A Call for Porky's Bayside Support

Every customer I have ever taken out has had at least a beer or coffee in the morning at Porky's Bayside. On tripadviser.com someone dissed Porky's as having dry pork. Hey, they have dry beef BBQ, but the pork rocks. If you get a chance express your views of Porky's on the trip adviser web site. If you had a bad trip with me, you can express yourself as well. All both of you.

I would say something about fishing but I tweaked my back and have had to stay heavily medicated the last two days. Tough job but someone has to do it. I will tough it out tomorrow for another fishing report.

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.

ETA: Oh and if you didn't like the BBQ beans at Porky's blame me, that is my recipe.
Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas

Texas Mackerel Half Day

I took out Austin and Amy-rillo fishing for Spanish Mackerel today. Austin's significant other isn't really named Amy-rillo, but come on! Austin, Amy-rillo and Dallas on the same boat sounds like a Texas fishing adventure. They write a few articles for the Long Island Fisherman which actually has several publications in the great white Atlantic North.

Most times you take sports writers fishing something happens to make the trip a bit more challenging. Today of course the winds were stiff and the current limp. We caught fish but the bite was well below normal. That never deters outdoors writers because you can always take plenty of photos of the same fish from different angles. After telling the crew that the bite could be pretty slow, the first mac in the boat got the royal photo treatment. Luckily the bite picked up to a slow but steady pace. Plenty of fish, but nothing outrageously exciting.

One of the things about these trips is that a lot of time is dedicated to taking pictures. Each decent fish or mediocre fish that happens to be in the right light stops angling for photo op time. They had fun though and caught more than enough for dinner and dip. A couple of decent Mangroves were the main course with a bunch of Michael Jackson's released.

They were quite impressed with Captain Pips' accommodations, Porky's food including their lunch cook your catch and thought their guide for the half day was adequate. They had more than enough photos, so the article should be pretty good. Look for it in the near future in one of the Long Island Fisherman publications.

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 Another Fishing 101

Monday was just another fishing 101. Really nice crew from Canada by way of South Africa. One couple loves to fish the other could care less. I told the couple that could care less that I planned to get them addicted to fishing. Did the tour first thing in the morning to show the non fishing crew a nice beach near some good fishing so they could split up and enjoy doing their own thing. One of the non fishing crew is a kite boarder and diver. There are plenty of spots around the island to do both.

Then I took the crew to a spot in Hawk Channel. One of my fishing crew likes to hand line, this spot is perfect for bottom fishing with a hand line or rod. They caught a ton of fish though there was a lull during slack tide. Not many keepers, but a few just short grouper, a Jewfish, a good number of lane snapper and the ever present grunts you have to wade through. I thought it was slow as hell, but the crew had never seen so many kinds of fish or so many fish in a couple hours of fishing.

The afternoon though sucked. The wind picked up and turned against the current. That canned my plans for some time on the reef or offshore so we headed back to the Bay. The Mackerel had lock jaw. I could see them swimming around but they wouldn't hit anything we offered. We hit another of my spots and caught a few lanes that were legal but too small for me to bring back to the dock. To me a lane needs to be 14 inches or better to even think about keeping.

When we get back to the dock all I am thinking about is how crappie the afternoon was. The crew though, both the fishers and the non fishers, said they had a hell of a good time. I guess I am just spoiled by all the great trips I have had. Slow to me is fast and furious to most.

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

Foggy in the Keys a bit Abby Normal

I could just taste the fresh seared Cobia as we headed out for our first Gulf Wreck trip in a while. Visions of a box full of 50 pound Cobia got lost in a fog bank 10 miles back in the bay. We bravely continued to one of my better close in spots another four miles back to catch a few fish and wait for the fog to lift. A nice Mangrove Snapper and decent Spanish Mackerel went in the box giving me hopes for a respectable trip. Then blue runners, bluefish and sharks move in like the fog to dash that thought.

Then I tried another spot were I always get into respectable Jewfish just for some fun. Managed to catch the tide perfectly slack. We had lunch and waited for the tide to start moving. One cutoff and I decided to move to a safer area since the fog was getting thicker. My soaked and freezing crew decided to surrender and we made the 14 mile run to the dock in 100 to 150 yard visibility. A long, cold and nerve racking boat ride.

This was the first time I have ever seen fog last all day long down here in the Keys. Friday the 13th provided a trip and conditions that were a horror.

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

Rod Bustin' Action

I like nothing better than introducing people to fish that will whip their butt. So busted rods, smoked reels and rapid line loss is not all that uncommon. The past two weeks fish have claimed three of my customers rods. The multi-piece traveling rods most commonly fall victim to Keys fish. The one pictured above was classic. The rod broke in three places.

As for the fishing it was a little off today. The yellowtail trip quickly turned into what ever the heck we could catch trip with no current on the reef. A few big Jacks and a couple of smoker Kings provided the big fish action. Porgies, big Lane Snapper, a few Mangroves and about a dozen tails provided dinner for 30 or more.. Anyhow, we filled the box and there were smiling faces. The suspected rod busting culprit is a cobia. Not that I saw the fish, just that it acted like a cobe with big shoulders.

Now that the wind has laid down we have a Gulf wreck trip in the works for tomorrow. Bubba, my 100 pound outfit with the drag delicately adjusted with a hammer is making the trip. While the main goal of the trip is big Cobia, a little pain may be in the forecast. I tell everyone that when Bubba bents over double be careful. You may be opening a can of whupp ass you can't close if you pick it 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

Bayside Mack Attack

My crew from Virginia had me hustling most of the day Monday. We went through at least thirty wire rigs. I ran out of wire about two hours before the normal end of the trip. But that wasn't a big deal because the fish box was full. It was almost all macs with one nice Mangrove snapper. We lost one very nice seatrout and a few bigger fish on the light tackle during chaotic bite. With three or four fish on at a time. I don't know what the final count was but we hooked up at least 100 fish in about five hours.

If you want to load your freezer with Mackerel, right now is a good time to do it. After the crew tried my fish dip recipe, they are planning on doing just that. If you check my cooking label you can find the fish dip and fish cake recipes that are pretty tasty. I recommend grilling or smoking the mackerel before freezing. The meat keeps a lot better that way. The crew should email me some pictures pretty soon then I will post them up.

In other fishing the sail bite has been slow but seems to be improving. Dolphin and wahoo along with a few Blackfin tuna are off shore. The reef has been red hot when the wind is with the current. Bridge fishing has been a little slow but the rock piles in Hawk Channel have been very productive. Come on down and do a little catching.

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