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Marathon, Florida Keys
Capt. Bob Brown
November 26, 2001
Marathon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Mackerel Bonanza!
The annual run of Spanish Mackerel has started a bit early here in the Marathon and middle Keys area. The bite is ON right now as tons of nice sized Spanish have been coming in from the Florida Bay. Best action has been about 9-15 miles out in 11-15 ft. of water. Normally the Mackerel bite really heats up after Christmas, but a cooler than normal October and early Nov. has hurried up the migration to the Keys area. Best baits for the big Mack attack in Florida Bay are live shrimp, live pilchards, cut fresh Ballyhoo, spoons, jigs, flies, and just about any artificial bait that you can move fast through the water (don't forget the wire leader!). We had a bay trip yesterday and found live pilchards and small silver spoons to be the best ticket. The action has been all you want and after an hour or two of fighting these aggressive fish, you might opt for some of the great Snapper or Shark fishing that is also going on in the Bay right now. Lots of large Lemons, Black Tips and Bull Sharks have been invading the Snapper grounds near East Bahia Honda Key and the action has been furious with anglers wanting to hook into a large predator. Also in the Bay and Gulf right now are a few nice Cobia and Grouper on the wrecks a bit further out along with an occasional Goliath Grouper (Jewfish).
On the Oceanside of the Marathon area, lots of Mackerel action to be had there as well on the reef and in Hawk's Channel around the humps and coral heads. Nice catches of Yellowtail have been coming in from the shallow reef with most fish in the 13-16" class. Larger Yellowtail have been a bit slower because of unfavorable current conditions, but has been decent near Big Pine Key and off of Duck Key in 65-85' of water.
On the offshore scene, some nice Dolphin have been showing up lately close to the edge of the reef in 120-250ft. of water. Some as large as 45lb.!! Most have been nice sized shoolies, and charter boats fishing for Sailfish and Kingfish have had some nice surprises lately with the Dolphin. The Oceanside wrecks have been producing some nice Mutton Snapper as well lately and a few big Amberjack and Jack Crevalle also are inhabiting the wrecks presently.
The offshore humps off of the middle Keys have been slow lately as far as the Tuna bite goes. The last report I have form out there was that there was no current and no fish. That can change overnight however, with the gulfstream moving back in over the humps and bringing the current and fish along with it. Best bet is to check with the local tackle shops that have the satellite maps of the gulfstream before heading offshore to the humps.
For more information on offshore and Tarpon fishing in Marathon and the middle Keys, check out our web site! Good luck in all of your fishing adventures!!
Capt. Bob Brown, Jr.
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