Hooked Up Again

I'm headed to the keys this weeekend (short notice trip). I'll have my 25' Pursuit and wanted to do some tuna, dolphin, wahoo, sails fishing. I plan on trolling. Can anyone tell me of a marina/ramp where I can put in (will sleep on boat) and how far out do I need to run for this fishing? Any spots that will fish good? I plan on going all the way to key west but will stop earlier if it's better to do that. I ususally rig my own bally hoos on skirts, will this work there?

Thanks!

FishDancer

If you choose to got to key west, you can put in at Oceanside marina. This is a full service marina in sight of the ocean. You could fish the East/West Dry Rocks (less than 5 miles from the marina) and work you way west as far as you choose to go. Should be plenty of action on the reefline. If its windy tarpon are in the KW channel and the Hawks Channel hold plenty of bottom species. Good luck and be safe

Jeff
FishDancer
>>))))))">
http://www.FishDancer.net

29 NORTH

SeaBird Marine on the Miami side of Long Key, I think, I believe they can handle your needs.

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flyau98

Oceanside Marina is a nice place, and has the best Yamaha mechanic in the area. Oceanside is actually on Stock Island, one key in from Key West. Probably the best ramp on Key West is Garrison Bight, run by the city, but there is also a good marina/mechanic right there.

Both places charge for ramp use and parking. I'm also not too sure about either place allowing you to tie up and sleep on your boat, but Garrison does rent transient space and Oceanside's web site seems to indicate they do. Garrison is consideribly cheaper, marginaly less secure, but a lot closer to everything else Key West offers. There isn't really any significant difference in the transit times to the reef from either location, but Oceanside is closer.

http://oceansidemarina.com/
http://www.keywestcity.com/depts/por...on%20Bight.asp

I'll be around this weekend if you need any help with anything locally, though I can't help out too much with Fishing advise...
Make sure you have a local chart if you are going to do anything but head out the channel to the ocean, and Florida Saltwatre Fishing Licenses are required, and there are a handful of sanctuary areas that are off limits to fishing...and are well patroled.

A few links from a previous post of mine:
Make sure you have a Florida SW Fishing License (or you are exempt)
https://www1.wildlifelicense.com/fl/

And take a look at the regulations:
http://myfwc.com/fishingareas.html

And beware of the National Marine Sanctuary areas:
http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/regs/welcome.html

That should keep you out of trouble. Rumor has it the Fish and Wildlife guys may pay a little more attention to visitors on our water...so ensure you have everything in order. They all seem to be pretty decent folks, but Keys people are very sensitive about the resources.

And if you haven't done Keys boating before, there is some good info on not running aground here:
http://nps.gov/bisc/visit/groundings.htm

Be careful, Keys navigation is a bit more advanced than other areas. Overall its very safe around here, you just have to pay close attention to channels and such.