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Fishing the Florida Keys Fishing the Florida Keys offers a smorgasbord of fishing delight. Every cast, whether fishing off shore or on the flats, presents a plateful of the many different kinds of fish that Florida has to offer. Fishing the flats results in the fight of the mighty Tarpon. While deep-sea fishing provides for the opportunity to hook into a sailfish or marlin. There can be nothing like hooking up to one of these feisty creatures jumping straight out of the water; as if to defend it's right to it's natural habitat. When fishing the beaches, you will need to pick up one of Florida's tourist postcards that depict the many species of Florida's fish. Believe me, every cast produces a different catch! And watch out for the barracuda! When traveling to the Keys, be prepared for the expense of the trip. We found everything to be very expensive. To give you an idea, the first trip we took in 1996 cost $3000 for 4 days (2 people.) This included staying at the Hawk's Cay Resort in Duck Key; which was a great place to stay. They offer a wonderful breakfast buffet to start your morning out right. Room service is available until 11:00 pm and we took advantage of this. By the time you get off the water, you're looking a little cooked yourself and not fit for the nightclub seen. Duck Key, however is nearly an hour from Key West, so a lot of time was spent in commuting back and forth. If you're bringing the kids along, the resort has a dolphin activity center and offers "Swimming with the Dolphins." Hawks Cay Resort & Marina can be reached @ 1-800-432-2242 ext. 2501. There are numerous resorts throughout the Keys and also low budget motels. They all have full vacancy signs, so I would suggest making reservations early. There are also some horrible fishing camps. Don't take the wife and kids to these! The stone crab claws are a must to try. It's a toss up between stone crab claws and Maine's lobster. Montes Seafood will ship these home for you; at a premium price. Or, bring a cooler along and check them into baggage at the airport. In Key West, anything goes. Be prepared to cover the kids' eyes at times; especially at the celebrations at sunset. It's a happening place with a variety of things to do. There's great shopping, great restaurants, tours and water activities. We have found that Florida's unpredictable winds, may complicate things a bit. The last time we visited Florida, we rode up the coast in pursuit of water activities. It was too windy to do anything; fishing, snorkeling or parasailing. This is the perfect time to visit one of the many outdoor kike bars, sit back, relax and "Be Happy." Floridians do a lot of this. Tarpon fishing is incredible. If you're lucky enough to hook one of these, prepare for the fight of your life. It may take a half hour or more to get the fish to the boat. They are unpredictable. And they are jumpers! You better have been saving your pennies, if you prefer to fish with bait. Tarpon prefer mullet which cost $3.50 a piece and are sometimes scarce to find. The mullet will not last long, so be sure to reserve some at one of the many bait shops. If your preference is fishing on the fly, the preference of the tarpon is . . . . . . Well, I can't reveal all of my fishing secrets. You'll have to make the trip yourself. If you do, let us know how it went so that we can post your report under "Traveling in Pursuit of Fish." Fish hard and enjoy your time on the water. Take in the beauty of Florida's natural inhabitants; dolphin, sea turtles and the array of fish.
Alex Martins and Capt.
John Cushing
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