Marathon, Florida Keys Offshore/Reef Report
Capt. Jason Long
October 16, 2012
Marathon - Saltwater Fishing Report
By:www.bestbetsportfishing.com
Happy Information Overload Awareness Day! What the flounder…? I'm not joking, apparently Saturday, October 20th, is a day set aside for us to send fewer emails, spend less time texting, and to not continuously "check-in" at every Keys watering hole we stumble into.
I don't foresee this holiday supplanting Christmas as our most popular day of celebration anytime soon. But in reality, the concept of dedicating a day to the non-dependence of technology is, after all, not such a bad idea. Just think of all the fun things we could be doing instead of surfing the web. I can think of one off the top of my head. It involves sunshine, excitement, beautiful scenery, friendly competition, and the opportunity to indulge in the tastiest seafood in the world. Plus, you can even enjoy a couple of cold beers while doing it! Any guesses?
That's right, fishing in the Florida Keys.
So on this Information Overload Awareness Day, I urge you to turn off your iPhone 5, log out of Facebook, leave the tweeting to the sea gulls, and spend an awesome day out on the water fishing in the fabulous Florida Keys. I'm happy to report that the fishing continues to be fantastic up and down the islands, and no matter what type(s) of fishing you want to do—deep sea, reef, wreck, etc.—the fish are biting, and the world's best captains are rigged and ready to show you the trip of a lifetime.
(Captain Ariel Medero of Big Game Sportfishing in Marathon, Florida with this nice Florida Keys daytime swordfish).
Offshore, the tuna bite has been very good from beyond the reef out to the Humps, with big blackfins over 25-pounds making their way back to the docks and onto the plates of happy anglers. Live baiting on the Humps has produced the best results, so try and load the well with pilchards before making the run offshore. If you can't find the pilchards don't fret, trolling and vertical jigging has been producing as well.
Also offshore, there are still plenty of hard-fighting gaffer-sized dolphins waiting to be caught. Last week several boats found packs of fish upwards of 20 pounds, making for a great late-season catch of our favorite summertime pelagic species. If your sights are set at targeting mahis this week, I suggest mixing things up and going after additional species as well—just in case you don't find a lot of fish. Take along your tuna, wahoo, and kingfish rigs as well, and be ready to go after each of them. Don't hesitate to put out a spread for sailfish too.
Speaking of sailfish, more and more are showing up each day. It's still a little early to focus an entire trip on targeting them, but if you've already loaded the cooler with dolphin and tuna from offshore, or snapper filets from the reef, it's not a bad idea to head out to the edge and see if you can't raise a sailfish. Battling a high-flying sail is a great way to cap off a memorable day.
Further out in the blue water, in the depths of science fiction novels, the daytime swordfish bite continues to be red hot. Captain Ariel Medero of Big Game Sportfishing in Marathon caught two nice swords last week, keeping one and releasing the other to be caught another day. Throughout the Keys multiple catches have been common, and I highly recommend heading out and giving it a shot if you've never deep dropped for swordfish before. It's quite a thrill, and you may just end up hooking into a monster.
Closer to home, the deep reef continues to produce excellent catches of big flag yellowtails, as well as good numbers of smoker kingfish that are growing thicker by the day. On the patches, the mangrove bite has remained consistent. Mark your fish in depths of 20 to 30 feet and use live pilchards, ballyhoo, or small pinfish fished on a jighead.
Your Best Bet for the Week Ahead: Turn off your computer, and go fishing!
Recharge your batteries with an exciting day of fishing in the Florida Keys. The offshore, wreck, and reef bites have been excellent, and we'd love to show you a great time on the water. For more information stop by the Best Bet Sportfishing boats docked at Key Colony Beach Marina on the Sadowski Causeway (mile marker 54).
To Book a trip with Best Bet Sportfishing please visit www.bestbetsportfishing.com or call Captain Jason Long at 305-395-1376.
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