun to catch, but we keep a few for bait and throw the rest of them back most of the time. 
It was a long day. I left the dock on this mornings trip just before sunrise and we fished this afternoons trip right until the sunset. It was a long day, but I know how lucky I am to see this as often as I do, so I really don’t mind the long day. 
Got lucky at the end of the day. Caught a “keeper” dolphin for dinner.
December 21st, 2018
I thought it was going to be a bit “Sporty” on the water today. The winds did drop dramatically overnight. Only blowing about 10-15 this morning. I did expect to see a large swell from the west. That usually happens if we have a strong West wind like we had yesterday. We did have the swell, but it wasn’t near as large as I expected and the sea was relatively calm otherwise. And the fish were hungry! 
We only brought in the “eating” fish. Released over a dozen Bonitos, some Barracudas and 2 seagulls! We kept a couple nice “Christmas Dolphin” and a small Black Fin Tuna for dinner.
December 20th & 21st, 2018
No fishing for a couple of days. It’s blowing a gale. Winds of 30+mph from the South and then the west are preceding a strong cold front that is coming. Winds are supposed to die off quickly on Saturday. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get out and find some fish.
December 19th, 2018
2 Half Day Trips Today
Mostly Reef Action this morning! It was a trip with a bunch of interruptions. Customers forgot their food so they had to run across the street to resupply. We got off the dock about 30 minutes late. No big deal and I was glad to wait for them. I would rather they had what they needed instead of wishing they had brought something they didn’t have. We had to stop for fuel on the way out. A quick detour that took about 20 minutes. We finally got offshore and we had just started fishing when my good friend and former 1st mate, Capt. Brice on the Double Down called. He had blown a hose to his transmission and was dead in the water. He was only two miles away so we picked up and ran over and gave him some oil and repair tape in the hopes he might be able to fix it. That took a little more than a half hour but, again, no complaints. You have to help other boaters when you can. He could not get his boat fixed and another boat came out and towed him in. He left his anchor on a buoy, which we picked up for him on our way home. With all the delays involved, we didn’t get in until about 1:30 on a trip that was supposed to be from 7 am -11 am. I don’t mind being late, (ask my mates, I usually am even without delays 😉 I always want to make sure the customers get their full time. My customers were very understanding and I really appreciate their patience. They were fine with the delays and rescue missions. I know some people would not have been so understanding. On top of that, they were a fun group and I hope they will come back again soon! 
Afternoon
It was a late trip, Supposed to be from 2:30 – 6:30 but we didn’t get off the dock until almost 3. Sunset was at 5:41 so we didn’t have much time. We were hoping the Black Fin Tuna would bite just before sunset as they often do, but it didn’t happen this trip. We got some good action with Barracudas and Bonitos. We missed a few fish, but nothing I thought was a Tuna We enjoyed the Sunset and called it a night.
December 15th, 2018
Cold front came through this morning
I thought it might mess up the fishing. But it was a mild front. Some rain, (we dodged most of it) and not too much wind. Still got some nice dolphin, some Black Fin Tuna and Bonitos and one Skip Jack Tuna. 
December 11th, 2018
Tough Day Today
Customers were great and very patient. But Mother Nature was not cooperating. 
Saturday, we had a warm SE wind, Nice lines of Sargasso weed pretty blue water and some great Dolphin fishing, (Mahi-Mahi). How quickly things can change. Today was the pretty much the opposite. We had a Chilly NE Wind up against East Current and a residual SW swell. It made for a very confused sea. On top of that, there was a ton of Bay grass all over the ocean making it very difficult for 1st Mate Ben to keep the baits clean. (fish don’t like salad) Also, the water color was not good or clear and did I mention the cold dreary intermittent rain? Oh yea ……fishing was pretty slow also. Some days are just like that
December 8th, 2018
Wind went back into the South and the dolphin showed up again. Found 2 good weed lines out deep and worked them hard. It was a long run home, but as you can see it was worth it.
December 7th, 2018
Blackfin Tuna and Bonitos caught in Key West fishing on Key West charter fishing boat Southbound
December 7th, 2018
Late afternoon Half Day
We were hoping to get some Black Fin Tuna, as they tend to bight late in the day. We only got one Tuna. Lost a couple others and caught some bonitos for fun.
December 1st, 2018
Half Day Today
Couple of Kingfish and a couple of Dolphin. Dolphin were a nice surprise for this time of year. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of South wind and the fish are there.