When the grouper heads for the rocks, Glyn Austin hangs on and cups the reel to keep more line from escaping as the rod bends impossibly toward the bottom. Both angler and fish are caught in a Mexican standoff with nobody blinking. And just when you think you're going to hear a loud crack from either the rod or the line, Austin manages to gain a few inches and keeps the pressure on until the dinner-legal-sized gag grouper surfaces. Then, after shooting a couple of pictures, the photographer puts down the camera and writes in a notebook: "Gag grouper, Berkley Gulp! Shrimp, OA three-piece rod and OM50 reel." What is this? Some obsessive-compulsive accountant on holiday? Nope, it's just the scorekeeper recording another fish caught during Boating World's first annual fishing tackle shootout.


The idea is to test affordable spinning outfits from Penn, Daiwa, Shimano, and Offshore Angler using a variety of hard and soft lures side by side to see which ones work best. Although finding fishing action in Key West might seem like a slam dunk, the waters around Cayo Hueso can be a little fickle in December, especially when the wind blows. But, you have an ace in the hole in the personage of Steve Impallomeni - a local guide who started his professional career at the tender age of 4 working as a first mate for his mother, Victoria, who became the first lady guide in Key West in 1973 and still runs ecological tours down here.

Cruising down the Overseas Highway from Key Largo to Key West - often surrounded on both sides by turquoise-blue seas - is a drive everyone has to experience at least once. Your adrenaline is already pumping as you get psyched for the upcoming two days of fishing, but when you pass mile marker 81 in Islamorada, the fevered pitch gets even higher. It's here you spy the huge World Wide Sportsman store on the right, which is part of the Bass Pro Shops family of fishing mega-marts, and where you're planning to do a little shopping.

Gearing Up

Entering, the first thing you see on the showroom floor is an antique wood fishing boat that looks vaguely familiar. Recognizing the name Pilar on the transom, you're momentarily discombobulated as you realize you've fished on this boat in Key West during a charter back in 1992. If the name sounds familiar, it's supposed to. It's the "sister" ship of Ernest Hemingway's beloved fishing boat of the same name, which is now deteriorating in Cuba. Built in 1933 at a boatyard around the corner from the place in Brooklyn where "Papa's" boat was built, this eerily similar Pilar is historic in its own right, having been featured in the Bogart/Bacall movie Key Largo, filmed in 1948.

Although you can't resist getting your hands on some high-dollar rigs like the gold Van Staal spinning reels, which cost upwards of $750, and St. Croix Legend rods, which will set you back about $300, you eventually return to planet Earth and decide to narrow the search to light tackle combos costing less than $200. The first selection is Penn's 450SSg - a lightweight graphite body reel plus a 7-foot Penn International rod - both of which sell for $90 apiece. The next rig to catch your eye is Shimano's Saros 3000F ($130), paired with a 6-foot-6-inch Clarus one-piece rod, which sells for $60.


Just out of curiosity, you pick up one of World Wide Sportsman's house brand combos with a reel that features 10 ball bearings - like the more expensive brands - and is paired with a one-piece 7-foot Inshore Express rod with cork grips and Fuji guides that retails for $95 together. The Offshore Angler reel feels silky smooth, so you say "Why not?" figuring the savings will buy dinner for one in Key West if you don't get dessert. The last official rig in the lineup is a lightweight Daiwa SS Tournament 1300 that sells for $90 and is a staple among many guides down here. There are also some really upscale new Daiwas on display that are incredible, but they're too expensive for this test. For some reason, there's no Daiwa rod in stock that seems to match, so it's paired with a 7-foot two-piece Inshore Extreme rod that retails for $110. Although not part of the official shootout, the testers are loaned a pre-production Ocean Master OM50 reel to try out. Since the test includes a one-piece and two-piece Offshore Angler rod, it's paired with the brand's three-piece travel rod to see if it will hold up to the thrashing it's about to receive.

