Fishing in the Florida Keys

The Florida Keys stretch some 100 miles out into the ocean and have water on all sides and there’s fish everywhere. Keys such as Islamorada have built an enviable reputation for world-class sport but for many years now Key West has held the reputation of being simply the best sport fishing location in North America simply for the huge selection of species swimming around the island. Fishing in Key West attracts anglers from around the world and for very good reasons.

The inshore fishing around Key West includes fishing for tarpon, permit or sharks, the reef offers snapper and grouper and offshore there’s a whole host of species including dolphin, sailfish, wahoo, kingfish, tuna and cobia. 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.

Although there are a number of offshore boats working out of Key West, our first love is light tackle fishing. If you’re not a keen angler you will be asking what we are referring to, so let’s start with a quick explanation. The offshore boats tend to be bigger with a more luxurious setup such as a large air conditioned lounge bunks and showers. They motor around the ocean towing a variety of baits behind the boat and once a fish is hooked the lucky angler sits in the fighting chair to bring the hooked fish to the boat. A light tackle boat is somewhat smaller, normally around 26 – 30 ft long, with no accomodation and an open deck. Typically powered by twin outboards, they roar around at impressive speeds which allows them to reach fishing spots many miles from the harbor at Key West. Each person on the boat is armed with a rod and reel, and when a fish bites it is up to the angler to strike and reel in the fish unaided. The offshore captains tend to fish in water at least 200 feet deep whereas the light tackle boats are at home operating in water anything between 20 feet deep for tarpon around the harbor to 200 ft deep offshore whilst fishing for dolphin, wahoo or sailfish.Eagle Claw Fishing Hook



You don’t have to be an experienced fisher to fish from a light tackle boat, the skippers enjoy nothing better than seeing someone reel in their very first fish. All of the captains are very helpful and they’ll all do their 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 light tackle boats have a large selection of top quality tackle for anyone that doesn’t have their own tackle. All you need to take with you for a great day’s fishing is food and drink, sunglasses, a hat and plenty of sunscreen.

Planned future articles include a more detailed description of a day fishing for grouper, tuna, sailfish or tarpon, but for the time being we’d urge you to book a trip and catch some of our wonderful fish.