Key Largo Fishing: Best of the Everglades & Florida Bay Backcountry
Key Largo, the longest island in the Florida Keys, is bordered on the west by Florida Bay and the Everglades National Park backcountry, and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, home to the clear waters of the Gulf Stream.
Its indigenous population is composed of more than 600 species of fish.
Warm, nutrient-rich waters from the Caribbean Basin pour into the Straits of Florida, combining with water flowing out of the shallow-water nurseries of the Everglades and Florida Bay to create a profuse food chain.
That in turn sustains massive amounts of bait fish, which attract abundant stocks of game fish to the Keys, like bonefish, permit, redfish, snook and trout, as well as tasty yellowtail snapper.
In Key Largo shallow-water anglers seek the elusive flats slam: landing a permit, bonefish and tarpon in one day.