Florida keys



CatDaddy

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Does it count if you drop them off the dock and use a treble hook to find them? I've got too much experience with that...

Sorry, not of much help otherwise :;:huh
 

sl1000794

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Earl and Bubba are quietly sitting in a boat fishing,
Chewing tobacco and drinking beer when suddenly
Bubba says, "Think I'm gonna divorce the wife - she
Ain't spoke to me in over 2 months."

Earl spits overboard, takes a long, slow sip of beer and says, "Better think it over ....women like that are hard to find."
 

buckhunter24_7

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Would like to spend about a week there, maybe get a charter for a day or two, idk just catch as many fish as possible. Mahi mahi definitely on the list, idk maybe marlin. I don’t have an unlimited budget so would like to find some cheaper things to maybe fill out a few days. An iguana hunt would be fun also
 


KDM

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OK, with that in mind, offshore stuff is cash, pure and simple. You will pay for the opportunity to tangle with marlin, sails, mahi, tuna, and anything else pelagic. Now if you just want to catch fish, the keys is damn near nirvana for a fisherman. A backpack full of metal spoons, jigs, plastics, basic cranks, and live bait tackle will put you waist deep in fish. Any, and I do mean ANY bridge, dock, road ditch, or minimal structure you can find within casting distance will yield untold numbers of AWESOME table fare fish. With that in mind, go with a plan. A plan is where you will stay, what kind of transportation will you have, coolers, pots/pans, etc. etc. etc. The keys are a no shit OVERLOAD of opportunity. You can't do it all. Plan, Plan, Plan, execute, and enjoy. DO NOT get sucked into all the possibilities. Doing that results in you ending up doing nothing whilst trying to do everything. I went down with a focus on tackle and what I could catch with the tackle I brought. I was woefully outmatched to try to target tarpon, sharks, snook, and most everything else that gets over 10 lbs. I had a blast. I caught more fish in 4 days than I thought possible, but I kept my eye on the ball. I ate like a king. Mangrove snapper, trout, redfish, flounder, permit, pompano, mackerel, and a whole host of oddball fish that kept me in a food coma most of the time. If you want mahi, blow your wad on two days of charter fishing and take what you can get. Wishing you all the best and post pics if and when you get there so I can live vicariously through you. Thanks and good luck!!!
 

buckhunter24_7

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OK, with that in mind, offshore stuff is cash, pure and simple. You will pay for the opportunity to tangle with marlin, sails, mahi, tuna, and anything else pelagic. Now if you just want to catch fish, the keys is damn near nirvana for a fisherman. A backpack full of metal spoons, jigs, plastics, basic cranks, and live bait tackle will put you waist deep in fish. Any, and I do mean ANY bridge, dock, road ditch, or minimal structure you can find within casting distance will yield untold numbers of AWESOME table fare fish. With that in mind, go with a plan. A plan is where you will stay, what kind of transportation will you have, coolers, pots/pans, etc. etc. etc. The keys are a no shit OVERLOAD of opportunity. You can't do it all. Plan, Plan, Plan, execute, and enjoy. DO NOT get sucked into all the possibilities. Doing that results in you ending up doing nothing whilst trying to do everything. I went down with a focus on tackle and what I could catch with the tackle I brought. I was woefully outmatched to try to target tarpon, sharks, snook, and most everything else that gets over 10 lbs. I had a blast. I caught more fish in 4 days than I thought possible, but I kept my eye on the ball. I ate like a king. Mangrove snapper, trout, redfish, flounder, permit, pompano, mackerel, and a whole host of oddball fish that kept me in a food coma most of the time. If you want mahi, blow your wad on two days of charter fishing and take what you can get. Wishing you all the best and post pics if and when you get there so I can live vicariously through you. Thanks and good luck!!!

Thanks. So you caught all those fish shore fishing? Sounds like it will be more fun than I was dreaming.
 

buckhunter24_7

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You have no idea......... I hope you find out though!!!

I’m going to try my best to get down there, probably start calling around end of the week, just doing as much research as I can
 

Twitch

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I’ve had good experiences with Bud ‘n Mary’s out of islamorada for charters. Fished with them a few times now and it’s always been a great experience.
 


snow1

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Hmmmm...KDM once again great advice,good show KDM,

On budget,deep pockets/short arms? maybe consider mexico,cozomel is affordable,my last trip we hookedup with our bell man
"grouper" $50 all day on the water,bring your own cooler type deal,18' alum boat 1950's era 50hp merc tiller
w/o the hood,4 of us fishing,3 rods no reels....was great hand lining grouper,trigger fish,fish captain used old spark plugs for line weights.... cheap trip,even got desintary...yippi.
 
