Light Tackle Fishing in Key West

November 9th, 2008 Posted in Fishing

The Florida Keys stretch some 100 miles out into the ocean and have water all around them and there’s fish everywhere. Keys such as Islamorada have built an enviable reputation for world-class fishing 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 that inhabit the oceans around the island. Florida Keys fishing attracts fishermen from around the world and for very good reasons.

With inshore tarpon fishing and sharks, reef fishing for snapper and grouper plus offshore fishing for sailfish, dolphin, kingfish, wahoo and countless other species, it’s a fisherman’s paradise. 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 conditions.

You’ll find a number of offshore boats working out of Key West, our primary interest is light tackle fishing. If you’re not a keen angler you’ll be wondering what I’m talking about, so we’ll begin with a quick explanation. An offshore boat is bigger with a more luxurious setup which might include air conditioned lounges and full bathrooms. They motor around the ocean towing a number of lures behind the boat and when a fish hooks itself the lucky angler sits in a fighting chair to play the fish to the boat. A light tackle boat is somewhat smaller, normally around 26 – 30 ft long, with an open deck and no creature comforts such as bunks or saloons. Typically powered by a pair of powerful outboard motors, they roar around at impressive speeds which allows them to reach fishing spots many miles from the harbor at Key West. Each angler on board has a rod and reel, and when a fish bites it is the angler’s job to hook and reel in the fish unaided. The offshore captains tend to fish in at least 200 ft of water whereas the light tackle boats are much more versatile operating in water anything between 20 ft deep for sharks in the harbour to 200 ft deep offshore whilst searching for dolphin, wahoo or sailfish.

You don’t need to be an expert angler to fish from a light tackle boat, the skippers enjoy nothing better than seeing somebody catch their very first fish. All of the captains are very helpful and they’ll all do their best to make sure that you have a great fishing experience, and hopefully 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 an excellent selection of fishing tackle for you to use if you don’t have your own gear. All you need to take with you for a great day’s fishing is sunscreen, sunglasses a hat and your food and drink for the day.

Our next articles will describe in greater detail a day fishing for tarpon, tuna, sailfish or grouper, but for the time being we’d urge you to book a trip and catch some of our plentiful fish.