Fishing in the Florida Keys (1 Viewer)

[dozer]

Anyone ever done any fishing in the Florida Keys?

Every year around the 4th of July some buddies and I bring our gals and meet up in Key West. Ive finally got the fellas on board to make a serious attempt to hire a guide and do some fishing. Well be spending three days in the middle keys (Longs Key, about half way between Islamorada and Marathon), and a week in Key West.

There will probably be three of us going fishing. I fish a lot in the Midwest, mostly catch and release bass fishing from the shore of lakes and farm ponds. When I lived in Colorado I was an avid fly fisherman. Now in the middle of the country, I always have a pole ready to go in the back of my truck, and will stop and make a few casts any chance I get.

My buddies talk a pretty good game, but they are novice fishermen. They are fine being on the water, but we will all benefit from having a guide do most of the work (provide and set up the gear, drive the boat, find the fish, etc). I am looking forward to learning from a guide and expanding my skills. I have wanted to do some off shore fishing for decades and I hope this is my opportunity.

In doing my research, hiring a charter seems kind of hit and miss. Reviews are either five stars or one star. The negative reviews usually have something to do with weather and how the charter companies handle refunds, or people that book trips for half a day and get bumped for someone who wants a full day.

Ive been told that sometimes the best thing to do is, instead of making a reservation, just go to the piers where the guides hang out find someone and make a deal.

We dont really care about trophy hunting giant Marlin or anything like that, we just want to get out there and have a fun day catching fish, drink a few beers, and get a chance to do something weve never done.

Id love to hear if anyone has ever hired a guide in the Keys, and how your experience went. Or if some of you more experienced fishermen have any stories or advice for some flat landers who want to expand our fishing horizons.

Thanks!

 

[Wingnut]

I did a charter in Key West back in '07. Six of us, full day trip. The couple who booked it had used a different Capt their previous trip to KW, but he was out of country on vacation, which sucked because they caught tons of big fish with him previously and knew he would put us on fish had he been available, so they picked another...it was a slow day all over the area, we ended up with a kingfish, a few Bonito (no good for eating), and one Red Grouper...the bad part was the Capt trolled all day and we never did any bottom fishing, which is what we were hoping to do for snapper, grouper, etc.

So when you go to book, be sure to tell them what kind of fishing you want to do and/or what fish you want to catch. Had I known we were gonna troll all day I probably would have skipped the trip or talked them into booking a different captain.

 

[moleculo]

I went out of key west a few years ago with a couple friends. 1/2 day was more than enough, we were pretty beat by noon - sun, waves, hangovers, etc. can wear you out. We trolled for a bit, got nothing, and anchored over a reef for some bottom fishing. Hit a grouper or two, maybe a dozen yellowtail.

My advice is to plan for a 1/2 day, especially if your buddies are novices. Also, think about what kind of fishing you want to do, and find a guide who specializes in that. If you are a fly fisherman, you might consider more of the near-shore/shallow water stuff - snook, redfin, pompano, maybe tarpon. Problem is the flats boats will probably be a little smaller, and it might feel crowded with 4 guys on board.

either way, you really can't go wrong.

 

[Dippa]

I haven't gone in Key West, but we chartered a boat on the Atlantic coast of Florida. In my experience, calling and asking to speak to the captain before booking is a good idea. As said above, tell him what kind of fishing you would like to do and see what he has to offer. We ended up with a captain that was originally from the area and knew some great spots. Another time, I called and the captain told me it wasn't a good time of year for the fishing we wanted to do.

Best of luck...it's a lot of fun if it all works out well.

 

[dozer]

Really appreciate the feedback guys. As far as what kind of fishing I want to do, since I’ve never gone fishing in the ocean I’m not sure what to ask. I love casting spinners in fresh water, so I’m thinking I might like the trolling aspect and catch fish on lures.

When I have walked around the piers and looked at returning fishermen’s catches, those dolphin fish look like a lot of fun! I’ve seen two or three guys return with like, twenty or more dolphin fish. It looks like it would be a great day of fishing!

We would only want to keep enough fish to feed six people for a night or two. It’s not all that important that we keep any. I’ve heard they keep the fish that you don’t keep and sell them to seafood places. True?

Recent catches from a place in Islamorada.

 

[derek245583]

I am getting ready to do this up in Canada on delaney lake

No clue what to expect as I am not much of a fisherman. Just an interested party in this thread so I dont embarrass myself up there.

