Fish Cleaning Tables are Now Available!

In my darkest financial moment there is suddenly a ray of potential sunshine! The fish cleaning tables are now for sale online and should be available locally very soon. Being a savvy business person as well as a kick butt fishing guide I only surround myself with the best and brightest of the business community. The new web-store for the fish cleaning table is Innovativereseachesupply.com. Since I suspect that a few of my fishing buddies may have difficulty typing that many letters in a row correctly, I am providing a direct link here to the Capt. Dallas inspired fish cleaning table. The more savvy of my fishing buddies that can type, will notice that the table is predominately displayed under Molded Polyethylene on the afore mention web store. You can not only get your new Capt. Dallas approved fish cleaning table but an additional immobilization and restraint system for your loved ones.

The quality of the photography on the new web store is phenomenal, but it never hurts to have more pics even if they are taken by amateurs. Hence the photo at the top of this post. If you would like to view or take one on a test fillet, the fishing cleaning table is on display at the Seven Mile Marina and another is at Porky's Bayside. You can order the tables through the innovativeresearchsuppy.com web-store or just give me a call at (305) 395-1923.I will provide more photos and list the multitude of mounting options for the most kick butt fish cleaning table ever manufactured in the near future.

Marathon should be your next fishing 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

Another Day in Paradise

While it is a little cool for my blood it is another beautiful day in Keys. The winds have laid down nicely. The fish are chewing. And some folks are actually fishing today for fun and profit.

The main action is still the reef, patches and rock piles on the oceanside of Marathon. Though the sailfish, dolphin and other critters offshore are pretty fired up. Bayside is starting to warm up with plenty of mangroves, but the Spanish bite is a bit slow.

Liver damage due to over consumption of adult refreshment is on the decrease now that Mikey is out of jail and found the Lord. Most of my friends are out a jail now. I have never done the jail thing, but it appears to be a great way to find recent job openings. Newly incarcerated former employees create job openings that can be scarfed up before they hit the classifieds.

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

Gorgious Day

Yesterday was beautiful! Light winds, warm, the fish are chewing and yet not a single boat went out. The Flatlines is sitting at the dock getting dirty. It just ain't right. The recent cold snap pushed the snapper back to the reef and Hawk Channel. Easy pickings for meat lovers. Nice size Kingfish are also on the reef and in the channel for those wanting to hear a drag sing or some smoked fish. Sailfish plus the occasional Wahoo, Dolphin and big Blackfin are in the 100 to 200 foot depths off the reef. Grouper, which the powers at be have closed, are also everywhere on the ocean side. Bayside the waters are warming so the Spanish bite should be getting right.

It is a great time to fish in the Keys. So where are all the fishermen? Home worrying about a ding in the economy? Get some gonads guys! Fishing is more than a sport. It is an essential part of sane life. So get your butts down here :)

Compared to many of the guides and charters down here I am actually doing good even at less than 50% of my normal bookings. Still, looking around, I may have to start the new great American novel. The Decade of Wrath is my working title. If more politicians, bankers and God forgive, lawyers fished with me the world would be a better place. It is high time the powers at be get in touch with their fishing side. Not the luxury yacht kind of fishing, the blue collar small boat fishing where you have to pull your own weight. No cocktails until the boat and fish cleaning commences. So send us your filthy rich that need to re-find their fishing roots. Hell, send us your tired and huddled masses. It is getting boring!

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

And the Mackerel Bit Me

Yesterday was a fishing 101 trip. Fishing 101 sometimes produces a nice catch and some times not. It is a learning experience kinda thing. Of course since the grouper closure is in effect we had to release a nice fat red grouper. I am about to go postal on some warm and fuzzy political types. Anyhow, despite the slow bite the crew had opportunities and did catch some nice fish.

Grouper which are closed due to political shenanigans were the main bite. We did manage to get a fat hogfish and a 20 plus pound kingfish. The kingfish after gaffing managed to bite my right big toe, I bled like a stuck pig! No pain or anything just blood every where. One of the crew was a veterinarian who tried to patch me up. Despite my rotund size my anatomy does not match bovine status so the bandages didn't cut the mustard. So I was up until 2:00 AM plugging the dike so the bed didn't get messy. Being a couple quarts low was not be a bad thing. I noticed I got toasted on a lot less Scotch than normal last night. Bleeding like a stuck pig can be a money saving experience.

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

Hey There are Still Fish Down Here!

Just got through fishing two days with a regular Joe, his son Jordan and buddy Grant. Sunday was miserable. We caught fish but just when it looked like it was going to get hot a squall came through and shut the bite down. Monday was back to business as usual. We had a nice box of Mangrove Snapper plus a keeper grouper the is no longer a keeper thanks to the closed season.

After getting the mess of mangs plus releasing about eight jewfish and losing a lot of mystery fish we headed offshore with some live bally hoo. The first drift we hooked a nice bull dolphin about 20 pounds. Fought the fish for 15 minutes with about 20 nice jumps. The fish was tiring so I thought we had him but no. He made one last jump about 40 feet from the boat and came unbuttoned. That one hurt!

The second drift we raised a sailfish that checked out every bait the went down. Another bummer but that's fishing. We didn't have a single kingfish hit which was what we were really looking for so we head back to the reef. About two minute on the reef we hook up on a nice king in the twenties and got it in the box. Next we lost a nice mutton at the boat and then another nice kingfish. Man I hate losing nice fish but it was just one of those days.

Joe even had a fish pull a rod out of his hand. That never happens but it did yesterday. He almost violate my first fishing rule but Grant grabbed him befor he went over. He manage to grab the rod and reel in a red grouper that had tried to steal his rod. Crazy day but a good day. Still it would have been a great day except for a bit of bad luck.

Now I am off to see what is happening in the back country. 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

Finally!

