I'm heading to Key West for Labor day, can anyone recommend a charter captain?

Compass Rose is the boat name. I will dig up the number. His last name is odd. If you are in a hurry, call Sea Boots and they will give you his number. Great guy and great fishermen. A friend of mine Ed Jilson lives down there and has fished with almost all of them and this guy is his favorite. Ed and I fished for Permit with him and had a great time.

Mike Weinhofer?

Jim if you get down there and the seas are rough, get one of the guys that run the bay boats to take you out shark fishing. You don't want to end up with a 2 days fishing $1000 spanish mackeral like i had the last time i went down there.

Mike is correct.

Holy Mackeral Brett! that bites bad huh?

It did, i actually did not even reel it in. When i realized that it was a little fish, i gave the rod to the son of one of the guys i was fishing with. He (the father)was still recovering from being seriously injured by an IED in Iraq and i figured that they deserved the fish more than i did.

Jim,

Did you never make it last year? My vote is still for Ryan Veach on the Super Grouper II (don't let boat name fool you, he fishes for everything).

I have been to Key West fishing about 10 times, and fished with Ryan 5 of those times, and would call him the best.

I agree with Clay. If you can get there when the permit are on the reefs, that's about as good as it gets (not sure if they will be there Labor Day).

I have caught sailfish, tarpon, amberjack, shark, grouper, snapper, etc. on diff trips. If you catch snapper or grouper, or any other good eating fish, take the filets to Half Shell Raw Bar and have them cook it for you (blackened, grilled & fried).

Bfish

I've fished those deep waters and reefs my entire life.

I personally recommend getting a charter out of Islamorada rather than Key West. Find someone who fishes "the hump". It should be teaming with bait fish, tuna, amberjack, and mahi. Try not to go on a charter on a perfect day. Glassy water is not good for deep water fishing.

If bringing a boat, look for a weed line, rig some ballyhoo (or buy pre-rigged), and troll. I've caught everything you can imagine on a weed line, including marlin.

For reef fish, I've never bothered with a charter. It seems too easy to catch fish out there. Anyone can load up on fish given time, oats, and chum.

If you can snorkel and hold your breath for a bit, give lobstering a try. There are some great spots on the outside of Jewish basin near Key West. You can catch a lot of them in 3-10 feet of water if you have an eye for them. 10-30 ft of water in the same areas will yield even more lobsters since the weekend warriors won't snorkel that deep.

Thx for the recommendations, guys. I'll start making some calls.