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Marathon, Florida Keys
Capt. Bob Brown
March 3, 2007
Marathon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Dolphin Delight!
The offshore fishing in Marathon took a bit of a hit in recent weeks with some cool fronts and cooling water temperatures cooling off the bite. The gulfstream also decided to take a trek further offshore and all added up to some slow Dolphin (Mahi-Mahi) fishing for February. Lately, the weather and fishing have both warmed up, and the Dolphin have shown up in good numbers at times. There have been some good weed lines and current rips about 19 miles off of Marathon the past couple days as southern winds have driven in the gulfstream and the weed lines. Yesterday, aboard the "Sundance", we had a nice catch of 20 schoolie Dolphin and released some as well. A couple days earlier a trip to Marathon's west hump was productive as we bagged some nice Blackfin Tuna up to 25lb and had lots of action on smaller Blackfins and Skipjack tuna. Capt Chris Moran on the "Adios" who docks next to me went to the hump yesterday and reprorted hooking up a Blue Marlin and a White Marlin only to have both come 'unglued'. So some exciting things have been going on offshore of the middle Keys. Sailfish action has been on the increase lately along with some big Cobia hitting the docks from the oceanside of Marathon. The warming trend we have been on the last few days will only improve the offshore bite in the next couple weeks if temps stay on the rise.
Snapper Bite
Snapper are one of the favorite fish of all Keys anglers and this time of year the bite can be great in several locations. We have been catching some good numbers of Yellowtail Snapper on the Atlantic side reef edge in depths of 35-95ft of water. Best bite on big 'flags' has been the deeper reef in 60-90ft. Mangrove Snapper fishing has been excellent in Florida bay around the banks near East Bahia Honda Key and the banks between the 7 mile bridge and Coconut Key. The 7 mile bridge has also been good for nice snapper lately and the patch reefs on the atlantic side have been good in certain places off of Key Colony Beach. Look for a good patch of coral bottom and chum. Use larger live baits or large chunks of fresh ballyhoo or pinfish.
King of the Bay
The bayside of the Florida Keys has been red hot lately with big King Mackerel inhabiting some of the wrecks out there from 14 miles on out. I'm not talking about just a few decent Kings, there have been plenty of 40-50lb Kings hitting the docks at the 7 mile marina this week and there have been lots more released by catch and release fishermen. Some Kings even larger have been reported out there and the excitement level has been rising about how good the bayside fishing has been lately. Recent trips to the bay have been producing some large Cobia and lots of smaller ones.... Big Permit are starting to show up as well along with some passing schools of Tarpon as they migrate towards the Keys bridges and banks. Add those into the mix with some huge Goliath Grouper, Gag Grouper, Spanish Mackerel, Mangrove Snapper, Jacks, Bluefish, Ladyfish, and maybe a redfish or trout......quite a smorgasboard! Anyway, some cleaner water that has been out in the bay has been the guess of many experienced guides as to why the bay bite has been so good. Don't miss out on this if you are coming south to the Keys in the near future!
If you would like more info on keys fishing check out our web site. Good luck in all your fishing adventures!
Capt Bob Brown, Jr.
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