Florida Keys Vacation

[HighTechRedneck]

So I am thinking of taking a last minute vacation to the flordia keys in 2 weeks. I am going to trailer my 191 f/s from chicago down there. The question i Have (because i have never fished with out a guide on saltwater before) where is the best island in the keys to stay at to be near Good fishing. Also what should i fish for this time of year. Any hints or tips on bait, setups would be much appreshated.

Thanks
HTR

 

[Dave LeGear]

Islamorada and don't forget to visit Would Wide Sportsman while there

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageC?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&appID=94&storeID=21

I would also go over many of the threads in the Flats Fishing section since they would also apply to the same type of fishing in the Keys.

Now unless you plan on taking your boat out a lot, then I would save the fuel money and just hire a guide. You can always rent a boat in the Keys if you want to go see the sights and not have to worry about breaks downs on such a long tow

 

[Keylimetime]

Been there many times!!!

To be honest, we go every year and with a 12 and 10 year old their patience for fishing isnt what I would like it to be. We prefer the lower Keys, Big Pine, Cudjoe area but have many friends that stay in Marathon and Islamorada as well.

If you want to catch Tarpon, Permit, Sailfish, Marlin etc, I would hire a guide, but if you want to have a ton of fun, just start googling Yellowtail snapper in the florida Keys and you will find tons of ways.....send me an email and I can give you more info that is too long to post here.

Remember one thing, they are a chain of islands located in the Gulf Stream and during the spring and early summer, can be so windy, you may not be able to take your boat out safely......

tom

 

[rdc]

Florida Keys

HI HTR,

I have never fished in the Keys, but my wife and I vacationed in Ft Lauderdale for the month of March this year. I agree with Keylimetime, you should check out the winds before you tow your boat that distance. During the month of March there were many days when the winds were 20-30 mph with small craft warnigs. We drove to a small town below Key Largo near the end of the month. After you get out of Homestead, you are on a 2 lane highway that in some areas are under construction. It took us 2 hours to get there. I have copied a web page for weather that includes wind. http://www.climate-zone.com/climate/united-states/florida/key-west/

Good luck,
rdc

 

[Jim Jenkins]

Was at Conch Key (mile marker 62 between Islamarada and Marathon) between Wed. April 1 and Mon. April 6 this month. Stayed at Bayviewinn.com on Conch Key. Great little motel/ marina with docks right outside your sliding glass door. No additional charge invoiced for dockage or launch if you stay more than two days. Good rates for the Keys, good for fishermen, about 2.5 stars. Check web site.

Trailered 195 CC w/ T-Top from WNC which was 875 miles one way. My Tundra w/ 4.8 ltr. V-8 uses a lot of gas if you push to the 70-75 mph range. Have experience of backing off to 60-65 and gaining 20-25% on mileage. Having my own boat with equipment on board sitting at the dock is what it's all about for me. The premium for towing would pay for one day with a guide. Very likely to catch more fish with a guide. I relish doing my own thing which is fishing, not necessarily catching. This was my first trip to this area so the learning curve was steep.

This location on Conch Key faces the Florida Bay from a neat little lagoon. It's about 1/2 mile to the bridge to go to the reef, wercks and Gulf Stream. Seas are calmer on the bay and inside the reef and more bumpy in the Gulf Stream. We had two days where we fished inside, at the bridge and along the causeways. And two days to the Stream.

The good fishing reports from off shore are at the various HUMPS which can be 16-23 miles from the bridge. Dolphin and Sails. Small dolphin within 5-6 miles @ color change. There is a FAD reef out about 5 miles in 21 feet of water. From the reef, the water drops to 300-700 ft. very quickly. Charts for inshore and off shore are available at the Bayview "General Store".

Lots of opportunities to fish many different kinds of water. My 195 CC did well in all the conditions we chose to run. We did not catch any special fish. Some snappers and small stuff that became bait. Others at the marina caught black tuna, dolphin and sails out to the Marathon Humps. The "409" hump on the off shore map was a hot spot for one family. Cooler of dolphin that I saw up to 25 lbs. and told of 5 sails jumped and one landed.

