Islamorada Late April

[reel determined]

I will be staying in Islamorada April 21 - 25 and was looking for any recommendations for fishing. I would like to go offshore one day for dolphin and maybe sailfish and one day do a reef trip with my kids(6 and 7 years old.) What species are hot this time of year? Any charter recommendations would be appreciated. I have done both these types of fishing before(20 years ago) so if there is something else you think I should try let me hear it. Thanks in advance!

[Perchguy]

I fished last year on the Gulf Side with Brian Cutchins from Laid Back Charters. He is a great guy and I would highly recommend him if you want to fish the back country.

[reel determined]

I have been reading a bunch of the posts and it sounds like my best bet for my kids is a reef trip with lots of chum. Any suggestions on a charter for that?

[Perchguy]

I don't have any suggestions for the charter but there are a bunch of boats going out of Bud & Mary's. Reef trip would be your best bet for the kids. Fishing is not difficult and action is pretty consistent. I took my kids (5, 7, 10) out last spring on the reef and they had a blast. There is always the chance for something big too!

[reel determined]

Sounds great! Did you do a full day or a half day with the kids? I am thinking half day will be better for the kids. I am going to check out Bud and Mary's website and see what they got. Thanks!

[Perchguy]

We rented a boat for the week and went out on our own. I studied the various forums like crazy and we did pretty well. I would definitely recommend the half day charter for going out with the kids. The run out to the reef is fairly short so you will get plenty of fishing time in.

[guanacay]

A couple of other things you could look into are:

1.) party boat. Big boat is stable and smooths out the seas. Plus, they are usually half day trips. Not the best option for catching trophy fish or a specific target species, but they can put you on a lot of fish that a kid would love to catch. Plus cheaper than a charter.

2.) Take a guide out on your own boat/rental boat. This would probably run about $100 or so. You could make it as long or short as you want and you can learn a lot in the process.