Florida in january/february?

Hi all.

Me and my girlfriend plans to take a trip from Sweden to The Keys or som other part of Florida next year, and since I'm always carrying an flyrod with me when we are travelling, I'm in pursuit of information.

First, what species can be targeted at this time of year, and where? Bonefish/jacks/snook/permit/tarpon?

Also, looking att the different websites regarding guides at The Keys, it seem's very expensive! Is there any place one could fish without guides?

Tanks in advance.

Mats Brorson, Sweden

Mats,

I?ll chime in with a few ideas and suggestions. Winter fishing on the flats in the Keys can be very weather dependent, wind and rain cold fronts etc. may make fishing tough?.. but on the other hand, if you can get out, there will be plenty of fish to throw at if you keep an open mind. Large sharks, barracuda, jack crevalle, lady fish, and ?sea trout? (weakfish) are available in large numbers, and can be a blast. The winter is not peak time for large numbers of high profile fish like tarpon, permit, and bonefish, though they may be fish on the flats, especially if you hit a warm spell.

Since you?re traveling with your girlfriend, here are some suggestions. Key West is a touristy, but hip sort of place, with a more active ?scene? about 120 miles from Miami. Most of the rest of the Keys are relatively dead, without much to do except fish. Key West also has excellent fishing, providing you can get out of the marina, with barracuda to 40lbs, large sharks, and jacks sure to be there. There are also large resident tarpon (100 lbs+) year round, and a shot at permit and bonefish on the flats. In deeper water offshore there are cobia, king mackeral, tuna, wahoo that can be chummed up over wrecks and fly fished. An excellent resource for Key West Fishing is http://www.saltwaterangler.com

Another option, and one I would highly recommend, in addition to Key West, is to fish the Everglades, around Flamingo, which is not too far south of Miami. The fishing can be excellent, for snook, ?baby? tarpon to 60lbs, and a shot at laid up resident (non migratory) tarpon over 100 lbs. The fishing can be very good, with the added advantage of being able to get out of the wind, and still pop out to the flats if the conditions are good. But this is definitely a trip to take your girlfriend on even if she doesn?t fish. The scenery is awesome, and it is teeming with wildlife? alligators, crocodiles, manatees, porpoises, birdlife etc. The waters are also very sheltered, so sea sickness etc.shouldn?t be an issue. The best guide I?ve fished with is Capt Rob Fordyce. He?s based near Flamingo and is extremely knowledgeable about all the fishing in Biscayne Bay (around Miami), the flats around Islamorada, and the Everglades. He trailers his boat, so you have a lot of options, depending on the conditions. He is an exceptional tarpon guide and knows the ?glades like the back of his hand. If there are fish, he will find them and put you on them. And he?s a great guy to boot and a lot of fun to fish with. You?ll learn a lot fishing with him. And as an added bonus, he has experience fishing with Vikings?. (ask him about the time one of his Danish clients hooked himself in the belly?.) His contact info is:

Capt. Rob Fordyce
1-888-CAPTROB
captrob1@bellsouth.net
voodoodaddy@bellsouth.net
Captain Rob Fordyce
P.O. Box 343548
Florida City, FL 33034
If he is booked, I?m sure he could suggest other excellent guides. And yes, you are right, guides are expensive, at about $500 USD for a full day (8 hours) of flats fishing, plus tip, (customarily 15-20%). However, you are paying for their knowledge (winds, tides, currents and conditions and fish movements) their incredible ability to spot fish, and the access that their specialized equipment (flats skiffs, premium tackle, flies) and mobility to cover a lot of water will give you to the best chances of having a truly memorable day. A good guide will increase your chances exponentially. I would highly recommend the investment, since you may not be back for a while.

That being said, there are some limited wade fishing opportunities in the keys, and if you want to splurge on a guided trip in Key West or the Everglades one day, you could also consider renting a boat to go out on your own, targeting deep holes in channels for barracuda and whatever else swims by. A 17? boat with a 90 hp motor will run about $275-300 USD a day. Just be aware that if you fish without a guide in Florida you will need a saltwater fishing license (3 day = $5, 7 day = $15, 1 year =$30, available at any fishing tackle store. A boat rental place in Key West is http://boatrentalskeywest.com/ , and there are other?s in the Keys closer to Miami like http://www.robbies.com/ in Islamorada. (If you decide to drive down to Key West, Robbie?s Marina is worth a stop. They have schools of ?pet? tarpon over 100 lbs that you can feed that hang around the marina, and it?s an incredible experience.)

