Bridge Fishing is Pretty Hot

This is Chicago Joe with one of his bridge Mangroves. That fish is in the three pound range. We limited or at least came close enough to limiting out is about 2 hours this morning after spending a little more time than normal getting the right size bait. The bait that fish fell for was a candy size pin fish about two inches long. Pilchard and the larger live shrimp also caught quite a few fish, the candy pin fish though always seem to find the bigger mangs.

Since Joe is tired of filleting fish, tomorrow should be a shark expedition.

Bridge charters are a good way to get on the water, learn basic techniques and catch dinner without breaking your vacation budget.

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

What Day is it?

I think today was Day 5 with Chicago Joe. Anyway, the photo is of the catch of Lane, Mangrove and Mutton Snapper. These were mainly caught in the channel, but we hit the bridge for a while and picked up the larger mangroves and a few stories about big fish that got away.

Yesterday, the fish won. We got covered up with King Mackerel trying to yellowtail plus Amberjack and a shark or three.

I did fit in a trip the day before that with Dan and his daughter Katelynn. That was supposed to be a sailfish trip but turned into dolphin without a gaff trip. We managed to get two in the box for dinner but the rest broke off trying t5o convince them to come aboard. They were not big, but big enough that a gaff would have been handy. Those fish were inside of 300 foot. We did stop at the kiddie pool to play with the blue parrot fish, which Katelynn seemed to enjoy.

The Dolphin trip started out a bit bumpy but finished with nearly flat seas. The last two days have been 5 to 10 and great weather though I did break out my long pants.

It looks like tomorrow will be a big critter at the bridge day since they have plenty of fish for a few days, though a few more fat mangroves will always be welcome.

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

Day 3 with Chicago Joe and Nebraska Deer Jerky!

Day 3 with Joe was a struggle. The winds were just strong enough to keep the bait away and the anchor tripping. The fish we did get were nice. One Lane was 20 inches long about 3 pounds and we got a keeper red grouper. Lost nice fish to the bottom again.

Yesterday was fishing with the guys from Nebraska. I started them off at Kmart doing the basic tackle thing, then the tackle shop for chum, live bait and the things Kmart doesn't have, then we stopped by water at another tackle shop to get the things that Kmart and the first tackle shop didn't have. Christmas must have been fun since no one was back to normal yet. Then finally we set off to the Bay for some Spanish mackerel. It is a shame that Spanish have a bad reputation on the table because everyone caught plenty of fish.

Then we gave the Long Key bridge a shot, caught the tide wrong so I headed out to a channel hump to finish the day. I think they got enough ideas to have plenty of fun for the rest of the week.

They didn't break out the Nebraska grain fed deer jerky until near the end of the trip. I am a jerky junkie so I will remember that part of the trip for a while. They even had kippered jerky, YUM! Shame I am booked into next year. I might convince them they need a refresher course on sailfish or something that goes well with jerky munching :)

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

Day Two with Chicago Joe and Crew

Bait is still a little bit of an issue. Plenty of pinfish of course, but I have not seen any ballyhoo in net range nor my thread fin herring I was expecting. So with just live shrimp and pinfish, we managed a fair catch of lane and mangrove snapper and on 22 inch red grouper.

As usual, jacks are everywhere, plenty of throw back grouper and a few big ones that got away. We started in the Bay mainly to find white bait, the jacks were wo thick that it was hard to find anything else. We hit the bridge for a while and the current and anchor didn't play well. We did get a few nice mangroves but decided to head back out to the rock piles once the current really started ripping.

On the rock piles the lanes were still thick and hungry plus a few more decent size mangroves wanted to play. The 22 inch red we got to the box was nice, but we lost one big brute to the rocks and another to a shark. The crew had an okay time, but we have done much better in the past so I had better get on the bait tomorrow so I can get some good pictures. So far though, nearly forty snapper and one keeper red.

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

Day One with Chicago Joe

Today we headed to the reef instead of the bay because the weather was beautiful. Ten to 15 knots winds, in the mid 70s for both the air and the water. I had more trouble finding bait that usual. That tends to lead to more hunting than catching. We moved back to the channel around noon because things were slow on the reef and settled for a couple dozen 15 inch average, lane snapper for dinner. For some reason, lanes were everywhere. On one of my yellowtail spots, it was loaded with smallish lanes instead of 'tail. That is the reason I decided to go with the flow and hit the larger lanes, which were more than happy to cooperate.

