2010 It Was the Hottest of Years, it was the Coldest of Years

What the Dickens was going on?  The first and last of the year delivered record low temperatures.  So low that I was thinking Central America was in my future.  Then the summer was so hot I had my first experience with heat stroke.  The extremes in weather strengthen my resolve in one way.  I will stick to my guns on having fun fishing and not push the stupidity envelope.

By that I mean if I politely tell people that it makes no sense to fish all day in marginal conditions I will refer them to some younger guy that has not had enough near death experiences yet.  So no fishing tournaments for me this year if the winds are over 20 knots or all day long in the sun on a flats boat in 100 plus degree heat.  Call me captain wussy.

The Gulf oil spill last year was a PITA.  While everything was causing turmoil I was on a radio show and asked my opinion.  I said that mother nature is a tough old broad and that things would not be as bad in the Keys as predicted.   I was right, but no body listens to guys like me when there are a wealth of educated people that think they know what they are talking about.  Just remember the predictions of the educated butt holes before discounting the opinions of guys that have to watch weather and currents to make a real living.

Health wise, the new year pretty much has to be better for me.  Can't be much worse anyway.  So I should be back into the game as much as I like this new year.  Just need to finish some paper work and all will be back to normal again.

Speaking of paper work, BP has requested that I don't sue them.  So I have signed a paper to that effect.  That doesn't mean I am a sell out to big oil.  The only people I would sue because of lost wages would be the mainstream media and the educated idiots that predicted things that would happen with high confidence that did not happen.  BP by the way has gone above and beyond helping out the regular folks that were impacted by the spill.  Scoff if you like at the commercials, but they have helped out guys that lost cash because of closed fisheries and fear of oil causing canceled vacations.

Well, time to try and tackle my tackle and get ready for this season.  Happy New Year guys.  Come on down and do some fishing.

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

Joe Box Thermal Pants Save the Day!

It was 50 degrees when we left the dock at 10:15 this morning.  I don't do cold well at all.  The delayed start was mainly me while I made a trip to Kmart for another layer of clothing.  Luckily, I stumbled upon Joe Boxer Thermal Pants!  They are almost like designer long underwear complete with the lable on the waist ban so people might think I am styling if my breaches sag.  Not only did they keep me warm I felt all sexy in my designer underwear. 

We managed a keeper group and a fair mess of yellowtail snapper.  Had it not been for a big, hungry bull shark, we would have had a nice mutton snapper and probably a few more bragging fish.  Other than the cold in the morning, the day was beautiful especially after my Joe Boxer discovery.  Here is a neat catch that we released.  A Spanish Hogfish.

This regular hogfish didn't make the cut so I let him go.  A photo of me with a fish is pretty rare, so enjoy.

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

After Christmas Fishing Plans

It is chilly this morning so we are getting a late start.  The winds are a bit high, but living on an island we can find some place to fish out of the wind.  Grouper are definitely the target species since the season closes on the first of the month.  Barracuda, like the one pictured above add a little spice to the day, but I only target them for folks that have little experience catching them.  Sharks are also in the loop for action, but today is meat fishing.

The weather this time of year tends to rotate during the average week with one or two nasty days, one or two great days and the rest marginal.  Try to plan your trips around the weather after you get to the Keys and you will have a great vacation.  Forcing a fishing trip on a miserable day can be memorable, but in a bad way.

I have been working on restaurant reviews with wifi access.  That should be done in a few days.  

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

Get Your Grouper While You Can!

Grouper season closes in the Florida Keys January 1st.  So the last two trips I have been targeting grouper.  They are not thick as thieves, but we are getting a couple Keepers per day along with the usual Mangrove and Lane snapper in Hawk Channel.  Blogger is making it more of a challenge uploading pictures, so I will add some after I figure it out.

In any case, Chicago Joe and his son Joey have put four nice red grouper in the box so far along with a good number of Mangroves, Lanes and we kept a few Spanish Mackerel for fish fritters.

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 Great Spanish Mackerel Cook Off

When I have too much time on my hands I come up with off the wall stuff.  Once in a while there might be a little something worth while in my rambling thoughts.  The Great Spanish Mackerel Cook Off may not be a bad idea.

A bunch of years ago I had clients down from the frozen north that had a great time fishing.  They would not even think about tasting a Spanish Mackerel though.  In the winter, especially on windy days, it is hard not to catch Spanish Mackerel.  They fight good.  They are plentiful.  They would be a top notch game fish if only they had a better reputation on the table. To prove to my clients from lLong Island that our local Spanish Mackerel should not be confused with Boston Mackerel or Jack Mackerel, I created a recipe for Spanish Mackerel cakes. 

My crew sampled the cakes in silence.  I was getting the impression they thought my skills in the kitchen sucked until they finally said angrily that my fish cakes were better than the crab cakes they had paid out the nose for in Key Weird.  I am not trying to say my fish cakes are better than properly prepared crab cakes.  They do beat the heck out of crap cakes that many restaurants pull out of the freezer and broil for unsuspecting customers. 

Spanish Mackerel also make great fish dip.  Most of the dips are made from smoked mackerel fillets, though the meat can be prepared in a variety of ways for dips or fish salads.  Fried Spanish Mackerel can also be quite tasty, though you can fry about anything and someone will eat it.  The biggest problem with Spanish Mackerel is that the raw fillets do not freeze well.  The fillets tend to get mushy when frozen.

So I recently did some research while I was freezing my own butt off during the recent cold front.  Salting Mackerel removes a good deal of the moisture from the fillets enabling the fillets to be frozen with less damage.  The salting firms the fillets enough that new texture may lend itself to a wider variety of recipes.  The next local step in my deranged mind was to have a Spanish Mackerel Cook Off to get more people involved in the project.  It is a quirk of human nature than normally sane people will suddenly start working their butts off to win a stupid ribbon or spend hundreds of dollars to win plaque or trophy.  Throw in a keg of beer and you can dozens of spectators cheering on the chefs.

Not being the most organized person in the world, I would be a poor choice to head the select committee for the Great Spanish Mackerel Cook Off.  I am devious enough to Tom Sawyer some poor unsuspecting individual into taking the Cook Off ball and running with it.

Now I will start my diabolical plan to get more people to eat Spanish Mackerel and have fun doing it.  If you would like to assist in this endeavor, start spreading the word that Spanish Mackerel can be good eats.

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

Winter Means Mackerel

Winter fishing for Mackerel is a pretty big deal here in the Keys. We get all kinds of Mackerel, Kings, Spanish, Cero and even Wahoo this time of year. Spanish Mackerel is the main target mainly because winds keep most smaller boats on the Bay Side many days. Spanish are fun to catch but on the table they require a little special treatment for most appetites. The Seven Mile Marina last Tuesday had a Mackerel seminar and covered most of the info including smoking the fillets for snacks and making fish dip. Well there are a few more things you can do with the Spanish fillets.

Mackerel generally does not freeze very well. It tends to get mushy if frozen. The cooked meat does freeze well, so good mackerel recipes should start with precooked meat if you plan on taking a bunch home for the neighborhood. Precooking can be smoking, grilling, broiling and even poaching, just make sure it is not over cooked. For those that want Mackerel frozen to take back home to fry, the thicker fillets will do best. Still, they won't last long frozen without suffering a little mushiness. So let's say you whack a few hundred pounds of Mackerel on your Keys vacation, what ya gonna do?

Smoking is a good idea. Porky's Bay Side in Marathon will smoke your fillets for you and swap out smoked fish or smoked fish dip in exchange. Several local captains are firing up their own smokers for themselves and customers. Just about everyone down here has a good fish dip recipe that most will share. My dip recipe has been online for years.

The cooked fillets can be used in just about any recipe calling for tuna. In salads it tastes milder than tuna. Some people like it some don't. What is does great is make fish cakes and fish fritters. A fish fritter is nothing more than a hush puppy loaded with fish. I may have to type up my recipe for some of you non-believers. They are good though. The my fish cake recipe is in the link list above.