Other non-fishing things to do which may be fun for you and your girlfriend include snorkeling cruises in Key West, or closer to Miami, in Key Largo at John Pennycamp State Park, and kayak rentals all over the place.

As far as gear goes, I would say an 8 wt is minimum, 9 or 10 wt being a better choice based on wind and size of fish you?re likely to run into. (if there are big tarpon around or you want to target large sharks, you can use the guides 12 wt. Polarized sunglasses are a must, as well as plenty of sunscreen and a lucky hat.

Hopefully others on this board will chime in with their suggestions. Feel free to ask more questions, and as you get closer to making your plans, let us know, and maybe some locals down there that will offer to take you out, or point you to some secret spots.

You should have a blast!

Best regards,

Peregrines

Mats,

I?m surprised no one else has chimed in yet. Some additional thoughts:

If you are flexible about the dates of your trip, February would probably be better than January, and later in February would be better than early. Around Key West permit fishing can be very good on the flats in March and migratory tarpon (in addition to Key West?s year round resident tarpon) will be starting to move in. Late February may help to catch early arrivals. The magic number for flats fishing for bonefish seems to be water temp above 68 degrees Fahrenheit, with water temp above 72 being best. Permit seem to be more tolerant of cooler water, and tarpon on the flats seem to prefer warmer water. The longer days in Feb will help warm up water, and a good guide?s knowledge of local flats will help too, since some areas will warm up more quickly than others (depending on winds, prevailing currents, water depth, moon phase, and bottom color). But if you can?t be flexible, come anyway. There?s plenty of other stuff to catch.

Further North (near Miami) oceanside flats off Islamorada may have bones in Jan or Feb, even if the backside flats (on the gulf side) of the keys don?t, and there may be permit in Biscayne Bay, if you plan on fishing with Rob or another guide for more than 1 day down there in the upper keys, but I would definitely spend one day in the everglades because the scenery and fishing is just so spectacular. Snook fishing can be very good in February in the everglades, along with the possibility of huge tarpon, lots of baby tarpon, redfish, snappers, and tons of other stuff.

I haven?t fished with him, but Captain Dexter Simmons in Key West has an excellent reputation as a guide. His website will give you a good idea of the options in Key West at that time of year www.keywestflyfishing.com

To give you an idea, of what you?re likely to run into, I took my two brothers and father down to the keys in Feb to fish with Rob and another guide. We planned to fish for 3 days, and spent one day in the everglades, and two days on the flats. My brothers and father don?t normally fish at all, but this was a male bonding trip. We had two and 1/2 great days, but the third was bad weather and we were on the water for a ? day. We caught lemon sharks, a bull shark, sea trout, lady fish, Spanish Mackeral, hooked and lost a 60lb tarpon, some snook, snappers, black drum and redfish on light spinning tackle and plugs (we used a ladyfish we caught as bait for shark on the flats). The highlight was a 100lb tarpon that came out of nowhere and swirled at my father?s ladyfish right at the boat as he was reaching to land it. We all had a blast. We didn?t spend any time chasing permit, bones or tarpon, since the emphasis was on action and ?fellowship? rather than hardcore fishing.

If your girlfriend doesn?t fish, have a guide bring along a light spinning rod and some plugs for her to throw in the everglades, or on the flats for barracuda, jacks and other fish and a heavier spinning rod for sharks for her to use on the flats while your throwing flies. She?ll have a blast even if she?s never fished before, and the sharks should be very easy to hook up. On the flats, you can actually watch them come in from along way off, and it?s very fun to see, you?ll probably have more fun watching her than if you hooked it yourself. Just let your guide know in advance so he?ll bring the gear for her.

If I were you, and could swing the $?s, I would try to book two full days of guides, one with Rob in the Everglades with you fly fishing and your girlfriend using spinning tackle and plugs, spending the night before in a cheap motel like the Best Western in Homestead assuming you?d meet Rob in Flamingo in the morning for the Everglades. That night I?d drive to a place like Islamorada for another night and stop in at Sandy Moret?s place http://www.floridakeysoutfitters.com at mile marker 81.2 and ask Sandy or Sue about fishing the flats at Bahia Honda State Park (you?ll need a Florida saltwater license which you can get from them). There are flats you can wade there yourself, some kind of flats boots (or old sneakers) are recommended. I?m sure they could give you some good advice on places to try there that have been fishing well.

