Fishing the Lower FL. Keys
Service marinas, upscale resorts, trendy boutiques, The Lower Florida Keys angle down from the Seven Mile Bridge about 40 miles to the tip of Key West. If full-service marinas, upscale resorts, trendy boutiques, and sports bars are what you’re looking for, you’ll not find them in the Lower Florida Keys. If, however, you are interested in crystal clear, calm waters, piping hot sunsets, and laid-back island The Lower Florida Keys extend south from the Seven Mile Bridge about 40 miles to the tip of Key West. If you’re looking for full-service marinas, upscale resorts, trendy boutiques, and sports bars, you won’t find them in the Lower Florida Keys. However, if you are interested in crystal-clear, calm waters, beautiful sunsets, and laid-back island activities, then the Lower Florida Keys have everything you could want for a Florida Keys charter fishing vacation.activities, the Lower Florida Keys has everything you could want on a Florida Key’s charter fishing vacation.
The area in and around the FL. Keys has a healthy spectrum of game fish ranging from tarpon (a.k.a. the ‘silver king’) to billfish.
Start in the Gulf
If you want to catch a big tarpon, head to the Lower Florida Keys. The best time for tarpon fishing in this area is from July to September. Visit Peace, Love, and Kayaks Dock at Cudjoe Key, where you can rent a kayak and paddles for $30 daily. Use a double hook to catch a live mullet and let it drift slowly on the incoming tide without using a weight. The tide will carry your bait to a channel near the Bahia Honda Bridge to US 1, where you can find 25 to 100 pounds of tarpon. You’ll need a light fly rod with a 12-pound tippet for this. Get your flies from Key West Saltwater Fly Anglers off Key West. You’ll be amazed as the silver king-hits your bait from between the oyster banks, casting shadows just 18 inches below your bait.
Love and Kayaks Dock at Cudjoe Key. You can rent a kayak and paddles for $30 per day. Double hook a live mullet without using a weight to drift slowly on the incoming tide. The tide will propel your bait to a channel near the Bahia Honda Bridge to US 1, where most tarpon ranges from 25 to 100 pounds. You’ll need a light fly rod with a 12-pound tippet. Buy your flies from Key West Saltwater Fly Anglers off Key West. You will watch the silver king-hit your bait from between the oyster banks, casting shadows just 18 inches below your bait.
Tarpon hunters know that in even-years, so for 2012 in the future, canal waters are super fertile, as are the prime West Salt Water Flats. Permit fishing is a more delicate game of attention. You have a narrow window to hook them while they are flushing tides. Key West’s Sports Center will sell you a Belize Amberjack for $179. The two are fast and stunt down to small fry, a type of finger mullet. Only leave Florida with the right bait: sand fleas and shrimp.Attention tarpon hunters! In even years like 2012, the canal waters and West Salt Water Flats are teeming with fish. Don’t miss the narrow window to hook permit fish during flushing tides. At Key West’s Sports Center, you can get a Belize Amberjack for just $179. These fish are fast and can chase down small fry like finger mullet. Before you leave Florida, make sure you have the right bait: sand fleas and shrimp. Happy hunting!
