New to fishing from bridges and especially the Keys

[Visionz45]

Ive been tasked with exchanging a car for my parents. Ive paired this with my annual May Panama City area vacation. Now Ive recently become single so...no ball and chain and Ive decided to drive down to the Keys and camp for three days. I'm pretty well versed with saltwater fishing(Maine, stripers, blues, ground fishing, Northwest Florida, ect.) The Key appear to be radically different from my normal stomping grounds. Lots of flats and bridge/pier fishing. I would like to spend most of my time around Bahia Honda fishing without a boat(maybe a kayak). I have light, heavy(7'6" Med/Hvy St. Croix tidemaster) and surf spinning(8' St. Croix/ 6000 Baitrunner) outfits and will probably bring my ground fishing/light shark outfit(113H senator with a 6'6" penn slammer packed with 50 lb mono). What species are best and how would I best rig for them? Bait? Wading on the flats without getting eaten ?

[Visionz45]

I guess I could have read the post from earlier this morning.

[fixed80]

around this time you should come across tarpon at NIGHT using live pinfish or grunts.
not sure how to rig them though(meaning float/freeline them out or use a sliding sinker rig with a heavier weight for the bottom. big spoons and bigger jigs i would assume to hook them up maybe if you cast it as far as possible parallel to the bridge and reeling it in so it looks like a fish trying to escape. just make sure you have a NET(around 36") to land them. BEWARE of when fishing at night. it can be DANGEROUS all alone and people
do take advantage of out of towners.

other species are snapper and possible grouper on the bottom near the piling while the tide is still or slowed up trying to change. bottom rigs for them using smaller live baits.

cuda are there too. but some CUDA TUBES at the bait stores down here.
just cast them along the bridge or flats and retrieve in quickly.
use cuda for shark bait by floating it out on the bridges. make sure you dont get spooled
by boats.

[Bass Stalker]

When are you going to be at Bahia Honda? I will be staying there with my brother and friend from 4-30 to 5-5. In the past we have had success fishing Bahia Honda and other bridges and flats in the area. If the dates listed above match up with the dates you will be there let me know and I can show you a few spots at Bahia or the surrounding area. Just a heads up, they have big sharks that are accessable from shore at Bihia, hit up the southern part of the island. There is a breakwall that is in place from the old bridge, wet your bait there...incoming/outgoing doesn't matter, the sharks there really seem to like a few fresh dead pinfish with cuts in them about a foot or two off the bottom, I seem to do better if the bait doesn't move with the current. So you may want an extra 1-2oz. of weight. Last year I got an 8' bull shark...probably wasn't quite ready for it at the time being relatively new to sharking but i'm glad that I had that experience sooner than later, now the only problem is that I want more and bigger.

[Visionz45]

Sadly I wont be in the area till after the 15th. I'm hoping for available camp sites later next month. I'd assume it would be a down period for the Key's as the tourist come in full swing up here in the NE come May. I watched some vid's and it appears that my ocean outfit would be the ticket for bridges. Honestly I'd enjoy catching the bait haha. Sharks from shore will be a learning experience(outside of light tackle encounters with smaller gulf sharks). Is there any flats that could be waded for bonefish or snook? Ill probably stay a night/day in the Tampa area and look for some snook there as well. Thanks for the input guys!

[Bass Stalker]

For bonefish I suggest wadding the flat on the Atlantic side. The best spots for bones are found on the large flat that is found on the eastern portion of the island that is accessed from the public beach by walking towards Ohio key. Check out google earth and you should get a feel for what I'm talking about. The bones here aren't the ones that you will find in "downtown"
Islamorada, but there are willing takers if you have live shrimp and are stelthy. Try and get out there early because the tourist will be out swimming and once the people are in the water the bone fishing is over.

[Swordslayer71]

Fishing the Bahia Honda Bridge for Tarpon is a love/hate affair with me. In the daytime you HAVE to have whatever the ONE bait they are hitting that day. It's either going to be mullet, pinfish, crabs, or shrimp. On the days when they are pick not a single thing will be hit except for what they're keyed in on. Now nighttime...... that's a different beast. Catch up a 5 gallon bucket with about a dozen or so pinfish, a 5 ft leader of 60 or 80lb mono, a 7/0 circle hook through the tail or the nose.....and hold on. I both flatline, and drift on a bobber, they both work. I've gotten some in the 30-50lb range on 15lb mono to the boat in about 3 minutes, and sometimes it takes 20. 300 yards of 20lb mono and the leader prescribed above is all you need to catch them, since if they go into structure you're screwed anyways. Keep the rod always bent, and bow the rod at them when they jump. Early May is a magical time for tarpon there and that's what I would focus on as there are much better times to chase the other resident species. If you get bored of catching tarpon, then just go home as you're fished out. Tight Lines