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

More Iguana the Another White Meat

I got a call today for iguana meat.  I don't sell iguana meat.  I may have passed on an excellent entrepreneurial endeavor.  You can order frozen iguana for $50 plus a pound if you are a lunatic.  Here, they literally fall from the trees.  They are pretty tasty too.  If you live near D.C. you can get frozen iguana for about $10 a pound if you know somebody and $15 a pound if you don't.  So I may look into getting an iguana harvesting permit.  They are invasive you know.

What I didn't know was that many Central American's considered iguana "better than Viagra."  It supposedly cures about anything.  I know of a few Mexicans that get an iguana every now and then just to get lucky.  So iguana may be an aphrodisiac as well.  I have already turned down a few iguana fishing trips because some PITA types think they should be protected or something.  Well, if Alicia Silverstone wants to come down here and get naked to stop me, I may think about it.  Until then, I am thinking about starting Conch Republic Iguana Safaris.

With the current unemployment situation here in the Keys and being an unofficial member of the Marathon homeless community, I could hire a few guys to collect iguanas for frozen meat sales.  Selling the frozen meat is a problem since I would have to get all kinds of licenses and permits to do it legally.  As a safari guide I can whack them and send the meat home just like fish.  Hook and line iguana harvesting is about as exciting as it gets so it should be an adventure for most vacationers not affiliated with PITA.  I will have to get property owner permission for iguana hunt/fishing expeditions on private docks.  With any luck I can get a permit for the Key Deer sanctuary on Big Pine Key.  Hunting for iguana in the sanctuary can be real exciting when the Key Deer are in rut as a fat boy on Youtube found out.

Then again, shipping iguana meat without a license is a federal offense.  After checking out the Bureau of Prisons national menu, I could learn a new trade, get free health care and eat pretty good until the economy picks up again.  So if the money is right, I could start taking orders right away.

Fishing wise, everything is pretty normal.  The Spanish Mackerel in the Bay are off the hook right now.  Mangrove snapper are every where.  Muttons are more challenging, but good sized.  Sailfish are close and hungry.  Offshore has been closed for a while due to the wind, so no reports there. 

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

It's the Keys

I started off this morning planning to revise the local restaurant section now that season is getting closer.  Wifi access was to be  part of the reviews since many like to check their emails.  That got shot to heck so I will give it another shot Friday.  Some of the places I visited today are adding internet access so the list will be better anyway.

I got a couple of calls about a friend planning to get married.  Just as I was planning my intervention, they decided they want me to perform the ceremony.  I have never performed a ceremony sober, so I may need to get tuned up for the event.  They are planning on having it at  bar after all.

I fished last Saturday.  The wind was against the current so it was slow on the reef.  We caught enough mangroves for dinner, but the bait did not want to play.  That messed up our chance for sailfish.  The sailfish are pretty thick right now but a little finicky about the bait they want.  Live ballyhoo is the ticket most of the time.  For something heavier I found a bunch of good size jacks for them to play with plus a 'cuda.  Since they lost a good many big fish I may redo my post on braided line again.  Braid don't make a light rod heavy.

The leg hung in there good so I am back on the clock until I screw something else up.  Everything is wide open until December, then I have a few scatter trips scheduled.  The economy is still messing with a lot of people.  If you are planning on running up your credit card bills before filing bankruptcy, we have some great fishing deals.  Just remember that the Keys are really a part of the United States, so the IRS and a good many lawyers know how to track you down.  I have a standing offer for any IRS guys to come down fishing.  With penalties and interest for losing fish it should be a win win kinda thing.  I prefer not to fish with lawyers since they already know most of my jokes.

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

Ramblings

It has been a long while since my last post.  Shame on me I guess.  I am still breathing in case of you were wondering.  I have learned a few interesting things in the past few weeks:

Never joke about somebody's Cankles.  That is where someone has heavy ankles.  You know, their calf done run into their ankle.  Now I have a cankle.  My leg feels pretty good.  I get around good.  I just have a goofy looking cankle.

Most people in AA, really need to be in AA.  I thought I was drinker until I met these guys.  I can't tell any of the stories.  Swore to secrecy you know.  But it is definitely worth it to attend a meeting once in a while.

Never start a book!  Writing one that is.  Being immobile a while, does weird things to your head.  The only good thing about the book is it proves that I am just as warped sober as drunk.  I still slur my typing and everything.

Not drinking is boring.  I have stopped making late night calls to discuss profound subjects.  I miss the stimulating conversations that followed the next morning.  If you miss those calls, shoot me a line.

The economy still seems to suck.  I am working on a fishing ponzi scheme.  People that join my multi-level angler's associate early can target grouper.  Those that join later can target grunts.  Oh wait, that was the marine fisheries commission's plan.

I don't have a clue how fishing is right now down here.  I guess I will just have to jump on the boat and go find out.  Now, seems like a good time.  Later.

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

Lazy Days

Other than the fact that it is nearly impossible to book a trip, I love this time of the year in the Keys.  The weather is ideal.  You can cross US 1 without having to wait forever for a gap in traffic.  There is no wait in the checkout line at the WD and you can nap in a hammock without some Dilbert asking you what you are doing.  I never have figured out why anyone would need to ask what a person laying in a hammock sound asleep is doing.

Restaurants in town also start realizing that a tuna sandwich with chips may not really be worth eight bucks.  Some even begin to realize that ten dollar hamburgers, four dollar Bud bottles and (This is my favorite) eight dollar grilled cheese sandwiches are not going to pack their establishments.  Now, you can get good lunch specials with reasonable portions for under six bucks.  Just the other day I had pasta with meatballs and garlic bread for under six bucks with tax.  The portion was large enough that a little hammock time was in order.

There are a few type A personalities and some folks that think that just because they have the ability to talk, they have to constantly.  Most of the time it is pretty easy to avoid these people.  Some even begin to realize that the world doesn't really revolve around them.

So this time of year I take care of the few things I need to take care of without rushing.  Find time to shoot the breeze with buddies.  And of course make time for a little nap here and there. 

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

Catching Live Bait

As the water temperatures cool lots of things are going to start happening here in the Keys.  The first thing is that lots of different kinds of bait fish will move down here to get out of the cold water.  Scaled sardines (we call them pilchards), thread fin herring, and ballyhoo will come down to the Keys in large numbers for their winter vacation.  The schools of bait are so large that artificial lures have a tough time competing with the natural baits that are so abundant.  So to really have a kick butt fishing trip you need the livies.

Every year I have a post were I try to beat it into the tourista's heads the need for and how to catch live bait.  This year I am going to hammer home the need for and how to throw a real castnet.

First thing, what is a real castnet?  A real castnet is an 8 foot or larger radius net.  In case y'all don't know what a radius is, it is the distance from the lead line of the net to the center or horn of the net.  So an eight foot net has a diameter of 16 feet.  I personally throw a ten foot net and most charter captains throw a 12 foot net.  The reason I throw a smaller ten foot net is because I fish all kinds of boats, most of which are smaller and generally overloaded with crap limiting the room I have to throw.  Most charter captains throw a 12 foot net because they are fishing their own boat and they are real anal about telling you to keep your crap out of their way so they have plenty of room to throw the larger net.

I also throw a cheap net because many of the boats I fish have net rippers like backing out rub rail screws, cracked fiberglass and other stuff that will rip a hole in my net.  Most charter captains throw high dollar nets because they have made sure their boat does not have net rippers.

The biggest difference between the cheap net and the high dollar net is the mesh of the net.  The cheap net's mesh is stiffer and has a lot of memory.  The high dollar net mesh is silky smooth and has very little memory.  Just look at the price difference between the top of the line monofilament and the bottom of the barrel Walmart brand.

Learning to throw a net is a lot like learning to ride a bike.  The first time or two you try you will freak out and do something stupid and everybody watching will get a nice chuckle at your expense.  Well man up!  Did you quit trying to ride a bike because Jennifer across the street laughed and called you a spaz when you crashed into the rose bushes?  No you took a Mercurochrome bath and practiced in the backyard until you could proudly ride down the street and flip Jenny, the ninny off. ( deja vu all over again. Maybe I should have picked another comparison.)

