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Marathon, Florida Keys
Capt. Bob Brown
March 21, 2007
Marathon - Saltwater Fishing Report
Sailfish Heating Up!
The conditions are finally starting to improve for the 'tailing' season for Sailfish, Cobia, and other migratory species here in the Florida Keys. The winds have picked up out of the east and the action has heated up along with the breeze. When we refer to "tailing season" we are talking about the spring of the year, usually March through May. And 'tailing' conditions are when we get a good east wind causing decent sized waves and put that together with a current from the gulfstream being in close to shore and going back against the wind, and you have some rough and rugged sea conditions that really turn on the action! The wind against the current scenario causes the migrating Sailfish, Cobia, Hammerhead Sharks, Dolphin, sometimes Tuna and Marlin also, to come to the surface and literally surf down the waves to gain momentum as they head SW along the Keys onto ares to our south. The fish usually have the top of thier tail fin out of the water, and hence the term 'tailing'. The method of fishing is more sight fishing than trolling or live baiting. We usually are out there slowly motoring around and looking for the tailing fish. When a fish or group of fish is spotted, we maneuver the boat in front of the speeding fish and toss out live baits in their projected path. This kind of activity can lead to multiple sightings of sails and cobia, sometimes into the 30 or 40 fish per day category and multiple hook ups as well. During this action last season, one boat off of Marathon released 36 sailfish in one day! That has not been the case yet this season, but this week boats have been catching several fish in a day with some nice Cobia mixed in. The breeze is forecast to blow through the weekend so if you are looking for a Sailfish adventure, look to the middle Keys as it will be happening this week! This trend should continue anytime we have breeze of about 15Knots or more and an easterly current could greatly enhance things if that happens to pick up. The past few days have not seen much current, and we have still been seeing some fish so it could totally bust loose any day to grand proportions!
Tarpon Due
Tarpon fishing in the middle Keys is due to explode as well and some fish have been spotted around the famous tarpon grounds of the 7 mile bridge this past week. We will be tarpon fishing a few days this coming week and can give you a better report on that action very soon. There have been some tarpon showing in the backcountry on a regular basis which is usually an indicator that the fishing is about to get good at the bridges. Look for Tarpon action to get better and better in the Keys in the next couple weeks.
For more info on fishing in Marathon and the middle Keys, check out our web site.
Good luck in all your fishing adventures!
Capt Bob Brown, Jr.
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