posted by admin on May 2

Key West fish range from inshore mangrove snappers you can catch right off a dock, to offshore pelagic species like marlin and tuna. On the reef, typical Key West fish caught are grouper, snapper, and mackerel. Yellowtail snapper are very common and extremely good to eat. In fact, the most common Key West fish targeted by party boats are Yellowtail.

Another tasty Key West fish is grouper. Black grouper are found all over the reef, six miles out and further. These are bottom-fished and prized for their tasty flesh. Bottom fishing can also produce other grouper, like Reds and Jewfish. Jewfish, or Goliath Grouper, are sport fish only, protected by Federal law. Because of their mammoth size, they are extremely fun to catch.

Trolling can yield Key West fish like mahi mahi, wahoo, and sailfish. For these species, go further out than the main reef to deeper waters. Trolling takes time but can yield lots of action once a big pelagic fish is hooked. Deep sea fishing in Key West is great partly because of the species brought in by the Gulf Stream, which sometimes is as close as two miles from Sand Key Light, on the reef near Key West.

Key West fish on the flats are your permit, tarpon, snook, sharks, bonefish, and barracuda (also found in deeper waters, as are the sharks). Lots of anglers who go flats fishing in Key West like to use fly rods and tackle. When you hook some of these Key West fish on fly, it’s pretty amazing, to say the least!