Light-Tackle Fishing - Lower Florida Keys Flats & Backcountry

   Light-tackle sport fishing has certainly found a home in the shallows of the lower Florida Keys. Offering a wide variety of techniques found very productive in catching aggressive saltwater species. Light-tackle fishing is best for someone looking to fully utilize their opportunities on a flats fishing charter. People who venture into the flats and backcountry with high hopes of catching allot of fish can do so when armed with a light-tackle spinning rod. Providing any of the lower Keys predatory fish with exactly what they are looking for in the form of live bait offers the easiest results. While a large selection of artificial forms of bait can be applied to these same fish when needing that touch of challenge on light-tackle.

    For those with little fishing experience, light-tackle fishing offers many simple methods found successful in flats & backcountry fishing. Casting a small bait at a far distance is a breeze when using a light-action spinning rod and reel wrapped with a light-test fishing line. If casting directly to a fish sounds a bit tedious, a ton of spots exist in the lower Keys backcountry where anglers can simply wait for gamefish to find their already perfectly placed bait. It’s all about having a good time, anyone can do this on light-tackle.

    When sight-fishing, and casting directly to gamefish in shallow water. Light-tackle fishing offers a very direct form of doing so. An easy to understand overhead cast can send a bait 100 ft when the rod and reel are properly outfitted. Being able to judge distance and properly utilize a cast are the main skills needed to enjoy the stalk and hunt for gamefish in shallow water. Those who are familiar with light-tackle fishing generally appreciate the ease of making the best of every opportunity given while flats fishing.

Light-Tackle Bonefishing

   Bonefish are typically sight-fished in shallow water and can be very sensitive to noise. Anglers must first do whatever possible to remain quiet while attempting to catch a bonefish in shallow water. When using light-tackle, a bit of weight must accompany a bait so to enable the distance needed in a cast to successfully lure a bonefish. If this weighted bait falls to close to a bonefish, the noise created from the bait’s small splash will send the bonefish fleeing. Anglers must simply take this into consideration and then lead the bonefish by a few feet when casting. When this is accomplished, bonefish often reward a light-tackle angler’s patiently accurate cast.

Light-Tackle Permit Fishing

    Sight-fishing for permit in shallow water is considered one of sport-fishing’s greatest challenges. Accepted as a very wary and intuitive fish, it should also be known that permit can be highly aggressive predators when in shallow water. Never is an angler better equipped for a permit’s challenging nature then with a light-tackle fishing rod and live bait. However, anglers must also be aware of the small window of opportunity present when attempting to catch this fish. Precision sums it up, if a timely and accurate cast can be made with live bait on light-tackle, it will pay off with a flats fishing trophy. The cast or placement of bait is the most important factor, the permit takes care of the rest.

Light-Tackle Tarpon Fishing

   It could be said that tarpon are the largest fish caught in the lower Florida Keys on a daily basis. The term light-tackle should be used wisely when referring to the actual catch of this fish. In-fact, tarpon are actually best caught and successfully released alive when using heavier forms of tackle. A tarpon’s unmatched endurance must literately be beaten in-order to leave them with enough to swim away with after release. Hooking large tarpon on light-tackle or fly for that matter will provide for the best first 15 minutes of any fish battle. Although it should be left at that, a tarpon battle should never exceed much more than a half hour, and if the case fits, anglers should then break them off. There is much more respect found in moving on to the next one, rather than landing an exhausted tarpon after a hour long fight. If a keepsake photo of a large tarpon is needed, grab a stout rod and reel with a line-class exceeding 30 lb. test. Further techniques found successful in light-tackle tarpon fishing are best described during a Lower Florida Keys tarpon fishing charter.

Best gamefish potential (tarpon, permit, bonefish)

Spring through Fall - March through December

Plentiful aggressive species (snapper, jacks, sea-trout, barracuda, sharks, etc)

Fall through Spring - September through May

When light-tackle fishing in the flats & backcountry, enough options exist to outweigh any of the various weather patterns the Key West area receives, wind or no wind, cool or warm. We are then simply left with the option in species given to the conditions and time of year.

For a Topnotch Light-Tackle Fishing Charter in the Key West & Lower Florida Keys area,

Contact Fishing Guide Capt Luke Kelly    phone: 305 - 304 - 3152    email: keyflat@me.com

Time of Year

& Conditions

for Lower Keys

Light-Tackle

Flats Fishing