Learn more about the deep sea fishing in the Cedar Key, FL area.
Fishing for Pelagic Fish
What are Pelagic Fish?
Pelagic fish get their name from the area that they inhabit called the pelagic zone. The pelagic zone is the largest habitat on earth with a volume of 330 million cubic miles. Different species of pelagic fish are found throughout this zone. Numbers and distributions vary regionally and vertically, depending on availability of light, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, and pressure.
Cedar Key is definitely more of a shallow water destination and that is because deep water is a long boat ride away. While the continental shelf may be reached from a 20 to 25 mile boat ride from many of the boat ramps in the Destin area, you are looking at 150 miles or so from Cedar Key, Florida. Because of that, many charters do not offer offshore trips that are similar to what you can find in the Florida Panhandle. On many trips, you may be fishing 20 to 50 miles out and fishing 50 to 100 feet of water. The offshore fishing is really good here, but it is just different. You are not going to find the pelagic species such as billfish, wahoo and tuna here like in other parts of the Gulf.
Bottom Fishing
Reefs & Wrecks
What you will find is some very good fishing around the reefs and wrecks for grouper, snapper, amberjack, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, cobia and sharks. There are other species of fish that can be caught here, but the pelagic species of any size are few and far between unless you go a lot further offshore. There are plenty of reefs and wrecks to fish out of Cedar Key, but it’s going to be a little bit of a boat ride. On calmer days, this is no problem as several fishing charters are available to take you offshore to fish the reefs and wrecks.
Artificial Reef Locations
Visit the reef locations on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website.
