Where are the Dolphin?

Just a quick note. The Dolphin are running behind schedule. Oh, there are small dolphin to the teens here and there but the big slammers must have taken a wrong turn somewhere.

There is some good news though. Off Key West there are a few boats seeing huge schools out near the Wall. Those fish should be here soon. When the dolphin get thick I'll let you know.

Until then, the reef has fired up for yellowtails and the mangroves are back to biting. There are still good numbers of sailfish hanging around and some nice Cobia moving through on the ocean side.

The bridge is starting to load up with tarpon. The night time bite has been pretty good. Pretty good meaning you have two or three shots a night. I had some guys out the other day that thought tarpon fishing was fast and furious. That ain't the case guys. We had two hits yesterday. Lost one to a big wad of weeds on the line (that's part of bridge fishing) and one got us wrapped around a bridge pier while we were cutting the boat loose to chase (that happens, but it really hurts when it is a big fish).

Anyway, I have got to go fishing. Will try to update later.

Okay it's later. I blew off the oceanside today and went bayside to do some scouting. The best snapper bite was in the deep grass away from the wrecks everyone and their brother is hammering. One of my spots is so loaded with Goliath Grouper nothing good made it to the boat. My crew enjoyed catching and releasing the Goliaths so that wasn't a wasted stop.

They were supposed to be serious tarpon guys, but waiting a couple of hours for a bite wasn't their cup of tea so I had to find spots with constant action. They also wanted eating fish. So let me explain tarpon fishing. It is like watching paint dry for a few hours until the fish get in the mood to bite. The bite can happen at any time or not happen at all. If you just want to catch fish and have fun, don't book a tarpon trip. If you are serious about tarpon, permit and bonefish it may take some patients and extra effort on your part.

So what I really need to write about is realistic expectations. There are average times required for prize catches. Take sailfish, with four anglers on the boat, what are the odds that all four anglers boat their first sail? This isn't leadering a sail, it is boating a sail for a photo. It is over 50 to 1 in season. Tarpon are a little easier than sailfish in season. So the odds are around 35 to 1 of all four anglers boating their first tarpon. This based on estimate performance per trip.

I will try to get more numbers, but if you can't devote over three hours of your life without getting antsy for something to happen, some of the fish in the glossy magazines may not be for you.

Marathon in the Florida Keys should be your next fishing vacation destination. Join us for charter fishing, fishing guide trips or our fishing 101 so you can fish on your own with better success.

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas