Key West sells three different fishing trips under one heading: a seat on a party boat from $69.95, a seat on a shared offshore boat, or the whole boat from $500. Which one you want depends on how many of you are fishing and whether you want to take fish home. The license question, the docks and the closed reefs are the same whichever you choose.
What each kind of trip costs
These are the prices as of 23 September 2026 — the operators’ own, except the two trips linked below, which are priced from their Viator listings. Every price includes bait and the fishing license. On the FishMonster MAX, check the rod: its listing sells the adult seat as an angler with rod rental.
| Trip | Who is aboard | Length | Published price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Party boat, Gulfstream Fishing’s Gulfstream IV, Charter Boat Row | Up to 40 anglers, one seat each | 6 hours, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | $69.95 adult · $42.95 child 12 and under · $45.95 not fishing |
| Party boat, the FishMonster MAX, A&B Marina | Shared, one seat each; runs on a minimum number | 5 hours, 8 a.m.–1 p.m. | $95 a person, linked below |
| Shared offshore seat, Cowboy Cowgirl Sportfishing, Charter Boat Row | Shared | 6 hours | $250 a person, linked below |
| Shared offshore seat, Fishmonster split charter | 6 at most | 6 hours, 7 a.m.–1 p.m., usually Tuesdays | $275 a person |
| Private offshore, Fishmonster | Your group, 6 at most | 4 / 6 / 8 hours | $1,200 / $1,400 / $1,600 a boat |
| Private flats skiff, Fishmonster | 2 at most | 4 / 6 / 8 hours | $500 / $600 / $700 a boat |
| Private party boat, Gulfstream Fishing’s Gulfstream IV | Your group, up to 45 | 5 hours | $2,000 for 1–25 · $2,200 for 26–45 |
The private prices are per boat, and the arithmetic is the whole decision. Four people on a six-hour private offshore trip pay $350 each, against $69.95 on the party boat. Two people on a four-hour flats skiff pay $250 each. A family of four on the Gulfstream IV pays four seats, two of them at the child rate.
The party boat anchors over reef and wreck, fishes the bottom with squid, and brings up snapper, grouper, grunts, jacks and mackerel, by the operator’s own account. The mates bait hooks, untangle lines and clean the catch at the dock. It is the right trip for first-timers and for children, and the wrong one for anyone who wants quiet.
The shared offshore seat is for the one keen angler in a group that does not fish. It is the private offshore trip sold by the seat, it runs about once a week, and it needs enough people to go.
Private offshore is trolling blue water for mahi-mahi, wahoo, blackfin tuna and sailfish, or drifting the wrecks. It costs a lot for two and becomes reasonable at five or six.
The flats is sight-fishing from a skiff in two or three feet of water for permit, bonefish and tarpon, with the guide poling from the platform. Two people at most, and see the catch-and-release rule below before you picture dinner.
You do not need a license on a charter
Florida law answers the license question directly. Among the people who need no saltwater license, the statute lists:
“Any person saltwater fishing from a vessel licensed pursuant to s. 379.354(7).”
That is the for-hire vessel license, which a boat must hold to take paying customers fishing. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission puts it plainly: exempt are “individuals saltwater fishing from a for-hire vessel (guide, charter, party boat) that has a valid charter license.” Children under 16 are exempt anywhere.
The exemption comes with the boat, not with you. Fish from the shore, from a boat you rent and drive yourself, or from the dock at Garden Key, and you need your own license. For a visitor that is:
| Non-resident saltwater license | Price |
|---|---|
| 3 days | $17 |
| 7 days | $30 |
| Annual | $47 |
Where the boats leave from
Three docks, in three different places. The listing tells you which, and it decides how you get there.
- Historic Charter Boat Row, at the City Marina at Garrison Bight, 1801 N Roosevelt Blvd. The city’s marina, 245 slips on the north side of the island, on the Palm Avenue causeway. The Gulfstream IV and a fleet of private boats tie up here, and the charter association advertises free parking at the dock.
- The Historic Seaport, in Old Town. Fishmonster’s party boat and offshore boats go from A&B Marina, 700 Front Street, two blocks from Duval, and its flats skiffs from Key West Bait & Tackle at 241 Margaret Street, in Lands End Village. This is a paid-parking part of town, so read the parking page before you drive.
- Stock Island, the next island east. Stock Island Marina, 6000 Peninsular Ave, says a wide range of private and group charters leave from its docks. It is a drive or a ride from Old Town, and the city’s on-demand bus, Key West Rides, covers Stock Island in its one zone.
The reefs nobody may fish
The reef off Key West is inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and its best-known patches are sanctuary preservation areas. Three of them are off Key West: Eastern Dry Rocks, Rock Key and Sand Key. NOAA’s summary of what that means is one sentence:
“Diving, snorkeling, and boating are allowed inside these zones, but fishing and collecting are not.”
The one exception off Key West is Sand Key, where catch-and-release trolling is allowed. Eastern Dry Rocks and Rock Key are closed to fishing outright, and so is the Western Sambo Ecological Reserve, where the sanctuary prohibits “fishing by any means” as well. The protected areas are marked by 30-inch round yellow buoys.
Those are the same reefs the snorkel boats go to, which is not a coincidence: the reefs protected from fishing are the ones worth putting a mask on for. The snorkel page has the distances and the rules for swimmers. A good fishing captain fishes the reef and wrecks outside them.
Western Dry Rocks shuts from April to July
About ten miles southwest of Key West, the state closes a marked one-square-mile area around Western Dry Rocks every spring and summer. In the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s words:
“Fishing is prohibited within the marked boundaries near Western Dry Rocks from April 1 – July 31.”
It is a spawning site for permit, mutton snapper, gray snapper and yellowtail snapper, and the closure has run each year since 2021. A boat may pass through with its gear stowed; it may not fish there.
Catch-and-release by law
Two of the fish people come to Key West for do not go home with anyone:
- Tarpon. “Tarpon is a catch-and-release only fishery,” the commission says, and a tarpon over 40 inches must stay in the water. The only exception is a tag bought in advance for a state or world record attempt.
- Bonefish. Catch-and-release only since 1 September 2013.
The third flats fish, permit, is rarely kept either: Fishmonster’s flats guides say they do not kill them. If you want fish to eat, book the party boat or an offshore trip.
Fishing at the Dry Tortugas
Two ways to do it, and they are very different days.
From the shore on the ferry day trip. Fishing is allowed from parts of the Garden Key shore with a Florida saltwater license, which the ferry operator says “must be purchased before boarding the Yankee Freedom.” The Park Service’s hook, species and shore rules are on the camping page. The ferry does not run on 22 or 23 October 2026 or on its maintenance days; the dates and the booking are on the Dry Tortugas page.
On a permitted charter. The Park Service lists tour operators who hold permits for fishing trips in the park, and on the ferry’s dark days they are one of the few ways out there.
Which one to book
- First time, or with children: the party boat. At $69.95 for an adult, with everything included and the crew doing the fiddly parts, nothing else comes close for the money.
- One angler in a group that does not fish: a shared offshore seat, if the dates line up, or the party boat’s rider ticket for whoever wants to come along.
- Four to six people who want blue water: a private offshore boat, where the price per head drops to within reach.
- Two people who want the hardest fish in the Keys: the flats, knowing it is catch-and-release.
Gulfstream Fishing’s list of things to leave ashore includes aerosol sunscreen, large coolers and bananas. Bring a small cooler if you want your fillets. Below are the FishMonster MAX and the Cowboy Cowgirl shared offshore trip, then Viator’s full Key West catalog; check the departure point on any listing before you book it.
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