Anyway, there are several ways to load and throw a net.  I use the dry load method because I hate getting wet the first thing in the morning and freezing my butt off running to the fishing spot.  Since I am too cheap to by a video camera I am sticking a video link to another captain showing how to throw a cast net with the dry load method.  Pay attention to how he coils the line and the net in the outside to inside roll.  Also note that he uses the net's momentum to make the throw not only easy but look easy.  You not only want to catch bait you also want to look cool doing it just in case Jenny shows up in her boat with her new race car driver boy friend.

Here is the link to the video.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOUkj2h2LjI

Now go into the backyard and practice.

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

Count Down to Bay Side Catching

The biggest reason I settled on Marathon for my home port is the easy access to a large variety of fishing areas.  The fishing in Florida Bay totally blew my mind when I first got down here.  Catching over a hundred fish per trip is pretty phenomenal especially when you can land ten or more species in a single trip.  The last two years the Bay Side bite has been pretty good but nothing like it was three and more years ago due to algae blooms.  Thanks to the wickedly cold winter we had last year it appears that our algae problems are over for a while.  So this year you can experience the magic of Bay fishing without having to run 25 plus miles to find quality water.

As the fall progresses into winter cooling waters north of us will drive Spanish Mackerel, King Mackerel and Cobia into the Bay to join the fat Mangrove snapper, Lane Snapper and Gag Grouper that hang out back there.  Lady Fish, Blue Fish and a variety of sharks that may or may not be your cup will add to the variety.  While not common on every trip, gator sized Sea Trout, Sheeps Head, Hogfish, Permit and Redfish often pay the slick a visit.  It is a great time of the year for light tackle anglers looking for a workout.

The Bay Side action heats up as the water temperature cools.  A good rule of thumb is that when the water temperature off Tampa hits 70 degrees the Bay action peaks.  Thanksgiving is the average time things get going, but mid November normally provides plenty of action.  The action continues until water temperatures in the Bay drop below 70 degrees.  So you can count on hot Bay fishing until the middle of January and often the action will continue through March in a mild winter.

The past two years the size of the Spanish Mackerel has been about four pounds average after culling.  Before the algae situation the past couple of years seven pounds was a good culling size with fish pushing ten pounds not that uncommon.  A ten pound Spanish Mackerel is a bragging size fish that is a challenge on light spinning gear or a fly rod.  By light I mean 10 to 20 pound test because less than ten pound test is pretty frustrating when a 30 plus pound King or Cobia crashes the Spanish party.

If you have never experienced a red hot Bay bite you might want to make plans to play hooky a few days this year to get that off your bucket list.  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

September and October Fishing

September and October is the summer/fall transition time for fishing in the Keys.  By September, the reef snapper spawn is over and the big Mangroves and Muttons move back towards their winter haunts.  Back in the Bay the big Mangroves will be hanging out in the taller bottom grass, around structure and near many of the banks.  The Muttons will move to their favorite deeper wrecks and many of the rock piles in Hawks Channel.  Bridge fishing this time of year can be exceptional as the various species move around deciding on where they plan to spend their winter. 

Offshore, tuna is a good bet about anywhere with plenty of triple tails for those that find a few floaters.  Dolphin or Mahi Mahi can be found off the Florida Keys year around but as air and water temperatures drop Sailfish and Mackerel are easier targets just off the reef. 

Flag Yellowtail snapper on the reef are a bit harder to target after the spawn but, good size fish in the 15 to 18 inch range are on most of the reef's live coral fields from around 35 feet to 100 feet.  Remember the deeper you fish the more chum you need to burn. With the grouper season scheduled to close in December, September through November will be your best bet to target these tasty critters on the wrecks, patches and rock piles.

As the water temperatures drop, Bay Side Spanish Mackerel fishing will build up and if water conditions are favorable, Cobia will start hanging out on the Bay structure.  The past two years the near shore (10 to 20 miles out) Cobia fishing has been below normal.  This has been due to algae blooms in that range which don't appear to be a problem this year.  So expect to see some nice fish coming to the dock in the next couple of months.

Fishing reports have been in short supply with the off season upon us.  Yellow Tail on the reef are biting well.  The Mangrove bite with some keeper Gag grouper is getting better in the Bay.  Tuna on the humps have been pretty consistent with decent catches of Dolphin most days and quite a few nice triple tails coming home for dinner.

Tarpon are biting better than normal for this time of year off the flats and bridges due to the weird weather this past season.  While the water is still warm the bonefish and permit bite should remain good though it is considerably better to the West from the Contents past Key Weird.

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

Catch 22

The past two seasons have been really tough for me and plenty of my friends down here.  Going from around 300 trips a year to less than 100 has impacted my finances considerably.  Oddly enough, I have had more than enough trips booked to survive the poor economy, it is just those darn catches that have messed everything up.  The weather permitting catch followed by the being healthy enough to fish catch were the cause of most of my misfortunes.

This winter's weather cost me over 20 trips.  Very few people wanted to vacation in the Keys with temperatures dipping below 40 degrees.  Then having windier than normal conditions in late spring cost me a few more.  Weather is always a cause for lay days, this year the lay days were a bit more inopportune than normal for me.

Health wise, side effects from my blood pressure meds and some crud that was going around cost me several more trips.  A couple of trips I spent nearly as much time puking as I did talking.  I was chasing a good size shark one trip all the while puking over the rail.  So after changing my diet, losing 20 pounds, eating vitamins and finally quitting drinking I managed to reduce the side effects and get rid of the crud.  Things were looking up when bam, a blood clot takes me out of the game for a while and I lose a few more trips.

The fear of oil didn't help much either.  While we never had any impact from the BP oil spill, fear of the oil cause a number of trips to be canceled.  I only know of seven trips I lost due to the spill but I suspect a few more were lost. 

All things considered I would have had a respectable season even with the bad economy, had it not been for poor health, weird weather and the largest oil spill in the history of the United States.

Now the health issue due to my newly acquired deep vein thrombosis (that's the fancy way of saying a friggin' blood clot) has my future up for grabs.  The text book treatment for a clot is to use anti-coagulants to prevent the clot from getting bigger and hopefully stabilizing the clot so it doesn't go on a road trip to the lungs, heart or brain.  Warfarin, the anti-coagulant or blood thinner I take which initially was and is used as a rat poison, doesn't dissolve the clot but can provide blood conditions that "may" allow the clot to gradually dissolve via your body's natural processes.  There are drugs that will dissolve the clot but are only approved in life threatening situations since the they have the potential side effects of causing stroke or just plain killing you.  So the only answer I can find for when I will be able to guide again is FIIK (F*** If I Know).

With adequate amounts of opiate based pain medications, I could be fishing in a couple of weeks.  Though I doubt fishing with overly drugged guide really ranks very high on most people's "to do" list.  Especially, one with a cane and the personality of Greg House. 

So that's it for now, I will keep y'all posted on any changes.

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 New Path for a While

Last weekend my right leg started hurting a bit.  Monday morning a buddy of mine decided I was in so much pain he pretty much forced me to go to the emergency room.  The crew in the ER was pretty nice other than they wanted to dress me funny.  Backless gowns are still the rage in hospitals.  I have never spent a night in a hospital in my life, now I can't say that anymore.

The first two days I was ordered to stay in bed with a lovely porta potty very close just in case.  Since I perceive myself as a tough guy, I avoided pain meds as much as possible.  That proved to be a mistake.  My stay was much more enjoyable with regular percasets, however you spell that.  Now that I am out, oxycodone will be my med of choice for the next month or so while the rat poison does its job.  Rat poison, aka coumadin, is prescribed for the next six months. 

My clot is approximately 18 inches long in my Femoral vein just below the branch with the Saphenous vein.  That is a pretty large clot but not quite Gueiness worthy.  Still it is a personal best.  How long it will take the rat poison tunnel its way through this obstruction is debatable.  I am thinking two months, hoping two week and praying it ain't two years.  In any case, trips I have booked over the next six months are questionable.  In the mean time I am looking for jobs that require me to sit on my butt for extended periods of time.

