The Backyard

I could have had a trip today if I had wanted to blow some smoke up a butt.  I didn't and my customer found a guide with a flats boat on a trailer so he could fish the backyard even with the wind up a bit.  Well folks, that's why I settled in Marathon, the Heart of the Florida Keys.  I don't have any heartburn at all with one of my customers having a good time with another guide.  Had I had a flats or a bay boat on a trailer, I would have taken him, but I don't.  Working on that :)

The image above is part of the Backyard that you can see using Google Earth.  There is a lot of Backyard!  Lots of critters to play with and the scenery is not too shabby.  Since I have a customer planning on coming down in a few months with a 17 foot Boston Whaler, I thought this was a fine time for this post.  I have guided the back country from Marathon and Key West and the fishing is truly world class.  So I recommended that my new customer think about keeping his boat on the trailer so we can explore more of the Keys.  I don't know every nook and cranny in the back country, but a lot of the adventure is in the exploration.  Plus I know enough good spots to generally look pretty good.

Where he is staying is close to a lot of excellent action.  If the weather cooperates, we can stay right in the area and have a great time.  If the wind is up a touch, we can throw the boat on the trailer and avoid getting our butts handed to us on the way to a sheltered fishing hole.  To figure out where one of those sheltered fishing holes might be, take a look at Google Earth.

I haven't sprung for the higher resolution version, but just the normal version shows channels pretty well and some of the deep holes and drop offs by flats and islands.  So if you are a back country kinda guy that likes spinning a fly gear with enough patience to hunt for adventure, this is a good start.

Just to wet our appetite, this was taken in the Backyard.

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

Tough Day with the Wind

Silvia and dad Mike with one of the plentiful Black Tips at the Bridge.

After showing Mike a good Cobia time a few days earlier, it was tough when this and a few mangroves was the best I could do yesterday.  The wind shifted and picked up just enough to limit the opportunities and my old friend the Seven Mile Bridge was not a nice as usual.  Had the mutton snapper we caught been  larger and the wind not against the current, things would have been more interesting.  Not every day is a winner though.  The blow continued today so my first day at Pancho's was also slow.

Tuesday, I took Justin and Sally from Colorado out for a fishing 101.  They learned most of what they wanted plus caught a fair mess of Spanish Mackerel during the sight seeing, bait catching and fishing tour, but the wind that day was just enough to keep us on the Bay side.  The wind is supposed to lay down a little during the weekend to a more reasonable 15 to 20 than the 20 plus than makes anchoring and fishing a lot less 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

The Mike and Brian Fishing Day

Mike and Brian are down from Maryland for some more fishing with Capt. Dallas. Last year, Mike had some angling issues.  He could hook fish, but not all that many of the big one wanted to pose for the camera.  After spending a little time on Ebay, he has a few new weapons for the fish.

So this year, Mike actually has fish dinner to go with his fish stories.  A 37 pound Cobia on his 20 pound level wind with brand new Ugly stick.

Brain, did catch a few mackerel on the fly rod which was his main goal, but I forgot to take pictures of him with his fly rod caught fish.

I did snap a picture of Brian with one pretty dang big green puffer fish.  So the gang caught fish and had fun.  The Bay Spanish bite is still a little iffy.  They are still partial to shrimp which means lots of blue runners, blue fish and small stuff that also are partial to shrimp.  But is is still worth a trip since you never know who will show up in the slick.

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

When the Sharks Bite, with their Teeth- Yeah

Frank with BlackTip about 25#

Jimmy with Black Tip about 15#

Joey with Black Tip about 20#

This is one of those ho hums for some fishermen and Hot Dang! for others.  Black Tip sharks of the smaller persuasion on light spinning tackle less than two miles from the dock. Normally, there would be a bunch of Mangrove Snapper to boot, but the Yellow Jacks kinda over whelmed the snapper bite.  The Yellow Jacks, which are supposed to taste a bit like the California Yellowtail according to a few of my left coast clients, mke a good dinner for both people and sharks.  So we traded in the yellow jacks on some pretty fast action as long as the tide ran.  Nothing for a local to bragg about, but Frank, Jimmy and Joey (from top) all seemed to enjoy that part of the show.  The largest weighted roughly 25 to 30 pounds and was caught on 15 pound test.  There were a couple of less photogenic fish that would have required a tad heavier line or a faster captain.

Joey with Red Grouper 

Joey shows that there are grouper biting during the closed season. ARRGH!

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