Light Tackle Fishing in Key West

The Florida Keys stretch some 100 miles out into the ocean and have oceans on all sides and there's fish everywhere. Several of the Keys have built an enviable reputation for top class sport but for many years now Key West has held the reputation of being simply the best sport fishing location in North America because of the vast variety of fish that inhabit the oceans around the island. Fishing in the Florida Keys attracts fishermen from all over the world and for very good reasons.

With inshore fishing for tarpon 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 the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other, there’s no excuse for having a poor day’s fishing whatever the weather gods can throw at you.

Although there are a number of offshore boats working out of Key West, our first love is light tackle fishing. If you’re not a keen angler you’ll be asking what we are referring to, so we'll begin with a quick explanation. The offshore boats tend to be bigger with a greater degree of luxury such as air conditioned lounges bunks and showers. They cruise around offshore towing a variety of baits behind the boat and when a fish hooks itself the designated fisher sits in a fighting chair to bring the hooked fish to the boat. A light tackle boat is quite a bit smaller, being somewhere around 26 – 30 ft long, with an open deck and no creature comforts such as bunks or saloons. Normally powered by a pair of powerful outboard motors, they reach great speeds and are able to fish spots many miles from Key West. Each person on the boat is armed with a rod and reel, and when a bite is detected it is the angler's job to hook and reel in the fish unaided. The offshore captains tend to operate in water at least 200 feet deep whereas the light tackle boats are at home operating in water anything between 20 ft deep for sharks around the harbour to two or three hundred feet deep offshore whilst searching for dolphin, wahoo or sailfish.

You don't need to be an experienced fisher to fish from a light tackle boat, the captains enjoy nothing better than seeing someone catch their very first fish. All of the skippers are most helpful and they’ll all do their best to ensure that you have a great day’s fishing, and maybe a fish or two to have prepared at one of the local seafood restaurants. All of the light tackle boats have a large selection of top quality tackle for you to use if you don’t have your own gear. All that's required from you for a great day's fishing is food and drink, sunglasses, a hat and plenty of sunscreen.

Planned future articles will describe in greater detail a day fishing for grouper, tuna, sailfish or tarpon, but in the meantime we’d urge you to book a trip and catch some of our wonderful fish.