Fly Fishing Trips: Florida Keys Remain Clean

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Anyone concerned about how the BP oil spill might change fly fishing in the Florida Keys had to be encouraged by the numbers of fish released in last week’s Don Hawley tarpon tournament. In fact the Keys anglers I’ve spoken to say the fishing has been red hot for a couple of weeks now, and one guide said the fish were eating like they haven’t eaten in years.

On Monday, the Florida Keys & Key West tourism council launched a new Web and social media-based channel designed to communicate an accurate status of Keys tourism offerings during the Transocean/BP oil spill crisis. Every Monday they plan on featuring a new one-minute video updating the public on the status of Keys waters and beaches.

This week’s video features NOAA National Marine Sanctuary superintendent Billy Causey discussing the likelihood of oil reaching the Keys. As he says, “We don’t anticipate oil in the Keys for the next 72 hours and we are not even sure this oil will ever show up in the Keys. The oil that has reached the loop current at this point is a very small sheen over a very widespread area. But it has not gotten into the major part of the loop current yet. In fact, in the area that it has reached it has already started to disintegrate and move.”