Bait! Lots of Bait!

One of the great things about hooking up with young guys is that they are basically insomniacs. Chris and George have taken to night time bait fishing for Goggle Eyes. Probably one of the most expensive live baits you can get for sailfishing since they are so nocturnal. Old guys like me enjoy our nap time and resort to more mundane baits like pilchards and ballyhoo for our live baits. With George getting his Conch 27 in the water and his 3 billion gallon live well, now we have access to more goggle eyes than you can shake a stick at.

So what we really need is an angler or two that would like to catch their first half dozen or so sail fish. Any of you Miami guys that can swing down, bring a 4 to 6 foot diameter sea anchor for a tip and/or discount can enjoy a sailfish trip with the Cadillac of live baits.

They work for Grouper and Muttons too if you happen to be a meat fisherman, BTW 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

Okay Already! Here is a New Post

Michigan Jim and Family in the photo about caught some fish. Lots of mackerel with enough snapper volunteering for a meal. Mom caught the biggest fish even though she was stuck with video duty most of the trip. Other than a few, "Are we there yets?", the kids seem to have enjoyed spending the day in my backyard with me and Chris. I did mess up and leave fish biting in hopes of bigger critters, which was not my smartest idea of the week, but was able to redeem myself with another fast mackerel bite and the ever present mystery fish that got away.

We fished on the yellow boat since the new to Chris Sea Vee is still getting a topside helm rigged. The yellow boat, Walkabout, fishes fine, but its maneuverability is a little limited for chasing those mystery fishes.

Chicago Joe motivated my post by busting my chops for delaying his reading material. He is scheduled for the last of December and is looking for anybody that may want to split a trip or two while he is down. Since his kids have discovered the opposite sex, his fishing partners are beginning to get scheduled for fun adventures like shopping and other less masculine endeavors like napping on the beach.

My designated videographer, Michigan Rachael, slayer of the larger Mackerel, promised to post her video evidence on Youtube so I can embed them in this or a new post. So you video fan have hopes of videos with something more entertaining than my thumb and the deck to watch.

For Mackerel lovers, the bite is good, not red hot, but you can limit out on fish up to six pounds with the average around 2 pounds. Bait is getting thicker in the Bay but still no sign of the Black Tip sharks that follow the big bait push. So thing are getting close to the peak.

The new young captains out of the Seven Mile Marina had a play day yesterday and released 8 sailfish. So that bite is pretty hot. The reef is doing its thing and the braver souls that venture well offshore are bring in good catches of dolphin for this time of year. Tarpon are still slow, which is normal, they start more toward mid January, but you still have a decent shot with the resident fish.

The 7-milemarina webcamis available for anyone wishing to snoop or verify catches. I couldn't get the link to work, but it does most of the time. I will be posting boat pictures with rates for various fishing adventures pretty soon. Stay tuned!

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 Ticket Has Arrived!

Ladies and Gentlemen, after swearing to do my best not to expire while in command of a vessel and that I will notify the United States Coast Guard prior to my expiration, I am now considered to be capable of operating a motor vessel for hire. With all the privileges and responsibilities associated with my merchant mariners credential.

My regular customers know that opens the doors to vast opportunities to kick mo fish butt!

I have nearly finalized negotiations with one charter, Walkabout Charters Inc., here in Marathon to operate one of Chris' new boats. It is a ~25 foot sea Vee with twin four stroke Yamaha power. Very similar to the type of boat most suited to my diverse fishing pleasures.

After taking care of a few odds and ends here, I can now renew my off season Key Weird fishing expeditions which once upon a time, placed considerable change in my dead season pockets.

To summarize: I am back and out to kick some fish butt!

Since I absolutely giddy with joy, I will knock a hundred bucks off any charter through December 20th 2011. After that I am booked for at least 4 weeks!!!!!


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,
Colonel (USCG certified Capt.) Dallas

Demoted!!!

No sooner than I promote myself to Colonel Dallas, I get demoted by the Coast Guard to Captain Tisdale again. I don't understand the Navy and Coast Guard way. In the Army, Colonel is a pretty big deal. The Navy guys say that Captain is just as big a deal. Well, at least I didn't get promoted to Rear Admiral. Who would want to be a REAR admiral?

Lots of guys down here call their wives Admiral. Some I have seen might not appreciate the REAR tacked on, if you know what I mean.

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 longer Colonel and luckily not REAR Admiral)

Biscuits!

While I do have some fishing reports, I have something better! Biscuits!!

I have been playing with making the ultimate biscuits ever made. The biscuits to end all biscuits. Biscuits so light, fluffy and buttery they float off the plate unless you weight them down with homemade sausage gravy! It think I did 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

Texting for Information?

I don't do texting on the phone. I do respond to comments on the blog and will actually answer my phone on occasion. But I don't do texting, fat fingers.

Robert, unless it is blowing over 25 knots, Bay Side fishing is fine, just carry a bigger anchor. 25 to 30 knots is doable, over 30 is cocktail time. So this weekend should be fine, but always check the forecast first thing in the morning.

On anchoring, I like to carry a larger Danfort and a rock anchor. If worse comes to worse you can tag the two together to hold bottom. By larger Danfort, I mean twice the size that would be recommend for your boat and use lots of scope (that's lots and lots of anchor line). Try to find clean water with bait, ballyhoo, and have at the Mackerel. Fresh ballyhoo chucks will also produce a few very nice size mangroves if you have some patience.

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,

Colonel Dallas,

I promoted myself on the radio show this morning :)

Good job Robert! The Macks are still not as thick as they will be but as you found out you can still have a pretty good day of fishing anyway. Try again in about three weeks, (the moon can have a little impact on the macks) and you should be able to fill the smoker.

Good News Sports Fans - the Macks are Back!

While no where near a peak, the Spanish Mackerel are showing in the Bay for those that want to enjoy a day of fishing in windy weather without getting your butts kicked. It took much long that it should yesterday to locate the fish, but it was worth the wait for my crew from the UK, Larry, Moe and Curly. Or was it Abbot, Costello and Oslo? Anyway, I always having fun fishing with this group of Brits.

Mangroves were also available in the 16" range if you wanted to wade through the 10 inch fish. A few jacks showed for cut bait and one bluefish that will be Omar's birthday dinner.

If the wind lays down, I should have a reef nearshore report after fishing tommorrow, but the winds are still a bit sporty at the moment.

Come on down for some fishing in the Balmy Florida Keys!


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