Florida Keys Fishing

TARPON-The "Silver King!"

FLORIDA KEYS WINTER FISHING!!!

AWESOME TARPON! WARM AND SUNNY! GUARANTEED NO SNOW!
(Scroll to Pictures at Bottom of Page!)

The Florida Keys are the place to be with me from late December-March. Tarpon, sharks, barracuda, and a host of other game fish await the visiting angler who wants world-class fishing, wearing shorts and a tee-shirt. As the Chamber of Commerce says, "For every kind of fish there's a fisherman, and for every kind of fisherman there's world-class fishery in the Florida Keys."

TARPON
My emphasis is fishing for tarpon, the "silver king" of sport fish. They average between 50 and 150 pounds during the spring migration, and will test anyone's skill and stamina. When hooked, they'll peel out 100 yards of 20- or 30-pound line in a single run, and jump clear from the water with violent head shakes.

I generally use live bait in channels with moving water, but casting lead-head jigs with soft-plastic baits is also very effective. Casts to rolling fish must be quick and accurate. Fly fishing at this time of year requires patience; but long, pin-point accurate casts with 11- or 12-weight rods and large streamers will produce. I have an Orvis 11-wt. fly rod on board for your use.

At night, the "baby tarpon" in the 5-30 pound range come out to play! Fishing with surface plugs and unweighted plastics around the bridges when the tide begins to move the water brings these fish alive. They jump repeatedly when hooked, and provide excitement in the solitude of darkness. You can often hear them slurping shrimp and crabs off the surface. And these fish don't require hour-long battles to land one! I use lighter tackle on these bad-boys that makes for less fatigue in casting to them. They're my favorite sport-fish on the planet! Eight-weight fly rods are ideal for casting flies to these sporty fish too.

BARRACUDA
If you like pike or muskie fishing, you'll LOVE Barracuda. These fast predators prowl the flats in cooler weather looking for whatever moves, and the faster the better. They are great fish for top-water plugs, and strike on the move at speeds up to 40 mph! There's no doubt about it when one charges your lure. A barracuda in less then 3 feet of water has nowhere to run except screaming around the boat and into the air. Their keen eye sight makes them a challenging adversary.

Long casts with light spinning gear beyond cruising or holding fish, followed by fast retrieves in front of their nose, produce explosive strikes. They'll run straight away and often jump and roll when first hooked, then turn and come right back at you faster than you can reel. Top water plugs and floating soft-plastics are top producers. On flies, they attack the same. You must be able to make long casts with 7 or 8-weight tackle and retrieve your streamer very fast. I have an Orvis 8 wt. fly rod for your use.

SHARKS
Just plain fun! Watching Jaws open and close its mouth on your lure or bait. Sharks are on the flats, in the channels, and nearly everywhere in between. We either chum them in, or hunt for them on the shallow flats. Ranging from 3 to 12 feet long, there's Hammerheads, Black-tips, Bulls, Lemons, Tigers, and other species that readily take baits, flies, and lures. Chumming them in close to the boat is a blast and most effective. You see it all happen close. And the fight . . . well . . . they just go like hell! They are the most under-appreciated game fish in the sea . . . until you fish for them. I mean, after all, they DO eat tarpon! (see photo below) Ever catch a big shark on fly? Try this! The sight of a shark eating your fly, bait, or lure on a shallow flat is the best "take" you'll ever see.

THE OTHERS . . .
Oh yes, there's many other inshore fish to target in the Keys. Schools of feeding jack crevelle can provide nearly non-stop action, and are the bulldogs of the backcountry. Cobia to 30 lbs. migrate in and out of Gulf channels. Bluefish invade the gulf side of the lower Keys during winter cool snaps. "Glamour" species like bonefish and permit test your sight-casting skills and patience. Bottom fish like snappers and groupers provide easy action. Mackerel can be caught on the Gulf side. Not to mention all the offshore fish . . . Lord . . . the Keys were made for fishermen. What are you waiting for? I can suggest quality charters for your offshore adventures including tuna, wahoo, sailfish, dolphin (mahi mahi/dorado), etc.

LOCATION
I am based on Big Pine Key, 31 miles northeast of Key West, 20 miles southwest of Marathon. There are many choices of accommodations from basic motels to resorts of all levels scattered throughout the lower keys from Marathon to Key West.

I mainly fish the waters surrounding Big Pine and Summerland Keys, but also range from the Seven-Mile Bridge near Marathon down to Key West. I can trailer my boat to any launching location in the lower keys based on where we need to be to find the fish. Just get yourself to the Lower Keys, and I'll take care of the rest.

(Tarpon are difficult to photograph, dangerous to handle in the water with sharks present, and
back-breaking to lift from the water when over 60 or so pounds. Most we don't photograph at all
so they can be quickly unhooked, revived, and set free.)

*The "smaller" 15-30 pound fish I'm holding are targeted at night, when they bite like there's no
tomorrow on top water lures, minnow-type plugs, plastics, and flies. They go nuts!

(In 2008, It became Florida Law that no tarpon may be removed from the water without a special "tarpon tag")