I'm going to be in Key West for a week at the end of Feb. I've noticed some guys on here seem to have some experience with fishing in this sort of area. I was going to bring my 9 (or is it 8?) wt. fly rod, a few clausers and herring flys I use for stripers. One day i planned on shelling out for a guide....a day on the flats with my son (16 yrs old)....but is there any use casting right from the beach? Any tips? Hey, I'm just glad to be getting to warmer weather for a week. I appreciate any thoughts on this.

Bring light spinning gear, small bucktails and tins and have a ball catching whatever will bite from shore.

If you can, you can also rent boats down there and fish on your own, which Tautog01 and I did a few years back. Find some structure in 30 or 40ft of water, start chumming and hang on... we ended up with snapper, some spanish macks, and these two guys. all on light tackle travel rods... w/ no guide...

Another trip down there ended up windy as hell and we had more limited results fishing around the the bridges... If I were to do it again I'd have a better (shore based) back-up plan!

we did the guide thing once, and the party boat once, but we do better just renting a boat and fishing on our own. more fun anyways!

Rock summed it up well. You'll need a license but I'm sure you knew this. I think its 15 bucks or so.

RIROCKHOUND....thanks for the advice and encouragement. It's been awhile since i got a line wet and i'm Jones'n. My son is as excited as I am to fish....which I like to think is one thing I can be proud of.

I always found that you can get the best deal on a boat if you offer greenbacks. I walked down to the area where the rentals were talked to the guys face to face.
With the economy the way it is I'm sure there are some great deals there.
The best bait shop was down by where the ferries come in near the Raw Bar. It doesn't look like much but the price was the best. The guys in there acted like it was "5 o'clock" all day.
If I remember the name of the guy I rented from I'll get back to you.
Oatmeal,sand and canned mackeral is a great chum to mix up.
Catch em up

I've fished with guides a bunch of times out there. My Dad and I targeted barracuda which most guys out there view them the same way we view bluefish. Fishing on the flats is a life changing experience, swimming at your feet in 6 - 12 inches of water are massive rays, massive sharks ( 6- 8ft) and numerous other fish. get out on the flats if you can afford the guide.

I've fished with guides a bunch of times out there. My Dad and I targeted barracuda which most guys out there view them the same way we view bluefish. Fishing on the flats is a life changing experience, swimming at your feet in 6 - 12 inches of water are massive rays, massive sharks ( 6- 8ft) and numerous other fish. get out on the flats if you can afford the guide.

Cudas have saved many a trip for us down south Jim. Nothing wrong with catching them on light tackle!

Cudas have saved many a trip for us down south Jim. Nothing wrong with catching them on light tackle!

If I could fish for only one fish the rest of my life, it would be barracuda. A 25lb fish on light tackle in shallow water is amazing.

If I could fish for only one fish the rest of my life, it would be barracuda. A 25lb fish on light tackle in shallow water is amazing.

Trade that out for one of those AJ's in 20ft of water on 15lb gear and it is even better :musc:

Rock/Taug,

I'm going down in March and plan to rent a boat. How big a boat did you guys rent to go find some rock piles

I'm also interested in a recommendation of a boat rental place in KW. Fished the area twice in the last couple years and now I *think* (hope?) we have at least a little local knowledge about how to fish in the area. Going down in April. But we're always looking for more advice about it, shore and boat. Tautog - do you remember the name of the tackle shop?

It looks like it was remodeled in the last few years but it was the best place I found.
http://www.keywestbaitandtackle.com/

there are some nice wadeable flats around there. if i could remember where they were i;d pm them to you. but shore fishing is nothing like it is up here unless you're into live/dead bait fishing off the bridges. fishing on the reef is way better, i'd either hire a guide or rent a small boat or yak for the back country...

great tips, thank you all.

that place looks like fun,fishing and beer what more do you need.Would a hot girl serving the beer be:buds to much to ask.

