Upper Keys Fishing Reports

[fixed80]

cool catch.

[Boruchlen]

Dude, I hate to break it to you, but with those snappers she's definitely not the "mangrove Queen", she's the "WOmangrove Queen" Nice catches.

One word for you Boruchlen, BOOOO. I am surprise on one else caught that.

Hahaha

[uglycardman]

really nice fish. great job, i have never fish big pine bridge i think i might have to stop there on my way to vaca cut.

[nmpfly]

Does someone know what MM is Big Pine Key? And also Vaca Cut?

[uglycardman]

vaca cut is like mile marker 54 or 53

[PhishingPhanatic]

Nice job, lose the wire leader if you want to catch more and bigger snapper.

[PhishingPhanatic]

I usually fish 40-50 lb mono leader for snapper from shore. Heavy enough you you usually won't get cutoff by thing like bonnetheads and nurse sharks but the snapper will still hit it. I only use flourocarbon during the daytime if the water is super clear and I'm not getting hit with regular mono.

[dpamps]

Hey I have a appt. on friday in miami so my husband and I were thinking after miami we head down to keys for a couple of hours of fishing .... where should we go and what should we bring( i know we need rods, tackle etc) but what kind of bait... i dont know the keys very well so exact direction would be nice thanks ..

[basshole69]

Hey I have a appt. on friday in miami so my husband and I were thinking after miami we head down to keys for a couple of hours of fishing .... where should we go and what should we bring( i know we need rods, tackle etc) but what kind of bait... i dont know the keys very well so exact direction would be nice thanks ..

if you are doing bridge fishing, bring some live pinfish, a few craps, and some live shrimp...head to the south portion of the channel 5 bridge (it's like MM 72)...that should be a good place to start

[PhishingPhanatic]

Hey I have a appt. on friday in miami so my husband and I were thinking after miami we head down to keys for a couple of hours of fishing .... where should we go and what should we bring( i know we need rods, tackle etc) but what kind of bait... i dont know the keys very well so exact direction would be nice thanks ..

if you are doing bridge fishing, bring some live pinfish, a few craps, and some live shrimp...head to the south portion of the channel 5 bridge (it's like MM 72)...that should be a good place to start

What kind of gear do you have? No point in bringing live crabs if you don't have a rod, reel and landing gear (bridge net) that can handle a big permit. If this is your first trip to the Keys, start relatively easy and work your way up once you get a feel for the fishing. Fresh ballyhoo and live shrimp are a good start, and pick up a box of squid to tip some sabikis to catch grunts and other baitfish. All of your questions about bridge fishing have been answered here probably dozens of times, so I would reccomend reading threads in the Monroe County section, and if you still have questions, come back here and ask again.

Channel 5, Long Key and Tom's Harbor are the first 3 fishing bridges you will pass that are open right now, all 3 can be good depending on the conditions.

[basshole69]

No point in bringing live crabs if you don't have a rod, reel and landing gear (bridge net) that can handle a big permit.

permit's not the only thing you can catch with crabs off the bridges. I've seen people catch juvy (but still keeper) cuberas off the bridges with live crabs. i've had a nurse sharks take my live crabs...but yea I guess if you don't have the gear to handle the permit then I wouldn't bother taking any crabs...just live shrimp, ballyhoo, and squid to catch bait

[dpamps]

I would love to catch spanish mac's if possible ... i dont have the equip for crab nor do i have a bridge net... i just want to get away from work,kids,bills (lol) for a couple hours if possible.... i would love to go somewhere where it has fish but not crazy busy also.... thanks

[PhishingPhanatic]

No point in bringing live crabs if you don't have a rod, reel and landing gear (bridge net) that can handle a big permit.

permit's not the only thing you can catch with crabs off the bridges. I've seen people catch juvy (but still keeper) cuberas off the bridges with live crabs. i've had a nurse sharks take my live crabs...but yea I guess if you don't have the gear to handle the permit then I wouldn't bother taking any crabs...just live shrimp, ballyhoo, and squid to catch bait

Of course not, I've caught hogfish, muttons, bonnetheads and nurses on crabs, BUT, usually you are targetting permit with crabs.

