Fishing in the Florida Keys

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The Florida Keys stretch some 100 miles out into the ocean and have water on all sides and fish galore. Several of the Keys have built an enviable reputation for top class fishing but for many years now Key West has held the reputation of being simply the best sport fishing location in North America because of the huge variety of fish swimming around the island. Fishing in Key West, Florida attracts fishermen from all over the world and for very good reasons.

With inshore tarpon fishing and sharks, reef fishing for snapper and grouper plus offshore fishing for sailfish, dolphin, kingfish, wahoo and countless other species, it’s a fisherman’s paradise. With such a variety of species and with water on all sides you’ll be hard pressed to find an excuse for a bad day’s fishing whatever the weather gods can throw at you.

You’ll find a number of offshore boats operating out of Key West, our primary interest is light tackle fishing. If you’re not a keen angler you will be wondering what we are referring to, so let’s start with a simple explanation. An offshore boat is larger with a more luxurious setup which might include a large air conditioned lounge bunks and showers. They cruise around offshore towing a number of lures behind the boat and when a fish hooks itself the lucky angler sits in a fighting chair to bring the fish to the boat. A light tackle boat is somewhat smaller, being somewhere around 26 – 30 ft long, with no accomodation and an open deck. Normally powered by a pair of powerful outboard motors, they roar around at impressive speeds which allows them to reach fishing spots many miles from the harbor at Key West. Each angler on board has a rod and reel, and when a fish bites it is the angler’s job to hook and reel in the fish unaided. The offshore boats will normally operate in at least 200 ft of water whereas the light tackle boats are at home operating in water anything between 20 ft deep for tarpon around the harbor to two or three hundred feet deep offshore whilst fishing for sailfish.

Please don’t get the wrong impression of light tackle fishing, it’s equally suited to beginner or expert. All of the skippers are very helpful and they will do their very best to ensure that you have a great fishing experience, and maybe a fish or two to take home with you or have prepared at one of the local seafood restaurants. All of the boats have a large selection of fishing tackle for anyone that doesn’t have their own tackle. All you need to take with you for a great day on the water is sunscreen, sunglasses a hat and your food and drink for the day.

Planned future articles will describe in greater detail a day fishing for tarpon, tuna, sailfish or grouper, but for the time being we’d urge you to book a trip and catch some of our plentiful fish.

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