Since I have been out of the loop with detox and my hospital mini-vacation, I don't have any fishing report.  With my dapper new cane, support hose and pain meds I will be visiting my buds at various marinas to get the low down on the action.  So keep stopping by.

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

Tropical Detox Lite

As some of you may know I have felt like crap warmed over for the past nearly two years.  I had good days but more than my share of bad days.  On the bad days I drank more to mask the crappie feeling until it got to the point I could kill more than a liter of whiskey a day without batting an eye.  I started thinking, with the constant harassment of my significant other, that this could be over medication.

This led to an attempt to get into detox in our local tropical guidance clinic which is conveniently located within staggering distance of one of the more popular watering holes in town.  Getting into detox is not as easy as you might think.  It took twice a day phone calls for nearly a week and with each call I was reminded not to stop drinking until a bed was available.  Once I finally got the call to join the crew at the guidance clinic my significant other coached me on how drink responsibly so I would not exceed the maximum for admission.  So after four cocktails in an hour and a half I blew a respectable 0.128 right in the range for admission.

The detox clinic reminded me of a minimum security prison.  While I have never been incarcerated, nearly all of my fellow detoxese had been and one was kind enough to explain the difference to me.  In prison you get three hots and a cot.  In detox you get three snacks and a rack.  A subtle but significant difference.

I learned a very valuable lesson during this adventure.  When they ask you if you have any special dietary needs keep your mouth shut!  I mentioned that since I have high blood pressure, I tend to watch my salt.  This resulted in special meals with bland, or low salt written on the lid.  There appeared to be absolutely no difference between bland and low salt.  On most days this didn't make that much difference, since everything was pretty much bland but one morning they had real bacon on the menu.  I was stuck with some indiscernible tufu type imitation burger patty that tasted more like one of those Styrofoam looking puffed rice patties.  I don't tend to cry but I felt moisture coming out of my eyes as the last slice of bacon was consumed.

The special diet also meant I didn't get any salty snacks for lunch.  This really sucked because I do tend to enjoy salt snacks in moderation.  Another shock to my system was that alcoholics tend to crave sugar once they they go on the wagon.  With the exception of semi-sweet extra dark chocolate, I don't eat hardly any sweets and still have no craving for them.  With the menu I was offered, I ate a number of sugar cookies to have something that had some flavor pass my lips.  While I did experience some withdrawal shakes, the sugar rush accentuated them to the point I was given 30 mg of Valium.  I don't do drugs of any kind, other than my BP meds, so for the first day and a half I was pretty much a Zombie wrapped in something that is supposed to be a blanket shivering my butt off.

Speaking of my butt.  Detox can also be a rapid weight loss program if you mention you have special dietary needs.  My significant other mentioned that most of my butt disappeared during my stay.  Unfortunately it was my butt and not my ample gut that shrank.

As a heavy smoker, being limited to nine cigarettes per day on a roughly a two hour schedule was also a major shock.  On the whole though I passed and was released in the minimum time allowed for detox.  Not only that I also sold a guide trip to one of my detox fellows once he is calm enough to be discharged.  I will have more on this later.

No fishing reports this time because I have been out of the loop for the past few days.

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 Tropical Rehab Continued.

Well I am now detox worthy.  Rehab is another situation, but starting around 1:00 today I won't be able to wear a belt or anything I could use to off myself.  So for the next few days I won't be online which may be the more difficult thing to withdraw from.  Anyway, wish me luck.

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 Tropical Rehab?

My significant other has been on the wagon for nearly four years now.  I am pretty proud that she has been sober because trust me she couldn't drink.  I on the other hand am an accomplished drinker. Other than an incident where I drank tequila in Missouri and ended up butt naked in Kansas, I have little to regret from drinking.  Well, there was the time I woke up and noticed that the pants I was wearing zipped up on the side and not the front.  While I don't have a clear memory of the evening I am pretty sure I had a good time.

Now the point of this post is that yesterday I really tied one on.  It was Sunday, the PGA championship was on the tube and I wasn't working.  So I really over served myself.  Very similar to the time I woke up with pants that zipped up the side than up front, I am pretty sure that I had a good time only this time there were no pants to be found.

Since my significant other has seen the light and quit drinking, she thinks that I should go to rehab.  Since I don't have a hell of a lot going on and have never been to rehab, I said what the hell I'll do it.  Now getting into rehab in this tropical paradise is not as easy as you might think.  I have nearly depleted my cell phone battery on hold and will have to call back the next hour to find out if I am indeed worthy of rehabilitation.   Since I am not a druggie but a perceived alcoholic, in order to get admitted I have to have a measurable blood alcohol level greater than zero and less than 0.20.  So the lady on the phone told me to not stop drinking.  I follow instructions well so the party continues.  

About three years ago I wrote an article about having a tropical rehab.   This was back when I wore underwear and Brittney Spears did not.  Now I don't wear underwear and I think Brittney does.  That is beside the point, but back then the guidance clinic had eight beds for people that needed to be rehabilitated.   Now they only have three beds so I am on a waiting list and required to to continue drinking in order to qualify for admittance.  What a wonderful world we live in.  While I tend to avoid political opinions, I think that this is a gross neglect by our local politicians.  If a drunk or drug addict wants to get their crap together, our society should be willing to help them out.  However, stating that a drunk or drug addict should not stop drinking or doing drugs while they are on a waiting list for local rehabilitation seems a bit oxymoronic  to me.  Spell check says oxymoronic is not a real word but I think you will get my drift, (you know, jumbo shrimp, military intelligence).

So this is just to keep you all updated on what is going on down here.  Now I have to wait until 12:00 to make another call and have another cocktail.  Hey! it is a tough job but someone has to do 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

The Rains Have Stopped!

Took a hangover day to deal with my BP claim and do some laundry.  It is a beautiful day and I noticed that a good number of charters are on the water today.  I really wasn't going to post anything today but, I had a chat with a sports writer this morning.  On the whole I don't care much for sports writers because they never want to pay and promise that they will make you famous.  After being in Bass Masters, a couple of other magazines and a bunch of papers, I ain't famous and I am out a couple grand in fuel, bait and other costs.  I have to admit that one sports writer not only paid for the trip but tipped me as well.  He wrote for the long Island fisherman magazine, so they be good folks.

Anywho, the sports writer took a look at my blog and made some notes.  While showing him my blog I saw the Bahia Honda bridge cam link.  You should check it out even if it is not cold as a witch's bosom in a brass bodice up in the north country.  There are still lots of tarpon and snook at the bridge.

As far as the BP claim goes I only have five days that I know of that I lost due to fear of oil.  There are probably more more but no one has stepped up to the plate and said so.  The one claim I have is from a French Canadian that speaks okay English, he just can't write it worth a damn.  So I will see how well the BP guys can read between the lines.  The claim is only for about a grand but that is a lot of cash to me right now.

A lot of other guides and charters down here are not filing claims because their lawyers are waiting on a class action suit.  I think that is a bad move since BP has made a big deal out of separating things out county by county.  The only impact Monroe County has had is media hype causing cancellations.

ETA: While typing this in at the Brass Monkey while I was waiting on  my laundry to dry every one wanted to watch the teens4oceans.org bridge cam.  You should check it out around slack tide..

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

Rainy Day

It is a rainy day today so time for me to post up a little something about the fishing down here.  The main bite is still the snapper.  During the night bite the Mangroves are mainly caught on live pin fish or pin fish chunks.  The day bite has move to live ballyhoo back in the slick on a jig or knocker rig.  Three pounds is about the average size of the Mangroves.

The mutton bite seems to be slowing down a bit, but some nice fat fish are still hitting the dock.  Btw, while dropping for lanes and Muttons last week Joe boated a white Margate the when about 10 pounds.  Now that is one big Grunt!  During their trip Joe, Jordan and Grant boat some nice fish including a couple keeper red grouper, several 20 inch Lane snapper, some Mangroves in the 18 to 20 inch range and a few good size Cero mackerel.  Overall it was a slow trip for this crew.