For lures, there are two different categories. In the hard lure division, medium-sized plugs with diving lips are chosen from Yo-Zuri, Cotton Cordelle, Rapala and Offshore Angler. A broad variety of soft lures is chosen, including the D.O.A. Shrimp and TerrorEyz, Berkley Gulp! Shrimp, Storm WildEye Shad, Offshore Angler XPS, and Cotee Cracker Shad. You figure it will be interesting to see how these lures' fishy- smelling goodness will perform in comparison to the other non-stinky baits. You hand the reels to Steve Prescott, and he spools them up with economical Ande 10- and 12-pound test line. Then you gather up your mountain of gear at the register, and somehow manage to get out the door without dropping anything or breaking a rod tip.


Getting Situated

It takes a couple of hours to reach Key West, and when you get there, you head for the main tourist artery in Old Town and don't stop until you run out of land. The address is Zero Duval Street, and the place is the Ocean Key Resort and Spa, which overlooks Key West Harbor and is right next to Mallory Square, where every afternoon they celebrate the sunset. The room you're staying in is eccentrically decorated, upscale and has a huge bathroom, complete with Jacuzzi. The balcony facing the harbor is the perfect place to sit and rig the rods while listening to a head-bobbing reggae band and occasionally sipping a tropical beverage festooned with fruit. Although Sloppy Joe's bar is about an eight-iron shot away, tomorrow's 5:30 a.m. wake-up call sends you off to bed early.


The noise that awakens you early the next morning isn't incredibly encouraging, as you recognize the sound of palm tree fronds outside your window clattering together in the wind like slam-dancing skeletons. Undeterred, you take the short ride to Stock Island, making a quick pit stop at Kim's Kuban for some takeout Cuban toast and a large café con leche.

You find Capt. Steve Impallomeni at Murray's Marine fueling up his boat Cool Change, a vintage See Vee 25 powered by an Evinrude E-TEC 250 direct-injected 2-stroke that proves to be the perfect platform for the test. You and Austin - who works in Bombardier Recreational Products' PR Department - meet Capt. Impallomeni's friend Emmet Barr, who's visiting from Colorado and used to be a fishing guide down here, so there's plenty of fishing talent aboard.


Day 1

Impallomeni points Cool Change west toward the Marquesas and settles into a comfortable cruising speed of 30 mph, which eats up the 3- to 4-foot seas with nary a slam. You finally stop in 30 feet of water near a wreck, and your guide throws out the chum bag to get the party started. He even snags the first grouper on a Gulp! Shrimp tied to the Daiwa 1300 reel, which draws the first critique: "It feels really cramped with this tiny handle," says Impallomeni. Of course, he goes on to catch six more fish at this location with this rig - including another grouper, a Spanish mackerel, two blue runners and two lane snappers.


Meanwhile, Barr - who's using the Shimano rig and the Cotee Cracker - picks up a nice gag grouper, along with a blue runner and two lane snappers. He says of the rig, "The rod has a good feel, and the reel is very smooth. This would be a perfect bonefish rig." Austin, after seeing Impallomeni snag a nice grouper, also grabs a Gulp! Shrimp and lands another good-looking grouper using the Ocean Master reel and Offshore Angler three-piece rod that he's trying his hardest to break. "Despite the amount of bend in the rod," says Austin, "It's got some backbone, and the reel - with that big handle -works really well." You have to remind the anglers to use different baits for the test, although when someone catches a nice fish, the temptation is to switch to whatever bait they're using.


Using the Penn rig combined with a white Storm WildEye Shad, you get a huge hit that takes you to the cleaners before breaking the line off on the wreck. Impallomeni walks over, checks out your drag and shakes his head. "Way too light; that rod will take it ... here," he says as he cranks the drag to "exterminate." The Penn rod feels substantial in your hands, and the reel feels sturdy and powerful, yet precise. Impallomeni doesn't like to hit one particular spot too hard, so you decide to move while the fish are still biting - but not before catching a total of 19 fish, covering six different species.