[maoriii]

I believe the only place on card sound rd that allows you to fish on the actual bridge is the aptly named mosquito creek---but in my opinion that whole area is totally fished out from the googan wave every weekend. however, it can be decent if you got a canoe and explore the side creeks.

DAMN GOOGANS!!!, LOL - Nice to see a native on here every once in a while.

[cburgio]

I am going down to Tavernier this weekend (11/13/2010) and wanted to try some "boatless" fishing. A couple weeks ago, I fished the Channel 2 bridge with live shrimp and caught snapper, mackerol, and grouper, but all way too small on the incoming tide. I also tried table top bridge with artificial, but got nothing. Does anyone have any advice on what might be good this time of year?

[bolo]

I am going down to Tavernier this weekend (11/13/2010) and wanted to try some "boatless" fishing. A couple weeks ago, I fished the Channel 2 bridge with live shrimp and caught snapper, mackerol, and grouper, but all way too small on the incoming tide. I also tried table top bridge with artificial, but got nothing. Does anyone have any advice on what might be good this time of year?

Snapper, Grouper, Mackeral, and sometimes Bluefish. Lose the shrimp and use larger size fresh cut bait. You might not get a lot of hits but when you do it will be a keeper. Shrimp are great bait so don't get me wrong. However, it attracts a lot of smaller fish also. Incoming tide is what I like for Channel 2. Put in the time and you will be rewarded.

[nmpfly]

Was able to get out there on Saturday. Arrived @ CH2 by 3:30, there was quite afew folks around but, didn't see anything worth while come over the bridge. I had the same luck as they did. Lots of grunts, use acouple for bait hopeing on mutton but, no luck! Current was strong on outgoing but nothing except my son manged to hook up with a 18" grouper. Did see afew tarpons underneath the bridge but nothing else. By the way no moon at all, very dark night! Does anyone know if this might have affected the fishing??
I really never had done well on this bridge not even before the renowvation. I have done much better on Tom Harbor than CH 2. Next week I'm going to try CH 5. I haven'et been there in awhile.

[Green Tide]

the moon didn't rise until about 12am, i think that is when the fish might have started to feed. it will be completely different next weekend , if you go to c5 it is really dark when you get into the shadow of the driving bridge. but i don't think the moon will have as much effect bc of the phase.

[nmpfly]

By a chart that I saw on the web for the month of DEC.(fishing info.com and click on the moon phases to the right, than select a month from the right) states that between Saturday and Sunday will be good days for fishing. That's when I'm planning on going to CH 5, hopefully the winds won't be bad and it will be a new moon. Look it up very intresting chart with the best time for fishing. Except it is in Central time zone so we would have to subtract an hour the the time differences.

[Chevy Juan]

I'm thinking of heading out to channel 2 or 5 sometime this week in the morning guys. Getting out there around 8 or 9am, any suggestions for bait or anything else considering the cold as of lately?

[bolo]

With this cold front moving through tonight the fishing will slow down. I have seen mutton being caught during this cold weather using live large shrimp on Channel 2.

[Chevy Juan]

You guys think I'll be ok if im targeting mainly snapper around the bridge, or even some cuda just for the fun of it? I'm taking my wife and daughter and I'd be at channel 5 and as far as bait goes I wont be having anything live at the moment, I'll have some squid and pilchards and will be there in the morning. Any ideas guys? Let me know, thanks a ton.

[PhishingPhanatic]

You can try, fishing is going to be real tough with these conditions though. Last winter it took about a month for the fishing to pick up from the bridges after we had all of the cold fronts.

[bolo]

Bolo,

You freak me out when I saw your name thinking you had a report from the keys when you dislike the cold weather down south. lol

I do fish in the winter but I plan my trips carefully.

[bolo]

chevyjuan99

Since you are taking the family; not sure when you are going, but this Friday it's going to get nice & warm in Miami. Look at the weather report for at least a warm day at the keys-for snappers, I think you will be fine.

Keep in mind the bridges are usually a lot colder then the main land. Especially at night when temps drop quick.