The Best Times Of The Year To Fish The Lower Keys

As most avid anglers are aware, saltwater fishing is condition dependent. Although Tarpon, permit, and bonefish in the Lower Keys and Key West all want warm, stable weather to feel comfortable in shallow water, they don’t always get it. The entire area has close proximity to deep water and big changes in the weather can send fish retreating from the shallows until the conditions improve.

The spring/summer months (March-October) are the warmest, most stable weather months of the year. During March, the wind begins to blow from the southeast, which is the normal trade wind for the area. These southerly flows usher in warmer temperatures that trigger two major fishing events in the Lower Keys and Key West - the tarpon migration and the permit spawn.

The Lower Keys backcountry usually sees the first of the migratory tarpon in March as more and more fish show up in April-May. By late-June the migratory tarpon have more or less moved on leaving the juveniles as the star of the show throughout the summer.

Upon the first signs of the spring weather settling in, the permit around Key West and the Lower Keys routinely show up on the flats en masse to feed hard before going offshore to spawn sometime in late March. The flats are nearly void of permit throughout April and May. In June they return to the shallows and can usually be consistently targeted until the fall creeps in and the temperatures begin to drop.

In recent years, the bonefishing in Key West and the Lower Keys has been exceptional. The summer months bring some of the best bonefishing you’ll find anywhere in the world and the least fishing pressure of the year.

In the fall/winter months (November-February), the wind blows from the north and the water temperatures drop as “cold” fronts roll through the Keys. The winter brings big changes to the fishing in Key West and presents new opportunities as the “great” windows of fishing opportunity shorten. The tarpon migration is long over, although there are some resident fish still to be found. The bonefish are usually the first gamefish to return to the flats after a cold snap, and are usually followed by some permit, both of which are there to feed hard before the next front. Good numbers of barracudas are usually found in shallow water during the fall/winter and provide exciting action for anglers of all abilities.