Waiting on Joe and Jordan to show up then it is off fishing finally. The water temperature is rising and have had a few decent reports for some of the guys from yesterday. The bite is slow but there is a bite. Will try Hawk Channel first thing then move off to the reef when the wind shifts and lays down later in the day. With it still blowing 20 knots no need for an early start. Tomorrow should be beautiful with wind 5 to 10 and plenty of sunshine.

Tuesday is a back country trip with guys that brought me some great sausage. I may be broke but I am eating good. Heck, if I get all three trips in I may be able to put a smile on the land lord's face.

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 the Big Chill

The unprecedented prolonged cold spell has the fish all confused. We had a fairly large fish kill in the bay and other shallow areas that is making it tough. So I am going to have to reschedule some trips to try to give my guys the best bang for their buck. Right now the mackerel bit is still pretty strong and that is about it other than jacks. Some cobia have been spotted that should bit as soon as the water temps hit 70 which is likely on the incoming tide.

Reef fishing is slower than normal. You need to fish deeper, use more chum and wade trough the mackerel and jacks to catch snapper. Back country and bayside is pretty much useless until Monday at the earliest. Hawk channel will probably be the first near shore area to get back to normal if the weather guys are right.

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

CSI-Marathon

Early this morning Captain Pips office and Porky's Bayside was broken into. The bandit or bandits made off with nearly a thousand dollars. Unfortunately for the thieves, they made off with quite a few of the dollar bills stapled to the rafters at Porky's. The CSI-Marathon team made short work of matching to porky's dollars to the fragments left on the rafters. Not the sharpest tacks in the box would steal bills that have Porky's written on them.

Fishing by the way is easy. Just take a dip net and dip up your favorite species. Bobby netted a nice mutton, triple tail and hogfish yesterday with this Marathon version of ice 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

End of the Cold Snap

Today should be the end of this bitter cold spell. The forecast is for it to be back to normal around the weekend. Fishing is going to suck for the next two days until the water warms. There has been quite a fish killed by the cold, but not as bad as one would expect. Iguanas though are completely MIA. The morning low of 39 in Marathon has to be some kind of record. Forty-two was the low in Key Weird and it is a record.

Too cold to type so I'll end this 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

Is The Season Really Starting?

I don't know for sure but The phone has been ringing. Of Course everyone wants to book on the same day so it will be a bit of a challenge. Other than the cold snap expected this weekend the weather seems to be getting closer to normal. For the winter in the Keys that means two crappy days, two nice days and three who knows days a week. So like I always tell people plan your trips down here around the weather. I you want to do the Duval crawl pick a windy day and save the good days for fishing.

I am not the only one getting calls. Several other captains are fishing which is a good thing. I even had to call one to back me up the end of the month because I have two customers in town at the same time. If the weather is good I can get them both in, but weather is weather so I have a backup in case the the weather window is narrow.

Fishing overall has been good except right after a front. With the radical temperature changes it takes a day or so for the fish to acclimate. Then it is game on again. Sailfishing has been spotty, but the mackerel, snapper and other usual suspects are still biting strong. Haven't had any cobia reports but they should be showing. BTW, the captain always gets a quarter share of any cobia on the boat.

As a sign of the economy more folks are bringing down stuff like liquor and food instead of tipping. If the liquor is brown and the food something neat like some bambi, real country sausage or homemade cheese I don't mind. Any of you guys from out west that can bring down some goat (pronghorn for you east coasters) I may even discount the trip. Elk is always welcome as is moose, but it is hard to beat goat.

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

Cold Go Away!

This is about the coldest Dec/Jan I can remember down here. Fishing in high 50s and low 60s used to not be a problem for me. Now that I have the thin blood of the Keys it is brutal. Must be brutal for the other guys because there is not much coming in report wise. Looks like cold for the rest of the week. If any of you guys have a spare winter jump suit bring it on down!

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

Happy New Decade

May the tens and teens be good for you all. The decade past was a roller coaster ride for me. I started out flat broke, no captain's license and in the Keys. Finished it flat broke, no captain's license and in the Keys. In the middle I tangled with a lot of different fish and a few different women. The women were mainly catch and release.

At times I had plenty of money in my clothes and others I had no home or money. I slept through about a dozen hurricanes and nearly had a heart attack when a tree fell on my RV during a little tropical storm name Katrina. The homeless situation was cause by a little storm called Wilma. I evacuated for Wilma the only one I did evacuate for by the way. Manage to stay in a hotel in Hollywood, Florida right where the right side of Wilma's eye wall hit. That was a pretty interesting couple of days.

Right at the time of Wilma the IRS decided I owed them $17,000.00 and after Wilma FEMA gave me about the same amount which I spent too quickly to keep the IRS from taking it. The FEMA money was a big help but not quite enough to get me back to where I was. Things started improving money wise until around '06 when doctors started try to kill me. One drug call Procardia sent me to the emergency room. When you go to an ER and they take you back before filling out any paper work you must look pretty bad. Another drug called Enalapril caused me to have coughing fits to the point I would black out. That wasn't much fun. My personal best blood pressure score was 162 over 122. When a nurse says holy shit that is not a good sign.

With the health situation, working a full load was impossible so money became a bit of an issue. The only good thing about being broke was conversations with the IRS. They never did take me up on my offer to do some federal time in exchange for the cash they think I owe them. I figured Health Care in prison had to be at least as good as what I could afford down here.

One good thing about nearly dieing a couple times is that it don't scare you half as much when it happens again.

I made two trips to Vegas in the oughts, caught 26 permit in a single day, made a lot of friends, pissed a few people off and generally lived pretty well other than the near death and poverty and homeless period.

Given my life style I expect the tens to be a roller coaster ride also. So happy New Year and New Decade to you all.

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