The Key West species list, grouped by the fishery you have to book to reach them — flats, reef and offshore — with who regulates each one.
Three separate lists, because they are three separate boats. Flats trips target tarpon, bonefish and permit — the first two are catch and release only. Reef and wreck trips target yellowtail and mutton snapper, grouper and amberjack. Offshore trips target sailfish, mahi-mahi, tuna, wahoo and king mackerel. No single charter covers all of it.
Most people arrive here thinking they are picking a species. They are picking a boat.
A flats skiff cannot reach the Gulf Stream. An offshore boat cannot work water you could stand up in. The species below are grouped by the trip you have to book to reach them, because that is the decision underneath the question.
If the list you want spans two groups, you are looking at two trips.
Skinny water in a shallow skiff. Sight fishing for tarpon, permit and bonefish.
Kris Mikael Krister · CC BY 3.0
The reason a lot of people come to the Keys at all. A big, silver, air-breathing fish that jumps when hooked and is famously hard to land.
Standing rule. A catch-and-release only fishery. One over 40 inches must remain in the water. A tarpon tag exists but is optional — one per person per year, and only when pursuing a state or world record.
Regulated by FWC · source
Brian Gratwicke · CC BY 2.0
The classic flats target. Fast, spooky and fished for by sight in water shallow enough to wade.
Standing rule. A catch-and-release only fishery since 2013, when the tournament exemption permit was removed. Multiple hooks with live or dead natural bait are prohibited when targeting them.
Regulated by FWC · source
Fish and Dive · CC BY 4.0
The one flats anglers talk about most and catch least. Wary, powerful, and the third of the Keys flats trio.
Regulated by FWC — the Keys sit inside a Special Permit Zone · source
Closer in and steadier. Snapper, grouper and amberjack, with more bites in a day.
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0
The bread and butter of a Keys reef trip. Caught in numbers over the reef, and the fish most reef days are built around.
Regulated by FWC in state water, the federal councils beyond it · source
Henrya · CC0
Bigger and warier than a yellowtail, and a genuine prize on a reef day rather than a given.
Regulated by FWC in state water, the federal councils beyond it · source
Bernard DUPONT · CC BY-SA 2.0
Several species, caught over structure and wrecks. Heavy tackle and a hard first run for the bottom.
Standing rule. Seasons and rules differ between Atlantic and Gulf waters, and Key West sits where the two meet. Which applies depends on where the boat fishes that day.
Regulated by FWC and the federal councils · source
NOAA Photo Library · CC BY 2.0
Wreck fish, and the one people remember for the fight rather than the fillet. Nicknamed the reef donkey for good reason.
Regulated by FWC and the federal councils
A long run to the Gulf Stream for sailfish, mahi and tuna. Fewer bites, bigger fish.
Fanchon Varenne, IFREMER · CC BY 4.0
The headline offshore fish, taken on the troll out toward the Gulf Stream. Almost always released.
Regulated by NOAA Fisheries — a highly migratory species under federal permit
Hugues Evano, IFREMER · CC BY 4.0
Also called dolphinfish or dorado. Fast-growing, brightly coloured, found around weed lines and floating debris, and the offshore fish most likely to fill a box.
Regulated by Federal councils offshore, FWC in state water
Ryan Watson · CC BY 4.0
Blackfin most commonly out of Key West, with larger species possible. Hard, fast, and a fight that goes straight down.
Regulated by NOAA Fisheries — highly migratory species
Bommerer · CC BY 4.0
The fastest fish most people will ever hook. Taken on the troll, and a first run that empties a reel.
Regulated by Federal councils
NOAA Fisheries, SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory · Public domain
Kingfish. Toothy, fast and common on the troll closer in than the Gulf Stream species.
Regulated by FWC and the federal councils
Reef and offshore trips are the ones that fill a cooler. Flats trips largely do not.
Tarpon and bonefish are both catch-and-release only fisheries in Florida. Nobody hides this, but it does surprise people who booked a flats day picturing dinner. Say what you want out of the trip when you book and a good operator will point you at the right boat.
This site names the regulators and does not restate their numbers.
It depends entirely on which trip you book. On the flats: tarpon, bonefish and permit. On the reef and wrecks: yellowtail and mutton snapper, grouper and amberjack. Offshore: sailfish, mahi-mahi, tuna, wahoo and king mackerel. Those are three separate boats and three separate days — no single charter covers the list.
Reef and offshore species are generally the ones that fill a cooler. The headline flats species are not: tarpon and bonefish are both catch-and-release only fisheries in Florida. If taking fish home matters to you, that points at a reef trip, and it is worth saying out loud when you book.
Yes. FWC states plainly that tarpon is a catch-and-release only fishery, and a tarpon over 40 inches must remain in the water. A tarpon tag exists but it is optional and narrow — one per person per year, and only when pursuing a state or world record. It is not a permit to keep a fish.
Because they would be wrong within a year while still looking authoritative. Limits are re-set annually, they differ between state and federal water, and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary overlays its own zones on top of both. Key West sits where Atlantic and Gulf rules meet, so even the same species can carry different rules depending on where the boat fishes. This page names the regulator instead and links to the current tables.
Three bodies, overlapping. FWC sets Florida state rules and governs the inshore and flats fishery. NOAA Fisheries and the South Atlantic and Gulf councils set federal rules for reef and offshore species, with sailfish and tuna managed separately as highly migratory species. The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary adds zones and restrictions across the whole area.
Next step
Fishing Trips Florida Keys is an independent guide — no boats, no bookings, nothing to sell. It exists so you can ask better questions before you hand an operator a deposit.
Fishing Trips Florida Keys takes no bookings and earns nothing from a click. You book with the operator directly.
