Winter Florida Keys fly fishing
Key West fishing has had some trials this week with gusty winds from the North east making it difficult to get out on the water.
Fall and early winter fishing anglers should expect to still see larger permit on the flats through the month of November. Permit are not as touchy when it comes to fluctuation in the water temps, giving them more time up on the flats.
We’ve still been finding plenty of bonefish, and some nice large ones up to 10-pounds in the lower Keys. Bonefish will thin out on the flats as the water temps drop.
The greatest comeback is from the toothy barracuda. This fish spends plenty of time on the flats in the winter months. They can be found in many depths of water and along channel edges awaiting the next sign of a struggling fish to pounce on.
A green, pink or yellow tube lure works best when fishing with light tackle. It’s an old reliable lure that can be retrieved slow or fast and is easy to cast long distances. Fly fisherman should not discount the barracuda, they are a tremendous fighting fish and even provide aerobatic jumps when hooked. A fly that looks like a long needlefish works good on a 1/0 or 2/0 hook. Some guides will also use flashy material only in chartreuse, yellow, blue or red. The head is made with epoxy and softex is used to bond the flash material near the hook shank to help avoid foul hooking.
Several other species join the flats community in the Lower Keys during the winter. They include the ever strong Crevalle jack, redfish and snook. Jacks often travel behind sting rays or larger sharks hoping for a morsel of food that gets stirred up from the bottom. Some jacks can be in the 12- to 15- pound range and provide a tremendous fight on a fly rod.
So if you need to get away this winter, think about coming to the Key West area and try your cast at some of our winter time fish.
Comments off
