Biscayne Bay & Florida Keys

The Florida Keys is home to some of the finest fly fishing in the world.  Each week, Reel-Time "FishWire" Correspondents Bob and Sandy Rodgers let us know what is happening in the varied waters between Miami in the north, to the Marquesas in the southwest.   The piece below is presented as an overview of the area and the various fisheries that anglers will be hearing about throughout the year.

Let's take a quick look at some of the fishing opportunities found in this fishing utopia, beginning at the Miami edge.

Biscayne Bay

Biscayne Bay lies at the foot of the Miami metropolitan area, an urban zone known for all its multicultural liveliness and plentiful accommodations.  Zoos, Parrot Jungle, Monkey Jungle, the Coral Castle, and Vizcaya are just a few of the attractions available in the vicinity, and of course, the beach

If you take a right at the traffic light in Florida City you'll end up in Flamingo, the land base of Everglades National Park.  Speaking of flamingoes, in recent years a small flock of about a dozen has been sighted in the waters near Flamingo.  If you take a left at that same traffic light, however, you'll end up at Biscayne National Park, which offers a Visitor Center, glass-bottomed boat tours and an Information Center out on Adams Key, accessible by boat.  A string of small, uninhabited keys, the Ragged Keys, Soldier Key, and such, forms the outer boundary of Biscayne Bay, down to where it meets Card Sound and North Key Largo.  "Stiltsville," an enclave of fishing shacks, decorates the upper region.  Water depths vary greatly in the bay, from expansive flats where spooky bonefish root for crustaceans, to winding channels where stately tarpon sometimes roam.  Permit, elegant creatures of remarkably independent mind, are resident too, and do whatever they like.

the Upper & Middle Keys

Heading southwest on US 1, you enter the "Conch Republic" (for those who don't already know, the word is pronounced "kongk").    This is what some locals have dubbed the Keys.  As you drive southwest from key to key along US 1, the Florida Bay is the large shallow body of water (on the right, north side of the road) defined by the Keys on the south and by Key Largo to the east.  The Florida Straits (to the left, or south) are an arm of the Atlantic that separates the Keys from Cuba.  Forming a watery apron to Everglades National Park, the vast and varied waters of Florida Bay hold redfish, snook, spotted seatrout, jacks, sheepshead, sharks, cobia, tripletail, bonefish, tarpon, and permit.  We've probably left a few species out of this recitation, but if so, by the time you figure out how to catch all those listed on fly, you'll have noticed the others!  Anglers plying the oceanside flats, however, primarily target the "Big Three," bonefish, tarpon, and permit.

For this whole area from Biscayne Bay through the Upper Keys, bonefish are available all year round, and it is difficult to narrow a bonefishing year down to a best time.  During summer they seek deeper water during the hottest part of the day, during spring and fall they may stay on the flats all day, and through the winter months they can often be found schooling, patrolling the shoreline in large troops. Their average sizes range from 6 to 13 pounds.  The best times for permit in this area are spring through fall.  Lots of small permit appear in schools in late summer and early fall; their size ranges from 8 to 30 pounds.

For tarpon in this section of the Keys the best times are generally May, June and early July.  Though tarpon may sometimes start migrating into the area in April, it all depends upon water temperatures, with warmer waters upping the odds of them showing sooner.  The migration numbers usually peak in May and June and taper off on into August. These fish average 75 to 90 pounds and go as large as 150 pounds or more.  In late July and August there are generally a lot of smaller tarpon between 10 and 50 pounds back in Florida Bay

The Lower Keys

Around Marathon and on south and west down to the end of the Keys, the water on the northern and western side begins to open onto the Gulf of Mexico.  Key West may be the end of "USeless One," the local's term for our only highway, but not of fishing possibilities

Although it is sometimes possible to find them at other times, the best months for bonefishing in this stretch of the Keys are considered by most to be March through November.  Frequently in the winter the fishing guides from this area trailer their boats to the Upper Keys for bonefishing.  Permit also can be found here all year, but fly fishers pursuing them from February and on through November will probably have better odds at catching them.  Permit are very powerful and hard fighting fish, with the average sizes running 8 to 16 pounds, however, fish in the 20 to 35 pound range are often seen.  Permit are generally fished in waters less than 3 to 4 feet deep, where they rove around looking for crabs to crunch.  They will also float at times near the surface of the water in deeper channels, or off the edges of flats, in calm conditions.

The preferred winds for fishing in the Lower Keys are east, southeast, or south.  Not that you can't fish if the wind is blowing from another direction, but there may be many places that become too rough or dirty to fly fish with any reasonable hope of success.

