Key West Fishing

Well it’s finally going to happen, I have always wanted to fish the Florida Keys but just never made it down there. The wife and I will be in the Keys the second week of November, and believe it or not she’s going to let me go fishing……. I was just wondering if any of the guys on this site had experience fishing the Key’s particularly during the month of November and if you had any recommendations of the many fishing guides in the area. I checked the Internet and it’s really hard to pick a guide from their web sites alone. They all sound great, but as we all know, not all guides are created equal. I appreciate any help you can provide.

Thanks, JohnnyB

Be very carefull hiring a guide down there. Had a buddy a few years ago hire a “guide” and ended up with a ticket. Check things out very carefully and make sure the guy is liscensed and can provide references.

We used Capt. Robbie Nevius out of Key West Pro Guides http://www.keywestproguides.com in late March March of 2008. I don’t know if you’ve been to Key West before, but they are located right on the edge of town as you are driving into Key West.

It’s been awhile now, but some things I recall about the trip. Our scheduled day to head out with Capt. Robbie was very cold and windy. We touched base the night before and he was very accommodating and worked around our schedule to get us out on a nicer day later in the week.

We ended up doing a 1/2 day trip and started out trying to catch a shark. Sitting there with four of us staring at a rod in a holder waiting for a shark to bite is not my idea of fishing. I had my wife and two children with, ages 14 & 10 at the time,and wanted to get rods into their hands. After about an hour of sharkin’, the Capt. took us to a wreck where we caught a few barracuda and a cobia. The cobia was great on the grill that evening!

Looking back on the trip, my biggest suggestion for you no matter which guide service you use, would be to be very specific about what your expectations are. I thought I had communicated this properly with our captain, but apparently not. I told him the ages of our children and made sure he understood before I booked the trip that we spend a lot of time on the water as a family, and that the kids handle a rod & reel very well for their ages. I guess I should have reiterated that again the night before or the morning of our trip.

It was a great experience to be on the water in Key West. It would have been nice to have had a little more action, but we did catch some fish. The only other thing that bugged me a little about the trip was that Capt. Robbie had to bring us in a little early because he had to pick up his daughter. As a parent, I understand those things happen.

Good luck and have a great time!

bigpike, thanks for your insight. I don’t need to go down there and end up with a non licensed guide.

I have never been to Key West before. I was looking at Key West Pro Guides. Thank you for your insight. At this point it will probably be just me in the boat with the guide. The wife would rather sight see and shop……that always costs me…. Thanks for your insight, I will make sure I am specific on what I expect from the day on the water.

JohnnyB,

On a side note, if you and your wife are planning any other activities while in Key West, you might want to consider a day trip to historic Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas National Park. It was probably the favorite of our trip. You can take a tour of the fort and then go swimming or snorkeling around the outside walls of the fort. It also has the nicest sand beach in the Key West area.

Also, if you plan on spending any time at the beaches in Key West and plan on going in the water, be sure you have water shoes or your feet will be hurting . The beach in the Dry Tortugas does not require water shoes.

I wish I was heading back there! You are going to love it.

We had heard alot about the Dry Tortugas National Park, definitely on our list of things to do. Thanks for your input.

JohnnyB