florida keys kayak fishing

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Florida Keys Fishing Sans A (Motor) Boat: Bridge, Wading, and Kayak Angling Along Highway 1

Hello From Florida….When you say Blizzard, we think of Dairy Queen!

Winter 2017

Want to catch a monster barracuda or maybe a big snook, hefty grouper, or gigantic shark in the Florida Keys?  Maybe a mess of snapper?  Got to have a big boat, right?  That notion was being firmly dispelled as I watched Mark Resto of Miami, with the help of a fishing buddy, fight a big barracuda on the Seven Mile Fishing Bridge near Marathon.  His rod bent double, Michael was on the edge of exhaustion.

The four-foot-long cuda was churning in the fast current 20 feet below, threatening to snap his line at any moment. Arms aching, Michael finally brought the fish to the surface, quickly passed the rod to his buddy and threw a bridge net down in the water next to the barracuda, corralled it, and slowly winched up the prize.

Shore-fishing is one of the great delights of the Florida Keys. Starting at the Tea Table Bridge, Mile Marker 79, and heading southwest on Highway 1 towards Key West there is accessible, exciting fishing right near the road.  Numerous bridges, wadeable nearshore flats, and close-in hotspots easily reached by kayak or other cartop vessel offer access to good fishing.

Kayak wading flats (2)
Wading And Kayak Angling Opportunities Abound Along Highway 1 In The Keys

Not that this fishing is a snap.  Ferreting out the honeyholes can take a little sleuthing and successful bridge fishing is an art, not for those who  like to lollygag in lawn chairs! The article below reveals some of the best nearshore spots and offers tips from experts at local bait and tackle shops who specialize in bridge fishing and wading and kayaking to stalk their quarry.

CLICK ON THE LINK TO VIEW A PDF COPY OF MY NOVEMBER 2016 FLORIDA KEYS DRIVE-IN FISHING ARTICLE FROM FLORIDA SPORTSMAN magazine.

FS Keys Article 11-16 reduced pdf

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Day 4 Of 4 Perfect Days Keys Kayak Fishing: The Shark Channel

May 18, 2016

It’s the fourth day of my annual Florida Keys fishing expedition, and I am itching to go further afield from my fish camp on Big Pine Key.  Several years ago I fished down near Key West with guide Luke Kelly where we connected with some tarpon in an area called the Shark Channel.  I’m hoping for a repeat as I plot my route and hit the hay early so I can be on the water at first light.

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Early Morning Launch At The Shark Channel Ramp

Next morning I’m scooting down the Overseas Highway before sunrise, joining the morning rush into Key West.  I am keeping a sharp eye out for the put-in for this trip, the Shark Key boat ramp at Mile Marker 11, about 30 minutes south of Big Pine Key.  Distracted by the sight of several boats out on the water, I naturally whiz by the ramp that is on the other side of the highway.  The signage for this ramp is minimal, so take it slow.  I execute a u-turn and pull into the long narrow drive that leads to the ramp, load up the yak, and park my SUV on the other side of the road, heeding the no parking signs around the ramp.

I scope out the tarpon boats and don’t see any action, so I head east and sidle up towardsIMG_0856 the bridge as the tide starts falling…and fast.  I cast a big tarpon plug behind the bridge pilings, hoping some bruisers are skulking in the depths, but after 15 minutes, come up empty.  So I buck the swift current and head towards the east side of O’Hara Key, which looks extremely fishy.  But looks prove to be deceiving–I only pick up a couple of baby barracuda.

I spot a cluster of islets further east and turn the kayak that way, again pedaling against the swift current.  There’s a nice gutter around the first islet, so I fish it carefully with a tarpon plug, then the old reliable Mirrolure Heavydine 18 with its shiny sides that flash in the water.  I’m grateful for the pedal kayak, which allows me to hold myself in position to cast by pedaling slowly into the current.  I pitch a good cast up against the islet in the deeper water and something explodes on the plug.  A long torpedo shape blasts off, peeling line off my reel and dragging the kayak behind!

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Day Three Of Four Perfect Days Kayak Fishing In the Keys–Tarpon Time

After a couple of days of non-stop action and a severe case of ‘Cuda elbow, I took a day off to lollygag around camp, do a little reading and writing, and swill some margaritas on the sun deckIMG_7063at the Big Pine Key Lodge where I am staying in my mobile fish camp.  Today I decide to go out, but stick closer to home.  There are three keys within a stone’s throw of camp–Big Mangrove, Little Don Quixote, and No Name.  All three have different personalities and offer great opportunities for a variety of fish, some big.  No Name is frequented by tarpon, snook, and (of course) lots of barracuda.  Big Mangrove is the haunt of snappers, cudas, and some hefty sharks.  Don Quixote and the flats just to its north are favorites of permit, sharks, and occasionally some tarpon.  This is a particularly good trip when the wind is blowing from the northeast after a front blasts through.