Offshore is still spotty.  Some good catches and some long boat rides.  The flats guys seem to be doing well and there are still plenty of tarpon around.  Have not heard any bone fish or permit reports.

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

Mini Season is Over!

Now that the Florida lobster mini season is over the real fishermen are starting to show up to take advantage of the off season rates and the fine fishing.  The offshore bite has picked up but is still a little spotty.  The majority of the bigger fish were caught 17 to 22 mile south two weeks ago, but now it is mainly floaters, floating debris, that is holding the dolphin any where from just off the reef to however far you care to run.

The night snapper bite is still hot but the spawn is drawing to a close so the daytime bite is picking up.  With the moon waning it will keep getting better.  The big Muttons will start spreading out and if everything is normal you should start seeing more on the rock piles in Hawk Channel and their other non-spawn spots.

For you fly guys this is the perfect time of the year to target all those sexy, glossy magazine cover fish.  Tarpon, Bonefish and Permit are around the flats and will take a fly along with a variety of other critters.  The tarpon this time of year tend to be smaller resident fish, but are still pretty sexy for you guys that don't have them swimming in your back yard.

The real bug season opens the second week of August with the commercial guys throwing their traps in the water starting today.  Watch out for the fresh traps as the can have a lot of floating line around the buoys until they get grassed up.

As usual I am some where giving free advice to those looking for free advice.  Normally I am at Porky's Bay Side.  Now I always give advice out for free, still sometimes the advice gets better should the advised bring along a bottle of Scotch. The better the Scotch the better the advice.

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 in our oil free waters.

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas

I am Back I Think

I have been sick as a dog and slow as all hell for the past few weeks.  The last couple of days though have been much better so I may be back on track.  Yesterday I took the 10 hour Hazmat course so I can pick up tarballs in case they ever arrive.  The most challenging part of the course for most was passing the drug and alcohol test.  I blew a perfect 0.000 on the blood alcohol test which may be front page news locally.

The reason that may be news is because with the goofy crud that I think Chris Johnson passed on to me, I have experienced a touch of vertigo that is a bit like a cheap high.  So many think I am drunk as a skunk in the mornings.  Either that is passing or I am getting use to it.

Fishing, the hot news is still the snapper bite.  Flag yellowtails, big mangrove and monster Mutton snapper are still on the menu.  Business wise the big news is that most charters are hanging around the dock with thumbs firmly implanted in their butts.  I do have a few trips scheduled over the next couple of weeks but they are yet to be finalized.

Speaking of trips this time of year, many visitors would like the convenience of a pool following a day on the water.  Captain Pips Marina and Hideaways has about everything you want except a pool.  When people stay at Pips it makes my life much more convenient but there are other options.  The Hammocks, which is a Blue Green Resort, is also close.  Since Michele works there and my niece and her family stayed there over the Forth I have to give them a plug.   The fam had a great time there though mal de mar heavily impacted the fishing portion of their mini vacation.  The Hammocks rooms are nearly as clean as Pips and there is a Tiki Bar and nice pool on site.  Dockage is very limited there so I normally have to bring the boat over for pick up and drop off, but it is so close that is no big deal.  The off season rates are excellent and you are still within walking distance of Porky's, the Castaway and Burdine's plus the Tiki at the Hammocks has good munchies if you just want to hang around poolside.

A quick note.  I know of at least one trip that was canceled due to fear of oil spill.  BP has said that they will reimburse me for lost trips if I have documentation.  So if you have canceled or postponed a trip due to fear of oil please send me an email at captdallas2@aol.com.

For more lodging opportunities,  Capt. Judge Herb of the Spirit snorkel has rental properties listed under Manatee Havens.  They don't have pools but are very close to pools located at Sombrero Resort and the Sunset Grill.  He's a nice guy so give him a shot if you can't get into Pips.

Marathon in the Florida Keys, with its oil free waters, 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 Fishing Fun

It has been blowing the last few days so most everyone is sitting at the dock trying to find something to do.  This is the time of the year that most of the people vacationing are from Florida, mainly South Florida.  We get our share of folks from South Beach in Miami from time to time.  Some of the finest cosmetic surgeons in the world live in South Beach.  The fruits of one of their labors showed up at the Seven Mile Marina in a red Mercedes convertible the other day with some of the largest store boughts I have ever seen.   She had the Barbie look down big time!

I have always admired attractive women, but rarely discuss their attributes in public.  Barbie though inspired me to comment to my significant other which has led to some very stimulating conversations.  Ah, the things that occupy idle minds.

The wind should be laying down soon so I can concentrate on fishing instead of anatomy.  The big fishing thing is still the snapper bite.  The night bite is insane though the day bite is not shabby at all.  Larry Bell on the Blue Magic whacked the fat mangs several nights in a row before the blow started.  He threw his wife Jill a big 50 party last night with enough fish to feed a couple hundred with no problem.  That is a snapper bite folks.

Before the blow the offshore action was very inconstant.  The guys having the best luck where finding dolphin and tuna on the way to dropping for sword fish.  So if you have an extra five grand in your pocket for sword gear and fuel that may be your ticket for fishing success. 

Bay side is not getting fished because of the water temperature.  There are bay side spots to the west that are great this time of the year though.  So if you are trailering your boat down don't be afraid to hit some of the Gulf wrecks. 

Flats action is hot this time of year.  While I am far from being a flats expert even I boated a tarpon before the blow on the flats and we only gave it an hour of trying.  The bonefish are biting and though I did not see any permit they should be out there.

Well,  that's it for now. I think I will repair a couple of reels and go back on Barbie watch. 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

Oil Spill, Water Temperatures and Stuff

The BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill still is scaring the hell out of most of the Keys residents.  While there is a chance that the spill could kill the Keys as we know them, that chance is decreasing a bit in NOAA's mind.  Predictions of oil making it to the Keys are dropping with the possibility of tar balls more likely and not as much as initially predicted.  We are not in the clear by any stretch, but (fingers crossed) things are looking up.

The water and air temperature is higher than I have ever experienced for June.  That is making the offshore bite very inconstant. Dolphin lovers need to start thinking snapper for dinner.  The snapper bite, especially for the night owls is hotter than the water temperatures.  Most of my trips now are half days to beat the heat and the boxes are looking good with a variety of snapper. 

The spam comments to my blog are still pouring in but the moderation thing is making it easier to keep the porn and goofy site posts from making it to the pages.  There are still a lot in the older posts so beware of active links in comments. 

Some of the Fam is making a trip in the next couple of weeks to fish with me which will be a lot of fun.  With conditions the way they are it will be reef fishing for the kids with a little wreck fishing to wear out their dad.  I may even get to dust off my golf clubs for a little par three action.

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

Getting Back Up to Date

I haven't posted in a while because I have been waiting on photos that never came.  So what the heck here is what is going on.

I got in three fishing 101 s last week and had another week of fishing pushed back.  Haven't seen a tarball yet and the water is super clear.

How did my trips go?  Slow, good and weird best describe them.

The slow was Wednesday with two nice young couples on their own boat.  I think the fish just wanted a day off.  We could see plenty of snapper and grouper in the water but they just would not come to the slck in the light current.  We caught a few but not a banner day.

Thursday was the total opposite with the yellow tail balled up in the slick like normal.  Every spot I hit worked out well that day.  That's why am blaming the fish for the day before.

