The Florida Keys is the only place in the continental United States that can boast of a living coral reef. As a matter of fact, the coral ridge runs for more than 200 miles, making it the second largest coral reef in the world. For those who are not familiar with the Keys, they are a set of small islands on the southern tip of Florida. Highway 1, called the Overseas Highway, connects them all. The first Key you will find is Key Largo. At the very end of the Overseas Highway is the southern most point in the United States, Key West.
Significance of the Reef
A living coral reef is a major hub of ocean life creatures. Where there are coral reefs, there are small fish, and where there are small fish there are larger fish. With 200 miles of coral reef, there are millions of fish to catch that live in and around this habitat. You won't really see any coral reef type fishing until you get to Marathon.
Accommodations
A typical Florida Keys fishing resort sometimes includes rooms with a kitchenette area. It includes the use of one of the resort boats with the option to hire a boat captain if you aren't comfortable piloting your own craft. You also will need a license and be able to handle the gear. Piloting your craft allows you to decide when to leave and begin fishing. In deep-sea fishing you will typically get catch fish in the early morning and in the cool of the afternoon. During the hottest part of the day, it's best to get back to the resort and relax in a hammock or cook what you caught earlier.
Backcountry or Offshore Fishing
Many of the resorts in the Keys offer the alternatives of backcountry---or backwater---fishing and offshore fishing. If you are looking for snapper or grouper or some of the smaller fish, you may want to try chartering a boat for the backcountry or bay fishing experience. If you want to go after marlin, swordfish and sharks, you'll need to choose the offshore fishing. Either way, it is a rare occasion that you come back empty handed from a Florida Keys fishing trip. If you prefer the smaller fish and the backwater fishing, stay north of the Seven Mile Bridge in Marathon as you'll need to be close to the bays of the area.
Deep-Sea Fishing
As far as those images in your mind of Opie sitting at the banks with his fishing pole, that is not offshore or deep-sea fishing. True, the action doesn't start until the bait is in the water, but if you hook a 50-pound grouper, or 70-pound plus sailfish, you are going to be working out just trying to get the fish close enough to pull it in. Sometimes it takes an hour or longer of pulling, reeling and dashing from side to side on the boat to land your prize. That's fishing in the Florida Keys.
After the Day is Over
Many of the resorts leave you to cook your own food, and you are also on your own for recreation time. A few of the good resorts in the Keys feature restaurants with the freshest seafood in the state. Some of the resorts provide a private area for their guests to lounge in hammocks and wait for the next day or wait for the sun to go down so they can set out again to start fishing, this time for sharks.
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