Tarpon start to show up in Key West Harbor in large numbers in late February or early March.  This is a deeper water fishery rather than a flats experience, so you might only see the fish when they free jump or roll, rather than how you can see them coming a football field away in skinny water, like slow moving torpedoes.  Either way though, the visceral thrill from just sighting these fish is addictive.  Similar to in the Upper Keys, these majestic brutes begin to cruise the flats sometime in April, again depending on prevailing weather conditions. The peak of their migration occurs generally in May and June, for both the harbor and the flats fish.

Hiring a Guide - A Key to Success!

For the most part in the Keys, the best way to have a successful day of fly fishing is to hire a guide.  This holds true for many reasons, one of which is that the waters are vast and in places, dangerously shallow.  Also, now that the whole area is a Marine Sanctuary, going hard aground can cost you a stiff fine for damaging seagrass beds or coral.  Nevertheless, in almost every case you will have better luck by fishing from a boat.  Boats can be rented locally, but in the "backcountry" (the name for virtually all the waters north of the Keys including Florida Bay and Everglades National Park) the mangrove island you just passed looks very much like the mangrove key you are going toward, so it is quite easy to become disoriented.  In addition, all the flats species move around quite a bit, and have quirky (and seemingly ever-changing) preferences as to flats, tides and what they elect to chew.  Having someone who spends their days tracking these whims to show you around will really boost your catch ratio.

A few spots exist, such as Grassy Key and Anne's Beach, that can be explored by wading anglers and we'll spotlight these and the others from time to time.  But mostly, due to either restricted access or, flats that are unwadeable due to "soft bottom," you are going to have far more luck from a boat.

Boats & Ramps & Local Ettiquette

If you trailer your own boat down to the Keys, you can find boat ramps by checking the short list of public ramps in the front of the Florida Keys Telephone Directory.  Most motels also have boat ramps available to guests, and the state and county parks, such as John Pennekamp Coral Reel State Park (Mile Marker 102.5), and Bahia Honda State Recreation Area (Mile Marker 37) can give you access into the water for a fee.

A point to consider if you choose to rent a boat or bring your own is the need to apprise yourself of local flats etiquette.  Just like stream etiquette, which insists you wait for any angler already fishing to finish a pool and move on before you cast into those waters, the flats have a certain protocol.  Many Keys guides are well known for how excited they get if someone breaks rank, so in the interest of more peaceful fishing days on all sides, we'll mention a few things here.

• Avoid like the plague the cardinal sin of cutting in front of a skiff that is already working a flat.  You may need to stand off and watch a while as you approach in order to determine which way the boat is working, then fall in well behind, making sure not to crowd anyone.
• Also, it is absolutely essential to pole onto flats so as not to spook the fish, and to leave the same way.

Tackle Considerations

The fly tackle you will need for bonefish consists of one or more 8 1/2 to 10 foot long, eight-, nine- or ten-weight rods, and floating weight forward lines, with 9 to 12 foot leaders and 10 or 12 pound tippets.  The reels you use should be capable of holding the flyline and 200 yards of 20 pound backing.

For permit you will use the same 8 1/2 to 10 foot rods, but in 9- or 10-weight, with floating or intermediate weight forward fly lines, and 9 to 12 foot leaders with 12 or 16 pound tippets.  Reels should have the same line capacity and backing as that for bonefish.

Fly tackle for tarpon gets beefier, and you'll need one or more (tarpon often break flyrods) 8 1/2 to 9 foot long, 10-, 11-, or 12-weight rods.  Floating weight forward lines go on a reel capable of holding the flyline and 200 to 250 yards of 30 pound backing.  Line should have a six-foot section of 50-pound leader butt section attached to withstand scuffs during the battle.

If you don't have appropriate tackle your guide can provide it. You'll also need polarized glasses, boat or tennis shoes, fly line dressing, sunscreen, rain gear, and for the sun sensitive - long sleeved shirt and pants, and a long billed hat.

Other Activities

In addition to being a year round fly fisher's heaven, visitors can enjoy snorkel and scuba diving trips from area dive shops, or check out John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, which offers diving as well as swimming areas, glass bottom boats and an aquarium in the Information Center.  Out in the waters northwest of Marathon you can boat around the mangrove islands and shallows encompassing Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge.  Among other birds seen in the Keys are blue herons, white ibis, pelicans, white-crowned pigeons, osprey, egrets, monk parakeets, roseate spoonbills, and bald eagles.  Bahia Honda State Recreation Area provides snorkel tours out to Looe Key, and a lovely beach.  Smathers Beach is popular in Key West.  Throughout the Keys you can consume Key Lime pie in one of the many restaurants, visit galleries of local artists, search artisan's shops for pottery or stained glass, outfit yourself in island wear, and roam through shipwreck museums.  Or you can leave all that for the others because we know you really only want to fish!