The Florida Keys, that magical part of the USA that’s nearer to Cuba than the US mainland has oceans all around them and fish galore. Keys such as Islamorada have built an enviable reputation for world-class sport but Key West wins the prize as the top spot simply for the huge selection of species that inhabit the oceans around the island. Fishing in Key West, Florida attracts anglers from all over the world and for very good reasons.

The inshore fishing around Key West includes fishing for tarpon, permit or sharks, the reef offers snapper and grouper and offshore there’s a whole host of species including dolphin, sailfish, wahoo, kingfish, tuna and cobia. 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 conditions.

You’ll find 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 will be asking what we are referring to, so we’ll begin with a simple explanation. The offshore boats tend to be larger with a greater degree of luxury such as a large air conditioned lounge bunks and showers. They cruise around offshore towing a number of lures behind the boat and when a fish hooks itself the lucky angler sits in the fighting chair to bring the fish to the boat. A light tackle boat is somewhat smaller, being somewhere around 26 – 30 ft long, with an open deck and no creature comforts such as bunks or saloons. Typically powered by twin outboards, 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 up to the angler to strike and reel in the fish unaided. The offshore boats tend to operate 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 harbor to 200 ft deep offshore whilst searching for dolphin, wahoo or sailfish.

You don’t need to be an expert fisher to fish from a light tackle boat, the captains enjoy nothing better than seeing somebody catch their very first fish. All of the skippers are very helpful and they will do their very best to ensure that you have a great day’s fishing, and hopefully a fish or two to take home with you or have prepared at one of the local seafood restaurants. All of the boats have a large selection of top quality 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 grouper, tuna, sailfish or tarpon, but in the meantime we’d suggest that you to get out there and catch some of our plentiful fish.