I am up early, timing my day to hit the flats between Don Quixote and No Name on anIMG_0739 incoming tide.  I could paddle out north from the ramp at the lodge, under the Overseas Highway Bridge, and directly to Big Mangrove Key, but my preferred route starts at the venerable Old Wooden Bridge Cottages towards the north end of No Name Key, about a 20-minute drive up the east side of Big Pine Key.  I slip my $10 ramp fee under the office door and launch into the Bogie Channel, hankering for a shot at the sizeable snook that hide under the bridge that connects Big Pine to No Name Key.  I pitch a white Gulp swimming mullet on a 1/8 oz jig head up against one of the bridge pilings, let it sink, and then….

Wham….something whacks it hard!

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Day Two Of Four Perfect Days Kayak Fishing In the Keys

Barracuda: A kind of fierce tropical fish that has strong jaws and sharp teeth

…Merriam-Webster Dictionary

For Day 3 trip see:

https://hooknfly.com/2017/03/27/day-three-of-three-perfect-days-kayak-fishing-in-the-keys/amp/

I’m headed out early again way before first light, creeping slowly out of the RV park in the dark, lights dimmed.  I hoping to avoid waking my sometime fishing and drinking buddies in their nearby trailers, an august assembly of accomplished tarpon and permit fishing mavens.  I’d have to explain how I could eschew those iconic game fish, instead pursuing a holy quest for as manyimage barracuda as I can catch (and release) in one day.  They already turn their noses up and make sport of me as the Kayak Cuda Buddha for my unfailing devotion to these toothy torpedoes!  My destination for this quest is the colorfully named Toptree Hammock Key.  The launch point is at the end of Niles Road on Summerland Key.

I’m on the water at first light, but even though the tide has just peaked, I am having to paddle rather than pedal in the shallow water as I head north.  I can hear the fins below the boat scraping Summerland Key Bridgeon the hard corals that dot this hard-bottom flat.  Which is a good sign usually because barracuda tend to prowl these areas.  Finally I make it to the old bridge that links Summerland to a series of smaller keys.  It was apparently blown out partially by the last big hurricane, so a span is missing, and the trail to it from the ramp is getting overgrown.  I’m continually amazed at all of the abandoned and storm-wrecked structures that abound in the Keys, testimony to the hardy and fool-hardy souls who actually lived on them, farmed them, and raised families before being driven off by hurricanes, bugs, disease, or the heat.  Most are overgrown and wild again, part of the Florida National Marine Sanctuary.  Maybe a harbinger of things to come as sea levels continue to rise down here.  But I’m not about to let dark thoughts of climate change deter me from my barracuda quest!  Those thoughts are better contemplated over a margarita.

As I creep closer, I see the falling tide is flowing hard around the bridge abutments, so I figure there must be some barracuda hiding there, picking off forage fish washing by.  My first cast with the trusty Mirrolure MR18 is greeted with a solid hit, and a nice 20″ barracuda comes to the boat after some strong runs.  A good start.  But the bubble is soon burst as my kayak runs aground on a grassy shoal near the bridge, and I discover the water is only a few inches deep under the span and far out into the Niles Channel to the east.  My hopes of joining the Century Club–catching over 100 fish–are starting to fade!  So somewhat dejectedly, I head further north towards Wahoo Key, where I find another expansive, beautiful hard-bottom flat.  I bail out of the kayak and begin wading in the beautiful clear water as the sun starts to light things up so I can see anything that moves.  I spot a couple of long darker forms near the shore that seem to be moving and loft a cast that way. One of the shadows darts towards the sinking lure and before I can even crank the reel once,  KERBLAM!!  

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Day One Of Four Perfect Days Kayak Fishing In The Florida Keys

In the Keys, we salt margaritas, not sidewalks…..Anon.

For Day 2 trip see:

https://hooknfly.com/2016/05/17/day-2-of-three-perfect-days-kayak-fishing-in-the-keys/amp/

I’m heading to Big Pine Key, not far from Key West, on my annual Florida Keys fishing expedition. As I trundle down the Overseas Highway pulling my mobile fish camp behind, I am amazed at all the festively colored kayaks–red, yellow, orange, blue–stacked outside of marinas, dive shops, and even convenience stores.  Like everywhere, kayaking is booming in popularity in the Keys.  I’m wondering if I’ll have to fight my way through flotillas of paddlers and ecotour groups wending their way along the mangrove islands to find my quarry.

I’ve left my power boat at home and opted for chasing fish in my yak in the Lower Keys, bucking conventional wisdom that you need a motor to get a permit, tarpon, redfish, sharks, or giant barracuda.  At the very least in the bargain, I know I’ll see some great wildlife that abound down here in these pristine tropical waters.

img_7044I am staying at the Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge that has some sweet RV trailer spots right on the Gulf.  It’s a great place with views of the long Overseas Highway Bridge as it curves away into a sunrise.  imageDid I mention the happy hour a couple of times a week on the pool deck where the mango margarita machine works overtime ?  After setting up, my first stop is venerable Jigs Bait and Tackle down the road in Big Pine Key to get the skinny from James Milsap (Ronnie’s cousin) on what’s biting and where.  I’ve been kayak fishing down here for the past three years, so know my way around, but it always helps to pick a local fishing guru’s brain.  Then it’s back to camp to rig up my rods, get the trusty Hobie Outback pedal kayak ready to rumble, and knock off a little wine before hitting the hay.  The alarm’s set at 4:30 a.m!!  Day One of Four Perfect Days coming up!!

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