Florida Bay Fishing Report - Hot Spots Revealed in 2 Articles

Fall has arrived and delivered our first mini-cold front of the year. Wow, that air feels great! Cooler air combined with shorter days and less sunlight has sparked the fishing in Florida Bay.

Two recent articles (one in the Miami Herald and the other in Florida Sportsman) caught my attention because they both revealed very specific locations to begin your hunt for Redfish and Snook. Usually these articles give just enough information to get you excited but only a general idea of locations.

Click HERE for the Snook article by Susan Cocking of the Miami Herald. For the article on Redfish spots, you'll have to purchase the October edition of Florida Sportsman Magazine and turn to page 66 in the Action Spotter section.

Pet Friendly Resorts

Quite often somebody stops by and complains they had to leave their hotel and find somewhere else to stay because there were animals everywhere and/or their room smelled like dog. 

The reason is simple. There aren't many places that allow pets. The ones that do are magnets for people traveling with cats and dogs and other animals such as ferrets and birds (strange but true).

Don't get me wrong, I love animals. That's me in the photo with our dog "Baby." We've experimented with allowing pets at the resort. We've tried a limited number of pet friendly rooms, we've tried small animals only... unfortunately it's the same result: dog droppings, hair, barking, and smell. 

Do yourself a favor, before you book a room ask if they allow pets. If it's a smaller property and you're not traveling with your dog, you might want to try someplace else. If it's a larger property request a pet-free room.

As a resort owner, I wish there was a good way to allow pets and still keep the rooms clean and quiet. Let me know if you have any ideas. 

Where's the Beach?

As a hotel owner in the Keys, it freaks me out when a visitor tells me they can't wait to get here so they can take a long walk down the beach. In their mind I'm sure they hear screeching sea-gulls and see crashing waves with endless miles of white sandy beach.

Sorry, we don't have that here. Many people just don't do the research before going on vacation and are disappointed when they arrive. And I learned a long time ago, as the owner of the resort... it is going to be my fault for not revealing this fact. So we do a lot of explaining on telephone calls about the beaches (or lack of) in the Florida Keys.

Our beaches are quite beautiful but different. Most Keys resorts have a nice beach area for sunning and swimming but they are not long enough for running or taking a walk. We bring the sand in by the truckload because we really don't have much naturally occurring sand due to the lack of wave action. 

Here's a couple of definitions you need to understand: A "Sunning Beach" means the resort has a nice sandy beach area with lounge chairs but you can't swim from the beach due to a sea wall. A "Swimming Beach" means they have a nice sandy area but you can get up from your lounge and walk directly into the water without negotiating a sea wall.

There are a few nice beaches in the Keys. Near Islamorada there is Anne's Beach located at mile marker 73 on the ocean side. The beach has a nice shallow sandy swimming area, covered picnic tables, boardwalk and bathroom facilities. It's close to the road but pretty nice.
The nicest beach in the Keys is Bahia Honda located at mile marker 37. Some of the most prestigious travel magazines rank Bahia Honda as one of the best beaches in Florida and others rank it as one of the best and beachs in the world.

Hotel Booking Tip: Better ask about Hidden Fees!

With the economy off and gas prices up, people are shopping around for the best hotel deals. My advice is to be very careful. Don't just call and ask for the room rates. Ask if there are additional fees other than tax.

In many cases the true daily cost will be the room rate plus a "resort fee" or other hidden charges AND they won't tell you if you don't ask. I do not like this trend. It's not a "bait and switch" situation but it's not totally honest either. It makes the consumer think they are getting a better deal and/or a much lower rate than the hotel down the street. Upon arrival, it may be too late to go somewhere else.


The most common hidden daily charge is a Resort Fee. You have to look for the fine print on a confirmation letter, web site, or hotel rules to find out what it is and 99% of the time it is not negotiable and must be paid along with the room rate. These fees range from $10 to as high as $60 per day ($60 is at a hotel less than a mile from Pines and Palms). So if you were quoted a room for $279 per night for example, when you add the resort fee (say $30), you get a real nightly rate of $309 per night and a total extra cost for a week of $210.


Another hidden fee could be for parking, common in big cities but not something you would expect in the Keys. Bringing a boat? Not only will you be charged a daily dockage fee but sometimes a fee to launch your boat and park your trailer. Want your room cleaned daily? Look out for daily housekeeping fees. What's next? Some hotels are now experimenting with added energy fees.


This thing bothers me because at our place we do it the old fashioned way. Everything is covered in the daily rate: coffee, daily newspaper, housekeeping, energy, dockage, towel service, parking, etc. You are not forced to pay for extras like kayaks, bicycles, snorkeling equipment, fishing gear, etc., stuff that you may not use.


You gotta compare apples to apples. One place might seem to have lower rates but don't forget to add in the resort fee and other charges to find the best deal.


Now you know... the rest of the story.