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DarrellP

Keys in January

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Going to Marathon in late January with family. My daughter's are grown and know how to cast a fly fairly well. Have a new Son in law that wants to learn. I am also taking some spinning rods. Any advice on wade fishing, flies to use, etc, would be appreciated. Taking some baitfish patterns (ep and blonds, deceivers), bunny jigs, shrimp, clousers, and crabs. Any help, please?

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I live 300 miles or so from the Keys ... and have never been there. No real desire to go, either. But, I hope you and the family have a great time.

 

I'm sure there'll be plenty of helpful information before too much time passes.

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The shallows around the Keys you want to fish... aren't very productive that time of year since the water is just too cold, mostly... That means there will still be barracuda and the occasional shark, though up on the flats... If you hit a warm spell (it does happen occasionally) then you might find a bonefish or two... Proof of that is that during winter most of the guides at Islamorada make the thirty mile run back to the north to fish around mainland Everglades (my area...) or all the small islands along the way (redfish, speckled trout, snook, etc). Actual wadeable flats anywhere in the Keys, though, are in short supply (and getting access to them without trespassing gets tougher and tougher). One such spot is the state Park on (one of the keys near Marathon - if I can remember the name I'll post it up....).

 

On the other hand this is prime time for bluewater sailfish (and everything else on the edges of the reefs) as well as prime time for anyone fishing the shallow water backcountry wrecks. That backcountry stuff is in less than thirty feet of water on the bayside of the Keys (and Marathon is a great starting point. Everything in the neighborhood - from cobia on down to snappers will show up in a chumline then - and fly fishing them is a treat since everyone else on board will also be able to score with spinning gear at the same time if you find the right guide... booking a guide though is a luxury for most - but well worth it if you can. You'll be able to score with the flies you have on any fish that comes up to chum, period.

 

Wish I had better news for you about the flats. One alternative for folks with spinning gear are all the bridges down in the Keys since every one of them holds fish - and any local tackle shop will be able to point you to the ones their customers fish off of... and how to fish them... One other alternative is to rent a kayak or two and paddle to the nearest small islands on the bayside of the Keys near where you're staying... Every island will have fish right next to it (all of the islands in the backcountry have a tiny channel around them that's usually loaded up with snappers, speckled trout, redfish, snook and others). You need to pick your days for this sort of stuff and probably look down towards the lower Keys (all the Keys between Marathon and Key West have a lot of smaller islands on the bayside - some of them very close for easy paddling...).

 

Hope this helps and sorry about the winter fishing near the Keys - but that's what you get when you're going after fish that aren't happy when water temperatures drop... like bonefish, permit, and tarpon...

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Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge. We will be staying on a canal with docks, I believe. I will give it a shot.

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