Casting Call: Keys Fishing, From Licenses to Charters

WHAT TO BRING: Florida requires a recreational saltwater license to fish in the Keys, with numerous conditions and exceptions -- chiefly that on guided trips, the guide's charter license should suffice. If you do need a license, it costs a nonresident $6.50 for three days, $16.50 for seven and $31.50 for a year. Add $2.50 for a snook permit and $51.50 for a tarpon tag.

On guided and chartered trips, bait, tackle, ice and coolers will be provided. You'll need to pack food and drinks. Guides generally prefer you use their tackle, but you may be able to bring a favorite rod and reel.

You're mainly responsible for being prepared for the elements. Dress in light-colored layers, a hat and good deck shoes (no open toes, no flip-flops), use sunscreen and wear polarized sunglasses -- brown in shallow water, where a lot of fishing is sight casting, and gray for offshore.

If you want to look at species besides fish, bring binoculars. Fishing the Keys can be "quite a nature walk," says Susan Ellis, who with her husband, shallow-water guide Gary Ellis, owns Islamorada-based Redbone, a nonprofit guide service and tournament organizer.

CHARTERS: It is a sign of what fishing means in the Keys that there are dozens more charter outfits than there are tackle shops. Both categories, as well as marinas, are listed by location on the Monroe County tourist council's Web site (see Info below). For offshore fishing, chartering a boat for an all-day trip (maximum four to six people) runs $750 to $1,000 a day. A day of fishing the backcountry or flats (maximum two people) will cost about $500.

Knowing what you want to fish for will help you choose a guide. There may be only two or three, for example, who can help you catch a permit on a fly rod. Beyond that, it's a matter of finding one with whom you want to spend eight hours straight on a boat. The abundance of charter services doesn't necessarily mean availability; captains in Key Largo, Islamorada and Key West often are booked a year in advance, sometimes two, especially between mid-January and mid-June.

A cheaper option is to go bottom-fishing (mackerel, grunt, snapper, etc.) on a party boat, which usually targets two or three species. A full-day trip runs about $50 each.

INFO: For details on seasons, catch limits and license requirements, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (850-488-4676, http://www.myfwc.com/marine ). To purchase a license: 888-347-4356, http://www.wildlife%20license.com/ .

For general tourism with links to accommodations and fishing, Monroe County Tourist Development Council (800-352-5397, http://www.fla-keys.com/ ).

For fishing reports, try KeysNews.com ( http://www.keysnews.com/ ), the Weekly Fisherman ( http://www.weeklyfisherman.com/ ) or one of the tackle shops: in Key Largo, the Yellow Bait House (Mile Marker 101.7, 305-451-0921); in Islamorada, Worldwide Sportsman (Mile Marker 82.5, 305-664-4615, http://www.worldwidesportsman.com/ ); and in Marathon, World Class Angler (Mile Marker 49, 305-743-6139, http://www.worldclassangler.com/ ).