Moving to a group of small, rocky reefs in 18 feet of water, everyone switches rigs and the action continues. They start with the soft baits and continue to rack up the count. Switching to the hard lures, the group is surprised to see that the grouper are coming up off the reef to attack these lures, which are running 2 to 6 feet deep. There's a large goliath grouper that's terrorizing the hooked fish, so Impallomeni get his big rig out and uses a large Gulp! Squid to catch and release the estimated 40-pounder, which now leaves the hooked fish alone. At the end of the day, 53 fish are caught, tallying 13 species - including a black tip shark that goes airborne. Three grouper are invited to come home for dinner, but the rest are released.


Day 2

The next day the wind is even more intense, but Impallomeni has a couple of super-secret backcountry spots in mind. He promises screeching drags from some large jack crevalles at the first spot, and does he ever deliver. Emmet Barr can't fish on the second day, but his replacement is Bryan Holeman, a professional guide who fishes on the redfish tours.


Just for fun, the group decides to do a shrimp-lure mini-shootout between the Gulp!, the D.O.A. and the XPS - which despite being the only non-fish-flavored lure, scores first as you and the testers start warming up with some smaller jacks. Although the XPS jumps out to an early lead, these fish clearly prefer the enhanced baits. Impallomeni tosses a yellow and red Offshore Angler Jointed Lazer Eye and lands two fish at once. "Hey Stevie, nobody likes a showoff," one of the other testers jokes. As the crew mixes up the lures, the big boys begin to show up.

There are few fish that can pull as hard as a jack crevalle. These fish range in size from 10 to 20 pounds, and they really give the reels a workout. At one point, all four anglers are hooked up, which gets pretty hectic and requires some fancy maneuvering in the cockpit. After wearing yourselves out on these bruisers, it's just about time you and the testers head to the last spot.


It doesn't take too long in the ripping tide to discover that the snapper and grouper are out here in force. In the last frenzy of activity, some hefty mangrove snapper are pulled aboard using mostly soft plastics combined with a little additional weight to get the lures deeper. The occasional grouper adds a little variety into the mix, and the anglers are still reeling them in when an ominous thunderstorm looms on the horizon. With the decision having been made for you by Mother Nature, you and the testers head back to the house.

The grand total fish count is 33 jack crevalles, 32 snappers (mostly mangrove, a few lane and a couple of yellowtails), 20 grouper (all gag, except one scamp and one goliath grouper), eight blue runners, six grunts, four Spanish mackerel, one bluefish, one ladyfish, and one feisty blacktip shark - for a total of 106 fish, representing a range of 13 species. Not bad for a couple days' "work."

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When You Go

There’s something hypnotic about the waters of Key West Harbor, and one of the best places to experience them is at Ocean Key Resort and Spa (www.oceankey.com), whether it’s sitting on your balcony with a tiny parasol in your glass, relaxing poolside, or sampling the fare at the raw bar on Sunset Pier. This remarkable property sits at the epicenter of this tropical paradise, next door to the daily Mallory Square sunset celebration and just a coconut’s throw away from the nightlife at Sloppy Joe’s and the Hog’s Breath Saloon. If that doesn’t relax you enough, try checking out Spa Terre, which specializes in exotic Balinese and Thai treatments.


For dinner, try the resort’s Hot Tin Roof restaurant, which features local seafood prepared in imaginative ways. For a breakfast with fresh squeezed juice, try out Pepe’s (www.pepescafe.net), the oldest restaurant in Key West. For lunch, head next door to El Meson de Pepe (www.elmesondepepe.com) at Mallory Square (no relation to the other Pepe’s) for some authentic Cuban cuisine.

If you bring your boat, you can find transient dockage or boat storage at Garrison Bight Marina (www.garrisonbightmarina.net). Or, if you just want to catch fish and leave your boat at home, give Capt. Impallomeni a call at (305) 292-9837.
— A. Jones