Flats Fishing in Key West, Florida

 

El Jefe Salt Series

 

My wife Heather has been looking at a website a buddy of mine turned us onto called scottscheapflights.com.  He tells me he's able to book super cheap flights for his family, so we decided to give it a look.  A few months later, my wife texted me and said we could fly on Delta from Des Moines, IA into Key West, Florida through Atlanta for $225 each, I said what any flats fisherman would say...BOOK IT.  I don't know about you but that's a cheap flight into Key West.  

September in the Keys can be interesting, you will generally see at least one thunderstorm a day moving through, and sometimes many more.  It can also be pretty hot.  Most of the guides I know down there were either booked or out of town.  I was able to find a gentleman to take us out for the day.  

 

Thunderstorm moving in near Key West, Florida

 

We packed up our new El Jefe Salt combos, I brought two with me on this trip.  El Jefe Salt, four section eight weight, and six section in eight weight.  We rigged them both up Keys style with a crab fly which is great for bonefish and permit.  

 

El Jefe Salt - Packable 6 Section Combo

 

The morning was a little dicey.  We launched around 7:40am directly into rain showers on our way out to the flats near Key West.  It's been a few years since I've been out on the flats, so the rain didn't bother me much.  My wife may have been a bit less enthused about the rain, but she is a trooper and toughed it out.  When we made it to the first flat and began to pole, the winds picked up.  I've been out in winds like this before 25-30 miles per hour, they can be very difficult to fish in.  The main issue is that your boat is blowing super fast down the flat, and you can come up on fish too quickly to get a good cast out there.  Casting has its challenges, but practicing casting in wind can help with this a ton.  We also had difficulties spotting fish until they were right on us.

 

Somewhere over the Rainbow…

 

That was the case most of the morning in this heavy wind, with a few clouds mixed in.  Clouds are not great because it's very difficult to see the fish in cloudy conditions.  We would spot a fish, and it would spook before we could even present a fly.  As you can imagine, this is frustrating, but I didn't let it bother me.  I was in fact out on the flats with one of our fly rods in my hands, staring into the blue, looking for permit and bonefish.  It's an insanely relaxing way to spend the day.  As a huge bonus for me, I got to spend the day relaxing in my zen state with my wife.

 

Peaceful Day on the Flats

 

The morning brought us a few what I would call near shots.  Normally you would see a fish, present a fly, and if they refused it, you would count that as a shot.  We really didn't get any real shots in the morning, but I still felt really relaxed.  We broke for lunch on a nice looking flat.  While we ate, it seemed like the wind calmed down a bit.  That was a welcome sign, and we set out for a new set of flats for the afternoon.  

 

You Never Know What You Will Find on the Flats Near Key West

 

The afternoon was looking up, the wind was down, the clouds were pretty spread out, and we were again polling a super shallow flat.  On this flat, it appeared like we could have a chance to see some tailing fish.  When flats fishing for bonefish and permit on a low tide, you can see these fish "tail" when they aim their body down towards the sand to eat something, their tail pops out of the water.  This is an epic condition because you can see these tails from a long ways, and  you know they are feeding.  On this flat we began to see tails popping out in groups of two and four.  There is one issue with this situation, the water is pretty shallow, and the fish can become very spooky.  This is definitely the case for permit, and generally less of the case for bonefish.  It was unfortunately the case for these Key West bonefish.  We would get close enough to present a fly, attempt to make a cast, and watch the school scatter the second I lifted my rod.  This is frustrating, I didn't see much of an issue accept perhaps the pole was making too much noise when our guide attempted to move the boat.  

We were able to get two to three legitimate shots at these tailing bonefish, which is extremely exciting, and also a bit disappointing when they didn't eat.  I know that I screwed up one of the shots because I was casting to a bonefish and was picking up the fly to recast as it turned to the right.  Unfortunately, I didn't see the second bonefish on the left that was swimming to my fly, and I inadvertently pulled the fly away from it.  That was unfortunate for sure.  

 

 

The next legitimate shot we had I put the fly right into a school, gave it a couple strips, and boom, we were connected.  Then a small barracuda jumped out of the water with my fly.  That little thief stole the fly from the bonefish.  I landed it, and in my anger and this little opportunistic fish, I didn't even get a photo before I released it.  Well, at least we didn't get skunked!  

At the end of the day, we headed back to the dock pretty much empty handed.  I was very excited and grateful I got to spend the day with my wife and best friend Heather on the flats of Key West.  I was also grateful she came with me to take some killer photos of our new El Jefe Salt Series.  There will be days like this on the saltwater flats, I've had them before, and will have them again.  

Until next time, tight lines my friends!

Jeff

 

Jeff & Heather Ditsworth in Key West