Fishing in the Florida Keys

The boss is starting to talk about next year’s family vacation and going down into the Florida Keys. I heard that and thought I better start doing research to see what is down that way for fishing in late October. The kids have break from school around that time.

Anyone have any advice on where to go for a nice time on the beach and some decent fishing? I would love to tangle with a tarpon or just about any other fish.

Thanks

Capt. Tony DelosSantos is the Lyin’ Hawaiian and he is AWESOME

LYINHAWAIIAN.COM

BrianK and I have used the same person many times.

http://www.flatstofathoms.com/

Basically the “James Holst” of the keys. Otherwise be very careful how you choose. There are lots of losers down there. I wish I could remember the name of the last guy that gave me trouble. Get references.

There’s also “party boats” which are large boats that take out a bunch of people and anchor over a reef and catch anything that bites. This is very cheap ($40-$50 person), but is also a “dumbed down version” of fishing. If you want to go for a nice boat ride and catch dinner, this is an option. I’ve been on a boats like this on Islamadora.

I can’t tell you who to go with but I will tell you who NOT to go with.

http://www.fishkeywestflorida.com/the-coolcast.html

This guy has a beauitiful boat but it pretty much ends there. I booked three boats (12 people) with him a few years ago and it did not go well. He decided he didn’t want to take us out so he had some jerk punk take his place in his boat and we had to scramble to find a third boat because one of his buddies who was supposed to go decided he didn’t want to go out that day. Good luck with your search but stay away from this guy.