Light Tackle Fishing in Key West
The Florida Keys, that magical part of the USA that’s nearer to Cuba than the US mainland has water on all sides and there's fish everywhere. Several of the Keys have a huge 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 simply for the vast selection of species swimming around the island. Fishing in Key West attracts fishermen from around 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 operating out of Key West, our primary interest 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. An offshore boat is larger with a greater degree of luxury which might include a large air conditioned lounge bunks and showers. They cruise around offshore towing a variety of lures behind the boat and when a fish hooks itself the designated fisher sits in a fighting chair to play the hooked fish to the boat. A light tackle boat is quite a bit smaller, being somewhere around 26 – 30 ft long, with no accomodation and an open deck. 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 bite is detected 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 feet deep for sharks in the harbor to 200 ft deep offshore whilst searching for dolphin, wahoo or sailfish.
Please don’t get the wrong idea about light tackle fishing, it’s equally suitable for beginner or expert. All of the captains are very helpful and they’ll all do their best to ensure that you have a great fishing experience, and hopefully 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 fishing tackle for anyone that doesn't have their own tackle. All you need to take with 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 suggest that you to book a trip and catch some of our wonderful fish.
