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Marathon, Florida Keys
Capt. Bob Brown
December 21, 2006
Marathon - Saltwater Fishing Report
King Invasion
The annual migration of the King Mackerel that brings droves of them to the Florida Keys has begun. This week we found many areas that were loaded up with King Mackerel on the Atlantic side up and down the reef edge in 50-180ft of water. These silver speedsters have been a long time favorite of Keys anglers and Captains as well. The bite should be hot this holiday weekend on the Kings if you are coming to the Keys have your wire leader ready and some double hook rigs. Best baits are live pilchards, blue runners, ballyhoo or cigar minnows if you are live baiting. If you have no live bait or like to troll, trolling ballyhoo with sea witches and a planing device works well also. Look for the kings to get even better in the next month or two.
The warm weather we have been having lately has had an impact on the blue water scene as there have been plenty of Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi) around this week. Monday and Tuesday we caught some nice ones up to 20lb and lost some nicer ones. I also heard some reports of some over 30lb hitting the docks. Great surprise for December fishing! The ones we found were in 100-200ft of water under frigate birds. Have some live baits handy to pitch out if you are looking for Dolphin under the birds this week.
Sailfish have been around too with some regularity but a strong westerly current the past few days has cooled the bite down a bit. My nephew Steven Tefft from Michigan was down this week and caught his first sailfish! A nice 50lb fish that was hooked up in the first 10 minutes we were out there. So if you are looking for Sailfish this coming weekend I expect plenty to be around and it could bust loose to grand proportions if the current turns around to the east and a cold front approaching. When those conditoins come together, a sailfish bonanza can and will occur!
Bay Bite
The cousin to the King, the Spanish Mackerel, although smaller in size and popularity in the Keys, takes second fiddle to no one in Florida Bay this time of year. The bite has been hot from 8-16 miles out. The best areas seem to be over the taller grass that you find out about 10-13 miles. Lots of chumming and some silver spoons, shrimp, jig heads, or any other fast moving bait fish like a pilchard. Or sometimes a flashy silver hook with NOTHING ON IT works!! Once they start frenzying it can be awesome.
Some Cobia are also showing up on bay wrecks and around some of the trap buoys and day markers out there. Nice catches of Mangrove Snapper have also been coming in from the Bay and plenty of Gag Grouper inhabiting the wrecks but most are less than legas size. All in all a trip to the calm waters of Florida Bay can be a fantastic way to spend a day on the water. Especially if there is breezy conditions.
If you want more info on fishing in the middle Florida Keys and the Marathon area, check out our web site.
Good luck in all your fishing adventures!
Capt Bob Brown, Jr.
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