Slow Day Yesterday

There is a guy on the Florida Sportsman fishing forum that wants guys to post about slow trips as well as good trips. Generally that is bad for business, but I will post about one anyway. The forecast was for the winds to pick up early and the boat we were on was an 18 foot whaler. So the reef was pretty much out of the picture. Then my job was to teach them how to get around and basic fishing techniques used in the Keys.

That went well, but the fishing was slow. Mike and crew caught enough Lane and Mangrove snapper for dinner and strawberry grouper that was big enough to put in the box. Also caught a big yellow jack which is one of the few jacks I recommend trying. The bite was slow until the front came through then it died completely.

All told we only caught about ten different species of fish. That is pretty low for the types of fishing we tried. We did lose a couple of bigger fish to the rocks and had a larger fish break the line with its tail. Mike's dad had the larger fish nearly whipped when it broke the line. Never got a good look at the fish, but dad had a good time until that point.

The day before I fished with Chicago Joe. The sailfish plan didn't pan out so we hit a rock pile in Hawk Channel. We caught a few nice snapper and a lot of other fish that we didn't keep. Joe got one big hit on his heavier rod and quickly got spooled for some excitement. We could have caught a lot more, but a bottle nose dolphin and her calf decided to steal our fish. That doesn't happen very often. When it does it is fun to watch for a while, but the bite goes to hell.

So there you have two slow days in a row. Both days they caught enough for dinner, learned a few things and had a good time.

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

A Plethora of Porgies

The reef is still over run with mackerel and blue runners so we move to the seven mile bridge to try for some big mangroves. We hit the bridge right at the beginning of slack tide which can be difficult. We got a little lucky and had a steady bite of good size porgies in the 1.5 to 2 pound range. Actually it was the best porgy bite I had to date in the Keys. Only manage one nice mangrove and fat yellowtail though because there were so many porgies.

Not a problem though because Chicago Joe and crew know how good porgies eat. All of the porgies were caught on live shrimp though they would have bitten about anything yesterday. Today we are going to try a little offshore action. Hopefully I can put Joe on his first sail.

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

The Table is Nearly Ready!

Before I head out to do a little Yellowtail fishing with Chicago Joe I thought I would post the latest on the fish cleaning table. It looks good for production beginning the first of the year. The one in the photo is set up at the Seven Mile Marina for testing and display. I am pretty excited about this new product and all the captains that have seen it have nothing but good things to say about it.

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

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Not much planned today for myself. May go fishing with Chicago Joe or wait until tomorrow. The winds are dieing down so I will be fishing hard for the next five or six days to get a little jingle in my clothes.

If you like fast action and smoked fish come on down to play with the Spanish and/or Cero Mackerel. For those of you not familiar with Florida Keys mackerel fishing it is not uncommon to catch 10 to 12 fish per hour per person. Sometimes the fish can average over five pounds with my largest Spanish being about 12 pounds and my largest Cero about 20 pounds. On light spinning tackle these fish are a real hoot. Not every day is that great but it is pretty hard not to catch a bunch. BTW, Porky's will smoke your fish for a share of the dip.

For you guys in the frozen north country keep a look out for an article on Keys Mackerel fishing in the fisherman magazine. That was a slow day and the author Austin had a blast.

Merry Christmas everyone and have a prosperous new year.

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

Mackerel Bite Too Strong

Chicago Joe and crew wanted snapper yesterday. Unfortunately the cero and Spanish mackerel took charge of the slick along with hound fish, needle fish, blue runner, small Amberjack and a huge flock of seagulls. Frustrating to say the least but we did manage enough snapper, Mangrove and Yellowtail, plus a decent strawberry and red grouper to make a big dinner for the crew.

Not many other boats on the water yesterday but at least a few charters got off the dock. Ballyhoo are hard to find with the darn gulls so pesky. If you want to stock up on mackerel though, now is the time.

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

New Record Set, But Not a Good One

Chicago Joe and crew tried to fish with me yesterday. The winds the first thing in the morning didn't look that bad. Only they started picking up as we got ready to leave contrary to the weather report. Joe had gotten a tip at the bait store about a good snapper bite close to the shore. So we gave it a shot.

The water was very dirty and the seas just snotty enough to cause some spray. With the cold temperatures that was just enough to make in close to miserable. With nothing but short snapper at the secret spot miserable was becoming more possible.

