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THE SKINFLINT’S GUIDE TO THE FLORIDA KEYS
This article originally appeared in American Angler, January/February 2007 and is published here with permission. By B. Craig Phillips
First of all, you don’t need to spend money on a guide to catch fish. Don’t get me wrong, guides are worth every penny. I’m a part-time guide, worth what I charge, so I don’t begrudge my Florida brethren their due. You should always hire a guide if you just have a little time, or you want to greatly improve your odds. But a certain sense of accomplishment comes with catching fish in a strange area on your own. Plus, hitting the flats solo lets you stretch your travel budget for more days on the water. The Keys feature plenty of roadside flats where an angler with a car and willingness to walk and wade can fish. I’ll tell you about some of my favorites later. But let’s start the main reasons for making the trip.
THE QUARRY
The truth about flats fishing on your own is that you aren’t likely to fill the trunk of the rental car with fish. If you can get to a flat, so can the locals, other visiting anglers, and every vacationing Dad with a carload of kids. Thanks to the tides, every flat is a little different every hour of every day (more on that later) so the fish may still use it, but you’re not very likely to find bonefish Nirvana. That said, I’ve been skunked with guides, too, and fishing the flats on your own will provide you lots of fishing time, and with a little luck, some good shots at fish.
The “Big Three” that compose the flats grand slam are bonefish, tarpon, and permit. Bonefish are the most common and should be your primary target. In pursuit of food, they will run up on flats with only enough water to cover their backs. In early morning or late evening, look for tails or ‘nervous’ water - an unusual or inconsistent surface appearance caused by fish moving just below – which indicates a feeding school. Once hooked, bonefish will make one or two reel-smoking runs that will have you counting the last few turns of backing on your reel arbor, but that is usually the extent of their fight.
Tarpon can grow to almost 300 pounds, but most of those targeted in Florida are around 100 pounds. You might see a few babies (2-10 pounds) on the flats, but larger tarpon are more common in or near deeper water. If the flat you are fishing is adjacent to a channel or cut, or has a hole with deeper water, look for tarpon there. While wading the flats for bones, keep an eye on the edge of the flat. You might see bones running up on the flat, and, you might spot tarpon cruising the edge. Look for nervous water, or even tarpon rolling on the surface, and if you see either, cast to it. Don’t worry about changing flies, small tarpon will take a Clouser or shrimp pattern. Tarpon can be spectacular jumpers, so be ready for a show!
If you’re fishing karma is really good, you might even see a permit. Members of the jack family, permit are most easily spotted by their large, crescent shaped tails poking above the water surface when they tip up to feed. Your chances of seeing one are slim, and while the traditional wisdom says crab patterns are what to throw at permit, if you spot one throw what you have on at him. They eat shrimps, too, so don’t waste your one shot changing flies. If you have time to change to a crab fly, do it, but, I repeat, DO NOT miss your shot at casting to a permit by tying on the “right” fly.
Good flats don’t always have the big three, but they almost always hold fish. Be open-minded, and don’t be afraid to cast to mangrove snappers, boxfish, small sharks, baby barracuda, or any other species you see. Just about everything eats shrimps, so if you’re casting a good shrimp imitation, any species of fish might take your offering. They may not be part of the grand slam, but they will put a bend in your fly rod.
SOLO FLATS FUNDMENTALS
.What should you look for in a good flat? Since you’re going to be wading, the most important characteristic is a solid bottom. Generally speaking, flats on the ocean side are harder than those on the bay side, but that doesn’t always hold true. Often the mangroves catch silt, so the bottom can be softer near them. Flats near deep water provide escape cover and an avenue for fish to reach the flats, so pick those if you can.
Some anglers have a preference for a certain bottom color, but I’ll fish any flat I can get to if the tide is right. One rule I try to follow if I can is to match my fly color to the bottom color. The reason is that prey items will generally match the color of the cover in which they are hiding. If I’m fishing a light sand bottom, my fly will be a light tan color. If the bottom has turtle grass, a green fly is more natural. Flats with a bit of variation, such as small holes, patches of turtle grass, exposed coral, or mangrove shoots, offer more potential habitat types than more uniform flats.
