The Florida Keys is a well-known fisherman's paradise with its natural reefs, sunken ships, and crystal waters. Tips on taking an angler's vacation.
You can choose to fish the grass flats and backcountry of the Keys. Some of the water is as shallow as six inches, but plenty of fish are still caught here including seatrout, tarpon, red fish, snook, and jacks. Reef fishing is another popular pastime. The beautiful coral formations that protect the Florida Keys provide an ideal home for many varieties of fish. Fish caught around the reef include snapper, grouper, yellowtail, mackerel, barracuda, cobia, and sharks.
Some people enjoy the mystery of wreck fishing. Old shipwrecks make excellent environments for schools of fish. Most of the structures are covered with coral and are great hiding places for many types of fish including amberjacks, cobia, and barracuda. You can take a charter boat into deeper waters. Once the charter boat passes the reef, waters are as deep as 1,500 feet or more in some places. Fish that are caught here include marlin, sailfish, grouper, snapper, sharks, kingfish, tuna, and spearfish.
If you want to try fishing on several of the Keys islands, you might as well start with world famous Key Largo. Key Largo holds many world records for game fishing. If you want to catch that big one, then Key Largo is a great place to start. Islamorada might be your next stop. Don't forget to try fishing in some of the backcountry for that sometimes elusive bonefish.
When you have finished here, you will definitely want to move onto Marathon Key. Marathon is renowned for its exciting tarpon fishing. Here you can fish from and around the Bahia Honda and Seven Mile bridges. Even if you are an inexperienced fisherman, you still have a good chance at catching a tarpon. If you take a charter boat from Marathon, your captain will probably take you out to the Marathon West Hump. Because the Hump rises up from 1,100 feet to 480 feet, it forms a natural feeding ground for many types of fish including marlin, tuna, and amberjack.
Marathon also provides excellent bay fishing, which is great for families who want to try a little angling on their own. There are many artificial reefs that have been formed by drums, lobster traps, and other debris, and they provide great harbors for fish such as cobia and mangrove snapper. For even more adventure, try wilderness fishing either in nearby Everglades National Park or Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge. This is true backcountry fishing at its finest, and the wonderful scenery is a bonus.
Once you have crossed Seven Mile Bridge, you'll head into the Lower Keys, beginning with Big Pine Key. You will leave the coral reefs behind, so the fishing is somewhat different here. Long channels run between the islands, and along these channels rest mangrove islands and shallow bays. Bonefish and tarpon are plentiful here. Charter boats can take you into the Gulfstream, and the selection of fish is abundant. Kingfish, tuna, sailfish, amberjack, and bonita are just a few of the many species of fish that swim the Gulfstream. The shipwrecks off of Sugarloaf Key are home to large sharks, barracuda, and amberjack. If you venture farther along the Gulfstream, you might even be lucky enough to hook the giant blue marlin.
Finally, you will reach the infamous Key West. Here anglers have a choice of fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, along the Gulfstream, and around the Atlantic Ocean reefs. Fishing in Key West is a year round affair, and there are plenty of charter, or party boat, captains to choose from. There is also a public ramp if you have your own boat. You don't have to own or charter a boat, though. You can fish from the shore or from the bridge.
The Florida Keys is truly a fisherman's paradise. Whether you concentrate on just one area of the Keys or plan several days of exploring all of them, you won't be disappointed. The beauty and promise that the sea holds beckons anglers, young and old, all year round.
