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Marathon Florida Keys Fishing wrap up with.....

Capt Dave Navarro's Deep Sea fishing and Reef Light Tackle report 
5050 Overseas Hwy, Marathon, Florida 33050.  (305) 743-6139
Email: worldclassan@comcast.net -- www.worldclassangler.com

March 2010 -
Yellowtail

The cool weather fronts we have had recently have the Yellowtail Snapper and Grouper avoiding the cooler waters of Florida Bay, and making their way out to the Atlantic Ocean side patch reefs where the fishing has been fantastic! Large Mangrove Snapper have dominated some areas along with Cero Mackerel and King Mackerel.

Groupers of all varieties have been prominent as well with many "would be" keeper sized fish released due to the present closed season on them. We have also seen evidence of Amberjacks, Cobia, Mutton Snapper, Sharks, Barracuda, and some other surprise fish like Blackfin Tuna hanging around the deeper wrecks and deeper reef areas over 100ft of water.

Sailfish have been around the 100-250ft depth range along with lots of large King Mackerel up to 40lb. The area off of Delta Shoal near Sombrero light was particularly hot this week for big King Mackerel with a few sails and Mahi-Mahi mixed in as well on the south wind days. Cool fronts are ruling the fishing landscape right now with a front coming in about every 4th day as we have had the winds going around the clock the past few weeks about as fast as the hours on the clock!

Offshore fishing has been good for Blackfin Tuna at the west hump and there have been some scattered Dolphin (Mahi) around debris on the way out and back from the humps. Some nice Wahoo have been taken way offshore by some adventurous anglers but recent breezy conditions have kept most boats nearer to shore.

Florida Bay has been up and down lately since the big cold snap in January that dropped the water temps down 30 degrees and pushed lots of the bay inhabitants out onto the Atlantic side to avoid the cooler waters. Recent trips to the bayside by charters out of the 7 Mile Marina here in Marathon have produced some decent Mangrove Snapper and lots of Spanish Mackerel to go with some Bluefish and some Jacks and other less desireable critters.

    Starting with the offshore fishery where most anglers are taking advantage of with the calm seas, we have found that dolphin have been changing the locations of the big numbers from day to day.  There has not been one steady depth for the fish to be in the past week.  One day they were found at 22 miles from the reef and the next, not a fish to be found in the area.   Some days, 12 to 16 miles were all one had to travel to find plenty of fish. 

The best option now is to cover more ground while you are out there.  The more area you cover, the more likely you are to come across some nice fish.  The use of high speed lures such as the 'Billy Baits,' works like a charm for just this operation.  Having your boat just on a plane which is usually about 12 knots, is a fine speed for the Billy Baits to work fishing

 

You are not outrunning any of the fish at this speed either.  I have caught more fish this way than ever trolling around 8 knots along a weed line.  Now it is wise to have a bait ready to cast to fish that you actually come up on because hand fed is always a good bet too.  But just think about the logic; 5 hours of trolling at 8 knots covers 40 miles while 5 hours at 12 knots covers 60 miles.  It just increases your odds of finding fish.

 

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On the reef now is a good bite of Yellowtail as well as the mangrove snapper........... mutton snapper and grouper, too.  Depths have been varying but the best ones that have been reported have been 45 to 70 feet.  Deep waters have been full of big sharks that seem to know just when to eat the big one you hooked.  This is not to say that 45 feet of water is shark free.  When you find the good numbers of fish, you will find the sharks as well. 

  Silversides, shrimp and squid have been the best bait working for the reef.  As always, if you don't use plenty of chum, take a good book or a deck of cards. 

     The reef is a good place to hit on the way in from being offshore or in the evenings.  The bite has been much better and with the calm winds and strong sun of June, sitting still through the heat of the day will tempt you to jump in just cool off which is fine, except when you have been chumming for some time.  Then you just may see one of those big critters that I was talking about earlier.  It sure makes for a short swim and totally removes the need for a ladder when you see one while in the water.

    Another fishery for the evenings as well as mornings is the tarpon fishing which is still steady throughout local waters.  Live pinfish, live crabs and if you can catch them, live mullet are by far the best baits to use. 

There have been some very nice snapper as well throughout the area bridge channels as of late.  An occasional nice grouper have also been found around the pilings.  This is one of the finest ways to be out there and enjoy the sunset on the water.  It just wraps up another fine day here and winds you down nicely, unless you are hooked up with the Silver King.  Then it only got better

If you would like more info on fishing in the Marathon and middle Keys area, check out our web site. Good luck in all your fishing adventures!.

Captain Dave Navarro is a lifelong resident of Marathon, Owner of the World Class Angler at our new location at 3740 Overseas Highway in Marathon and captain of the charter boat, “Dave’s Dream".

Tight Lines,

Captain Dave

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