 

[dozer]

I am getting ready to do this up in Canada on delaney lake

No clue what to expect as I am not much of a fisherman. Just an interested party in this thread so I dont embarrass myself up there.

 

[dozer]

Good reviews for this place, and I love the name!

 

[moleculo]

Really appreciate the feedback guys. As far as what kind of fishing I want to do, since I’ve never gone fishing in the ocean I’m not sure what to ask. I love casting spinners in fresh water, so I’m thinking I might like the trolling aspect and catch fish on lures.

When I have walked around the piers and looked at returning fishermen’s catches, those dolphin fish look like a lot of fun! I’ve seen two or three guys return with like, twenty or more dolphin fish. It looks like it would be a great day of fishing!

We would only want to keep enough fish to feed six people for a night or two. It’s not all that important that we keep any. I’ve heard they keep the fish that you don’t keep and sell them to seafood places. True?

Recent catches from a place in Islamorada.

so here's the deal with trolling - you get out to deep water, and look for whatever might be out there - seaweed lines, crap floating in the water, whatever. you get there, toss your bait in the water, and drive around. There is no sight-casting, it's purely set the hook, put the rod in the holder, sit back, let the captain drive, and wait for that zzzzzzzzzzzzzz sound when something starts stripping line off the reel. If you are lucky, you will find yourself a school of dolphin, or if even luckier, a wahoo or tuna. It can be very hit or miss. If you come upon a school of dolphin, it's almost not fair how easy it is to hook fish after fish. It's awesome. If you are unlucky, you drove around an empty ocean for 1/2 a day without a nibble.

Bottom fishing is guaranteed action. You will catch fish. You may not catch fish worth eating (i.e. undersized, or non-edible species), but you might hook up on some big grouper that will give you a really good fight. Yellowtail snapper are fun, tasty, and you will be able to catch a lot. They are a little different than bottom fish, your guide will know how to catch them.

usually the guides will start trolling and if it isn't looking good, they will find a reef so you don't go home barehanded. Guides would rather not troll because it uses gas, whereas bottom fishing does not.

If you like sight-casting lures to fish, look into the flats. you use a trolling motor to go around the mangroves and cast where the fish are. ask about redfish (red-drum), bonefish, or snook fishing. I think that's the style of fishing you are thinking about when you are talking about trolling.

 

[moleculo]

Really appreciate the feedback guys. As far as what kind of fishing I want to do, since I’ve never gone fishing in the ocean I’m not sure what to ask. I love casting spinners in fresh water, so I’m thinking I might like the trolling aspect and catch fish on lures.

When I have walked around the piers and looked at returning fishermen’s catches, those dolphin fish look like a lot of fun! I’ve seen two or three guys return with like, twenty or more dolphin fish. It looks like it would be a great day of fishing!

We would only want to keep enough fish to feed six people for a night or two. It’s not all that important that we keep any. I’ve heard they keep the fish that you don’t keep and sell them to seafood places. True?

Recent catches from a place in Islamorada.

feeding the tarpon at Robbies (what you have linked) is well worth the $2 or whatever it costs. one of my favorite places to stop on the way down there.

 

[dozer]

Got this response back from Robbie's Of Islamorada:

Good Morning Dozer;

Robbie's of Islamorada offers a variety of options to get your party out on the water!

We offer Reef/Wreck Charters traveling 3-5 miles offshore targeting Yellowtail Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, Mutton Snapper and Grouper. We offer a Half Day starting at $550, a 3/4 Day starting at $750 and a Full Day starting at $900.

We also offer Offshore Sportfishing Charters traveling 10-20 miles offshore targeting Dolphin, Tuna and Wahoo. We offer a 3/4 Day for $900 and a Full Day for $1,100.

All of our Private Charter costs include all of your bait, tackle, fishing licenses and fishing equipment. The only things not included are whatever you would like to bring to eat and drink as well as gratuity for the Mate. The Crew will supply a cooler with ice for you on board.

If you would like more information or to make a reservation please feel free to give us a call at 305-664-8070 or reply via email. Thank you very much.

 

[dozer]

Thanks for that description moleculo. Sounds like a great day to me!

So, I threw out some emails to gather information from some guides/charters. Most of the replies where kind of generic copy and paste responses with descriptions and rates.

Then I got a short email response from a guy who was actually out on his boat with some customers. He said he thought he was open on my dates but he left his log book back at the dock.