Saturday started  with 'cuda tubing at the bridge with two of my three anglers scoring fairy quickly.  It was a lot of fun for them.  Then we headed off shore for some trolling to beat the heat.  This is when it got weird..  The birds were on strike that day so it took me a while to find the fish.  Then we jumped off three fish in a row.  So I take their lures out and put two off my Dallas Darts in the mix.  We hooked up a respectable light gaffer dolphin and had a school of nice 10 pounders or so follow him to the boat along with a big baracuda.  While I was getting the crew to get chunk baits in the water, the first fish gets around the motor and gets loose.  So much for that school of fat fish.  Then we found a floater about an hour latter jump off one and have a solid hook up on another. My guys were so gun shy about losing the first dolphin they wanted to gaff it before we had a chance to see if it had any company.  I hit the floater a few more time with no luck.  Then we headed back in to shallower water and put lines out again.  Within a few seconds we had another fish on.  This was smaller than the off shore fish but fun anyway.  Only a big shark wanted the fish more than my angler did.  The shark took all the meat and left the angler with a head and tail but not much in between.  Then we called it a day.

Come on down and 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

Free Oil Change With Any Guide Trip

That's right ladies and gents get a free oil change with any guide trip you complete.  The BP oil spill is scaring the hell out of most everyone now so I have applied for a real job.  Well, it is not really a real job.  I have to sit in the air conditioning all day and sell stuff at a marina store.  Ain't a done deal yet but looking promising.  That will be a part time weekend gig so I can still run trips during the week.  I may have to move my scheduled trips around, but eating, paying the rent and other stuff is kind of improtant.

Fishing is pretty good though my last trip was a PITA.  Wind against the current in a small boat really limited my options.  Got some nice Lanes, a lot of just short grouper and a fat hogfish until the bite slowed.  Then it was grunt city.  Luckily my guys love grunt so we hammered them.  Grunts have a bad rep for charters and guide trips, but they are tasty little suckers.  I call them brown baggers, keep all you want just sneak them off the boat in a brown paper bag so people won't talk bad about me.

Much to my surprise, I have had more than a few grunt trips.  No, it is not that I couldn't catch anything else, my people wanted to target grunts.  They generally are planning a big fish fry and with the limits on regulated species it is kind of hard for a few people to catch enough legally to feed a bunch.  Grunts do have a limit but it is 100 pounds per person.  A couple hundred pounds of grunts feeds a lot of people if they like grunts and grits.  Fried whole they taste kinda like crappie for all you northern guys.  While I try not to bring them to the dock I will bring in a few dozen for my Cuban and cracker Florida buddies from time to time.

Offshore the dolphin bite is still hot but you have to devote the whole day most of the time to find them.  Magic floaters are the ticket in close but if you want to burn the fuel the wall is the place to be.  The tuna bite is great but the fish are averaging a little smaller than last year.  That is subject to change at anytime though.  Blackfin tuna don't get that big but they are tasty.

The tarpon bite is still hot and may last a good deal longer than normal due to the weird winter we had.  If you are a fly guy, they are hanging not only around the bridges but the flats as well.  I have seen plenty every trip I hit the flats for a little diversion.

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

Yellowtailing 101

Yesterday Mike and his son Scott went with me to learn how to improve thrir yellowtail catching.  Fishing for yellowtail snapper is one of the most popular fishing expeditions for Keys local.  While 'tails are not generally that big, they are tasty and relatively easy to catch under reasonable conditions.  For their size they put up a stubborn fight and did I mention they are tasty?

Reasonable conditions means some current flowing anywhere but up the anchor line.  Of course in the morning Mike and Scott got to experience unreasonable conditions.  They are staying near Key Colony so I tried to get them on fish close to their dock.  With just a trickle of current in the wrong direction I had to move to the west and wait on the tide to get a bite going.  The reason we got a current is the Seven Mile Bridge.  The huge expanse of the bridge allows tidal flow to create a light Southwest current on the outgoing and a Northeast current on the incoming tide.

Anyway, they ended up with one shy of their snapper limit with mainly yellowtails but a few fat mangrove snappers and respectable porgies thrown in the box for dinner.

In case you were wondering I have had to start moderating comments thanks to some third world pains in the butt that are paid to add links to websites.  It may take me a while to get rid of the goofy links they added in comments and get through the other crap that was blocked before I can allow legitimate comments to get posted.

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

Tarpon on a Cuda Tube?

One of the biggest things I teach people is to take advantage of what opportunities present themselves.  I get customers that load the boat with rods and tackle but don't have a single rod rigged and ready to go.  Less than half a mile from the dock is some of the finest fishing in the world.  If you ain't ready, you ain't catching.

One of the reasons I love the Keys is the diveversity of opportunities.  On a trip I had last week the guys just wanted to hook big stuff.  After convincing them to catch a couple of fat mangs for dinner we targeted the big jacks and toothy critters on the rubble pile.  They had a ball and could have spent the whole week getting their butts handed to them by big fish on light tackle. With the bite slowing and time running out, I took them to the flats to play with some 'cudas.  "Cudas are underrated by lots of locals 'cause we been there done that.  Newbies to the Keys though like their first encounters with those toothy critters.

On the flats with 'cuda tubes it can be a lot of fun because they strike hard and everyone sees a lot of stuff in the shallow waters that are clearer than most places.  Well, on this day we had a lot of short strikes and follows with no hook ups.  That is until a 60 ish pound tarpon inhaled the tube.  About 30 minutes and 10 jumps latter Eddied boated his first tarpon of his trip and his buddy Jerry held it for the picture.  Of course they never emailed me the picture.  Anyway, that was the first tarpon I have ever seen caught on a 'cuda tube.  Hey, I would rather be lucky than good.

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

On the Oil Spill

Thus far there has been no impact on the Florida Keys from the BP oil spill other than media hype that is getting into my wallet.  Normally, I would be fishing every day in May, but due to fears of oil I am sitting on my butt.  Not a good thing because when I am not busy I tend to stir the pot and the pot is boiling over.

Any who, the latest from the powers at be is that the impact on the Keys will be minimal and mainly only tar balls which we already have anyway.  While I would rather not have any more tar balls, last time I checked I wasn't in charge.  There are no predicted fishing closures in the Keys so everything is normal other than tourists freaked out by the main stream media not booking trips.

Otherwise, the offshore bite is pretty hot for dolphin and tuna with a billfish released by someone nearly every day.  Marlin are being hooked up more often than normal for the area which is a good thing if you want to tangle with a blue.  Good size fish too with several over 300 pounds being reported.

The tarpon bite is still in full swing and the snapper spawn is building.  For you divers the vis has been over 40 foot for a while and getting better with a weak current.  The high vis and weak current is not a good thing for the Yellowtail snapper lovers, but the lane snapper bite has really picked up lately plus grouper are now legal to keep again.  Fishing for the lanes and grouper requires a bit more effort and local knowledge than chumming up 'tails but is not that hard.

Haven't heard much from the local flats guys but this is the time of year things get heated up.  So if you like the skinny water plan a day or two just for fun.

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

Oil, Sun and Stuff

Most of you are aware that there is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that may impact the Florida Keys.  I have no clue how much of if the spill will screw things up.  I do know thqat there is federal money coming to those impacted.  So send me an email at captdallas2@aol.com if you are considering postponing or canceling a trip so I can get some of that cash.

I am not fishing today because a buddy of mine captain Howard Kelly let my customers (due to legal advice that should read Howard did it on his charter not me, I would never let this happen) get sunburned on a trip with him.  Yes, I have been busting his chops and will in the future suggest they fish with him after fishing with me.  Hopefully, they will heal quickly so I can get back on the water.  Until then I will be making my Dallas Darts for the offshore fishing guys. 

There is a superstition in the Keys that hanging a bull shark from the bridge cuts down on the number of tarpon eaten by sharks.  Well, if you take one out of the mix it has to help, but it is a bit odd to see a 300 pound plus dead shark dangling from a bridge.  Since the sharks have been winning the last few days expect to see some odd things at the bridge.

The bite on the whole is pretty hot with dolphin and tuna leading the list plus the snapper spawn is starting and the tarpon are thick.  Good times for them that can get down here.  I will be offering a discount tar ball collection special for the eco-friendly types that want to come down to see the show. 

After listening to the media hype it is a great time to book that one last trip to the fabulous Florida Keys before BP owns them. So if you want to fish, drink or try your hand at tar balling get your butt down here!
 
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

Offline but I Am Back!

