The Marine Sanctuary, along with the catch-and-release ethic practiced by most Flats fishermen has ensured that excellent fishing remains available today. Needless to say, these waters teem with fish, birds, and marine life. The entire Key West Flats are within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, 2900 square nautical miles of protected natural marine environment. On the Flats, large expanses of clear shallow water cover a fairly uniform and level bottom comprised of coral, limestone, sand, or turtle grass meadows, and broken by channels and passes that connect the Gulf of Mexico with the Atlantic Ocean. A marine ecosystem formed around the remnants and rubble of the ancient coral formations that preceded the living Great Florida Reef that lies 6 miles offshore to the south of Key West today. A trip out to the Flats is more than fishing – it is a safari into one of America’s most amazing natural wonders. This is Flats Fishing in the Key West Backcountry, thousands of square miles of unspoiled shallow water flats, reefs, sand banks, islets, and mangroves lying mostly along the Gulf side of the southern Keys and stretching west to the Marquesas Keys. You rear back and the light rod bends double with a Barracuda on. As the lure squirms past the structure, a yard-long silver-blue lightning bolt streaks in, slams it, and blasts into a run that strips the reel down in seconds. You flip the bright green surgical tube lure a few yards past the lump, let the lure drift a bit farther with the tide, then reel a fast retrieve. The guide points off to the right of the bow, where a lump of limestone sits in 3 feet of water on the edge of the drop into the channel. Just you and the guide - the ride is nearly silent: the tap of water on the boat, birds, and an occasional slap from a jumping fish the only sounds as your guide poles the skiff along the edge of the flat. Float through a fisherman’s dream land – crystal clear waters stretching wilderness miles around, ultra-shallow flats dropping off into tide channels and passes, patch corals, white sand bars, and mangrove islands.
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