by John Kumiski
It lay just under the water's surface, apparently asleep, looking like a large, watersoaked log. It’s tail poked into the atmosphere as it dozed. A feathered fly with a steel barb landed gently, inches from its nose. You know, fish don't have eyelids, but I swear that tarpon blinked as it woke up. It contemplated the fly for a moment, then waved its pectoral fins and majestically rose to the fly. The streamer disappeared into the cave-like mouth and I set the hook, and set it again, and again, and again.
The tarpon recognized trouble when it suddenly appeared, and all at once all hell broke loose.
Background
The Florida Keys offer anglers some of the world's finest fishing. Thousands of people trek there every year to fish the transparent, tropical waters for tarpon, bonefish, permit, barracuda, snapper, sharks, and more. Certainly the Keys boast of a wide range of accommodations. But renting a houseboat and using it as a base of operations offers certain advantages that a motel room cannot.
There's a sense of adventure that comes with sleeping on a boat. You can cruise wherever your whim dictates. Should the fishing in an area be less than scintillating, or should you just want a change of scenery, the houseboat can be moved to another location with ease. You can anchor it right next to the place you want to fish. Then in the morning you simply roll out of your bunk and into your skiff and start casting. Very neat indeed!
Obviously if your base is near the fishing grounds you can easily hop back for a cold drink, a hot lunch, or a quick siesta. You can knock off if it gets too hot to fish and go back out later in the day when it's more comfortable. Houseboats offer anglers a tremendous amount of flexibility.
Where to Go
Houseboats can be rented at at Islamorada in the middleKeys. For rental information continue reading.
The vast area of the Florida Keys backcountry demands a lot of exploration from visiting anglers. Shoals, or banks as they're known in the Keys, separate large basins of deeper water from each other. Bonefish, permit, barracuda, and various types of sharks patrol the banks, while tarpon usually prefer the deeper water of the basins. The fish could be anywhere. Your first job will be to find them, for only after they were located can you attempt to catch any. For this search various resources are invaluable. Top Spot charts #N-207, N-208, and N-209 cover the upper Keys, middle Keys, and lower Keys, respectively. Stu Apte’s classic book, Fishing the Florida Keys and Flamingo, is another tremendous resource. All are available from Argonaut Publishing Company.
www.terraserver.com has downloadable black and white aerial photos of all of North America. These photos show detail you could never get from a chart and are excellent tools for a visiting angler. Google Earth has excellent color aerial photos.
Capt. Ben Taylor has written a book called A Flyfisher’s Guide to the Florida Keys that has lots of information for the visiting angler.
As another idea, you could hire a guide for a day and have him show you around, then set off on your own to see what you can discover.
Renting a Houseboat
I’ve rented houseboats from an operation called Houseboat Vacations of the Florida Keys, PO Box 1202, Islamorada, FL 33036, (305) 664-4009. The boats are 42 feet long, fully equipped with kitchen, bath, and sleeping provisions, and have an upper deck which is perfect for stargazing and enjoying cold malt beverages. Houseboaters must supply their own food, beverages, and toiletries.
Renting a houseboat is pretty straightforward. First gather up a crew and decide on your dates. Next call the boat rental company and determine costs and availability. If they have a boat available on the dates you want they will require a deposit in order to hold it for you. Your responsibility is to show up on time on the stated day. Most companies will keep your deposit if you cancel too close to the reserved dates.
You don't need a lot of boating experience to operate the vessel, either. Included with all rentals is an orientation and instruction session on the boat given by a licensed captain. The session covers safety, boat handling, navigation, rules of the road, courtesy, docking and anchoring, safe operation of the stove, refrigerator, and other equipment, and answers to any other questions you may have. At the end of the session you will be confident that you can operate the vessel in a competent manner.
Since I live in Florida I was able to tow my skiff down to the Keys. A fishing boat for each pair (or trio) of anglers is a necessity. Various marinas in the Keys rent skiffs. The folks at the houseboat rental office can give information on skiff rentals. Be sure to ask about push poles and other flats fishing apparatus. There’s no sense in renting a boat that won’t meet your needs.
