Key West Fly fishing guide?

[ZATsol]

I’m planning a trip to Marathon Key West in the last week of May. I wonder if somebody can recommend fly fishing guide there. Interesting in tarpon. But will be happy to catch anything.

Thanks in advance!

[Fergal]

You can reaching out to The Angling Company in Key West. They offer a booking service with some of the local guides. 

[Seidner]

check out 7 mile fly shop in Marathon, good guys,  If you are not familiar with Tarpon fishing, I would suggest going after the smaller Tarpon, or something else, it sucks when you waste your entire trip trying to catch a huge Tarpon, only to not be able to hook or land the fish if lucky enough to find one. Lots more fun targeting smaller fish on the fly rod.  My opinion having been there myself.

[ifsteve]

Ditto on the Angling Company. But just heads up. IF you find a guide you are not going to get a top notch guide at this point. Might get some young up and comer but that is peak poon season. Doesn't mean who you do get won't put you on fish but most decent guides are booked well in advance of poon season.

[brushfly]

Cap't Luke Kelly of Key Flat Charters. Not sure he goes up to Marathon but I've fished with him out of Summerland and Key West. 

[formula1]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:16 PM, Seidner said:

check out 7 mile fly shop in Marathon, good guys,  If you are not familiar with Tarpon fishing, I would suggest going after the smaller Tarpon, or something else, it sucks when you waste your entire trip trying to catch a huge Tarpon, only to not be able to hook or land the fish if lucky enough to find one. Lots more fun targeting smaller fish on the fly rod.  My opinion having been there myself.

Depends on what you consider huge tarpon.  For me anything over 150 is huge but most new guys anything 60+ lb is a big tarpon and an 80 pounder might give you the fight of your life (one of the best fights I had with poon was an 85 pounder in cool water, he just did not want to give up…) - there are tons of 60-80 lb fish around and they aren’t nearly as difficult to catch as the big ones.  Smaller fish tend are juveniles that hang out around the mangroves and for sure they are a blast…but it’s the ocean going fish that are the most fun IME…that’s where you get the classic tarpon fishing, pods of 4-5 or more fish, all over 85 lb and up coming at you, up to strings of big fish that may stretch half a mile.  I still remember my first pod twenty years ago…my throat was suddenly drier than the Sahara desert…get a good guide and you may have one of those epic days that you will never forget.  If you are a decent caster you will have some cool shots at some of those fish…but you need to book at least 3 days in case weather is difficult or the fish don’t cooperate.  Or…get a guide that isn’t fixated on tarpon…I had one guide on my second year of tarpon fishing that took my wife and I out for a day of spinner shark fishing rather than tarpon, chumming at a channel and that was a blast, one spinner after another jumping like crazy and ripping line off our reels every time.

[Seidner]

4 hours ago, formula1 said:

Depends on what you consider huge tarpon.  For me anything over 150 is huge but most new guys anything 60+ lb is a big tarpon and an 80 pounder might give you the fight of your life (one of the best fights I had with poon was an 85 pounder in cool water, he just did not want to give up…) - there are tons of 60-80 lb fish around and they aren’t nearly as difficult to catch as the big ones.  Smaller fish tend are juveniles that hang out around the mangroves and for sure they are a blast…but it’s the ocean going fish that are the most fun IME…that’s where you get the classic tarpon fishing, pods of 4-5 or more fish, all over 85 lb and up coming at you, up to strings of big fish that may stretch half a mile.  I still remember my first pod twenty years ago…my throat was suddenly drier than the Sahara desert…get a good guide and you may have one of those epic days that you will never forget.  If you are a decent caster you will have some cool shots at some of those fish…but you need to book at least 3 days in case weather is difficult or the fish don’t cooperate.  Or…get a guide that isn’t fixated on tarpon…I had one guide on my second year of tarpon fishing that took my wife and I out for a day of spinner shark fishing rather than tarpon, chumming at a channel and that was a blast, one spinner after another jumping like crazy and ripping line off our reels every time.