They say that time and tide wait for no man, and you shouldn’t wait for the tide if you have time to fish. The tides change every 6 hours, 12 and ½ minutes, so if you’re standing on the beach at Long Key at noon and the tide is high, by 6:15 in the evening it will be low tide. High tide the next day on that beach will be just before 1:00 in the afternoon. But tides in the Keys can vary by as much as four hours only four miles apart! Why? The Keys are a bit like a block of Swiss cheese. The holes are the channels between the islands, known as cuts, through which water flows in and out on the tide. Some cuts are big and allow a lot of water to move through, while others are small and allow lesser amounts though. If the flat you’re fishing is fed by a small cut, it may take a couple of hours for enough water to flow through the cut to bring it to high tide when compared to the outside of the cut. A big cut will flood a nearby flat quickly. It will also drain it just as quickly when the tide starts to fall.
That means that if you stop at a flat and find the tide too low to fish, drive to the next flat, as it may be radically different. What makes a good tide? To me the key is a tide moving one way or the other. A slack tide - right at high or low tide - is the worst time to fish. Flats fish are strongly influenced by the moving water of tides, and when the water isn’t moving, the fish aren’t either. I prefer a rising tide, as the flooding water triggers the shrimps, crabs, and other prey items to become active. They are activated by what the rising tide carries to the flat, as are the predatory fish you seek. A falling tide can also be good, as some fish try to grab the last morsels before a flat goes dry. Either way, fish when you have time, as most flats will be moving one way or the other.
Guides will usually put you on fish, and for that they deserve their money. They know the flats and the best tides for each. Hire a guide if you only have a short time in the Keys; you’ll be glad you did. But if you have a few days and a car, you can explore on your own and spend a lot of time on the flats. Camp on the beach, wake up early, wade fish up and down the Keys, and hunt up some good Conch-style grub. That’s the Keys on the cheap.
SIDEBAR ARTICLES
FINDING THE FLATS
Locations in the Keys are described by the nearest mile marker (usually to the tenth of a mile) followed by either “ocean side” or “gulf side.” The Keys separate the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean, so the east and south sides are called “ocean side,” while the north and west sides are called “gulf side” or sometimes “bay side.” We’ll use the nautical terms “down island” for south and west and “up island” for north and east.
It’s only about 100 miles from Key Largo in the north to Key West in the southwest, so a central location, like Long Key State Park, makes almost any spot along Highway 1 less than an hour’s drive away. Key Largo lies at Mile Marker (MM) 101, at the northern end of the Keys. That is where we will begin our journey, and work down island.
The first fishable flat available to a boatless angler is at Harris Park, operated by Monroe County. Take Burton Drive at mile marker 92.5, in Tavernier, on the ocean side all the way to the park. It is a popular destination for swimmers and beachgoers, but most will stay on the beach area inside the coral rock barrier. You can skirt the barrier and fish the flats around it, but it is still a good idea to be there at sunrise when it opens. There’s a $5 entrance fee for non-residents of Monroe County, but only on weekends and holidays.
Almost 20 miles down island, at MM 74.5, is a nice ocean side flat on Lower Matecumbe Key. Fish west, working the white sand spots all the way to the point. A mile down island at MM 73.5, ocean side, lies Anne’s Beach, another Monroe County park. A nice flat runs from the parking area west to the bridge, and the farther one gets from the parking area, the fewer swimmers there are. That’s good, because there are also more nice white sand spots to fish closer to the bridge.
At mile marker 72 you’ll find Craig Key. Just after the bridge, there is room gulf side where conventional anglers park to fish under the bridge. It is unmarked, but there is plenty of room. There’s a moderately sized but fishable flat on the ocean side, and a small flat on the gulf side, but watch for soft bottoms on the bay side.
The next accessible flat down island is at Long Key State Park, MM 67.5. This is my favorite base camp for two reasons – great camp sites right on the water, and two fishable flats. The one in front of the camp sites runs for over a mile to the west. It can be accessed from the day-use fee area, but the firmer, more wadeable bottom is found in front of the camping area. Look for bonefish and the occasional permit on this flat early in the morning, before the swimmers and splashers get up. Don’t be afraid to blind cast into the sandy strip near the shore on a mid to high tide. We’ve caught fish there before there was enough sunlight to spot fish. The west end of the flat in particular can have baby tarpon, and a rented kayak could provide access to more tarpon along the mangroves to the east.
Across the highway from the park, at MM 66.5, is a well-known but unmarked parking area. The flat on that side fishes well on a low to mid tide. In addition to bonefish, baby tarpon are common here, but larger ones can sometimes be found within kayak range east of the parking area. This is also a popular spot to watch the sunset, so take your camera if you’re fishing the evening tide.
