Marathon, Florida Keys

Capt. Bob Brown
February 10, 2004
Marathon - Saltwater Fishing Report

Dolphin Showing Up!

Nice catches of school sized Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi) have been coming in to the charter boat docks in Marathon and the middle Keys the past couple days. This is great news and could be the start of the spring run of Mahi's already. Today, Frigate birds and Terns were putting boats on the fish as they worked along the color change and weedline in about 200ft. of water near Sombrero light off of Marathon. Most of the Dolphin were "schoolies" and in the 5-10lb class. These great eating, fun to catch fish should be increasing in numbers the next few weeks as waters warm and spring approaches. A few Sailfish are also in the mix off of Marathon as we released two rather large Sails today on the "Sundance". Several other boats scored on Sails as well. Best bite on Sailfish the past few days seems to be off of Islamorada as some boats were in the 10+ fish catagory for the two day ladies tournament there last weekend. Look for the good bite to continue as long as schools of Sardines remain in that area.

Grouper - Snapper - Mackerel

The nearshore fishing has been good for Mangrove Snapper and Grouper the past few days with some good catches of Mangs coming from the 7 mile bridge and in Hawk's channel on the shallow humps. Plenty of Grouper have been around as well but most are release sized. Yesterday we had two large keeper grouper in shallow waters in Hawk's Channel so there are a few good ones to be found. King Mackerel and Spanish Mackerel have been found in the area off of Bahia Honda Key in Hawk's channel also with some Kings up to 30lb coming in.

Bayside Bonanza

The Spanish Mackerel fishing has been excellent in Florida Bay and lots of anglers have been enjoying this great bonanza lately as the breezy weather has kept some boats from fishing oceanside. The area north to northeast of Bullard Bank has been hot and any area 7-11 miles north of Marathon has produced great catches of Macks. Look for the tall grass bottom and chum like crazy until the fish show up. Make sure the wire is on hand and the hook remover to avoid those sharp teeth!

If you'd like more info on fishing in the Marathon and middle Keys area, check out our website. Good luck in all of your fishing adventures!

Capt. Bob Brown, Jr.

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