The Key West Inshore Report
The Flats
The flats from Key West to the Marquesas offer the finest shallow water sight fishing for Tarpon, Bonefish and Permit.
Jumping Tarpon
Poons baby! The annual tarpon migration brings huge numbers of big tarpon through the Florida Keys every spring.
Permit on Fly
Permit, the toughest fish to catch on fly, will make even the most seasoned fly angler to come unglued. What a great feeling when the line comes tight.
Bonefish
Known as the gray ghost of the flats, Bonefish are very difficult to see in the water. Eager to eat a shrimp or a well placed fly, once hooked, these little torpedoes will run off 100 yards of line in just a couple of seconds. But be ready to reel like a mad man because he will come straight back to the boat just as fast.
Capt Scott’s Cuda
Big barracudas are a staple on the flats during the winter months of the year. 'Wolfpacks' will lay in wait for unsuspecting prey while sunning in the shallow water. Violent strikes, long grey hounding jumps and unmatched speed make for a spectacular battle on the end of your line.
Key West Flats – February
February 2, 2010 by Capt Mike Bartlett
Filed under Fishing Reports, Key West Inshore, Key West/Dry Tortugas
February is finally here!!! After an extremely cold and windy January we can now look forward to warmer days ahead and great fishing on the flats. In February we start getting longer periods of time in between cold fronts allowing the water on the flats and surrounding inshore areas to get into the temperature range more suitable for our famous flats species: tarpon, permit and bonefish.
February, and March for that matter is one of my favorite times of year for chasing permit on the flats. The warm, calm days following a cold front will result in a warming trend in our inshore waters. Sunny skies and light southeast breezes will quickly heat up the water on the flats and in the backcountry basins. During this warming period water temperatures will get into the mid 70’s and as high as 80 degrees. When this happens permit will move onto the flats to feed and in big numbers. The best time to search for permit on these days are during the afternoon with an outgoing tide. I like a big high tide late in the morning on the Gulf side so the tide is falling all afternoon.
Permit will not be alone either. Bonefish, barracudas, sharks, cobia and jacks will all make there way onto these same flats. We can also find tarpon in the nearby channels. Tarpon may be available all through the day, but the best times are early in the morning and at night. This is also a great time to go for permit with a fly rod as opportunities are numerous and the fish are feeding aggressively. There is no shortage of opportunities during these days.
Longer and warmer days will make for some great fishing on the flats of the Lower Florida Keys this month. So get out of the cold and snow and head down to the Keys and experience life on the flats.
Captain Mike Bartlett
Marquesas Permit
Permit on Fly
Barra-bones
February 1, 2010 by Capt Mike Bartlett
Filed under Fishing Reports, Key West Inshore, Key West/Dry Tortugas, Lower Keys
Last week we had a few days of good weather and good fishing on the flats of Key West. All the elements were in place last Thursday for me to go hunt for bonefish. We had a warm, light breeze out of the east, a sunny sky and a good incoming tide on the oceanside. The water temperatures started out just under 70 degrees but warming throughout the day. This is not the ideal temperature for bonefish, but they can be found and it can be very productive.
I fished with Gary from Pennsylvania who has fished with me now for a few years. We fished out west of Key West on the oceanside in search of permit, bonefish and barracudas. We found a few schools of bonefish in about three feet of water and Gary landed one close to five pounds and had another nice bonefish on briefly before pulling the hook. We had a lot of shots at barracudas landing three with the largest being about 20 pounds. We had several follows and misses but it was just as exciting. We only found a couple of permit and had one shot at a fish that was close to the boat. I thought I would have found more permit, but it was not the case this day.
Friday and Saturday I fished with my mentor, Captain Gregg McKee. Captain Gregg and I have been friends since I moved to Key West almost eleven years ago. He has since moved out of Key West but we remain in touch and make it a point to get together and spend a few days on the water when we can.
We could only fish a couple of hours each day so we stayed close and fished for jacks found on the backs of stingrays. The flats had plenty of stingrays and just about every ray had a jack following it. We each caught a few jacks, the largest about 12 pounds, had some fun and went home.
Captain Mike Bartlett
Bonefish Feb 4, 2010
Barracuda Feb 4, 2010
Jack Crevalle on Fly
Wahoo Are Definitely Here!
January 20, 2010 by Capt Mike Bartlett
Filed under Fishing Reports, Key West Inshore, Key West/Dry Tortugas
Attached are a few photos of the wahoo we caught the other day. The boat was a bloody mess and we were too tired to hold the fish up for very long. We tried turning the fish to get the cleaner side, but just dropped them back in the blood on the deck. Needless to say there are two less wahoo in the ocean now. I’m making ceviche tonite, can’t wait to have it for lunch.
The other guy is Capt Pete Heydon another flats guide. I need to give credit where credit is due, he brings the rods and the rigs and sets the baits out. I just drive the boat around in circles!!!
