Florida Keys Bridge Bashing

There cannot be a more satisfying moment in fishing then when cruising a worn out highway in the Florida Keys and pulling up to a bridge without a plan, casting a line and coming up big.

On a recent trip through the Keys, Sean Reilly and I were heading from Oceans Edge Resort in Key west to the Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada for some gratuitous luxury, but of course, we stopped on the way at Channel #2 bridge in Islamorada with a pack of frozen shrimp to see what was up. We each were armed with a three-piece St. Croix 7 foot TISMHF70 travel rod matched with Shimano 5000 Stradic reel, spooled with 30-pound Spiderwire Braid and a uni to uni knot to a 30-pound 30-inch section of Seaguar Fluorocarbon Leader. Tied on the tag end was a 3/8-ounce leadhead, sent out with fresh shrimp.

We made casts and bounced our way over the bottom on the west side of the bridge. Hoooo…Mama, did the hits come fast and furious. Jack Crevalles and Yellow jacks, barracuda and Spanish macks absolutely smoked our reels and tested the rods and drags for all they were worth. Bridge fishing along the Route 1 Highway through the Keys can be flat out phenomenal if you have the right gear.

In general terms, rig up with a 100-pound Spro Barrel swivel, a 30-inch section of 30-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader, then you have all the options in the world for hooks and lures, including a size #2 hook for yellowtail, mangrove, mutton, and lane snapper along the bridge structures, or a 3/8 to 1/2-ounce yellow lead jighead to tip with a whole fresh shrimp with head pinched off and threaded on for jacks, macks, snook and redfish, or we could go into myriad artificial offerings including 30-inch Storm Shads, Zara spooks, TA poppers, Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows, Williamson Gomoku jigs and the like just to tempt a passing snook, jack, tarpon, Spanish mackerel and other beasties to bite.

Bridge fishing the Keys isn't like anywhere else on the planet. You're almost guaranteed to get a bite, just be sure you've got the backing and the stones for a heavyweight fight as one of our mangrove snappers was promptly inhaled by a 300-pound goliath grouper on the way up. We had the stones, but didn't have enough backing.

Gear Used:

• Shimano ST5000XGFK Stradic FK Spinning Reel
• St. Croix TIS70MHF3 Tidemaster Travel Rod
• Spiderwire 30 lb. Stealth Braid
• Mustad Shrimp Jig Head Lure 3/8 oz.