Where to catch pilchards in the Middle Keys

aDreamZ · January 2019

I have been fishing onshore in Marathon my entire life and just recently I got a boat to start fishing in blue water. I know how to catch ballyhoo and I can throw a net but I haven't got a clue on where to start looking for pilchards.

I have went out before with the Silent Hunter crew when I was younger and they just pulled in a canal threw some oats and the pilchards just swarmed the boat. This was a long time ago so I don't remember any of the details. I also know some people that just look for pelicans diving near shore and they will chase schools of them down but my boat drafts around 9-11 inches of water and I don't want to run aground chasing bait.

I'm looking for a place/method that works for you. Any details or tips would be greatly appreciated!

fixedrate · January 2019

I have always run the oceanside at sun up and look for the pelicans diving of course, but if they are just sitting on the water and its clear and shallow its not a bad place to start either. I am up the road a bit in morada

BottomBumpin · January 2019

check Vaca cut and the shorelines along the cut toward and inside the gulf side.. hit or miss and the earlier the better

AOKRVs · January 2019

The bigger ones have been hard to find this fall and winter

Capt_DC · February 2019

I have caught them in march on the flats in the morning,

while I was there a guy told us he was stocking up before they leave. Do they move off the flats in April /May?

Lu 1967 · February 2019

This time of year you can also find them suspended off the bottom in canals.Sabiki first to verify.then throw net let sink almost to bottom.

Where to catch pilchards in the Middle Keys

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