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