On the whole is was a beautiful slow day. We (I) saw a large sailfish in our slick on the reed with no bait ready to pitch. Lots of parrot fish and other critters everywhere. The bite was just slow until I found the Lanes.

So in the morning we will stock up on more pinfish and hopefully net some ballyhoo or pilchards for serious grouper catching. I will try to remember to bring the camera, since the cellphone video is very grainy.

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

Its Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Season

Let's see, a half day of mackerel fishing in the bay and 10 phone calls. Yep, its season. That means boys and girls that you may get my voice mail a little more often.

Today it was the guys down from around the Miami area to catch Spanish Mackerel for the smoker. It was a little slow, but they brought about a hundred pounds of fish back to the dock, so that is about 40 of 50 pounds for the smoker plus a couple pompano for the steamer.

The school of pompano was pretty good sized but they were mixed in with tons of jack crevalle and blue runners. I am thinking that this will be a pretty good year for pompano fishing which requires less chum, more shrimp and a little more patience.

Chicago Joe and crew are in town for the holidays. We picked up his rental boat and got it squared away for the next few days of fishing. We will probably hit the bay pretty hard tomorrow to get that out of his system, then turn to kicking some grouper butt before the season closes.

Last year, Tommy and Joey were his grouper slaying partners. They have a few new recruits that looked hungry for serious seafood. Anyway, the forecast for the next few days looks great with only 10 to 15 knot winds called for and not much chance of rain.

If you happen to get my machine, try Chris at (305) 481-1009, that is Walk About Charters. Captain Jeff Knapp will have his Beckoning Tarpon boat in the water soon for all you nocturnal types. I may also try some night snapper fishing this season around June when the snapper move to the reef to spawn.

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

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas

New Discount Code for the Fish Cleaning Table

I had a nice lady stop by the other day to check out the Captain Dallas approved fish cleaning get mo' money off the price. table. As promised, just in almost time for Christmas, we have a new discount code to save folks a little money. Remember DAL0402 to save another 20 bucks. The total price for the table top is $379 including everything, no tax, shipping or any other aggravation. Base mounts still have to be custom made to match your chosen locations using any of the factory mounting system. You can make it the table match any fish cleaning dream you can dream up.

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

Yellowtail For Dinner

This is trying out the new camera on the phone. As promised, Jake and Austin are headless. I started the day dropping my reading glasses in the water so I will use that as an excuse. The seagulls kept the ballyhoo away from the boat so we never got the bite going real hot. Still pretty nice size 'tails for a windy day.

Got most of their heads second time around :)

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

Climate Change Fishing Summit

Happy December 15th 2011 everyone. I have set aside this day for a climate change summit with emphasis on fishing. The reason fishing is emphasized is because while climate change is real, the guys in charge are about the most corrupt and ethically bankrupt bast%#ds I have ever seen.

Ooooh, thems getting sued words! Possibly, most were probably born of wedded parents :)

As most of you probably do not know, someone has leaked confidential emails and per-publication drafts of the United Nations report on climate change. These leaks have been pretty revealing of the political motivation of "scientists".

Now before I get started, there are real problems in the world with pollution, over development, political corruption, weak economies and whole enchilada. Carbon dioxide produced by burning fuel is just a part of the problem. Unfortunately, it is being used as an umbrella issue with Climate Change, to push for solutions based on political ideology. No one wins when this happens but politicians and lawyers.

To solve problems that are complex you have to break them down to smaller issues that work toward an overall solution. Things change, so the approach has to be flexible to allow for new discoveries, good or bad, that have an impact on the proper course towards an equitable solution. In other words, shit happens, you know it, be ready for it. The ideologically motivated course selected by the climate change wizards is called, putting all your eggs in one basket.

Who to trust?

The first test in any bullshit detector should be trustworthiness. Can you believe what is being said? Certainty in the midst of complexity is a dead give away. We all have been around the block and know that when experts are certain, bad things are about to happen. Most of the time the exact opposite of what the experts say. The experts call these things Black Swans. Things that no one can predict. The climate science guys are predicting "Black Swans". In their opinion, we have to prepare for the absolute worst that can happen now because it "May" happen. Preparing for an uncertain future does not mean putting all your eggs in one basket because something "May" happen. You prepare as best you can considering everything. Everyone should know that anyone with "THE" solution is blowing smoke up your ass.