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honkerslayer

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We have gone to the keys annually for the last 8-9 years. Some questions for you though. When are you targeting going. That will have a lot to do with what your offshore wants/options are. If you go in Jan/Feb, Mahi Mahi probably isn’t going to happen. Feb can be decent for sailfish and King Mackerel offshore. Figure $1500 a day for that venture. If you are comfortable, renting your own boat can be pretty reasonable, but if you’ve never fished that area might be a little intimidating.
KDM gave great advice for inshore fishing as the opportunities are pretty endless. You can also rent nice kayaks in several places if that is your thing. I love kayak fishing and even if you don’t catch fish it is really cool kayaking down there. But you will catch fish fairly easily.

If you do book a charter, I give Gold Reserve Charters high marks and ask to fish with Captain Hayden. I’ve fished with him 3 times and he’s a real good dude and a good fisherman. If you can hook up with a sailfish I promise that you will never forget it!! We had 2 on at once. Talk about chaos!
 

GSM

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I have been researching the hell out of this as well as we are going down feb 19th for 6 days and staying on Islamorada. My plan was to possibly link up on an offshore boat if the opportunity presents. That would be the bonus. The plan is to get a guide for one of the first days and than rent a boat for myself after that. This would be for backwater/flats guiding so I can get to it with the boat I rent. I am planning on upsizing my travel saltwater rod after watching videos online of the number of different sized fish a person can get on at the same spot. Gonna have my medium heavy and a new heavy. Any other tips appreciated.
 

tikkalover

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Anyone ever fish the keys?[/QUOTE]

Not me, pretty hard to fish them out of 35 feet of water. ;:;banghead

After they fell thru the hole, I was able to watch them swirl off into the abyss though. :cool:
 


Kentucky Windage

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Off the Florida Keys, there's a place called Kokomo
That's where you wanna go to get away from it all
Bodies in the sand, tropical drink melting in your hand
We'll be falling in love to the rhythm of a steel drum band
Down in Kokomo
 

svnmag

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I've posted on this subject a few times and always get the virtual three dick stare or crickets. I don't bullshit around about fishing tactics. Texas rigged plastic worms work well for inshore/surf fishing. I preferred 7.5 or 10in Culprits--3/0-5/0 hooks; 3/8 or 5/8oz weights respectively: (only one fish hooked in Cuba on the larger worm--tarpon... never used larger size at Myrtle Beach--5/8oz would provide a healthy cast from surf with a 7.5 worm--wish I'd fucking thought).

I try to match the hatch or shock. My go to colors were Motor Oil, Tomato, and black. I caught trout, flounder, redfish, and Spanish mackerel. In St. Augustine I somehow got a 9lb cobia onto the pier from the "back of the surf" with a heavy (flipping--converted to spinning) bass rod. I still have it. It's a cock stiff abomination:

It should be noted the strike on a Texas rigged worm is generally subtle and the larger the fish the more subtle and slower tempo the "ticks"; bass, walleye, pike, channel cat: This was when braid was "new/flat" and the Clintongs were an annoying anomaly.

On 24 June 1997 a strong northward current was flowing under the St. Augustine pier. I was jigging a 7.5in Culprit "Black Shad" absently in the current and WHAM!!. I hope before I die to experience another such strike. The fish retardly did not use the pier to break me off. It smoked the drag into the surf and I was able to wear it out. For the life of me I don't know how I pulled this off considering the stiffness of the rig. The battle was short but the intensity insane. I was hand over hand pulling it up when a nice lady helped me with a "wingwall" hoop net: 9lb cobia.


Anyways, here's my suggestion: Get a couple saltwater spinning reels, fill with 6/20/8/30. Tie on a quality bbl swivel (Palomar knot) then use the other side to attach (via Palomar) for a leader. Don't reel the gd swivel into the tip.

Buy rods as you go. Keep the reels full.
 
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SDMF

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In St. Augustine I somehow got a 9lb cobia onto the pier from the "back of the surf" with a heavy (flipping--converted to spinning) bass rod. I still have it. It's a cock stiff abomination:

That Cobia probably is either REALLY freezer burned or very stinky by now, why do you still have it?
 


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