Wishin’ I Was Knee Deep In The Water Somewhere
Got the Blue Sky, Breeze, And It Don’t Seem Fair
Only Worry In The World
Is The Tide Gonna Reach My Chair–Jimmy Buffet
May 2018
For an update on post-Irma conditions at Bahia Honda State Park see my Florida Sportsman article from June 2019. https://hooknfly.com/2019/06/08/bahia-honda-state-park-post-irma/amp/
For more of my kayak fishing trips in the Keys see: https://hooknfly.com/2019/01/20/the-fantastic-four-fishing-the-forgotten-state-parks-of-the-middle-keys/amp/
and https://hooknfly.com/2016/05/16/three-perfect-days-kayak-fishing-in-the-florida-keys/amp/
Bahia Honda State Park in the Lower Florida Keys is routinely on lists of the ten best beaches in the USA, and coupled with its well-appointed seaside campgrounds, crystal clear waters, and scenic historic railroad bridge, it’s not surprising it is one of the state’s most popular parks. But what about the fishing?? Can tarpon, snapper, permit, and barracuda find happiness among the sun worshippers who throng to the white sand beaches of Bahia Honda Key?? And what havoc did Hurricane Irma wreak on the island? I fished around Bahia Honda a couple of years ago and had shots at some nice permit and caught scads of voracious barracuda. I’m back on my annual May trip to the Keys and decide to spend a couple of days wade and kayak fishing here, circumnavigating Bahia Honda in my kayak as well as sampling the waters of nearby Spanish Harbor and Ohio Keys. What I discovered was both shocking and encouraging—Irma drastically reshaped the landscape and the fishing. The Good News: The fishing is as good as ever!