Brandon Cyr: Life on the Flats

Guiding with Grit in Key West’s Shallow Waters

Life on the Flats

In the early light of day, before the heat sets in and the world wakes up, Brandon Cyr is already on the water.

Born and raised in the Florida Keys, Brandon didn’t stumble into fishing—he was shaped by it. A fourth-generation resident, his roots run deep in the coral limestone of these islands. His first memories are of cast nets and tide charts, learning the language of current and wind the same way other kids learn to read and write.

Brandon is a flats guide—one of the most technical forms of fishing there is. He stalks bonefish, tarpon, and permit on inches-deep water that demands patience, precision, and a deep understanding of the ecosystem. It’s sight fishing at its most challenging, and its most rewarding.

But ask anyone who’s spent a day on his skiff, and they’ll tell you: the fish are just part of it. Brandon’s got a quiet presence, a steady confidence that puts people at ease. He’s not out there to prove anything—he’s out there because he loves it. Because he respects it. Because it’s who he is.

"We don't just guide to catch fish. We guide to connect people to something bigger."

Brandon is part of a generation of Keys guides who see their job as stewards as much as anglers. With rising water temperatures, development pressure, and declining fish stocks, he’s on the front lines of an ecosystem under threat. He works with conservation groups, educates his clients, and supports programs that protect the flats fishery for generations to come.

And when you live this close to the water—six days a week, sunup to sundown—you don’t cut corners on gear. Brandon wears Costa’s Fly Line frames, a lightweight, performance-forward style that’s made for long days poling the flats. Paired with polarized glass lenses, they cut through glare and expose subtle movements—tailing permit, cruising tarpon, shadows sliding across the sand.

“They’re built for what I do,” he says. “You need to see everything, or you miss everything.”

For Brandon, guiding isn’t a profession. It’s a way of living in balance—with the water, with the fish, and with the history that made him.

Because down here, in the quiet stillness of the flats, it’s not just about what you catch.
It’s about what you see.

See What’s Out There.