Fishin Frenzy in the Florida Keys

• Alright, here's my first blog. If you're reading, I hope you enjoy. Over spring break I headed down to the Florida Keys. Flew into Miami, then drove down to Key Largo, Florida. We stayed at the Ocean Pointe Resort Suites. The rooms were large and comfortable. Theres even a small marina and boat landing there and complimentary boat slips for you.

• So here starts the fishing. Started off using some squid I bought at a local bait & tackle shop. Don't buy the frozen shrimp!!! It sucks! So when you are searching for bait I suggest dead or live shrimp(NOT FROZEN), or the frozen squid. Also, Dead or live pin fish work great also. If you're running out of bait while fishing, try cutting up a fish that you've caught. That fresh meat makes the fish go crazy and it is also much tougher so you won't lose your bait as much. You can find those at most bait & tackle shops, gas stations, and in the Keys; The Winn Dixies. ----Sorry I rambled on and on there, back to the fishing.----
  
  
• Once again, I started off using cut up squid on a 1/8 ounce(Because it wasn't too deep)* jig head. When jigging squid, try to cut up the squid in thin strips. Fold it over and double-hook it through the middle of the strip. The action of the squid strip makes the fish go crazy, I reccomend this technique. While jigging it slowly, I caught a few grunts and yellowtail snapper. Nothing big but a start to the week of fishing

*Depending on the depth of water, a different ounced jig head is needed. Of course heavier for deeper water and lighter for shallow water. They usually range from 1/16 ounce to 1/2 ounce.

• I continued to fish around the marina a few times but had the same results. Nothing too big but ended up catching 21-(Consisting of grunts, yellowtail snapper, pinfish, and a few small barracuda)
  
  
• Before I get into the offshore fishing, lets lead into BRIDGE FISHING. While traveling down to the Southernmost tip in Key West, there are hundreds of bridges, big and small, that you pass. Almost all of them are fishable and most even have a bridge next to them made for fishing or at least have a path that leads under the bridge. I fished 2 of these bridges and had some success. One bridge I reccomend is Bud'N'Mary's marina's bridge. Many fish under there. Very easily accesible and a fun fishing time for everyone. Once again I suggest jigging shrimp, squid, pinfish, or artificial shrimp that I will talk about later. Or a simple hook with any of the baits above. Buy some small split-shot weights to use, just cast out, let it sit, and work the bites. Both methods provided fish for me. After an hour or so of fishing, I ended up catching 10 fish. (4 needlefish, 6 jacks).
  


• Now on to the next bridge. I don't recall the name of this bridge It is after the 7 mile bridge in Big Pine. Somewhere between Mile marker 25-35. It is a big bridge with a small bridge next to it set aside for fishing. I hooked up with 2 LARGE Barracuda and a massive tarpon 100+ pounds. Didn't land a thing but was only there 30 minutes. All the bridges are promising to catch fish, so enjoy.

• Now onto the good stuff, the backcountry guided fishing! For our guide we went with Oscar Wijtenburg from Florida keys Anglers orginazation. We went out of Islamorada, Florida. It was a good choice and worth the money. If you have money saved up for a good fishing experience try and book a guide or charter for a 1/2 day or full day like I did. It's expensive but a great experience. Ended up jigging live shrimp and artificial shrimp* on a 1/4 ounce jighead. Ended up the day catching 30 fish even by myself. Fish caught: Nice speckled sea trout, big pinfish, Many jack(some up to 5 pounds), many mangrove snapper(one or two very large ones), a few bluerunners up to 4 or 5 lb., a few catfish, and a huge 2and1/2 foot needlefish(the biggest my guide had seen). Heres a few pictures--

*The artificial shrimp I highly reccomend is Berkley Gulp 3'' New Penny Shrimp. I'll include a picture for you.

• Heres an option for the avid fisherman without the big wallet. A party fishing boat. In Key West on my last full day there I decided I needed to go out and fish again. So for $53.50 I hopped aboard the Party Boat called the Tortuga. DEFFINITELY WORTH THE MONEY! Not only is it cheap, they provide bait, tackle, and rods, and even clean your fish for a small fee. I highly reccomend a party boat for a cheap day of great fishing. I also caught 30 or more on this boat in the 4 hours I fished. It was bottom fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and I caught a few different species. (Lane Snapper, Yellowtail Snapper, Mutton Snapper, and Grunts.) Other passengers caught Grouper and Spanish Mackeral. I lost a large mackeral myself right at the boat! But once again the boat was called the Tortuga IV. I brought home a few cleaned mutton and yellowtail snapper and had them cooked for a cheap price directly across from the Tortuga's boat slip at a restaurant called Dantes. It was delicous and a great end to a great day and trip of fishing. Here is a video of the Tortuga IV feeding the tarpon.


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• So 91 fish in all, not a bad trip at all.

• So if you read all this, I really appreciate it. I'll be blogging after almost every time I fish to let you all in on my fishing success and tactics. COMMENTS ARE VERY APPRECIATED! Okay, So long fisherman, I'l be back soon with my next fishing adventure. Hope you keep reading. --Taylor Sharp