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Florida
Keys Fishing
Flats and Backcountry:
The Keys are surrounded
by miles of shallow sand and grass flats. Here, species like the bonefish root
out crabs, shrimp and small fish in water as shallow as six inches. Beautiful
flats are found on the Atlantic side of the Keys and in the fabled backcountry,
a region of uninhabited mangrove islands on the Gulf Side of the island chain.
Species caught:
tarpon, permit, bonefish, redfish, snook, sea trout, barracuda, jacks, sharks,
and cobia.
Tackle:
fly, spin, plug.
Deep sea, Offshore:
The Keys are bordered by
the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Straits of Florida on the other. Outside
our reef, the water plunges to depths of 1,500 feet or more. Here, colorful
dolphin fish teem just below the surface along mats of floating Sargassum grass
or pieces of driftwood. Billfish, the biggest prize of them all, cruise out here
too.
Species caught:
blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish, spearfish, kingfish, dolphin, wahoo, tuna,
barracuda, cobia, grouper, snapper, jacks and sharks.
Tackle:
spin, conventional trolling gear, fly.
Wreck Fishing:
The Keys were famous
through history for swallowing up ships. Today, ship wrecks are thankfully rare
but the old wrecks nevertheless make great fishing spots. Schools of permit and
amberjacks swirl around the coral-covered structures. Snapper and grouper
inhabit the crevices.
Species caught:
permit, amberjacks, jacks, grouper, snapper, cobia, sharks, and barracuda.
Tackle:
spin, plug, fly.
Reef Fishing:
Vast coral formations
protect the Keys from storms and provide homes for bottom fish such as grouper
and snapper. On the Gulf side, smaller patch reefs dot the seascape. Schooling
fish such as the yellowtail snapper and mackerel are never far away from these
structures.
Species caught:
yellowtail, kingfish, cero mackerel, cobia, sharks, and barracuda.
Tackle:
spin, plug, fly.
Harbor Fishing:
Most of the waterways in
the Keys are natural, but a few have been dredged over the decades by the U.S.
Navy and the shipping industry. They are great places to anchor up and prospect
for a host of fish species.
Species caught:
tarpon, permit, cobia and sharks.
Tackle:
spin, plug, fly.
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2Br
2Ba on a Private Island 
Offshore
fishing is excellent for trolling for such Gulfstream pelagic as sailfish,
dolphin fish, and wahoo. Marathon provides anglers with an additional bonus, the
Marathon West Hump. Rising from depths of 1,100 feet to a peak of 480 feet, this
underwater platform is a veritable dinner table in the Gulfstream for gamefish,
providing an excellent spot for anglers targeting blue and white marlin, Mako
shark, blackfin tuna, amberjack and a host of other fish.
Another
exciting type of fishing, flats fishing, involves light-tackle, sight casting to
such gamesters as bonefish, permit and even tarpon, as they cruise the shallows
in search of a meal. Light spinning or fly casting tackle is used to target wary
gamefish that require a quiet approach and delicate cast.
Fishing
from one of the bridges is the perfect place for the person who just wants to
"wet a line". The bridges are a combination of fishing pier and
artificial reef all rolled up into one package! Excellent fishing can be had
from the Long Key Bridge, both the bridges at Toms Harbor, and the west end of
the Old Seven Mile Bridge.