Jeffery,
it is awesome information! It is much more than I expect! If it is either cold weather or bad January, I still will give it a try! I got a room for one night in Marathon area and I should be able to scan the area as much as I can. Yeah I will bring extra flies -weight and unweight, sink and float lines, etc. See how the weather would be when I got there. If I caught one of them -only if one, I still would be happy man - because I never catch all kind fishes you mentioned! Thanks again!
Richard
From: tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com [mailto:tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Jeffrey Silvan
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 1:07 AM
To: tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Fly Fishing the Florida Keys
An 8 wt is good for redfish, trout, and bonefish, but will be on the lighter side for tarpon. Remember, the Florida record is over 240 lbs caught off Key West, although they aren't common to that size by any means.
Unfortunately, the end of January isn't the best time to target most of the species you mentioned. Bonefish will basically be non-existent this time of year unless there's several days of unseasonably warm weather, but they still won't be there in big numbers. Tarpon will be few and far between as well. Basically all just babies, and in pretty sparse numbers.
What you end up targeting and where will be highly dependent upon water temperature. No matter what, your best bet will be the specks, since they tend to still stay active in colder weather (again, by Florida standards). If it is warmer, you'll find them on the shallow flats with some snook and reds. If it is colder, the snook will probably shut down. The reds tend to be very spooky and picky all winter, especially when it is colder, but are definitely catch-able. If it is warmer, a floating line is probably fine since the fish will likely only be in a couple feet of water. Keep your eye out for tailing reds on a low tide on the warm days. If it is colder, the fish will likely be stacked up on the deep edge of the grass flats and on the channel edges. In this case, the sinking line will be useful because you'll need to get the fly down 6-8 feet at least. The good thing about colder weather this time of year is the fish tend to be more dense once you find them, but finding them is tougher. Bring crab flies, shrimp flies, and spoon flies. Your general baitfish flies should work too, particularly mullet imitations. You'll want both weighted and unweighted variations.
Black Drum and sheepshead will also be active (and a good option if it is colder, but not sure how they take to the fly). Barracuda will actually be a great option too. The big guys are extremely active on the flats during the winter, and are tons of fun on the fly. I'd prefer a 9 or 10 wt, but you should be able to get buy with an 8wt. For those, you'll want large flashy baitfish imitations with a fast, jerky retrieve. Needlefish imitations work great. If you tie your own flies, you'll want something long, preferably with a tandem hook - one in the middle of an imitation and another at the back. Cuda's tend to try to slash the fish in half first, so it is pretty critical to have a hook in the middle of the imitation. The small (but fun) sharks will definitely be around too - think 10-25 lbs. You might even find a cobia on the flats following the sharks and rays. Jacks will be active this time of year too.
You'd need more than a kayak and an 8wt to do this, but this time of year is pretty outstanding for sailfish. Not sure if you'd want to go through the expense of chartering a boat, but the sails are a blast.
This was probably far more info than you were looking for, but hopefully it helps.
On Tue, Jan 22, 2013 at 10:19 PM, Richard <rlinpager@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi - I just found and read this thread because I am going down to FL last week of this month and have some projects to be done in Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach. I thought I would take extra one day to Key West for bonefish and tarpon. It looks like that I would stop at Bahia Honda State park (Rob and Bobdrinks mentioned it) and Card Sound Bridge. Yeah I will bring fold kayak with me. I also will stop by Tampa for 1 or 2 days - hope find free time for redfish and sea trout in Old Tampa Bay. I have bass/pike line 8 wt - is it ok? Do I have to get sink or float line for salt water? The pattern would be crab, shrimp ( I have 2" long - good?), and half/half or clouser (5 to 6")
I don't see Tom's report - it has been a year.
If anyone can throw more information, it would be helpful - Thanks.
Richard
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