Florida Keys trip planning

[Wisefam22]

Sombrero reef, loee key nature preserve, coffins patch are pretty close.

Find hard bottom between 30-50ft chum water and freezing probably get some yellow tails, drop to bottom get some grunts and possibly other snapper or smaller groupers.

Can fish the 7 mile bridge area also. Go to the furthest red marker on ocean side and jig or fish right off the bottom as you drift.

Anchor and fish under the pilings.

 

[Garrett C]

We are staying at Key Colony Beach. If you know any good fishing spots or places to hangout in that area or fishing tips then it would be appreciated.

sounds like @Wisefam22 is very familiar with the middle keys, as I live an hour away south and haven't ventured that way in the boat at least. No matter what, you are going to have a blast. Good luck and enjoy your time in the Keys!!!!

 

[DStinson]

Thanks for the information. Apologies to @bthessel for hijacking this thread.

 

[Wisefam22]

My wife is a planner.. we went 2 years ago to the keys and spent half week in key largo and half week out of marathon and still couldn't finish everything we wanted to do.

We will be back in marathon for the end of June and will check off more stuff from our list.

We got a canal home near sunsetters restaurant for the week with dock.

 

[Jetti]

I am heading to the keys with my boat at the beginning of June and after reading about seaweed issues in the past years it has me a little concerned. Do you think there is anything to worry about this year?

Just got back from vacation in Key West, the sea weed is terrible.

 

[Julian]

Anyone know how the water is in the keys in late february? We have two weeks at a house and are considering taking the boat, but it is a LONG tow from here to the keys (Cudjoe key). My concerns are it may be a bit windy and wavy??

Worth the tow?
Anyone boat around Cudjoe?

 

[lazergeek]

70-75 degrees usually that time of year. Too cold for me without a wet suit after living tin Miami for 4vyears. Before that I could handle just fine

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Anyone know how the water is in the keys in late february? We have two weeks at a house and are considering taking the boat, but it is a LONG tow from here to the keys (Cudjoe key). My concerns are it may be a bit windy and wavy??

Worth the tow?
Anyone boat around Cudjoe?

I don’t think you could go very much farther south in FLA!




I’d say it’s worth the tow… two 500 mile days… that’s some pretty epic boating in that area!

 

[lazergeek]

Even if the water is cool it's still worth it. If your going to be by Cudjoe definitely spend at least one day at Looee Key. It's the best reef in Florida.

 

[TeenGee]

Be prepared for sargasso weed.
Grab a meal a Kiki's. The burgers are delicious.

Home - Kiki's Sandbar - Waterfront Beach Bar and Grille

Kiki’s Sandbar & Grill offers a tropical dining experience with stunning waterfront views. Enjoy fresh seafood, tasty drinks, and live music daily in a vibrant atmosphere.

kikissandbar.com

Also the Square Grouper.

Home - Square Grouper Bar And Grill

 

[Julian]

Even if the water is cool it's still worth it. If your going to be by Cudjoe definitely spend at least one day at Looee Key. It's the best reef in Florida.

I dove Looe Key many many years ago it's great!

Be prepared for sargasso weed.
Grab a meal a Kiki's. The burgers are delicious.

Home - Kiki's Sandbar - Waterfront Beach Bar and Grille

Kiki’s Sandbar & Grill offers a tropical dining experience with stunning waterfront views. Enjoy fresh seafood, tasty drinks, and live music daily in a vibrant atmosphere.

kikissandbar.com

Also the Square Grouper.

Home - Square Grouper Bar And Grill

We walk to the square grouper..... Awesome food!

 

[Julian]

I'm leaning towards taking the boat because the house owner has already offered to show me around the channels. He rents out boats but it's super expensive. My wife does not like boating in rough water, that's the primary reason for concerns and hesitation. We go with another couple and there's a fair amount of drinking too, so I'm concerned.I'll be designated driver all the time, but with all the reefs.And sandbars I think it would be a lot of fun.

 

[14SX190]

I'm leaning towards taking the boat because the house owner has already offered to show me around the channels. He rents out boats but it's super expensive. My wife does not like boating in rough water, that's the primary reason for concerns and hesitation. We go with another couple and there's a fair amount of drinking too, so I'm concerned.I'll be designated driver all the time, but with all the reefs.And sandbars I think it would be a lot of fun.

I'll be happy to be the designated driver.



Burdines has fried key lime pie if you go North

Burdines Waterfront · 1200 Ocean View Ave, Marathon, FL 33050

★★★★★ · American restaurant

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[TeenGee]

When we go to the Keys, we NEVER travel down on a Friday, Saturday or the day before a holiday. The traffic on the causeway south of Florida City is TERRIBLE and the drivers get Cray-cray.
Traveling North is similar. Avoid Saturday, Sunday and Holidays.
There is a Shell station in Florida City that has the best prices for REC90. It is even on the south bound side of US1.
This concludes my public service announcement for the FL Keys.
Enjoy.

 

[lazergeek]

When we go to the Keys, we NEVER travel down on a Friday, Saturday or the day before a holiday. The traffic on the causeway south of Florida City is TERRIBLE and the drivers get Cray-cray.
Traveling North is similar. Avoid Saturday, Sunday and Holidays.
There is a Shell station in Florida City that has the best prices for REC90. It is even on the south bound side of US1.
This concludes my public service announcement for the FL Keys.
Enjoy.

