Reef fishing in Islamorada is a great way to spend a day on the water. We fish the reef year round in the Florida Keys, but the offshore charter boats primarily focus on it from October – April. The reef line runs parallel with the Keys and is an average distance of 4 miles off shore. The reef drops from an average depth of 60’ on top to 90’ on the bottom. We use all sorts of fishing techniques while on the reef, so don’t think it’s strictly bottom fishing! Charter boats use all sorts of fishing methods including bottom fishing, trolling, kite fishing, drift fishing, and sight fishing. Common reef fish are sailfish, snapper, grouper, barracuda, cobia, mackerel, shark, African pompano, wahoo, etc. We also catch the occasional mahi and tuna while fishing with live baits, so you have to be ready for everything! Usually they are further offshore but they can be a nice surprise. Many of the fish we catch while reef fishing make good table fare too! So whether you bring some home or just take a bag of fresh fish to a local restaurant, you’ll enjoy your catch! There’s also quite a few “wrecks” just out side the reef which we fish around too. They’re anywhere from 100′ – 200′ of water and our captains know some well known ones as well as some secret ones! Wreck fishing is grouped under our “reef fishing” category and many days fishing the wrecks are the way to go!
Most days we start out by catching live bait and then go from there. A full day is always recommended for the best fishing experience, but if a ½ day charter is all you think you can handle or have time for, give the reef a shot! The average travel time in and out is only 20 minutes each way, so you’ll have plenty of fishing time! Florida Keys Reef Fishing is a great option for the whole family! If a private charter is not in the budget our Miss Islamorada Party boat (head boat) fishes the reef too and is an affordable way to get out and catch a few fish for dinner.
January 24, 2026
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Had a great time aboard the Miss Islamorada !! Super professional and friendly crew !! The captain was awesome. He explained everything in detail. He was always ready to answer a question or help you while we were anchored. The mates were the best I have ever encountered on a party boat !! Seth and Essex went far and above to make sure everyone caught fish and had a great time. So professional !! They seemed to be everywhere at once !! This boat may not have all the amenities some look for, like an air conditioned cabin and food for sale on board, but the Miss Islamorada is a serious fishing machine. Fast and stable. Leaves and arrives on time, 30 people max on the boat, which makes for an awesome mate to passenger ratio. I think there were about 20 people on my trip. Again, best mates I have seen yet. The mates provided us a variety of baits like ballyhoo, squid, and shrimp. They even hooked me up with live baits. Lots of action !! This boat also does not allow the stern to be reserved like many party boats I have been on. That is awesome. The mates split us up into 3 groups and rotated us to the stern where they had chummed the water. They gave us all spinning reels and shrimp for bait and we slayed the mangrove and yellowtail snappers !! Best part for me. So much fun. We also took turns drift fishing for yellowtail with shrimp and sinking chum balls. Crazy fun !! Everyone caught fish. The mates and captain also gladly filleted our fish and bagged them up for us. Thank you to the Captain and Crew of the Miss Islamorada. Great experience. I will return.
We went out on the Early Bird and had a great 1/2 day. Captain Ross and mate Steven got us several snapper, a mackerel and a barracuda. The captain's only rule is to have a good time and you will.
Went out on the party boat. Captain and mate worked their butts off to keep our hooks baited and in the water. We caught a ton of yellowtails. I've been on about 10 party boat trips and this one used more bait and chum than any I've seen. Great job and very friendly captain and mate! Would definitely go again