The hard disk in my 'puter crashed, but thanks to a buddy I now have a laptop to fill the void until I get a new hard drive.  It has been windy the past several days so I haven't been able to take advantage of the dolphin bite that has finally kicked into high gear the last few days.  Lots of slammers hitting the dock!  Now that the bite is on if it don't quit with the wind, I may have so nice pictures pretty soon.

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

No the Oil Spill Has Not Killed the Keys

The Keys are still alive and well.  Fish are still frolicking, the water is still clean and I still need to work.  I have been getting some of the weirdest calls from customers worried about the oil spill.  Will it get here and cause permanent damage to the Keys?  How the heck would I know?  I don't think so since the loop current and winds are not favorable for a massive spill in the middle and upper Keys.  A hurricane could change that, but the counter clockwise flow would most likely push the spill away from the Keys.  So let's not be pessimistic but optimistic.  If you are going to cancel a trip because of oil spills, global warming or anything else outside of my control it would be nice to give me a call so I can try to find a fill in  

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 Miracals of Modern Medicine

I have been battling high blood pressure and low finances for a while.  I finally got enough money in my clothes that I could go to the clinic to get my blood pressure medicine adjusted so I could afford to take it.  So I have a new lower cost script that seems to be effective with one minor issue.  The medicine has a warning on the bottle that it may cause dizziness.  Boy was that and understatement!  Thursday I was in la la land.  The solution since I fish in the day and drink at night is to take the pill in the afternoon instead of the morning.  This results in more buzz with less alcohol.

Fishing wise it is a weird bite.  The dolphin are in fairly close but the big slammers are way the heck offshore.  So boats are bringing in some nice 15 to 25 pounders, but not the normal 50 plus pounders common for this time of year.

The reef bite is just fine when you have a favorable current and the mangroves are stacking up in the bay.  I have been seeing a good number of cobia on both sides, but they are a bit picky on what they want to eat.  So take a few live crabs with you if you want cobia for dinner.

The tarpon are out in full force at nearly every bridge along with the big sharks that like to eat them.  Mullet and crabs are the bait of choice though I did have a couple of pick ups with pinfish Thursday.  The daytime bite at Bahia Honda bridge is hot and cold from day to day but there are so many tarpon playing around that it is worth a visit.  Bring your video camera for some pretty awesome footage.

Sorry I have been offline for a few days.  Fishing out of Big Pine cut into my computer time.  If you want a change of pace Big Pine is not a bad place to stay.  It has easy access to the Content Keys which I think is one of the most beautiful places to fish plus the Bahia Honda bridge.  The canals on Big Pine are not for the faint of heart so hire a guide for at least a few hours if you are not familiar with the waters.  I still prefer fishing out of Marathon, but a little change of scenery is always a welcome thing.

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

Monkey Business

The Brass Monkey and Winn-Dixie got together and threw one heck of a party yesterday.  People I haven't seen in years turned out for the free feast and feast it was. 

I have never seen so many people at the Brass Monkey during the day in my life.  It was a good time and I am glad that the Monkey is still in business.  Now off to Tavernier to get drug tested.  What a waste of 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 Wild and Wacky Week in Marathon

It has been a wild and wacky week in Marathon, the heart of the Florida Keys.  Monday I found out that the Winn-Dixie asked to buy the liquor license from the Brass monkey.  The Brass Monkey is a local watering hole that I can actually afford to visit from time to time.  The Monkey owners declined their offer and was given six weeks to get out.  Kinda of rude I thought and so did a few hundred other locals that started returning their Winn-Dixie reward cards with so to the point comments.  Friends of the bar organized a protest and the Monkey ordered save our monkey t-shirts.

Tuesday I picked up a half day trip and about half way into my half day I started belching, coughing and had chest pains.  I kinda sorta thought I was having a heart attack.  I cut the trip a little short and headed back to visit the clinic.  At the clinic I was dizzy as all hell and red as a beet.  Evidently I looked so bad the clinic called an ambulance to take me to the ER.  I didn't want to put them out so I took a cab instead.  The ER did chest x-rays and other stuff and figured out that I had an ear infection that was the cause of my predicament.   They prescribed some fancy antibiotics and ear drops plus they cleaned my ear out.  Now I can hear again out of that ear.

Wednesday I was still a bit wobbly so I had to cancel a trip.  So the not a heart attack episode cost me about five hundred dollars that I really could use.  On the bright side though, I found out that day that the
Winn-Dixie changed their mind and offered the Monkey another year's lease and maybe 27 more.  I want to go up there a celebrate, but opted to stay in bed since walking was a bit of a challenge.

Thursday I was able to walk and sick of being in the house so I did the monkey for lunch.  The wind was blowing pretty good so I didn't think I would get a trip anyway.  Since I was the fancy antibiotics I was a good boy and didn't over indulge.

Friday I slept in and missed most of the excitement that I can't really talk about.  Anywho, a friend of mine ended up in jail and Tim, Mark and I tried to bail him out but to no avail.

Nothing much happened Saturday other than my friend getting out of jail and I found out than the Winn-Dixie is throwing a free lunch today at the Monkey.  So my afternoon is planned.  Next week things should be back to normal and I will be back on the water.

Until then, 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

Back at it Tomorrow

It has been an enjoyable couple of days off.  That is kinda of a change since days off were no money for a while there.  Now it looks like I have a few months of good fishing ahead so I can get some money in my clothes.

The dolphin bite is getting pretty good as well as the tuna.  Even had reports of a few marlin and makos getting into the action..  The tarpon bite is still a bit inconsistent but getting better.  Permit and cobia on the wrecks.  Snapper bite is good.  All systems go it appears.

May first grouper opens again and there is a grouper tournament that Saturday. Come on down for some fun.

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 Little Less Frustrating

Yesterday was a little less frustrating with my fly guy Bob. We started the day with a nice fat hogfish on the fly rod. Now Bob cheated and had a shrimp to add some flavor to his jig, but still that is the first hogfish on a fly rod I have ever heard of or seen. The Yellowtails did not like the fly rod so we had to resort to the spinning rod to finish getting dinner.

After, we headed to the rubble pile to tackle something a bit bigger. We tried for permit on the fly but no takers. When tipped with shrimp we had a shot but a bonito took the last one and gave Bob a ride until a shark took his share. Just as we were ready to head back to the barn we noticed some big yellowtails near the surface and switched tactics with the spinner and a chunk of ballyhoo. Instead of a tail though we hooked a large cobia in the 60 pound range. That fish really took Bob for a ride! After 15 minutes or so the frustrating thing happen again. The fish made it to the wreck and broke off. I may have to go to church or something to get my cobia mojo back.

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

Fly Fishing Frustration?

Yesterday was a beautiful day on the water but it had some frustrating moments. I had my fly guy Bob on the boat so we started by drifting a flat in hopes of a tarpon or bonefish. We only spotted a large 'cuda that and a ray that had no followers. Then we headed to the reef and started catching a few nice mangrove snapper for dinner. With the still weak current the snapper bite was less than stellar. The snapper were there and would bite but we had to wade through nearly hundreds of under sized and wrong type fish to get the ones we wanted. I could tell Bob was getting a little frustrated with the bite and we were burning through our bait too quickly. So I decide to take him to the wreck to try for a permit on the fly rod.

There were plenty of permit and we saw them tailing which impressed Bob quite a bit. Unfortunately they we not biting very well. It took much longer than normal for us to hook up then it was my turn to get frustrated. When the fish hit the first words out of Bob's mouth was "we are in trouble now" as the line melted off his reel and the fish took Bob way back in his backing. I have put hundreds of anglers on wreck permit but this was my first one on a fly rod. On his nine weight rod with an estimated 30 pound spawn permit on the other end, I figured Bob was set for a 45 minute plus battle. That is if the huge bull shark I had seen didn't eat his fish first.

After the fish's first run Bob was able to gain a little line so I set back to watch the show. At the start of the second run Bob's leader parted so no more fish. Losing a big fish on a fly rod is not uncommon, but were the leader broke made no sense at all. It broke a good four foot above the jig in the heavier leader not at the tippet. That was frustrating but it was not the first Permit I have seen an angler lose. We tried to hook another with a little stouter leader but no takers. So since we had a beautiful day with no wind and light current I take Bob to another wreck to catch some Lane snapper on his spinning rod.