Fridays and weekends are fine, if you leave Florida City before 8:30am anytime after that it gets worse as the day goes along. The vacation rental house schedule is saturday through saturday for weekly rentals so Saturday is the worse day but I always leave my house in Homestead before 8am to head to my boat storage in Long Key and its never a problem for me on Satrudays.

 

[TeenGee]

You are fortunate to live in Homestead. It takes us 3.5 - 4 hours to get to Florida City on a good day.
It's not just the weekly rentals that create the traffic. There seem to be a lot of day trippers from Miami on those days.

 

[Garrett C]

Anyone know how the water is in the keys in late february? We have two weeks at a house and are considering taking the boat, but it is a LONG tow from here to the keys (Cudjoe key). My concerns are it may be a bit windy and wavy??

Worth the tow?
Anyone boat around Cudjoe?

Agreed with everyone talking about what time you would be trailering your boat down highway one and back up heading home. I was stationed in Key West for 3 years, and just went down from the Sarasota area the day after Christmas and got back yesterday. I didn't think about bringing my boat as the winds are a killer during that time (and they were), but if I had 2 weeks and a place to keep my boat where I could plan my days around the weather, I would recommend it as it is amazing if you have never boated there. Even if you have boated there, it is worth it. When I moved from Washington state and jumped in the water in January, the locals looked at me crazy when I was in the water at the sand bar, as I have lived in Florida now for 7 years, my blood has "thinned out" and would still get in the water but it would require liquid courage or something I saw in the water that would make me do it. I can tell you are a seasoned boater but trust your GPS as it goes from deep to very shallow in an instant, check those tides as it is incredible what happens in the keys during King Tides. I hope you and your family have a wonderful time whether or not you bring your boat. Have a great time and enjoy the good people, food and beers! -Cheers

 

[Julian]

Agreed with everyone talking about what time you would be trailering your boat down highway one and back up heading home. I was stationed in Key West for 3 years, and just went down from the Sarasota area the day after Christmas and got back yesterday. I didn't think about bringing my boat as the winds are a killer during that time (and they were), but if I had 2 weeks and a place to keep my boat where I could plan my days around the weather, I would recommend it as it is amazing if you have never boated there. Even if you have boated there, it is worth it. When I moved from Washington state and jumped in the water in January, the locals looked at me crazy when I was in the water at the sand bar, as I have lived in Florida now for 7 years, my blood has "thinned out" and would still get in the water but it would require liquid courage or something I saw in the water that would make me do it. I can tell you are a seasoned boater but trust your GPS as it goes from deep to very shallow in an instant, check those tides as it is incredible what happens in the keys during King Tides. I hope you and your family have a wonderful time whether or not you bring your boat. Have a great time and enjoy the good people, food and beers! -Cheers

Taking the boat....arrive next Sat. Will be staying at Cudjoe Key 20 min from Key West. Any tips on places to go. Looking for sandbars, nice beaches, calm water. Bay side fishing spots?

@Garrett C @14SX190

 

[zipper]

A few members down there...the member in Cudjoe Key has 1 post.

 

[Garrett C]

Taking the boat....arrive next Sat. Will be staying at Cudjoe Key 20 min from Key West. Any tips on places to go. Looking for sandbars, nice beaches, calm water. Bay side fishing spots?

@Garrett C @14SX190

Taking the boat....arrive next Sat. Will be staying at Cudjoe Key 20 min from Key West. Any tips on places to go. Looking for sandbars, nice beaches, calm water. Bay side fishing spots?

@Garrett C @14SX190

That is great, glad you are bringing the boat, and I am sure you will get plenty of good weather to enjoy the sandbars down there.
For food in that area is a local favorite; the square grouper, if you into coffee, there is a new spot (at least it wasn't there when I lived there) called the Local Joint that a lot of people were talking about when I went to visit during Christmas. There are ton of options for food if you want to drive the 20-25 minutes into Key West as well or if you want to still keep it low key head back north on 1 about a mile up to Boondock Grill (live music, good food and mini golf if you're into that). Cudjoe is a perfect spot since it isn't so busy there, just have to worry about one road (Highway 1). As for fishing, I am not a good one to ask as I didn't do any except off of my dock in my backyard to kill time and hang out with my neighbors, but again, there are tons of places you will see driving there where you can fish off of the bridges.
Sandbars in that area are Marvin Key a ton of different spots in there, but watch your GPS and depths there, Snipes Key which is west of there by about a mile and then to the East of Marvin you have Content Key. I have spent plenty of time at Marvin and Snips, but unfortunately, we never went to Content Key, and I will need to do that the next time I go as I have heard that is a great spot as well. Those are all in the Gulf. On the Atlantic side you can trailer your boat or take your boat from Cudjoe to Bahia Honda (it's a state park so they charge to drive in there, but I heard the snorkeling is awesome there). That is another spot I never got to and have been told many good things about.
I wish I could tell you about the boat ramps in that area, but I would only launch from my base in Key West or a sketchy one on Big Coppitt Key. It shows there is one on Blimp Road, but I haven't met anyone who has launched from there so I can't give you any info on that one.
Beaches, Key West has a few (smathers, higgs beaches), but they are nothing to write home about and Bahia Honda has one in that area but again you would have to pay to go there.

If you are on Garmin Navionics boating app, I can send you all the spots that I have marked where I used to go. If not, I can take screen shots and send them to you so you can get an idea of where they are located at from where you are staying. You're going to have a wonderful time, and the weather has been great this past week (hopefully it continues for you where you are visiting).

Let me know if you have any other questions. Have a good one!!!!