Rock/Taug,

I'm going down in March and plan to rent a boat. How big a boat did you guys rent to go find some rock piles

I don't remember; 20ish foot was plenty, we weren't that far out.
If memory serves, we started in 75ft or so looking for snapper and hooked the King on a flylined ballyhoo

When we moved in on the reef, the AJ hit a free-lined frozen pilchard in ~25ft of water or so.

For boat rentals down there - look to Stock Island - it's the island just before Key West, and is considered part of Key West, although it is seperated by Cow Channel. You have three places worth renting boats from - Stock Island Marina on the ocean side, and then a marina on the bay side - sunshine or something - both high class places ... I know the guys at Stock Island Marina better - same marine that the Yankee Captain's boat heads out of for the Tortugas trips ... also there's Murray marine, it's right on A1A on stock island, can't miss it, the only caveat with this is getting to the ocean or gulf will take a bit longer as you have no motor zones, but not a big deal - all three of those marinas are excellent. If any of them no longer rent boats, as I have not been in contact with them over the past few years ... they can tell you where to go.

... as for guides - you have several choices at the end of February to consider - sailfish should still be around, unless it's a warm winter and they would have passed ... but other billfish may be coming in ... also king mackerel are real hot down there, and should still be good at that time, I think some of the big king mackerel tournaments are going on then - check the www.fla-keys.com Web site for a listing of tournaments (this is important as it will give you an idea of what's the most abundant species around there at that time). Depending upon the temperature, during the winter - they used to get a good blackfin tuna run and even some yellow fin coming through, although those numbers dropped off during the last few years I was down there, could have come back up though since I left.

On the bottom fishing side - you have rock piles out front in the atlantic and wrecks in the gulf - can be hugely successful - ideally you will have chum and live baits that you can use sabiki rigs to catch - around bouy markers and piliings in the slightly deeper waters - and moving waters - 10 feet or better - chum and jig the sabikis and you can catch a bunch of small bait fish to live line ... or get frozen ballyhoo, mullet, etc. If you have the frozen bait, put them on jigs and drop to the bottom and hold on ... never know what can bite - snappers, grouper, ajs and more (within the grouper family are the goliath grouper I think they are called these days, used to be called Jewfish - get huge and they eat the small fish you catch and are pulling up, happens wiht AJs as well) ... but also shots at cobia, spanish mackerel, little tunny (which they call bonito, but they are the little tunny) ... as well as a variety of jacks and other species. You can never know.

Flats at the time of year - depending upon where you go and the temperature, often in late February if you get four days of warm weather, the tarpon will show up in the backcountry, the lakes and Marquesas ... check with the local guides and they can tell you. Typically in February down there because of the cold weather - you will get great shots at baraccuda on the flats - jumping minnows, any spooks the guys sell on the site here work great, although if you want to save the wood, use plastic, but also needlefish should work well moved fast and silver bombers wiht the lips broken off and skittered across the top. and again, weather dependent, on the atlantic side you may find bonefish and a variety of other species.

It's always a guess but exciting as there are so many opportunities to pursue. A few people to consider - Captain Mike Weinhoffer on the Compass Rose - he fishes wrecks, rock piles, offshore - great, great fisherman. As for the flats captains - check with the Key West angler - captain jeffry cardenas's shop - he can put you on a good flats guide, as can captain mike as well ... if you want to and can afford both.

As for the bridges - great options for night fishing, tarpon and snook as well as jacks and sometimes permit and sharks. live bait is always good, live crabs, metal, and an assortment of plugs. The action is not as hot as it was when I lived there in the 1990s, but still good.

If you want to travel up the island chain, there are so many flats to check out north of there in the big pine key, ohio key, bahia honda key, marathon key, long key, islamorada and others that have access to good wadable flats to find bonefish and cudas. Not always tailing, sometimes you either have to blind cast off the edges into the channels, or see if you can get a folding chair or a ladder from someone to stand up on a nd get the angle to look for cruising fish and muds .. which is when the fish are searching along the bottom a nd make little puffs of mud to blow bait out of holes in the sand.

Good luck and send pictures.