How to fish it
Kite-fish or slow-troll live baits for sailfish after a cold front; slow-troll for kingfish.
See today's tides and currents on the conditions page, or open this spot on the map.
What you can catch here
Sailfish
63" lower-jaw fork length minimum; 1 billfish per person per day; open year-round. Almost always released: a fish you mean to release stays in the water in federal waters, and any landed billfish must be reported to NOAA within 24 hours.- Bait
- Live goggle-eyes, pilchards, threadfin herring or ballyhoo, fished from a kite or slow-trolled
- Tackle
- 7 ft rod with a 12–20 lb class conventional or 4000–6000 spinning reel, 20 lb mono
- Rig
- 15–20 ft of 40–50 lb fluorocarbon; 4/0–7/0 non-offset circle hook sized to the bait, bridled through the nose
Kingfish (king mackerel)
24" fork length minimum; 3 per person per day in Monroe County (2 on the rest of Florida's Atlantic coast); open year-round; hook and line or spearing only. Federal waters off the Keys also allow 3.- Bait
- Live blue runners, goggle-eyes, pilchards or ballyhoo, slow-trolled or drifted in a chum slick
- Tackle
- 7 ft rod with a 20 lb class conventional or 5000–6000 spinning reel, 20–30 lb mono
- Rig
- Stinger rig: 2–3 ft of #4–#6 single-strand wire, a 1/0–2/0 nose hook and a #4 treble in the back of the bait
Blackfin tuna
No minimum size; 2 per person or 10 per boat per day, whichever is greater; open year-round. No federal HMS permit is needed for blackfin in state or federal waters.- Bait
- Live pilchards or threadfin herring free-lined in a live-bait chum slick; chunks of bonito or sardine in a chunk line
- Tackle
- 7 ft rod with a 6000–8000 spinning reel or a 20–30 lb conventional, 30–50 lb braid
- Rig
- 8–10 ft of 25–40 lb fluorocarbon (blackfin are leader-shy); small 2/0–4/0 circle or live-bait hook
Cobia
36" fork length minimum; 1 per person per day and no more than 2 per boat, whichever is less; open year-round. The same limits apply in federal waters.- Bait
- Live pinfish, grunts, blue crabs or small eels; dead baits in a chum slick
- Tackle
- 7 ft medium-heavy spinning rod, 6000–8000 reel, 30–50 lb braid
- Rig
- 3–4 ft of 50–60 lb fluorocarbon; 6/0–8/0 circle hook
Wahoo
No minimum size; 2 per person per day; open year-round. The federal limit is the same (landed with head and fins intact).- Bait
- Rigged ballyhoo behind a planer or under a skirt; live blue runners slow-trolled along the edge
- Tackle
- 50–80 lb class conventional for high-speed trolling; 30 lb class for ballyhoo
- Rig
- 2–3 ft of #9–#12 single-strand wire or cable (their teeth cut mono); 7/0–9/0 hooks; an in-line weight or planer to get the bait down
Access
- Fished by
- Charter a boat; Bring your own boat
- Skill
- Intermediate
- Position
- A general area about 6 km across, drawn as a circle on the map rather than a pin.
Not for navigation. Positions are approximate. Use official charts, watch your depth and respect private property and posted signs.