Gulf Coast
Fly fishing in Florida
Short answer
Florida has no trout. It has what many anglers consider the best saltwater fly fishing in the world: tarpon, bonefish and permit on the Keys flats, snook and redfish on both coasts, and peacock bass in the canals of Miami. A licence is required from age 16, with separate freshwater and saltwater licences.
What makes Florida different
Florida is where modern saltwater fly fishing was invented, and the Keys are the reason. The flats from Biscayne Bay down to Key West hold bonefish, permit and tarpon in water clear enough and shallow enough to see them in, and the whole discipline of sight-casting a fly to a moving saltwater fish on a flat was worked out there in the middle of the twentieth century. Catching all three in a day is the Grand Slam, and it remains one of the genuinely hard things to do with a fly rod. The rest of the state is almost as good and much cheaper: snook under the lights and in the mangroves, redfish on the Gulf coast flats, and — strangest of all — peacock bass, introduced from the Amazon in the 1980s, now thriving in the drainage canals of suburban Miami and eating a fly within sight of a motorway.
What fish are in Florida?
- Tarpon
- The Keys and both coasts, spring into summer. Up to two hundred pounds and the hardest to land.
- Bonefish
- Biscayne Bay and the Keys flats. Fast, spooky and the classic flats fish.
- Permit
- The hardest of the three to catch on a fly, and the one people obsess over.
- Snook
- Mangroves, bridges and beaches. Aggressive, and needs its own permit to keep.
- Redfish
- The Gulf coast flats and the Mosquito Lagoon. Sight-fished and reliable.
- Peacock bass
- Introduced from South America in the 1980s. Now a Miami canal fish, and a very good one.
Where to fly fish in Florida
- Florida Keys flats
- Islamorada to Key West. Bonefish, permit and tarpon, and the birthplace of the sport.
- Biscayne Bay
- On the edge of Miami. Bonefish and permit within sight of the skyline.
- Everglades backcountry
- Snook, tarpon and redfish in the mangrove creeks of the park.
- Mosquito Lagoon
- On the Atlantic coast. Sight-fishing for redfish on sand, and very shallow.
- Boca Grande Pass
- Tarpon in numbers in late spring, and a circus to match.
- Miami canals
- Peacock bass in suburban drainage ditches. Unglamorous, and excellent.
When to fly fish in Florida
| When | What is happening |
|---|---|
| December – February | Cool and clear. Redfish and snook in the backcountry, and bonefish when the weather holds. |
| March – April | Tarpon arrive. The flats come alive and the guides are booked a year out. |
| May – June | Peak tarpon, and the best weeks of the year for a Grand Slam attempt. |
| July – September | Hot, stormy and quiet. Early mornings, peacock bass in the shade, and hurricane season. |
| October – November | The water cools, redfish school up, and the snook fishing is at its best. |
Do you need a license to fly fish in Florida?
Yes. Licenses are issued by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
| License | Price |
|---|---|
| Resident, annual | $17 |
| Non-resident, annual | $47 |
Figures are the annual saltwater fishing licence, which is what most fly fishing here needs. The freshwater licence costs the same, and a resident combination of both is $32.50. A snook permit is a further $10. Vendors may add an issuance fee. Prices change — check with the agency before you buy.
Rules worth knowing before you go
- A licence is required from age 16. Freshwater and saltwater are separate licences, and most Florida fly fishing needs the saltwater one.
- Florida residents who fish only from shore can get a no-cost shoreline saltwater licence. It does not cover fishing from a boat, and non-residents are not eligible.
- A snook permit is required in addition to keep a snook, and a lobster permit for lobster.
- Tarpon over forty inches may not be removed from the water, and a tag is required to possess one.
- Bag limits, closed seasons and slot sizes differ by species and by region, and change often. Check before you fish.
Regulations change every year and vary water by water. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rule book is the only authority — this page is a starting point, not a legal reference.
Flies that matter in Florida
Each of these is a card in the deck, and each has a full page in Our Fly-brary.
Keep reading
- Do I need a fishing license? — how licensing works across states
- How to read water — where trout hold, anywhere
- Best time of day to fly fish — the seasonal logic behind the table above
- Our Fly-brary — every fly in the deck, explained
Fly fishing in Idaho Fly fishing in Pennsylvania Fly fishing in Montana Fly fishing in Colorado Fly fishing in Michigan Fly fishing in Wyoming Fly fishing in Utah Fly fishing in Oregon Fly fishing in New York Fly fishing in North Carolina Fly fishing in California Fly fishing in Washington Fly fishing in Wisconsin Fly fishing in Arkansas Fly fishing in New Mexico Fly fishing in Tennessee Fly fishing in Vermont Fly fishing in Maine Fly fishing in Virginia Fly fishing in Alaska Fly fishing in Arizona Fly fishing in Missouri Fly fishing in Georgia Fly fishing in Minnesota Fly fishing in Nevada Fly fishing in Ohio Fly fishing in Maryland Fly fishing in Connecticut Fly fishing in Texas Fly fishing in New Hampshire Fly fishing in Massachusetts Fly fishing in Kentucky Fly fishing in South Carolina Fly fishing in South Dakota Fly fishing in Oklahoma Fly fishing in West Virginia Fly fishing in New Jersey Fly fishing in Iowa Fly fishing in Indiana Fly fishing in Alabama Fly fishing in Illinois Fly fishing in Nebraska Fly fishing in Kansas Fly fishing in Rhode Island Fly fishing in Delaware Fly fishing in North Dakota Fly fishing in Louisiana Fly fishing in Mississippi Fly fishing in Hawaii
The deck
54 flies, drawn by hand, in your jacket pocket.
A 54-card fly-fishing deck of original hand-drawn flies, each explaining what it imitates. Made by a father-and-daughter team in Eagle, Idaho.
Order now (opens our Shopify store in a new tab) See the deck