Johnnymaddoxcharters.com

Later that evening he responded again and said he was open that day:

Hi Dozer
Good news I'm open for full day on the 18th. Dolphin n some Tuna been hot offshore. Been kinda far out but nice fish. On 1/2 or 3/4 days we gotta shorten the run. Let's Book the 29 Topaz, it's a faster boat to run n gun. We’ll have a blast!

I responded back and let him know that we all like to fish (Not true really, I’m the only fisherman in our threesome), but none of us have any experience fishing saltwater. I told him we were three 50 year old high school buddies that wanted to try something new, have a few beers, and catch some fish.

He recommended the ½ day trip on this boat (29’ Topaz), and we’d probably be fishing for snapper and grouper.

They provide the licenses and gear, we supply water, food, beer, etc.

I had to put down a $200 deposit, and the ½ day trip will cost $650 +tax and crew tip.

He seemed like a pretty cool guy, so I googled him up. He’s an amateur musician and plays with some locals at a few different honky tonks in the area.

Singin the blues!

 

[E-Z Glider]

If you really want to go "fishing", find a place to go surf fishing or else do an in-shore / flats trip where you actually get to cast the lure/bait, feel the bite, set the hook, and reel em in. If you go trolling, the captain is doing all the "fishing" and all you are doing is sitting in a chair and waiting to take your turn reeling anything in that happens to get hooked. This is fine if that's all your looking for, but not really "fishing", IMO.

 

[ffldrew]

If you really want to go "fishing", find a place to go surf fishing or else do an in-shore / flats trip where you actually get to cast the lure/bait, feel the bite, set the hook, and reel em in. If you go trolling, the captain is doing all the "fishing" and all you are doing is sitting in a chair and waiting to take your turn reeling anything in that happens to get hooked. This is fine if that's all your looking for, but not really "fishing", IMO.

If you tell the captain - they will let you set a hook when going for big fish

 

[Wingnut]

If you really want to go "fishing", find a place to go surf fishing or else do an in-shore / flats trip where you actually get to cast the lure/bait, feel the bite, set the hook, and reel em in. If you go trolling, the captain is doing all the "fishing" and all you are doing is sitting in a chair and waiting to take your turn reeling anything in that happens to get hooked. This is fine if that's all your looking for, but not really "fishing", IMO.

He booked a snapper/grouper trip, so he will be doing plenty of catching. And grunting.

 

[Fred Lane]

I was just down in Islamorada the week before Memorial day, with my siblings and my Dad. My family does a lot of deep sea fishing, and the best fishing has been with Alex Adler on Kalex, which can be booked through http://budnmarys.com/. We caught about 15 dolphin and 3 blackfin tuna. When we went last year, we also caught a Mako shark. Highly recommended captain who has been highlighted on ESPN. You won't be disappointed!

 

[GreekFreak]

Anyone ever done any fishing in the Florida Keys?

Every year around the 4th of July some buddies and I bring our gals and meet up in Key West. Ive finally got the fellas on board to make a serious attempt to hire a guide and do some fishing. Well be spending three days in the middle keys (Longs Key, about half way between Islamorada and Marathon), and a week in Key West.

There will probably be three of us going fishing. I fish a lot in the Midwest, mostly catch and release bass fishing from the shore of lakes and farm ponds. When I lived in Colorado I was an avid fly fisherman. Now in the middle of the country, I always have a pole ready to go in the back of my truck, and will stop and make a few casts any chance I get.

My buddies talk a pretty good game, but they are novice fishermen. They are fine being on the water, but we will all benefit from having a guide do most of the work (provide and set up the gear, drive the boat, find the fish, etc). I am looking forward to learning from a guide and expanding my skills. I have wanted to do some off shore fishing for decades and I hope this is my opportunity.

In doing my research, hiring a charter seems kind of hit and miss. Reviews are either five stars or one star. The negative reviews usually have something to do with weather and how the charter companies handle refunds, or people that book trips for half a day and get bumped for someone who wants a full day.

Ive been told that sometimes the best thing to do is, instead of making a reservation, just go to the piers where the guides hang out find someone and make a deal.

We dont really care about trophy hunting giant Marlin or anything like that, we just want to get out there and have a fun day catching fish, drink a few beers, and get a chance to do something weve never done.

Id love to hear if anyone has ever hired a guide in the Keys, and how your experience went. Or if some of you more experienced fishermen have any stories or advice for some flat landers who want to expand our fishing horizons.

Thanks!

I've been to the Keys (Marathon) a few times and I've used http://floridakeysreeladventures.com/ everytime for a fishing trip.

Kevin is a good dude who knows his stuff and you will have a good time with him. You should check out all his youtube videos.