With Thanksgiving just around the corner I don’t even have to look at the calendar to tell that the fishing is heating up here in the Keys. I know that may sound like a “one liner” to some but fall is so productive here in the Keys both in the shallows and offshore.

This past week I’ve had the opportunity to do both types of fishing with great success. Inshore and flats have been active with permit being the main stay, followed closely by barracudas, jack crevalle and even the elusive bonefish still makes his way onto the flats in November. We’ve had the shots with the flyrod for permit but they eventually ate the live crab with no problem at all. Since the winds have made casting a bit more difficult, I always offer even my fly anglers the chance to hook a fish on bait if they want to. A few bonefish got our fly stuck in their mouth too. I was glad to see so many fish out on the flats after Wilma ripped through here. The fishing seems to bounce back quicker than anything.

Yesterday I took a good client of mine offshore. He’s fished the flats many times and we’ve had some great experiences tangling with tarpon in recent years. We had a tough time finding bait. It cut our tuna fishing short of what could have been but we managed to muster up one tuna on a life bait and he caught a rainbow runner on a fly. This fish was pretty big for the species and fought real hard. I wish we could have stayed out there longer but it was pretty rough and bait was certainly an issue.

I’m heading out to California to see my family for Thanksgiving but when I get back it will be back to work and a promise of some great fishing.