We moved out to a Hawk Channel rock pile for so lane snapper. First fish was in the box right away. Nice, I though we could make a day out of it. Then the lanes got smaller and the bite died. We tried another rock pile and got decent porgy and a couple small mackerel. So we switch to free lining in the slick for more Macks. That is we we set the record. We caught and released five seagull! There were so may gulls in the slick we couldn't fish. Plus with the boat swing in the wind we were getting hung on the bottom nearly every drop. Now it was miserable so we called it a day.

We will have a do over when the wind lays down a little. 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

The Wedding

The wedding of Colleen and Jim went off without a hitch yesterday. Well maybe a little hitch or two.

Performing an outdoor wedding in a monsoon is a bit difficult so the event was hastily move in doors to the lobby of the Old Town Manor. The spacious lobby allow about forty of the attendees to witness the rites and still allow the wedding party cram in front with me plastered against the front wall. Of course as the time approached the sky cleared and the flood waters receded. That is supposed to be a good omen for what I hear.

This was Collen Jim and my first wedding considering our respective roles. Since I am not much of a public speaker I opted for metered liquid courage to relax the nerves and clear my wind pipe. For my part I did a perfect job other than deleting a couple lines, not waiting for the musician to finish and totally blowing my planned tempo. Still a wedding is a wedding so no one noticed other than the mother of the bride. When the newly weds get a chance to view the video I hope they still have a sense of humor.

The reception was of course postponed until today because of the monsoon that no longer existed. So I will probably head back to Key Weird for the great grub and the hopefully light scorn from the mother of the bride.

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

The Week Ahead

Lots of stuff going on this week. First I will be ring the Salvation Army bell at Publix from 12:00 to 2:00. That will be a first. Then Thursday and Friday I will be in Key Weird for a wedding rehearsal, then Friday I perform my first wedding. Saturday I fish for profit with one of my favorite regulars. Monday and Tuesday I fish with another of my favorite regulars.

Fishing has for the most part been outstanding for the few guys that have been getting out. I hope I haven't how to do it since it has been nearly a month since my last trip.

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

Fishing Guides What They Do?

They are different kinds of fishing guides in the Keys and elsewhere. Some specialize in types of fishing like back country, fly fishing, flats fishing, bridge fishing, bottom fishing et cetera. Some do a little bit of everything. I am one of the little bit of everything variety. Some parts I am very good at and some I know enough to help most anglers. Fly fishing about my worst area and I still have repeat customers that show up every year to add a new species to their list. I generally avoid tarpon fishing unless there is a really hot morning or afternoon bite.

My main thing as most know is teaching the basics of fishing in the Keys. From how to throw a cast net to how to catch sailfish. Since my trips normally don't include boat scrubbing or much of my own gear my rates are lower than most. In other words it is kinda of like fishing with your buddies instead of having paid mate to do everything. There are guys to do do the hired mate thing so they charge more.

I recently met a captain in Islamorada that does the hired mate thing that wants me to fish a few of his trips this year. So the rates for his trip will be variable depending on what the customer wants.

My current rate is $175 a day though I do give repeat customers some slack. The full bells and whistles guide trips will be $300 a day if you prefer to watch me load the boat, bait your hook, clean the boat clean the fish and everything else involved in a normal trip. So that leaves some room for dickering.

My type of guide service is best for guys that are new to the Florida Keys fishing experience and have their own boat and gear, are down for a few days or longer serious fishing vacation. The other is best for guys just planning a one day trip and don't know much about fishing in general or are just squeamish about dealing with bait and fish. Now don't get me wrong I am full service for the ladies and kids that need help on my regular trips.

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

Not Much to Post About

This season is taking forever to start in terms of tourists. The resident snow birds are moving back into town. They seem to be hiding in their vacation homes though. While I am pretty bummed about the slow start at least it isn't just me. Some of the most popular captains in Marathon have fished less than I have.

The reports I get are mainly great for snapper, mackerel and sailfish. The sailfish still require a bit of a run to find most days but they are out there. Also they have been shying away from heavier leaders. So start with 30 or 40 pound just in case. Bait is still thick every where with even some good size school of mullet spotted from time to time. Glass minnow for the guy with small mesh nets are pretty thick and the shrimp run on the last moon was productive for the night owls on the bridges.

I am getting a lot of people asking about bridge fishing. That is fishing from the bridge not me guiding to the bridge. Area bridges at night have been very product. My favorite bridge to recommend is the No Name bridge because you have great pizza, cold beer, live bait and good fishing all within walking distance. Tom's Harbor bridge is great fishing but it just ain't the same without good pizza.

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

I Added Dan's Slideshow

Dan that I took out last week wanted to learn how to catch sailfish and throw a castnet on live ballyhoo. From the pictures it looks like he listens pretty good.

Dan if you like you can leave a comment on your photos.

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