The Florida Keys are surrounded by shallow waters, sand flats and backcountry areas that are tailor-made for a houseboat fishing vacation. Far from roughing it, a shallow draft houseboat is like fishing from the comfort of your hotel room.
Only a handful of locations in the Florida Keys still rent houseboats. Islamorada, in the upper Keys is home to Houseboat Vacations of the Florida Keys. Here you can rent a catamaran style boat up to 55 feet long. These shallow draft boats are for the Gulf side of the Keys and not suited for open ocean fishing.
Marathon is in the central Keys where you can rent a 38 foot houseboat that comes with your own private island to dock at overnight after a full day fishing the inshore waters. The boat comes equipped with a kayak to explore the numerous channels that even your shallow draft houseboat cannot navigate.
The Keys' inshore waters teem with fish including bonefish, tarpon and permit, three of the most sought- after gamefish in the world. They are often found in water that is shallow enough to stand in, making a shallow draft houseboat a perfect vessel for a Keys fishing vacation.