A few miles down the road is the entrance to Curry Hammock State Park, at MM 56.2, ocean side. There’s a nice flat in front of the campground that stretches back into a mangrove lined bay and out to another small hammock. There are soft spots on the bottom, especially near the mangroves, so wade carefully. The state park encompasses both sides of the highway, and the park staff is developing a nature trail on the bay side that leads to a fishable flat. Park at MM 55.5 in the bike trail parking area. Walk east past pole 1255 and look for a nature trail access sign. Follow the trail a short distance to the water. You will first see a deep hole, but walk the edge to the west and you’ll find passage to the flat. Work the flat, but don’t ignore the hole, especially as the tide comes off the flat. Tarpon use the safety of the depths to probe the flat, and low tide provides you the best wading conditions.
At the east end of the Sevenmile Bridge, just west of Marathon, lies Little Duck Key. The small flat out front of the Veteran’s Memorial Park, on the ocean side, is worth checking out. At the other end of the Sevenmile Bridge is Missouri Key, with another flat on the ocean side. Continue west across the bridge over the Ohio-Missouri Channel and you will find a small pull off on the ocean side that provides access to the Ohio Key flat. The channel between the two keys provides a deep water sanctuary from which bonefish run up on the ample flat in front of Ohio and around to Rachael Carson Key. The interior of the Ohio flat has good grass growth but only small sand holes. Stay out near the edges and watch the white sand in the deeper water for bones moving onto the flat. The area just to the south of the parking area is a bird sanctuary, so stay out.
Bahia Honda State Park, at MM 36.7 ocean side, has a nice flat out front. This one has permit on occasion, as might the smaller one found on the bay side of the key. Like other state and county parks, this one fishes best early in the morning, before the nonfishing users get active.
Finally, there’s Boca Chica Key. Turn toward the ocean at the Circle K convenience store at MM 10.7, on Boca Chica Road. Follow the road all the way to its end and park. The flat out front runs west for a good distance. Be sure to check out the rock pile a short distance down the beach from the parking area. There’s a bit of deeper water right there that, every now and then is visited by a school of baby tarpon. One note about Boca Chica – the area is often populated by sun worshipers who seek that “all over” tan, if you know what I mean.
There are good flats along US1 other than those I’ve described, and if you find one that can be accessed without walking through someone’s yard, check it out. Lots of flats along the road lie just across a small but unwadable, channel. A kayak would open these spots up to an angler. Just be wary of soft bottoms and other hazards like mangrove jellyfish when wading. These are stationary, but release nematocysts into the water that can give an annoying, but not debilitating, sting. The only thing you can do is avoid flats with these critters. Also be sure to move slowly as you wade in sandy areas, and keep an eye out for rays that may be dug in.
FLORIDA KEYS GEAR
Rods: For most wade fishing, a 9-foot 8-weight rod will do the trick, but a 7- or 9-weight can work as well. I’m a light tackle junkie, so I usually fish a 6-weight if the wind isn’t blowing too hard. A 10-weight is a good rod for small tarpon (10-50 pounds), but the baby tarpon you’re more likely to see on the flats can be handled on an 8.
Reels and Lines: Saltwater is tough on fishing gear, and if you’re taking your first trip to the salt, make sure your reels are saltwater capable, because not all are. You’ll need a good disk drag, as a bonefish will melt a click and pawl drag on his first run! A weight-forward line will do for most wade fishing situations, but I recommend a line designed for saltwater fishing. Trout lines may lose stiffness in the heat of the tropics, and that will reduce your casting distance. Purchase a good fly line in a bonefish taper for your trip.
Leaders: The flats have very clear water, so you’ll need a leader of at least 9 feet. The fish you locate may well have seen an angler before, so use the longest leader you can easily turn over with the fly you’re fishing. I use a lighter version of the “Ultimate Big Game Leader” described in the April/May 2004 issue of Saltwater Fly Fisherman, usually tied with 8 pound test mono, but 12 isn’t too much. [NOTE: See my article on building furled leaders elsewhere on this web site] A loop of single strand wire leader in the 40 pound test range is handy to have just in case the only game on the flat happens to be sharks or barracudas.
Other gear: The most important piece of equipment for a flats angler is a pair of polarized glasses. If you don’t have them, don’t bother with your rod and reel because flats fishing is sight fishing. If you don’t have polarized glasses, you won’t see too many fish. Bring two pair with you, in case you lose or break one. Wading boots are a good idea, as they afford some protection for your feet and ankles while you wade. A fanny pack will carry your fly boxes, a good pair of pliers, spare leaders and tippets, and wire for bite tippets. Be sure to take a disposable, waterproof camera with you, and a water bottle is a good idea, too.