Following the debate for the past few years, it is obvious that the "experts" that are confident that things have to be done "now" are over confident in their "beliefs". So on my redneck physics blog, I have started putting together a few examples of how ideology motivates people to become lying bast%#ds. Sorry for the strong language, but I don't want my science tainted with political backroom dirty tricks.

I will post any more "science" related stuff on the Redneck Physics blog and fishing related stuff on this one. I encourage everyone to think about who they should believe on both issues. Depending own your views, I recommend sending something to your local congress person whether you agree with me or not.

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

Pictures of Boats and Stuff

This the the new to Chris Sea Vee that I will be fishing from time to time. We fished four guys the other day and there was plenty of room. The boat run fine. With twin 150 Yamaha it can cover a lot of ground pretty quick. So I am looking forward to some of my old Gulf Wreck fishing adventures and a Cay Sal run or two in the summer.

This is the Blackfin, Walkabout. Still pretty quick with a lot better fuel economy with a single straight inboard Yanmar diesel . It is more family friendly, potty wise and weather wise with the enclosure.

Both are docked at the Seven Mile Marina where I plan to do most of my fishing. The Seven Mile Marina has been building stuff left and right!


North side Chiki Tiki to the point which will have its own bar in season.

View from the main dining area and stage.

This will be the new down stairs bar area.

New down stairs restrooms with Chiki Tiki extention.

I sure picked a bad time to quit drinking with all the options available within staggering distance of my new digs :)

As I mentioned before I have access to a couple other boats that I may uses for flats fishing and Flamingo trips for the back country lovers. I like mixing it up which is the reason I settle in Marathon. So much fishing, so little 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

Just a Half Day in the Bay

We had a half day trip this afternoon to check out the new to Chris Sea Vee 25 center console. The boat just got a new tee top with an upper station for fish spotting. The new fly by wire controls need a little fine tuning, but the boat ran great and fished fine. As always, I have a tweak or two in mind to get my proper blend of organized disorganization. I love having a spot to stash stuff so I can get to it quick.

The Mackerel were the main story. Plenty of Spanish with the average size in the 2 to 3 pound range, though these are fatter fish than normal in my opinion. Mangroves were awfully finicky today for some reason. Lots of the usual Jacks and Bluefish with a few ladyfish. Still no sign of the black tip sharks in the near shore spots I tend to fish on shorter days. I am kinda Jonesing for a long bay run find the kings and cobia I am pretty sure are to the west a little further.

I did talk to another captain this morning that has a flats boat for some of my fly guys later in the season.

As a reminder, Porky's Bay Side does a great job of smoking your catch and they will swap smoked fish dip for the fresh fillets, when available for you guys in a hurry. They will not take whole fish though, make sure they are fillet and iced down right before taking them over.

There is still a good bit of sewer construction going on down at this end of town. So parking spaces are getting swapped around a bit from day to day. Most of this should be finished by Christmas.

I am starting to get pretty well booked up the last of December through the middle of February. I stuck the moon phase thingie on the left side of the blog. Remember that for snapper and dolphin, the days around the full moon can be pretty slow. The Mackerel don't care much about the moon though, so don't let that stop you for a Bay Side trip.

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

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas

Beer and Wine Climate Change and Fishing Summit

This guy must be related to me somehow, Beer and Wine Climate Change Summit. So in a show of solidarity, I am going to throw my own Beer and Wine Climate Change and Fishing Summit at Salty's Waterfront Grill at the Seven Mile Marina on December 15th myself. Being a teetotaler at the moment, I reckon I should mention non adult refreshment drinkers are welcome as well. I will drink vicariously along with the folks stuck preserving their livers. I am still amazed that I have one that functions.

For the dedicated warmers, coolers, or who carers, we can have a kick off breakfast at the Seven Mile Grill (I made some kick butt popovers this morning BTW)and after summit happy hour at Lazy Days, all within staggering distance of summit headquarters.

We do ask that if you must discuss politics, do so prior to imbibing.

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,

Col. (Capt.) Dallas