First drift we had a hit but no hook up. The second drift we had two hits and no hook up. The third drift a mackerel trashed the rig taking the bottom jig. So as I am getting ready to re-rig I notice two fat Cobia are under the boat. The only rod I had handy was the one with the damaged rig so I drop it to the Cobia and hook up. While I was passing the rod to Bob the big fish takes off around the motor before I can react and breaks off. I quickly try to get Bob's other spinner baited but before I could the other Cobia starts to head down to the wreck. I drop the jig down to fish as he is disappearing from sight and I hook up and pass the rod to Bob.

The fish nearly spooled Bob twice so I was driving the boat as well as I could to not lose the fish. We were down to a couple of wraps on the spool when we finally gained some line. A good while later it looked like we had the fish under control and started having visions of dill Cobia and grits for dinner. The fish took another surprisingly strong run that chased that vision from my head for a moment then fish came close enough to the surface that we could get a glimpse of Bob's first Cobia. Unfortunately, it was a damned Bonita! Now my frustration level is just about maxed out. After another drift and another mackerel cut off it was maxed!

So after what could have been a dream trip for Bob, we ran back to the dock with our tails between our legs. Tomorrow we will have a rematch with these fish that made4 us look bad with hopefully a better outcome. I will be bringing my own spinning outfit with plenty of fresh line to improve our odds.

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

Beautiful Day But a Slow Bite.

I don't what it is about fish but it seems the better the day the slower the bite. I had Bob fishing with me yesterday. Bob is the most mature angler I fish and I have to really watch the seas when I fish with him since he is older that me. Actually, he is older than anyone I know that is still breathing. Bob is one hell of an angler though having fished all over the world. Why he would want to fish with me I have no clue, but he shows up every year wanting to catch something new on his fly rod.

Bob is not a purest with the fly rod. It don't break his heart none at all to use a shrimp to add a bit of scent to his fly. I am not going to tell anyone that Bob cheats a bit in his fly fishing adventures, that is his business. But yesterday I started by putting him on some Spanish Mackerel with only a fly which seemed to make him chuckle a bit. They were not big Spanish, but on a fly rod every thing is fun. He also got a Cero Mackerel in the 6 pound range on the fly rod that took him a while to subdue.

His real goal of this trip was to catch yellow tail snapper on his fly rod. The current yesterday sucked so we only managed a dozen or so with 6 keepers. A 20 pound king mackerel on fifteen pound spinner did keep him occupied for 30 minutes or so. So not a stellar day, but with the fly rod, a fun day. I love fly fishermen, they are used to not catching squat.

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 Don't Know How to Act?

I have a trip this morning with an older customer that has always wanted to catch some 'tails on the reef with his fly rod. The forecast was for 15 knot winds but it is flat calm. Perfect day for my fly guy. Now if the winds will just hold he should have the trip of his life.

I will post results later.

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 Big Birthday Fish

I rode along with captain Michael and Mate John on the Pips 36 yesterday to teach them a few tricks about wreck fishing. Their guests Mike and Micheal, (lord there was a bunch of Mikes on board) just wanted Micheal to catch something big for his 16th birthday. After loading up with blue runners and yellowtails for bait we headed to the 7 mile rubble.

There I went up top to show the captain several spots that hold fish. With the wind, holding a good drift requires a little bumping in and out of gear and a little more patience than normal. It took about 45 minutes to get the first Amberjack to the boat. A decent fish of 20 plus pounds that had Micheal the angler pretty stoked. Then I let the captain take over and went down to the pit to give John a few tips. The next AJ topped the scales at 51 pounds. Mission accomplished.

Some more Photos are at Captain Pips Facebook page.

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

Fillet Pro Fish Cleaning Table

All the shipping issues have been resolved and the Captain Dallas approved Fillet Pro fish cleaning table is ready to roll. For my blog regulars there is a special discount code and for a limited number of do it yourself types a DIY code. For the DIY code you have to agree to build and photograph your complete table set up us to check out. The most impressive fish cleaning table set up will win a prize like a dozen Dallas Darts for whacking tuna and dolphin.

The Fillet Pro retails for $499. The Blog follower discount is $50. So for $399 you can get your own fillet pro cheaper than your non-blog reading buddies or tell your friends how to get their own discount.

The Fillet Pro blog page is online so click the Fillet Pro link here or on the side bar. I am going to sticky this post until the new page is ready for the fish cleaning table.

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 Little Trolling and Dropping 101

Sunday I had Dave from Alaska, son Guy, Uncle Guy and Jake on board for a little trolling and wreck fishing 101. They tried to fish with me a while back but I was booked. This time we where able to hook up so I could show them a few tricks. The bait catching portion of the trip went perfectly with plenty of pilchards and ballyhoo in the live well within twenty minutes.

The trolling part of the lesson was a bit disappointing. We never saw a sailfish and the dolphin though plentiful were small. We did box one decent dolphin, and fat Cobia and one little tunny for shark bait later.

Wreck fishing though was pretty sweet. We lost a few big ones but boated two Amber Jack for the smoker. Every drift produced at least one hook up though the sharks confiscated much of our hook ups. We had to release a bunch of grouper that beat the mangroves to the bait on the patches. All in all it was a good day that could have been better if the sharks were on vacation.

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 quick Post on What's Happening

While I am still working on moving the house boat around to help the new owner get ready for his trip to Ramrod Key I just have to post something on what everyone else is doing.

The Blue Magic took a fun day with the Bell Boys, Steve the mate, with captain Bucko running the boat. They headed west to American Shoal and released 10 sailfish. That is pretty hot fishing! The fish chewed better around the Big Pine area but the was more fish to the west.

Captain Jeff Knapp went 1 for 7 on tarpon last night at the 7 Mile Bridge. The fish landed was about 80 pounds and caught on a Pinfish. Pinfish and lures after dark produced the jump offs on fish from about 20 to near 100 pounds. So the fish are there for you tarpon fans.

The snapper and mack bite is still on but the sails and tarpon have dominated the action. Muttons, AJ's and some surprisingly big Lane snapper are being caught on the wrecks with lanes mainly on the shallower wrecks and the AJ's on the deeper ones in 180 to 240 foot of water.

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

Bare Bones Charters?

I had a nice long conversation with the Coast Guard about my function as a guide without a current Captain's license just the other day. There was an issue over who books the trip. This trip was through Captain Pips and for convenience I let Pips book the trips for me so that customers can use their credit cards. I let Pips book trips even when the trip is not on one of their boats. So there is nothing wrong with Pips booking me for what I found out is called "bare bones charters." So after all these years I now know what I am doing, I am a bare bones charter guide.

The results of our lovely visit with the Coasties is that Pips will maintain my drug consortium card. That is a random drug testing program for their and customer's piece of mind. Also Captain Pips is eliminating their commission on trips which I think is unnecessary since they are providing me with a service. Anyway, the whole situation results in piece of mind for the other guides.

Other than the Coast Guard trip I haven't been doing much fishing, instead I have been teaching basic boating to a new house boat owner. For people new to large boats it can be a little over whelming the first time you drive 15 tons or more of boat up to a dock. Slow, slow and slow are the first three rules of boating in case you where wondering. Driving a twin engine boat of any size is pretty easy though as long as both engines work. The next part of the3 class will be what the heck to do when one or both quit working. I don't get many basic boating gigs but from what I hear I am pretty good at it.

Fishing wise things are still pretty great. Plenty of mackerel, snapper, sailfish and a few dolphin in the area along with an improved tarpon bite. The permit are staging for the spawn so that fishery will really heat up this month and continue until June. Starting the first of May the grouper fishery will be open again and the action should be hot.

If you like the World of Boating radio show listen in tomorrow because I will be a guest. We will be discussing bare bones charters and boating basics 101.


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

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas