Just returned home this evening from a week of R&R in the Keys. We rented a great house right on the water on Lower Matecumbe Key and had a blast. Now this was a family vacation so the hardcore 24/7 fishing was not to happen this time around. While I did not get in near the fishing that I typically would, spending a week in paradise I did get some in here and there and had fun doing it.
For the most part, the weather cooperated very nicely although it sure was HOT! Highs were in the 87-90F range with overnight lows in the mid to high 70??s. With the exception of a couple days, the winds were light and favorable. This made for great sight-fishing for Tarpon, Bonefish and Sharks on the Oceanside flats and in Florida Bay. I have never seen so many Bonefish and Tarpon before in all my trips to the Keys. On Friday morning I was absolutely covered up by school after school of Bonefish that were feeding and tailing on the incoming tide. At times I had as many as 8 groups of fish within 50 yards of my skiff. It was fantastic. We also had numerous visits from Lemon Sharks up to 6.5ft in length and a few bonus Tarpon.
One morning I took my wife and 2 boys (3 years and 6 years) out on the flats and they got to see many Bonefish, some Tarpon and plenty of sharks. Both boys got to catch a mix of Lemon and Nurse Sharks and they thoroughly enjoyed it. They got to see and learn about the Sting Rays, jellyfish and other creatures of the flats as well. I also spent one morning guiding my parents on the flats. It was great to get them into so many fish. We had a ball hooking up lots of fish and seeing the sights. The Bonefish swarmed us like flies and it was a sight to see. A couple real good Lemon sharks pushing nearly 7?? in less than 2 feet of water was a treat as well.
One of the many highlights was scoring this nice Permit on the fly on Thursday. We targeted them on shallow water wrecks and they came to the crab fly well. We also caught plenty of Dolphin on the fly earlier in the day as well.
All in all it was a great trip and finally spending quality time with the wife and kids was fantastic.
A great fish is released to thrill another angler
The catches could have been much greater but it was a grea time. I lost a couple monsters including a nice 90lb Tarpon that threw the fly on the first cart-wheel and a fiestly Blacktip Shark of over 100lbs that parted the leader after an impressive air show.
There’s always next time
Jeff - AKA Dr. Fish
If it has fins and swims than I must chase it!
[This message has been edited by Dr. Fish (edited 28 May 2005).]
Yes, this Permit ate the Velcro Crab in size 4 as did a nice 90lb Tarpon. All hail the crab
The Delta story just got better and better. The family arrived a day later than expected due to this “wonderful” carrier. When I went to baggage claim in Miami to see if their bags were there I spoke to a woman in the Delta baggage office. I explained what happened and asked if the bags were there. She had the nastiest look on her face and sighed while talking to her. I could not believe it so I then apologized for inconveniencing her and asking her to do her job. That then allowed her to realize that her miserable attitude was more obvious then I think she knew. She did find the bags for us.
My Alamo rental van ended up with a nasty electrical problem so I had to return it for another one. While it took some time standing in line, the woman at the counter profusely apologized for the inconvenience and gave me a full tank of gas FREE and upgraded us to a real nice 2006 van with DVD and other bells and whistles. NOW THAT’S GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE!
Despite the problems, it was great. I just cannot tell you how rewarding it is to act as the guide and put your family into LOTS of fish. It was a blast. We went to dinner one evening and my 6-year-old son, Taylor, ordered some ice cream for dessert. He gave me the first scoop because “he needed to take good care of the BEST fishing guide in the Keys!” It doesn?t get any better than that!!!
Here is Taylor with one of his Scalloped Hammerheads
Here is Jerrit with his Nurse Shark (AKA ? Gummer)
Jeff - AKA Dr. Fish
If it has fins and swims than I must chase it!
It’s nice to hear something good about the Keys again. From some of the previous posts, I was beginning to think that Keys had become one, vast dead sea. 8T
You had better learn to be a happy camper. You only get one try at this campground and it’s a real short camping season.
There wer PLENTY and I mean PLENTY of Tarpon, Bonefish AND Permit. WE were amazed at the numbers of Bones that just kept coming and coming as the tide flooded a couple great flats. Both mornings I spent on FLA Bay resulted in more shots at Bones that I could count. Most fish were in the 6-8lb range with several over 10lbs and a few real pigs easily in the 13 - 15lb range and a few little guys under 6lbs. Sure is a sight to be in 15 inches of water and have several groups surrounding your skiff WITHIN casting distance All the Tarpon we saw were a bonus. Most of the Tarpon however were around the bridges and cruising the oceanside flats. It was like a parade out there. Seeing 100 Tarpon was the norm. We hit a shallow water wreck that had nearly 100 Permit scattered about on the surface.
Of course then there’s the piles of Dolphin on the grass patches offshore. On several occasions on morning we had scholls of 50 or more Dolphin in the 5- 10lb range all around the boat just begging to eat a fly!
Yup, plenty of fish down there to keep busy with, both inside and out
Jeff - AKA Dr. Fish
If it has fins and swims than I must chase it!
Now that’s a fishing vacation destination! Been dreaming about flyfishing the Keys for years, and now that it’s only 6 or 7 hours away, maybe after living in Florida for 9 years I’ll get past Miami & go south to the fishing !
Jeff, i was almost positive that those fish were impossible to catch. You give me a reason to think otherwise. Now im determined to catch a Florida Keys bonefish.
