"Wintertime" Kayak Fishing in the Keys

by Randy Morrow

OK, I admit it’s hard to call 60 and 70 degree weather “wintertime”, but for us tropical island dwellers, is it a bit on the cool side, and the cooler weather certainly changes the fishing. Bonefish, tarpon and permit are my favorite species to pursue from my kayak, but as the water temps drop below their comfort zone, these fish can be tough to find on the flats here in the Keys. Fortunately, some other species come out to play..

During cooler weather, an often overlooked quarry on the flats is the great barracuda. During the winter months, big cudas, sometimes over 4’ long and weighing 20 pounds or more, will come up in very shallow water to warm themselves, and can be sight-fished from a kayak. Hard strikes, drag screaming runs and lots of greyhounding jumps are typical with these toothy fish. The best lure for barracuda is a brightly colored tube lure, but they will hit other shiny baits like spoons and silvery, top-water plugs. Just remember to put on a few inches of wire leader or Mr. Teeth will depart with your hardware!

Jack crevalle, sometimes weighing as much as 10 lbs, are around the backcountry in the winter. They are very willing to eat and respond well to myriad artificials. Like most jacks, they are quite good at using their broad, flat sides to great advantage during the battle, and they will run circles around the yak, which will certainly test your kayak fish fighting skills.

Mackerel visit the Keys during the winter, and are a speedy saltwater fish that also make a nice dinner. King mackerel (kingfish) are usually out in deeper water, but spanish mackerel and more commonly, cero mackerel, will come well within the reach of most kayak fishers. A shiny spoon, light wire leader, and fast retrieve will get you into these fish near oceanside channels and patch reefs.

Some of the most exciting shallow water sharks show up during the cooler weather - the blacktip and spinner sharks. Very athletic and active, when hooked these two species will put on an aerial display that will leave you slack-jawed! Flying several feet in the air while simultaneously spinning in a barrel roll, they will certainly test your gear and rigging. Of course you’ll need wire to protect against their teeth (I like #7 single strand), but I add 4 to 6 feet of 100# braid before the wire to protect against their abrasive skin and the propensity of these piscatorial acrobats to wrap the line around themselves when they roll. Sharks are good winter fishing fun, but give serious thought to how you will handle these guys before you put a hook in one. Doing this in a kayak is much more dicey than in a boat. The small ones can be handled fairly routinely from the cockpit. But larger sharks, say 4’ - 6’, are a different matter. One way of landing them is to loosen the drag on your reel a bit and paddle to a very shallow area (a few inches) with firm bottom. You can then get out of the kayak, finish the fight, and pull the shark into the super shallow stuff where it will be much less mobile. Sharks are powerful animals and will definitely try to bite you so be careful and keep body parts away from their mouths. You definitely want to perform hook removal with LONG-HANDLED PLIERS. Always have a knife or line cutter at-the-ready, and if things are feeling a little too dangerous, simply cut the line. The hook will rust out and you’ll keep all of your digits!

For those wanting a tasty dinner, inshore snapper fishing is actually much better in the cooler months compared to the sweltering summertime. Patch reefs, bridges, and back-country ditches and channels will routinely hold keeper-sized snapper this time of year.

The bones, permit, and tarpon will be back before long, but until then, there’s plenty of cool weather fun to be had fishing from a kayak in the Keys!

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