| My wife and I needed a little getaway. Of course, my getaways always involve fishing, so we both headed down to Hawks Kay Resort, Florida. Our trip began by renting a convertible in Miami and driving down to Duck Key (great drive). I only get one day of fishing when I’m traveling with the wife. She will normally go to the Spa when I’m on the water. However, this time she said she would join me if it was just the two of us (pretty water). I told her that would be fine if she would fish. I rented a boat at Hawks Cay Marina and we hit the Long Key Bridge. She jumped a 120lb Tarpon with the first cast. She looked at me and said “never again”. I realized that might have been a bit much and decided to run out to the reef for smaller game. On the way out I saw some flashes on a grass patch so I ran a drift over the patch and picked up some Yellowtail Snapper. I noticed some bigger fished mixed in, so I dropped the anchor. She proceeded to catch the hardest fighting 5lb fish in the world: a Bermuda Chub. I had to look it up when we got home. Those things are just plane mean. The only way I can describe them is half Piranha half Jack Crevalle. A rare reef fish that is normally a vegetarian but will hit cut bait or a shrimp in a chum slick. In our day on the water we caught Chubs, three types of Snapper, Grouper, Mackerel, and jumped a Tarpon. Not bad at all for a lazy day on the water.
My wife is a five star kind of girl and she was impressed with the resort. The food at Tom’s Harbor House was good but the food at the fancy restaurant in the resort was out of this world. Stay away from the frozen drinks at the pool; they were not good at all although the wine and mojitos were great. The best thing about the resort, I thought, was the music. There is live music every night and a nice playlist during the day (all by the pool). All in all we had very nice accommodations, outstanding food, and great fishing. Notice only one photo, that’s because my camera went in the drink. I took this shot of the Bermuda Chub with my phone to try and figure out what it was. Really cool fish. There are a number of Captains at Hawk’s Cay Marina and I talked with most of them. Contact us for the many different fishing options at Hawk’s Cay. |