Key West Pro Guides Offshore Report - May 2025
By: Capt. Paul Tryon
May is all about angling options and variety from Tarpon to Sailfish to Dolphin here in Key West. Here are some helpful insights to anglers interested in targeting these iconic sport fish.
Sailfish are spawning well offshore. These are elusive nomadic sport fish that remain in constant motion. Time is the number one tool for success for the angler and guide as they work in concert to pursue these “bucket list” impressive fish.
Tarpon are pursued in shallow waters primarily in our "Back Country". Night Tarpon charters can be awesome when the tides are favorable…the biggest Tarpon come shallow to feed at sunset. Tarpon feed nocturnally therefore early morning and sunset are the most productive time frames...Let's go fishing!
May arrives and our fishing continues to improve with outstanding action both shallow and offshore. Over the next few months some of the best fishing of the entire year comes to us and in every location from the fly fishers on the flats to the light tackle anglers in the back country, near shore, reef & wrecks and blue waters well offshore. The huge schools of migrating Tarpon have flooded into the shallows of the back country and their spawning rituals are well underway. Key West is now one of the most prolific Tarpon fisheries on the planet. May becomes the last month for “excellent” Sailfish action however most anglers favorite pelagic, the Dolphin, will dominate the blue water. The reef and wrecks are holding massive populations of true heavy weight gladiators ready to go head-to-head with Grouper season opening today, May 1, for harvest. Grouper is the first choice of bottom fishers and with a massive population untouched since January 1, the Grouper action becomes epic. It's a time of exceptional action when fishing in the waters of Key West! You may have the fishing rod knocked out of your hand over the next few months friends.
Deep Sea/Offshore:
As we enter May conditions improve for the anglers looking to fish deep. The iconic Sailfish is still in high gear! Our Sailfish action so far this year overshadows recent past years easily and we look to an exceptional May. May continues the aggressiveness of Black Fin Tuna which remain consistently plentiful and of quality size. Dolphin action moves into full-swing during May so becomes the angler's bread & butter species. Dolphin are plentiful, schooling fish that provide excellent action at a blistering pace while keeping things non-technical for the angler. High leapers when hooked up, beautiful colored fish that are also a favorite for many on the dinner plate. When the Dolphin are biting, businesses close on the island...it gets that good! By late May we expect Wahoo to come into the limelight. From about the end of May and for the following one hundred days Wahoo become the talk of the dock.
The predators remain aggressive with May always being an awesome month for large Barracuda. We have moved into an exciting period for offshore angling however, we always believe a 1/2-day charter still has some challenges with ever changing travel times between marina and fishing grounds. Best bet book at least the 3/4 day (six-hour trip) especially if you are a party of three or four or more.
Notable: This is a time of more stable water temperatures so fishing conditions in general have settled in and improved, friends. We still recommend fishing morning trips if going shallow as they remain the most productive over the later afternoon hours for the serious angler but again the afternoon trips are good. The PM half day trips have improved and can be quite enjoyable especially for those people just looking to stay in calm waters and enjoy a fun few hours catching fish. Reef trips in the afternoon fishing slightly deeper waters along with the patch reefs can be very good trips for later in the day departure times. Sharks are plentiful and active. Pursuing these heavy weight monsters on light tackle is challenging to say the least and talk about something you cannot do at home! Let's go Fishing! Call Key West Pro Guides today to book your charter 305-747-4650 daily 8 AM to 9 PM. May and June are the busiest months of our entire fishing calendar! Our legendary guide team is always in high demand. We look forward to your call!
www.keywestproguides.com
305-747-4650
Return to Offshore Deep Sea Reports