There is a loal guide "COACH" staying in unit #1. He caught many tarpon on 10-12 inch live mullet @ bridge piling # 96 on the north end of the Long Bridge the first day we were there but his numbers declined to 0 by Sunday. Best I could tell, he was fishing dead high tide and half of out going. All reporst of success declined during our time there. Conditions changed, tides changed.

I would go back to this location again and try even harder to catch more fish. Be aware of wind and seas, be flexable and fish wherever you can but it takes some discipline to stick to a plan with all the possiblilties.

Let me know if you have questions. Good Luck.

 

[HighTechRedneck]

Thanks all. I think we are going to try fishing the reefs for what ever gets on the hook and I really want to give shark fishing a try. we may go beyond the reefs if the day is really nice and troll around a bit with ????.

Thanks again
HTR

 

[Dave LeGear]

Get ya some 1/4 Oz DOA Terror eyes in the Rootbeer color and cast them into the current and then let them set in the tide around bridges... No jig, no popping, just let them set and make sure some know how the drive the boat when the Tarpon come calling

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OanbmddTd-A&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OanbmddTd-A&feature=related[/ame]

 

[HighTechRedneck]

So here are some questions that will really show my inexperiance with saltwater fishing.

Bait. I have read many things about ballyhoo and needle fish for bait. do you use live ones or dead ones? how do you get them. can you buy them in the store? do you try to catch them with small hooks. cast nets? if trying to catch my own where would i go about looking for them....

Thanks inadvance.

HTR

 

[HighTechRedneck]

Just got back yesterday after the 26 hour drive. The winds were fierce. 30mph+ most of the week. we still got out everyday but had to stay with in the confines of the flats.
We caught hundreds of snapper a few sharks and had a big tarpon on for a bit.
WHAT A AWSOME PLACE... we had a blast. The worst part was leaving. we rented a 3 bedroom house on Cudjoe Key with a private pool and a dock. I was able to get a last minute deal for $1000 for the week..

I wish I could have gone off shore but theres always next time.

Sorry no pics. We left the camera at home

HTR

 

[Keylimetime]

I know the feeling....

We have 7 weeks 6 days till we leave for Middle Torch this year. I have been working on the boat nonstop, just to get her ready. I will only go down the very end of June through Sept now because of the winds. Even in early June the wind is enough to make it uncomfortable. Let us know how it went, PM me with some tactics, what worked, bait etc. Every little bit helps!!!! Our big one this year is going to be fishing in our boat the first full moon in July for Snapper, first time.

 

[HighTechRedneck]

Heres what worked for us.
Frozen shrimp caught all the snappers and some other fish I don't even know what they were. small peices. not whole peices.
we tried for hours to catch ballyhoo but came up empty. they just would not take the bait but the last day we were there I found out that for ballyhoos you need to use a small strip of squid and pull it in slowley. they won't hit it unless its moving.
The deep channels with in the flats seemed to work best.
We got the tarpon on a palmed sized live fish with its tail slit under a balloon. (side note. balloons at one place were $5 for 10 balloons and at another they were $1 for 10 balloons. just check your prices.)
Most of the sharks came on cut ballyhoo. We were told to chop off the head and tail and use the body. they said that if you catch a barracuda that is the BEST bait for sharks.
While I was down there I heard of some worms that come out only around the full moon and the fish go nuts.
Chum blocks are the way to go. We would put one out and not a few minutes later the back of the boat would be filled with hundreds of fish.

Everyday I went to a different bait shop. some were much more helpful than others. The 2 bait shops on big pine were best (reef light tackle and jigs bait and tackle). For bait these 2 were great but for any tackle there is a tackle store just off hwy 1 on cudjoe key that sells a ton of stuff and there prices seemed to be better.


Good luck

HTR