The Itch to Fish: Going to The Florida Keys and Catching Something

 As a fisherman, it is almost impossible to go to the Florida Keys and not have the will to try and catch some fish. It becomes a bit of a struggle to find the spots, equipment, and time when fishing is not selectively on the itinerary for a group trip, but sometimes it just has to be figured out. With fish everywhere and so many "honey holes" that can be fished, the hardest part could just be finding the equipment when stopping at bait and tackle shops are not a priority if they are not within walking distance to a stop or destination with your colleagues or classmates during your trip.

 During our trip to the Florida Keys, our group stopped at Robbie's in Islamorada, which is voted the No. 1 place that all tourists should visit during their stay. This place has so much to offer, including snorkeling, kayaking, food, gift shops, stand-up paddleboarding, party-boat fishing (if you can finagle your way on to that boat somehow), etc. Below shows a picture of me feeding the tarpon and how big these fish actually grow to be.

It was planned for our groups and the two other groups that are coming to the Florida Keys the next two weeks to go kayaking throughout the mangroves around Robbie's for three hours. Beforehand, Dr. Z got into contact with one of the guys who works at the tourist site and asked if there was anyway that I could get my hands on a fishing pole and tackle. Luckily enough, they had rental poles and tackle for just $10.00 plus tax. What stunk about this deal is that the tackle was rusty, the fishing line was weak, and the rods and reels were not the best, but that just made the fishing a little more challenging. Given just hooks, we were given the option to buy frozen shrimp for $4.00 a bag. We were given a nice Hobie kayak that had two fishing rod holders, and a built-in cooler,  which made the fishing experience even better.

Here  is a link to Robbie's in Islamorada
https://robbies.com

 In just minutes into our kayaking adventure we were hooking into fish. We caught a diverse variety of species including mangrove snapper, pinfish, french grunts, and crevalle jacks. On the light tackle the fight in these small fish was surprisingly a lot of fun. Although it was our last stop and we didn't have much time we found the best spot to fish was out front of the kayak launching site at a concrete power line pole. That is where we caught the crevalle jacks and the fish were a bit larger in the deeper water. Other than that, a tip I could give for a fisherman looking to catch fish at this site is fishing structure in the mangroves like fallen branches and along the banks. I can't put into words how much fun I had fishing in this short amount of time, and I cannot wait to plan a trip to come back to strictly fish in the Florida Keys.

                                                                 Crevalle Jack

                                                                   Mangrove Snapper

                                                                     French Grunt

Pinfish

With many fish in this area, there is a chance that you will catch a fish that isn't picture above. Use the following link to try to help identify the fish you catch if you cannot identify it on your own.

http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/saltwater/