I'm having problems accessing the Florida page. Does anyone have any info or experience fishing the Keys. I would prefer what I think is inland fishing. We are not wanting to go moles and miles out to fish. Wr are staying in Marathon Sept 19th thru the 24th. Any suggestion or ideas are appreciated.

My 2 cents , charters in the Keys fall in one of these categories , Flats fishing , offshore sportfishing , light tackle fishing and
partyboats. Party boats take a bunch of folks and bottom fish on the reef, and freeline for yellow tails. My least favorite.
Flats fishing should need no explanation, Bonefish , , permit and tarpon are targeted , barracuda and shark are secondary targets.
Off shore includes trolling for what's in season and fishing deeper wrecks.
My fav ,, Light tackle boats. These boats are usually midsized center consoles and can do almost everything,
No flats fishing on these boats , but can target tarpon in the channels and harbors , fish the mid depth wrecks or run and gun offshore .

All of my fishing in the Keys has been from March to May , Never been there in September

First thing is to decide what kind of fishing you want , then reach out for charter recommendations.

I have tried all the categories, but I highly recommend the light tackle style for quality and variety of fish,

Your mileage may vary

good luck

Mo

If you plan to DIY it run down to Bahia Honda State Park (just below Marathon) and wade the east side. You can find bones and schoolie tarpon there, but you need to be early. Those flats get warm in the sunlight that time of the year. The channels and passes always hold fish when the tide’s running, and if you are into light tackle ( and not picky about what you catch) you can have a ball in those passes with the smaller grouper, snapper, jacks, and grunts. I always take a 2 weight and a half weight with some small flies just for that action. And there are always resident tarpon in those passes. And you can have a ball with the smaller sharks wading those flats. As kids we used to hammer them with Zaragossas (the wooden predecessor to the Zara Spook) on the Upper Keys flats. Those little sharks would crush those Zaragossas and run like bonefish in that shallow water. Lots of opportunities down there. Have fun!

I would get a guide one day. Other than that, you can have a lot of fun fishing from the shore or a kayak. Take a few striper rigs. I'll post some more info later today.

I consider September a transition month that varies in productivity from year to year. It is a good month for flats fishing. You should see tarpon, snook, barracudas and bonefish. Gulf trips are good for snapper, jacks and grouper. Reef fishing for yellowtail and mutton snapper can still be good. Not the best month for offshore deep sea fishing, although it is good some years.

Thanks for the information. Luckily I have a few months. The plan is to get a guide for half a day. We would prefer to stay inland or close to land. The wife is concerned about getting sea sick.