Flies: Since we’re going on the economy plan, I say be economical with your fly box. I carry about 5ive fly patterns, in a few sizes and colors, but that’s about it. Here’s my list: Clouser minnows in green, olive, pink, white and brown, and in bucktail, marabou, and flashy synthetics (sizes 2 through 10); Crazy Charlie/Gotchas in tan, light green, pale pink, and white (sizes 4 through 10); Tarpon bunny in brown, black, olive and natural grey (sizes 2 through 10); Keys Tarpon fly); and crab imitations in various sizes. Del’s Merkins, Velcro Crabs, Epoxy Crabs, or whatever pattern you like, in brown and blue need to be standing by in case a permit hits the flat. The size of the crab itself, rather than the size of the hook, is what’s important. Carry a couple of nickel-sized flies, a couple of quarter-sized flies, and maybe a couple of in-betweens in each color.
[Post Publication Addition – Since the article came out, I’ve been fishing a Kwan-style fly on bonefish. It is a nice combination of a shrimp and crab imitator in one fly. I tie them in tan and brown, and tan and russet, sizes 2 through 10, and use a marker to add stripes to the synthetic tail. It was a big hit with Belizean bonefish last spring!
If you have a favorite shrimp pattern, then carry it in a few colors and sizes. When it comes to flies, I believe very strongly in two principles; First - If you believe a fly will catch fish, you will fish it longer and with more enthusiasm, and therefore catch more fish on it. Second – a fly well placed in front of a feeding fish will be eaten, regardless of whether it is the “right” fly or not. I’ve caught bonefish on a bright pink and fluorescent chartreuse Gotcha pattern on a bright white sand flat in Belize. It didn’t match the bottom, and didn’t match the prey, but I put it in front of an active school of feeding bones, moved it in a way that attracted attention, and one ate it. The bottom line to flies is to fish what you believe will catch you fish, and it probably will.
Two other major points regarding flies: know how fast they sink and use circle hooks. You should carry flies in various sizes so that the one you are throwing will reach the bottom within three seconds. That means you need a fly that will reach sand within three seconds in water that is 6 inches deep, and a fly that will get there in three seconds in water that is 3 feet deep. If it takes longer than that to get to the bottom, you’ll have a hard time predicting the distance you’ll need to lead a moving fish. To me, circle hooks mean you can hook up to fish even if you don’t see or feel the take. They also reduce gut hooking. Just remember that you don’t set the hook with a circle, just take up the slack. More often than not, the hook will be lodged in the corner of the fish’s mouth. ]
IF YOU GO
Timing: The Keys fishery is a year-round one, so go when you can. But there are better times of year than others. The flats start getting good in the spring, usually in March, and the fishing peaks in May and June. The water gets pretty warm in July, when fishing tails off considerably until the water cools again in the fall.
Getting There: The best way to start your Keys adventure is to fly to Miami International Airport and rent a car. You can also fly to Marathon or Key West, but you’ll pay handsomely for the convenience.
Camping: A campsite on the beach with water and electricity will set you back about $25, and you might just roll out of your tent at daybreak to see tailing fish. Choose a site any distance from the beach, and the heat and insects will keep you from sleep all night. You’ll need the water for rinsing the salt water out of your fusing gear at the end of the day – bring a short section of garden hose to make that job easier – and the electricity to power a small fan.
Lodging: Decent motels nearer the bargain end of the spectrum are booked nearly a year in advance, and “bargain” is a bit of a stretch. Most motels in the Middle Keys are going to cost between $140 and $350 per night for two people. Around Marathon, check out the Bonefish Bay motel (1-800-336-0565; www.bonefishbay.com), the Royal Hawaiian Motel/Botel (305-743-7500) and the Kingsail Motel (305-743-5246; www.marathonfla.com). All are around $100 per night.
Fly Shops and Info:
Bud n’ Mary’s Marina (Islamorada) – 1-800-742-7945; www.budnmarys.com.
Caloosa Cove Tackle and Bait Company (Islamorada) – 305-664-8027.
Islamorada Bait and Tackle – 305-664-4578.
Robbie’s of Islamorada – 1-877-664-8498; www.robbies.com
Sandy Moret's Florida Keys Outfitters (Islamorada) – 305-664-5423; www.floridakeysoutfitters.com
The Saltwater Angler (Key West) – 305-296-0700; www.saltwaterangler.com.
World Wide Sportsman (Islamorada) – 305-664-4615.
Note: Always buy something from the shop if you’re seeking information. You might be amazed at how much you will get for free when you buy a couple of $5 Clouser Minnows.