I assumed the poster was new to Tarpon fishing, 60 pound tarpon would be a hand full to a first timer.

[surfflyguy]

I tried googling fly fishing guides in the keys just because this thread sparked my intrest and my god its easier to find a guide who is adept at swining flies for steelhead than to find a fly fishing guide in florida 

[formula1]

3 hours ago, Seidner said:

I assumed the poster was new to Tarpon fishing, 60 pound tarpon would be a hand full to a first timer.

Depends.  I think 60# poon is both fun, and much easier to fool on a fly than a 150#, but not too hard for a first timer to handle.  Granted, unless the first timer has big fish experience, it isn't going to be cakewalk but it'll be just hard enough to be "wow this is a strong fish," but not so hard it can't be beaten in reasonable time (10-15 minutes).  Any smaller like 40-50# and you can pretty much horse the poon in even on a 10 wt. with 20# class tippet IME.  And quite a few guides will use 30# for a beginner because they don't yet have a feel for 16 or 20#.

[formula1]

1 hour ago, surfflyguy said:

I tried googling fly fishing guides in the keys just because this thread sparked my intrest and my god its easier to find a guide who is adept at swining flies for steelhead than to find a fly fishing guide in florida 

It's not that hard (I have no problem googling for them) but the best bet is to talk to some of the recommended shops as they know many of the guides...Florida Keys Outfitters in Islamorada, Bud and Mary's, The Angling Company or Saltwater Angler in Key West.  Lots of fly guides out there...guys like Rob Fordyce, Craig Brewer, Lincoln Rodriguez, Paul Tejera, Justin Rea, Eric Herstdt, or Dustin Huff to name a few off the top of my head.  

[surfflyguy]

1 min ago, formula1 said:

It's not that hard (I have no problem googling for them) but the best bet is to talk to some of the recommended shops as they know many of the guides...Florida Keys Outfitters in Islamorada, Bud and Mary's, The Angling Company or Saltwater Angler in Key West.  Lots of fly guides out there...guys like Rob Fordyce, Craig Brewer, Lincoln Rodriguez, Paul Tejera, Justin Rea, Eric Herstdt, or Dustin Huff to name a few off the top of my head.  

What I mean is there’s just so many to sift through and as you said not everyone who is a guide is good. 

[formula1]

27 mins ago, surfflyguy said:

What I mean is there’s just so many to sift through and as you said not everyone who is a guide is good. 

I read your post quite literally but I get it now. That's why it's best to contact one of the shops mentioned. There area lot of part time Keys guides who come from Montana etc to cash in on the Keys rates and obviously they won't be as good as someone who plies their trade locally full time. Hard to tell which ones they are. Funny story, I fished one of the top Keys guides (a multiple tournament winner these days) in his first year when he was still learning the trade. He admitted back on the skiff then that he was still learning and I could tell... But by then too late I had him booked for 3 days. 

[surfflyguy]

1 min ago, formula1 said:

I read your post quite literally but I get it now. That's why it's best to contact one of the shops mentioned. There area lot of part time Keys guides who come from Montana etc to cash in on the Keys rates and obviously they won't be as good as someone who plies their trade locally full time. Hard to tell which ones they are. Funny story, I fished one of the top Keys guides (a multiple tournament winner these days) in his first year when he was still learning the trade. He admitted back on the skiff then that he was still learning and I could tell... But by then too late I had him booked for 3 days. 

I can deff see that being a problem. Surprisngly similar to the great lakes fishery when you have striped bass guides trying to sell you a steelhead trip.

[Bonefish79]

Sometimes you just get lucky with a new guy, though.  My buddy and I walked into Bud N' Mary's one morning in 1974, only one guy in there and we asked if there were any guides available for the afternoon.  He said, "Sure, I'll take you".  Rick Ruoff.  Not a bad way to get introduced to Keys flats fishing.

[goodbadargyle77]

Check with Jared Cyr, Max Hamlin or Shane Wood. All great guides and nice guys.