Florida Keys

It was not by chance that Hemmingway, a passionate sport fisherman, chose Key West as his personal refuge to rest, relax, write and fish. He kept house here for 30 years. The charm of this unique destination continues to attract sport fishermen from all over the world. According to IGFA, more international records have been broken in the Florida Keys than any other fishing destination in the world. There are 225 species of sport fish which inhabit the waters of the Keys. The diversity of habitat make it a paradise for the salt water sport fisherman.

On one side of the islands we find extensive flats of white sand and sea grass. These are ideal areas to fish for bonefish and tarpon. The later is considered the king of sportfish species for the flyfisherman in the Keys. Nevertheless, tarpon take bait or artificial lures as readily as flies. When fly fishing for them we use fast boats equipped with casting platforms. From this elevated position on the bow of the boats the flyfisherman has greater visibility allowing him to locate fish and excute long range casts. In order to be effective, one should be able to cast distances of 20 to 30 meters.

On the north side of the islands in the so called back country, we find protected mangroves where juvenile tarpon adn other fish find refuge. The backcountry also offers fantastic fishing for sea bass, permit, redfish, snook, snapper, cobia, jewfish, grouper, sharks among other species. Outside of the reefs the sea floor falls away quickly. Wreck fishing is extremely popular os también es muy popular as these structures provide shelter to amberjack, cubera, shark and many other large fish.

A bit farther out, about 20 miles from Key West we find the area called “The Wall” (la pared). In these deep waters we fish for pelaegic species including blue and white marlin, sailfish, dolphin and a variety of tuna among other species. The wall marks the edge of the continental platform where the ocean floor falls away vertically to depths of over 600 meters. Here the golfstream collides with the wall creating and upwelling of nutrient rich waters from the depths of ocean. The result is an area rich in plankton and enormous schools of small fish that feed on it. These in turn attract large predators in the form of a variety of tunas and billfish.

The famous “cracks” in the wall, East Crack, Middle Crack y West Crack create known hotspots for marlin fishing where the cracks create valleys that currents follow creating additional upwellings. These spots are legendary among marlin fishermen and this is where you will find some of the world’s best marlin fishing professionals. Without a doubt this is also a place any authentic marlin aficcionado will want to fish at least once in his or her lifetime