Key West Questions -- trip this weekend

[pkw1689]

Hi All --

I'll be in Key West this Thursday through Sunday for a conference -- but with early mornings, evenings, nights and maybe some daytime windows to fish. Wife is not coming and I am happily retired from many of the various non-fishing ways to enjoy the Key West "scene." I will be staying right on Duval Street and I will not have a car.

I would welcome any sugestions or ideas, though I am (for $ reasons) more interested in what I can do on my own than in guide reccommendations. I plan to bring a 7' spinning rod spooled w/20# power pro, but would certainly re-spool based on suggestions.

Here are some specific questions:

Does anyone recommned a particular tackle shop in Key West?

Are there any viable fishing spots within walking (or biking, perhaps) distance from Duval Street?

Does anyone want to share the cost of a guided trip?

Anything else I should know?

Many thanks.

Peter

[Dumpcast]

Key West is not the best place for do-it-yourself angling, but there are some options. Stock Island, the nontouristy eastern part of the city, has some accessible, roadside water where you might have a shot at barracuda or jacks. I recall an area, between a mobile-home park and a marina, that held some huge 'cuda; none of the residents or merchants batted an eye when I showed up to fish (though a warning sign on one dock said it was OK to feed the tarpon but not to catch them, so I gave that area a wide berth). Stock Island is about 5 miles from Duval Street, an agreeable bike ride on that flat terrain. A lot of folks, especially in winter, throw lures and bait at the resident tarpon that hang around the Old Town docks. Might be worth a shot at night or in early morning. Even in private-looking areas, you might have some time to yourself before being asked to move on. By the way, if the tarpon seem to be tame, they probably are. Bridge-fishing at night is another possibility. Any tackle shop could advise you about which ones might be worth trying and on what tide. I never fished the beaches, but early morning could be worth a shot.

[blackdog]

Take a walk over to the Saltwater Angler. It's 1 block off Duval on Front St. You can book a guide there. Or call Justin Rea at Sting Rae Charters (stingraecharters.com). He'll pick you up. I'm guiding out with Justin in about 3 weeks. He is one of the best in the Keys.

[pkw1689]

Thanks to all for the tips, and to First Light Anglers for some good counsel regarding lures and a improvised rod tube -- Nothing too exciting to report -- picked up a snook and a grouper off the jetty in Ft. Zachary Taylor Park late one afternoon on a 7 1/2 Fin-ess w/a 1 oz jighead scraping along the bottom -- skunked twice at night off the White Street fishing pier (a HUGE structure), although I heard some tantalizing stories of how good it can be there by some of the locals I met there.