Boats Incorporated

The Florida Keys stretch some 100 miles out into the ocean and have water all around them and fish galore. Keys such as Islamorada have a huge reputation for world-class fishing but Key West wins the prize as the top spot because of the huge variety of fish that inhabit the oceans around the island. Fishing in the Florida Keys attracts anglers from around the world and for very good reasons.

The inshore fishing around Key West includes fishing for tarpon, permit or sharks, the reef offers snapper and grouper and offshore there’s a whole host of species including dolphin, sailfish, wahoo, kingfish, tuna and cobia. With the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other, there’s no excuse for having a poor day’s fishing whatever the weather conditions.

You’ll find a number of offshore boats operating out of Key West, our primary interest is light tackle fishing. If you’re not a keen angler you’ll be wondering what we are referring to, so let’s start with a quick explanation. The offshore boats tend to be bigger with a greater degree of luxury which might include air conditioned lounges and full bathrooms. They cruise around offshore towing a number of lures behind the boat and when a fish is hooked the designated fisher sits in a fighting chair to bring the fish to the boat. A light tackle boat is somewhat smaller, being somewhere around 26 – 30 ft long, with no accomodation and an open deck. Typically powered by twin outboards, they reach great speeds and are able to fish spots many miles from Key West. Each angler on board has a rod and reel, and when a fish bites it is up to the angler to strike and reel in the fish unaided. The offshore captains will normally operate in at least 200 ft of water whereas the light tackle boats are at home fishing anything between 20 ft deep for tarpon in the harbor to two or three hundred feet deep offshore whilst searching for sailfish.

You don’t have to be an experienced angler to go out on a light tackle boat, the skippers enjoy nothing better than seeing someone catch their very first fish. All of the skippers are very helpful and they’ll all do their best to ensure that you have a great day’s fishing, and maybe a fish or two to have prepared at one of the local seafood restaurants. All of the light tackle boats have an excellent selection of top quality tackle for anyone that doesn’t have their own tackle. All you need to take with you for a great day on the water is sunscreen, sunglasses a hat and your food and drink for the day.

Our next articles will describe in greater detail a day fishing for tarpon, tuna, sailfish or grouper, but for the time being we’d suggest that you to book a trip and catch some of our wonderful fish.