We have just experienced some of the BEST flats fishing this week that I think I have ever witnessed. The weather has been warm and sunny and just about perfect for all our game species to be happy and ready to eat.

The first CUDA BOWL tournament was February 4th and 5th, 2011 and we had a terrific turnout for our first year. Twelve boats and seventeen anglers participated. We had some terrific awards including beautiful metal sculptures by Fish Bone Designs of Key West. Thank you Adam for your hard work on the sculptures they were a big hit with everyone. The other part of the prize for the winning angler and guide in each division, fly and spin, was a substantial bar tab at Hurricane Hole Bar and Grill.

Congratulations to Ben Gravett who was guided by Capt. Pat Bracher of Fish Overtime Charters. They took the light tackle spin division with three large barracuda each day. Congratulations to Capt. Scott Irvine who was guided by Capt. Bill Stockton for first place in the fly division. Irvine's first day was spectacular with three barracuda on fly and three on spin to max out his fish for the day. The second day Irvine went on to score high again in both divisions winning the fly division by a great margin.

But the barracuda fishing was only the tip of the iceburg. The permit fishing was unreal and the tarpon seemed to have arrived too. Most of our teams managed to max out on barracuda and then take advantage of such great weather and great fishing. There were even a few cobia caught too.

Please check out BLACK TAILED DEVILS the new movie strictly about catching permit on fly brought to you by 406 Productions. This movie was ten years in the making with some of the sickest footage of permit fishing caught on film. For anyone who ever wanted to catch the most sought after gamefish on a fly, this movie is for you. Look for a glimpse of it on the Fly Fishing Film Tour coming to Key West on March 13, 2011 at the Tropic Cinema on Eaton Street in Key West.

 

July 5, 2010

The shallow waters have been kind to us the past few weeks. Plenty of big tarpon are still abound and traveling the ocean and backcountry edges of the flats.

We've been getting out early to get the best bite on calmer days and have been successful.

Bonefish are plentiful all over the Lower Keys. It's still a great time for the Grand Slam (tarpon, bonefish, permit) and it will be all the way into the fall months.

The Gulf Oil Spill has of course been a concern for us, but the center of the spill is 475 miles away. The latest NOAA reports put us farther away from damage, it changes constantly but after this much time things are still in our favor and our waters are clean and fishable.

September and October are both terrific months for fishing the flats in the Keys. The warmer weather starts to taper off and there are permit, bonefish and smalller tarpon (with some larger ones mixed in). It is a terrific time to fish here and provides some wading opportunities that are accessible by boat.

You can reach Captain Justin Rea at 305-744-0903 or email justin@flyfishingthekeys.com

Capt. Justin Rea holds up this 30- pound permit caught in early April by Louis Salemy of Boston, MA.

April 23, 2010

Finally we have caught a break from the cold weather and the sunny skies are back and the water is warming up.

Earlier this month Louis Salemy of Boston, MA landed one of the largest permit I have seen in a long time. The fish was 30- pounds! Congrats to Louis on a job well done with the fly rod.

For those of you who are tarpon junkies, yes they are here and the fishing could not be better. The action is there from dawn until after dusk, you may have to give it a few shots to get a good pod of fish that has not been pounced on by a few boats earlier in the day.

Darker flies will always work better in the early morning, and switch up as the day progresses. For those who shy away from the silver king, there are plenty of bonefish and permit to be had all over the Lower Keys.

 

February 2, 2010

The Keys have had a bout of cold weather at the beginning of January that sent our fishing into hibernation. It was unfortunate circumstances but the latter half of the month proved to be terrific for barracuda, permit and shark fishing.

We spent a lot of the month just fishing for what was available and in January it can be plentiful. Our days on the water proved to be good for huge barracuda, jacks, bluefish and mackerel. There was even a 21- pound permit on fly caught by my good friend Lance Gleason of Missoula, Montana. You can check out his videos on YouTube by searching for 406Productions.

As for February, we've got a fresh start to a new month of fishing and as the days get warmer and the humidity starts to rise, it's just a matter of time before the first string of tarpon come across the flats.

February and March will be the best months for stalking permit on the flats. Some of our largest permit are here at this time and they are willing to eat.

So we keep our fingers crossed for no more cold fronts (or just the minimum) and get ready to welcome spring.

 

November 26, 2009

The start of the holiday season brings clear skies to the Keys after a bout of torrential rain over the past few days. We are thankful for a lot of things today, for the beautiful place we live in, the friends we have and the nice variety of fish there are in the waters around the Keys.

December through February can present many opportunities for fly and spin fishing. Barracuda, permit, jacks, sea trout, ladyfish and snapper are regulars on the flats and area basins. The occasional bonefish and tarpon are sure to make an appearance if the weather is right.

I hope the holiday season brings you joy this year and best wishes for a great 2010!

 

July 25, 2009

Well the pressure is off for a little while. This past week I fished the Del Brown Invitational Permit Tournament with good friend Greg Vincent, co-owner of H2O Bahamas. This was Vincent's second year fishing the tournament with me. Glad to say that he was on his game and as a result we caught 7 permit on fly in 3 days of fishing. Five of the fish were caught on day 2, a record for Vincent (and for me as a guide).

We were both thankful for our final fish on day 3 to seal the deal and win the 2009 Del Brown. Congrats to all the anglers in this tournament who caught fish.

That should be a good indication of how the permit fishing has been this month. The Del Brown set a record with 27 fish caught over 3 days.

The bonefishing has also been excellent both out west of Key West and in our backcountry. Tarpon are starting to thin out but there are still some good opportunities in the early morning to find some smaller fish up near the mangroves.

 

May 7, 2009

The weather is just getting better every day here in the Lower Keys. Sunshine and lighter winds are starting to prevail which means the tarpon should start moving on the flats a little better in the coming days. Last week was tough with high winds and some cloud cover but we managed to get a few fish to the boat and jump a couple others.

Bonefishing is phenominal right now. The bonefish range from 5- to 8- pounds in our back yard on Sugarloaf Key. They are a great fighting fish and are a lot of fun if you just want to take a break from the mighty tarpon.

There are still some permit on the flats but they are smaller right now because the majority of permit are still offshore on the wrecks and rock piles spawning. There are some bigger permit around but few and far between.

I still have some available dates around July 4 weekend for tarpon, bonefish and permit. July is a perfect time to target the slam. August and September are also great months for relaxed fishing as the boating pressure diminishes greatly by then.