4, 6 or 8 hour charters

Out in the Blue Water, outside the shelf... trolling the weed lines or jigging a wreck... this is the stuff of life!  One of the reasons Key West and the Florida Keys is so highly regarded for deep water fishing is that many of the larger pelagic species such as billfish, king mackeral, tuna and so forth are in constant migration through the area at one time of year or another.  Fishing in the “blue water” is king, everything else pales.  Some of you already know what I mean; Some of you, unfortunately, never will. Make the choice, this time, this holiday you’re going to do it... You are Going Offshore.  When I say “dolphin” understand I am referring to El Dorado, Mahi Mahi, not the mammal & not the porpoise. This is probably the ocean’s fastest growing fish, it’s beautiful, it’s delicious & it fights like hell.  Now then, I might start to sound like a broken record on this issue, but if you’re going to pay a good chunk of change to go fishing, listen up:

You might notice that we don’t have 20 charter boats in each category to choose from... that’s because we set our criteria for a good trip really high:

There are 3 very important qualities that we demand of a charter operation before we recommend them, don’t go with a charter that doesn’t honestly possess all three:

1. They have to be great people, the kind you would invite over for dinner.

2. They have to have and maintain great equipment that doesn’t fail.

3. They have to be not only skilled but also talented fishermen, they catch.

This combination is very hard to find and you don’t get it from a brochure.

Without these three qualities they aren’t worth your time or your money.

Now Picture this... You’re relaxing with your girlfriend or buddies, reclined in that comfortable fighting chair drinking a beer, casually glancing at the bait you’re dragging, what an incredible day! The mate tells a joke and everybody laughs, man this is great. Suddenly you see this gorgeous animal (pictured at right) come ripping across your wake and slam your bait at 25+ mph, the rod in the holder next to you doubles over, the captain shouts “fish on”. You think the rod is going to snap, but the mate is already on it. Incredibly, he jams the butt of the rod into your seat between your legs and yells “hang on”! Your heart is already pounding, the reel screams as a yellow, blue & green streak of a jewel leaps from the crystal clear blue water behind the boat and the fight is on... Wooo hooo!

This is only the beginning!  Welcome to Big Game - Off-Shore fishing.

 -Private Charters

 -Individual Seats

 Some charters we highly recommended:

3 Critically Hard-to-Find

 Elements of great charter operation that we look for & that a brochure won’t tell you:

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What kind of fish do you want to catch?... Call us with a request!

Hook Up!

Call Now for Reservations & detailed info: 1-800-733-5397

 4, 6 or 8 hour charters

Don’t misunderstand, Inshore Fishing does not at all mean small fish, unless of course you consider a 150 lb. tarpon, a 25 lb. black grouper or a 200 lb bull shark to be small!  Inshore fishing means just not in the Atlantic “blue water” or 50 miles out on a Navy communications tower in the Gulf. It encompasses  fishing the reef and inside the reef, near-shore waters of the Gulf and some of it’s closer wrecks, mangrove channel fishing in the back-country and anywhere in and around the 100’s of wet and dry islands.  Here is a short list of some of the fish you’ll go after: Barracuda, Cobia, Black, Red & Nassau Grouper, Pompano, Gray Snapper (mangrove), Mutton Snapper, Red Snapper, Snook, Yellowtail Snapper, Tarpon, Bull Shark, hogfish (hog snapper) and you’ll probably inadvertently land a few Bermuda Chubs, Porkfish and French Grunts.  You might even come across a few unusual catches such as a Moon fish, Moray Eel or a Southern Stingray.   The type of boat you will be on will generally be an open fisherman or cuddy-cabin style boat in the 18’ to 30’ range of length, but we have also included head and party fishing boats in this category too.  Flats and Fly Fishing will be covered on it’s own page because of the special nature of the tackle and interest in it. I’ve noticed that fresh water lake fisherman seem to gravitate toward this type of fishing when in the Keys.  Understandable considering the similarity you feel casting in and around mangrove roots for snapper or working a channel ledge for grouper. Now... at the risk of sounding repetitive, there are 3 very important qualities that we demand of a charter operation before we send you to them, don’t go on a boat that doesn’t honestly possess all three:

1. They have to be great people, the kind you would invite over for dinner.

2. They have to have and maintain great equipment that doesn’t fail.

3. They have to be not only skilled but also talented fishermen, they catch.

This combination is very hard to find and you don’t get it from a brochure.

Without these three qualities they aren’t worth your time or your money. But when you Do connect with a high quality charter... life’s memories!

 -Private Charters

 -very rarely do they sell

 individual Seats

 Some charter operations

 that we highly suggest:

 Once Again...

3 Critically Hard-to-Find

 Elements of great charter operation that we look for & that a brochure won’t tell you:

____________________

Great Capt & Crew

Great Equipment

Skilled & Talented

__________________

Call Now for Reservations & detailed info: 1-800-733-5397

 4, 6 or 8 hour private

 charters only

O.K... One more time! Those 3 very important qualities that we demand of a charter operation before we refer you to them, don’t go on a boat that doesn’t honestly possess all three:

1. They have to be great people, the kind you would invite over for dinner.

2. They have to use and maintain great equipment that doesn’t fail.

3. They have to be not only skilled but also talented fishermen, they catch.

This is an incredibly hard-to-find combo, and you don’t get that info from a brochure.  Choose wisely and above all, just ask us for our advice, it is free.

The flats, the back-country... my words cannot do these pristine spaces justice. For our freshwater friends, my closest analogy might be the slower, shallower areas of a trout stream... not rapids, not pools but in between where the stream widens. Now close your eyes and visualize this, it’s 6 am, mist gently lifts from the water’s surface, only a hint of a ripple here and there as this languid crystalline liquid mass winds it's way past obstructions on the bottom. This is as close as I can come to bringing you the freshwater equivalent of the Keys shallows. Check out Marquesa- A Time & Place With Fish, where you live vicariously through Jeffrey Cardenas’ experiences in his gentle journey into the Marquesas; Keys that lie 20 miles or so West of Key West... then you will understand.  Bravo Jeff. Whether you are fly casting or using light spinning tackle or you bear only a camera, these unique places in the Keys back-country will leave an indelible vision in your mind forever. Try fly casting at least once down here, then write or call me and thank me later.  The fish? Permit, the elusive Bonefish, Tarpon, African Pompano, Snook and, as if that weren’t enough, a whole lot more. I will be developing a Florida Keys Game Fish Field Guide soon and the link will be included here at that time.  By all means call anytime for advice on guides, or even where to launch your own boat. -Hank-

 Some flats guides

 that we highly suggest:

 Bear in mind that many of the top guides are booked months in advance, indeed years ahead for certain weeks of the fishing year.

__________________

3 Hard-to-Find

 Elements of great flats guide that we look for that brochures won’t tell you:

Great People

Great Equipment

Skilled & Talented

__________________

Call Now for Reservations & detailed info: 1-800-733-5397