The next day, I?d head to Key West, (about 80 miles from Islamorada) stopping at Robbie?s Marina at mile marker 77.5 to feed the tarpon http://www.robbies.com/tarpon.htm for good luck and then drive to Bahia Honda State Park, about 16 miles south of Marathon Key for some ?do it yourself? wade fishing looking for bonefish, before continuing on to Key West. Over night in Key West (make reservations since this can be peak season for tourists), next day fish with Dexter on the flats, and spend some time getting your girlfriend hooked up to a shark. (It shouldn?t take long on bait and a heavy rod.) Let Dexter know in advance if you?re planning to do this, so he can throw a heavy spinning rod and maybe a light spinning rod and some plugs in the boat for her. Maybe rent a small boat the following day for some ?do it your self? fishing (the rental place in the above post should give you a map and some likely spots to try.) The boat won?t be a flats skiff, but you probably couldn?t talk your girl friend into poling all day anyway, unless Swedish girlfriends are different than American ones. (If so, please let me know if she has a sister...) Any way, fishing channels, and holes you can easily see should yield snappers, barracuda, jacks and other fish, and you may luck out casting to a cruising shark, tarpon, or permit. Or take a snorkeling cruise from Key West. Don?t forget to do this: http://www.sunsetcelebration.org/ to ensure good kharma.

Again, the fishing will be weather dependent, wind and cold fronts can put a damper on fishing, with the Everglades being less susceptible than Key West, but with a little luck, you should have a great time, and the longer you?re down there the better your chances of decent weather. Spreading out the time between guides might be a good idea to increase your chances of having decent weather at least one day in the Keys or Everglades, but hopefully both. You could spend another night in Islamorada and rent a small boat from Robbies for example, before the drive to Key West. By the way, it is customary for guides to refund all money if truly nasty weather prevents them from going out.

With guides like Rob and Dexter, it is wise to book as far in advance as possible. If they are booked, and don?t have suggestions for other guides, you can arrange a guide through Sandy or Sue at Florida Keys Outfitters (for the Everglades) and Jeffery Cardenas at Saltwater Angler in Key West. Although a ? day is less expensive, usually the full day is a much better deal, since you?ll get more fishing time, considering the time spent running to spots to begin fishing, especially in the everglades and it takes time to adjust to seeing fish and flats fishing techniques if you haven?t done a lot of it? and also gives the flats time to warm up in the afternoon sun for fishing Key West... It?s also easier to spot fish if the sun isn?t directly overhead. If things come together, (and you?ve kept the universe in balance by feeding the tarpon and going to the sunset celebration), you?ll have great memories and stories to share. Good luck Mats, let us know if this is the kind of info you are looking for.

Best regards,

peregrines

This is great information!

The scenarios fits our plan very well, since we are planning to stay i florida for at least two weeks, and rent a car to able to move around. We are both wildlife entusiast(my girlfriend is a scout), and everglades is as interesting for her as for me.

Off topic, but we are flyfishing for pike this upcoming weekend, and one of my friends is bringing along one of his US friends. She is a really hardcore flyfisher, and visits sweden regulary.

Fishing makes the world seem very small, eh?

Mats

Mats,

Yes! Fishing does make the world seem much smaller. I hope the American woman represents us well with the pike fishing (doesn?t tip her fly with bait, doesn?t hook anyone on her backcast, doesn?t invade Norway etc.etc.).

Since you?re both interested in wildlife, there?s a wild bird rehabilitation center on Tavernier Key (mile marker 93.6) between Key Largo and Islamorada that?s worth a quick stop (you?ll be passing it anyway on the drive through the keys). It?s a smelly place, but they have an incredible amount of birds, and it?s worth spending 20 minutes or so checking it out, especially if your girlfriend wants close up photos of some pretty amazing birds. http://www.fkwbc.org/

I found Rob Fordyce?s website for you to check out. http://www.robfordyce.com/media.html He?s a pretty modest guy, but googling ?Captain Rob Fordyce? will bring up a lot of stuff, including all the big tarpon fly tournaments in the keys that he?s won guiding anglers. He?s won all of them, some several times. I?ve fished a lot with him for tarpon and he?s phenomenal, with an uncanny ability to find fish and coach anglers into a hook up. He also knows some great very remote spots in the everglades, and I would think he could give you your best shot at a large tarpon back there in Jan or Feb.

Good luck with the pike this weekend! Let us know how you do.

Best regards,

peregrines