Key West, Memorial Day Weekend

[chimo]

So I was asked by a co-worker to attend his wedding in Key West on Memorial Day weekend and figured it would be a good excuse to get down there for some fishing Anybody have any experience fishing that part of the country? Any ideas on what to expect?

My preliminary plan is to pack a couple rods, a couple spinning outfits, say a 7ft rated at 15-30 lb and a 6'6" rated 12-20, some jig heads and gulp / soft plastics, some circle hooks of various sizes and maybe a few topwater plugs and rent a kayak for a couple days. Then try and check a couple of the big names off the list like snook, redfish, permit, barracuda, maybe if I am really lucky bonefish and if I am win the lottery lucky tarpon I'm not really sure what I am getting myself into... So far, it seems like a lot of the fishing is based on finding structure, Bridges, reefs and wrecks but that is about the extent of my research so far. So anyways, any advice would be appreciated Good fishin

Chimo

[RavensDfense]

I went down to KW in June. I booked a Kayak trip with a guy out of Big Pine Key. We essentially used the same approach you have planned. Fish structure and current using jig heads and plastic. We also used live shrimp. We caught a few mangrove snapper and a nice jack, but nothing too exciting. The group before us, in the morning, managed some snook, plenty of snapper, one permit (caught on crab) and a large tarpon hook up that eventually got off.

Have fun

[chimo]

Good to know I am at least starting with an approach that works A permit would be pretty cool too! I've seen them being caught on tv a few times and it looks like they are a strong fish! Going to have to do some research before I get down there to check into locations. Does anyone know if there are redfish in the keys???

Chimo

[GaTech Redneck]

redfish?!? that's tarpon country

There's redfish in Key West, but if you're going all the way down there, go for something more exciting and unique to the area. I fished it from a flats boat, theres a bunch of islands all near each other. That time of year there should be a ton of tarpon, jacks, cudas... And there's enough Tarpon that it's not 'striking the lottery'....with live bait and and idea of the right channels/tides, it's actually not bad at all....tarpon rolling all over the place! My suggestion would be don't waste your time going for snapper and little stuff. Talk to a guide and get out there catching tarpon. $500 bucks or whatever and then you can really check something off that list. And trust me, a 100 pound tarpon can pull a 17 ft flats boat around almost like it was a kayak! That being said, getting into a school of rolling tarpon in a kayak would be pretty amazing (and possibly terrifying...haha)

[chimo]

There's redfish in Key West, but if you're going all the way down there, go for something more exciting and unique to the area. I fished it from a flats boat, theres a bunch of islands all near each other. That time of year there should be a ton of tarpon, jacks, cudas... And there's enough Tarpon that it's not 'striking the lottery'....with live bait and and idea of the right channels/tides, it's actually not bad at all....tarpon rolling all over the place! My suggestion would be don't waste your time going for snapper and little stuff. Talk to a guide and get out there catching tarpon. $500 bucks or whatever and then you can really check something off that list. And trust me, a 100 pound tarpon can pull a 17 ft flats boat around almost like it was a kayak! That being said, getting into a school of rolling tarpon in a kayak would be pretty amazing (and possibly terrifying...haha)

Thanks for the reply! It's not so much finding them that would be striking the lottery it would be landing one I really should look into a charter but would prefer saving the $$ and do my fishing out of the kayak while I am there. Any suggestions for a newb to that part of the country? Can't wait for this trip!

Chimo
Chimo

[GaTech Redneck]

Maybe you could try taking a half-day charter, and explain to him in advance you'd like the see some areas you could kayak fish? That way he could show you around and you wouldn't have to go out there blind when you tried the kayak. OR better yet, find a friend who wants to go fishing too...splitting a full day should only cost you ~300.

I do know that charter boats are a dime a dozen down there. Everybody knows a guy who knows a guy that has a flats boat, they talk to their friends and figure out what cuts/channels and what tides the tarpon are moving through, and then post up with live pinfish or whatever baitfish they can find.

The other big thing is flats fishing for jacks/cuda/tarpon or whatever else is on the flats at the time(haha for me last time it was a 200lb shark on a jumbo hula popper!), but it's usually sight fishing which might be a little tough from a kayak. From my experience a flats boat can get up and go to the next if one area isn't producing...might be tougher from a yak, and I'd want to make the most of a chance like that if I were you!

No matter what, key west has almost every kind of fish out there, and anything you do should be fun. I'm tellin' ya though....some light tackle tarpon fishing will give you that once in a lifetime experience a whole lot better than some couple pound grouper and mangroves....

[surfdog]

theres a kayak rental place on the left before you get on key west i think its stock island a hobie dealer why not rent the best they didnt open early enough for me to beat the heat in sept. so i just fished from the pier on the east side of the island. its a big pier and tarpon snook and sharks are ther aplenty at night and jacks, yellow tail, and mangrove snapper in the morning.

have fun you wont want to come back

[chimo]

theres a kayak rental place on the left before you get on key west i think its stock island a hobie dealer why not rent the best

The charter might be cheaper in the long run than testing a Hobie out and then having to come back to Md and buy one lol! I like the idea of a half day charter early in the trip to do some "scouting" for the rest of the time but I will just have to see what my financial situation is when I get down there.

GATECh, What kind of gear were you using? Dealing with 100lb plus fish I would imaging you were using at least 50lb rated gear? Heavier? I think I would be kinda under gunned with what I was planning to take with me if I hooked into something like your 200lb shark! Not that I am sure how close I would want to get that to the kayak anyways

chimo

[DOGFISH]

If you are going to have a vehicle. There is a ramp right at the Bahia Honda(spell) bridge. That is a popular tarpon spot. You can drift shrimp or white bait. You can fish all around that area for a variety of species. You may be surprised by the tarpon. As somone else said, that is tarpon country.

If your not catching much in the way of targeted species, don't overlook the baracuda. You can throw fast moving surface baits like rebels, rapalas or tube lures. Move them fast for smashing hits. They can be really fun.

[chimo]

theres a kayak rental place on the left before you get on key west i think its stock island a hobie dealer why not rent the best

Surf, any contact information or a name on that kayak rental place? http://www.yellowbook.com/profile/ho...501349154.html Does this look right? I am finding a few rental shops but most want to tour you through one of the parks or something when all I want is a yak for a couple days.

Chimo

[surfdog]

thats the one Wayne, cant miss it right on rt 1 there is a marina and dock bar there also.

[chimo]

Did my first fishing From the white st pier last night. Caught a small hogfish and then had my rod double over and a silver jumping devil started pealing off line! A 30-35 inch tarpon !! Gave my little 6'6" medium action rod all it could handle! caught one more before the night was done! Golf this morning but hope to have a yak by tonight and give it hell for the next couple days

[RavensDfense]

After a 35 in tarpon, anything else is an extra. Nice!

[Shield]

Nice Wayne, get some pics also.

[chex]

Tarpon?!?! Damn! Nice one Chimo. Did you get a DNA sample? (if you don't watch the fishing channel you might have no idea what i'm talking about... in the big tarpon competition, they can get points by getting DNA samples of the fish they catch.)