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Key
West Flats Fishing
Flats Fishing is a
traditional sport here in the Florida Keys and Key
West. For many years professional fishing guides
have been taking clients out to the shallows of the
Florida Keys Backcountry in Stealthy technical
skiffs called Flats Boats. In my career as a
professional fishing guide this was my main focus.
Flats Fishing is the
ultimate form of Sight Fishing. Traditionally
the query in the Key West area is Bonefish, Tarpon
and Permit, but, that does not mean we will not see
a Cobia, Big Jacks, Sharks, Trout, Redfish and
monster Barracudas as well. Those species also make
great sport and add to the thrill of fishing the
flats.
Your choice of two
different types of boats to fish the flats.
1. Traditional
Flats boats. My
flats boats are
Fast, Smooth and dry. With a poling platform I pole
you along the shallows in search of your sport fish.
The
flats boat option
tends to require the anglers to have medium to
moderate skills to be accurate and good distance
with a spinning rod or fly rod. Sight fishing from
the bow of a
flats fishing boat
is the essence of
flats fishing.
2. For a creature
comfort ride and super casting platform my
bay boats
are the ticket. This is fast becoming the preferred
method of my regular anglers that have fished with
me all these years on my traditional flats boat. We
do more, see more and catch more with more options
for the day. On my
bay boats I can
cover more flats and show you more fish and help you
catch them better. More fishing charter for the
money.
Check out My Charter Rates
The ways we can
fish
1. Fishing with
Spinning gear is the most common way to fish the
flats. Using live bait or artificial. I supply
everything you will need, see my
equipment room however you are welcome to
bring your gear as well. I recommend a 7+ ft spinner
with line weights of 8 - 15 lb test. Mono or Braid
is fine. Braid is really good for casting and live
bait but can be a bit hard to handle at times. See
my
tips and tricks for
rigging your own for DIY fishing.
2.
Fly Fishing the
Flats with me we will use a varied set of rods
ranging in size from 6 wt all the way up to 12 wt. I
use intermediate and floating lines each for
different purposes. To make things even easier, I
have Right and Left hand retrieve fly reels in all
sizes. Please see my equipment line up. New fly
fishermen or avid pro I can provide you with a great
day on the water. Please read my reservations
policies very carefully to see about my fly fishing
charters and cancellation policy. Also visit my fly
fishing page in this web site to learn more about me
and my Fly fishing on the flats of Key West.
3. Bait Casting is
fast becoming a popular way to fish the flats
especially in the winter time for casting artificial
lures at sport fish and having the fight of your
life.. Big Fun. Bass fishermen love this. If you
would like bait casters on your charter with me or
my colleagues please let us know, so we can load the
boat.
Where we fish
To the East from
Key
West
we can reach areas like Content Keys, Big Pine,
Sawyer Key or any of that area where I grew up
fishing, I am delighted to get back out there for
some beautiful water to fish for huge bonefish,
permit and tarpon.
To the West from
Key
West out through the Lakes passages on the north and
south sides offering some of the best permit and
tarpon fishing close to Key West within 15 minutes
run time offering you lots of time to fish.
The Marquesas Keys
and island chain is what I call
flats fishing
Utopia. The scenery is breathtaking with more color
than you can take in. Marine and bird life on gin
clear waters teaming with activity.
No matter where your
fun button is in flats fishing, targeting a
specific
species, chasing the Grand Slam, or just going out
to see who is on the flats to play with. I can
provide you with the trip you will need to have a
great time. |