You can also rent and use kayaks for your fishing vessels. Fly fishing from a kayak requires climbing a learning curve, but it can be tremendous fun and can be very effective. It’s best if you intend to fish from a kayak that you be very self sufficient and very willing to wade. Casting from one isn’t impossible, but it isn’t particularly easy, either. Rental kayaks are widely available in the Keys. Again, the houseboat rental company will have information on kayak rentals.
One thing which I especially enjoy during my houseboat trips is the fellowship that our crew shares while on the boat. We don't step on dry land for five days. We eat dinner together every evening, meals prepared by two different crew members every night. After the dishes are washed we get on the upper deck, watch the stars, enjoy a frosty malt beverage, and exchange tall tales, information, and the occasional bad joke. We get off the boat much closer friends than we were when we got on.
On our Islamorada trip we anchored behind Shell Key. There wasn't much need to move around as we had fine fishing for both bonefish and tarpon very close to us. Although we would have liked to catch a permit as well, we only saw two in five days, and never got a good shot at either.
Renting a houseboat in the Florida Keys offers an exciting alternative to staying in a motel room. Bring your friends, bring your family, bring your fishing tackle and your snorkeling gear. Be prepared to relax and have fun and have the adventure of a lifetime!
What to Bring
What do you bring on a houseboat trip? The same things you would bring if you stayed in a motel, plus food and water (and other beverages). The boat is fully equipped with dishes and cookware, towels and linens, navigation charts and other boating equipment. You need your own personal items, fishing tackle, and enough food and liquids to sustain yourselves for as long as you intend to stay out. A cooler (or more than one) and some ice is a good idea- the refrigerator is small so it won't hold much.
We prepare most of our food at home and heat it up on the boat. This saves time when dinner came around. Typically we’re completely dedicated to fishing, hitting it hard from dawn until dusk. None of us want to spend a lot of time preparing food at night after a long day on the water. If your crew isn't completely dedicated to the pursuit of finned marine creatures, the gas stove and oven (it’s small- don’t bring a turkey along!) and the separate gas grill will cook most anything you care to carry on and prepare.
Fly fishers ought to carry a variety of tackle. A small rod like a 4- or 5- weight supplies fun for snapper and other panfish. Eight- through 12-weights are needed for bonefish, permit, tarpon, and sharks. For most Keys fly fishing floating lines work best, but for tarpon the clear, intermediate sink-tips or full intermediate sinking lines definitely have their uses. Of course you need a variety of flies (especially crab patterns!), and bringing tying equipment isn’t a bad idea.
If you choose to rent a houseboat for an Everglades trip, bonefish and permit won’t be targets. The tackle for the snook and redfish you’ll be targeting instead will be similar, though. Sight fishing is much more difficult in the Everglades. The water tends to be both deeper and dirtier than in the Keys.
Most flats in the Keys backcountry are soft and aren't usually thought of as wadable. You can bring devices called “mudders.” These mudders work something like snowshoes, spreading the wearer's weight over a larger area, allowing the soft bottom to support him.
They allow you to chase the fish on foot; however, it’s still not easy.
Remember to bring a hat, swimsuit, and lots of sunscreen. Snorkeling gear is entirely appropriate. A sense of adventure is an invaluable item. Be prepared to have a whale of a good time!
Boat Rental Companies in the Keys (and Vicinity)
-Islamorada Houseboat Rentals, (305) 664-4009.
- Barefoot Houseboats , 120 Plantation Dr, Islamorada, (305) 942-0045
Just a word about another option for a Keys adventure. An outfit on Big Pine Key called Outpost Marine Fishing Adventures offers trips on its 61 foot Hatteras, the Outpost. These trips are fully outfitted, and run in the Keys, the Marquesas, the Dry Tortugas, and the Bahamas. You can contact them at 305.304.2928 , or see their website at www.bahamasbonefishing.com.
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This article was written by John Kumiski of John Kumiski Outdoors and Travel. Contact him at his website www.johnkumiski.com or via email at john@spottedtail.com. Copyright John Kumiski.
John Kumiski 's most recent fishing guidebooks are How and Where to Catch Redfish in the Indian River Lagoon System (Argonaut Publishing Company), and Fishing Florida's Space Coast (Argonaut Publishing Company).
John Kumiski's newest book is Redfish on the Fly- A Comprehensive Guide.
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