The extended Cox family chose beautiful Tranquility Bay Resort for their first visit to Marathon Florida Keys and they included a half day fishing trip with SeaSquared.

We headed to calm Florida Bay and the crew put together a very respectable cooler full of mangrove snapper and sea trout, which they planned to dine on at Porky’s Bayside BBQ.

Anglers: Jeff and Teresa Cox, Brandon Cox and Brooke Stevenson, Cory and Alison Held, all from North Carolina

Charter Type: Half Day

Fishing Venue: Florida Bay

Species Caught: 20 mangrove snapper and 2 sea trout

Click for more information about Marathon Family Fishing

Click to be redirected to our handy CONTACT FORM …

Our websites:
SeaSquared Charters
Marathon Family Fishing
Marathon Shark Fishing
Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise

They first tried their hand at tarpon fishing at Bahia Honda and, today, experienced the bluewater.  We lucked into a nice school of dolphin and the trio of anglers did a great job of boating their limit, including a handsome bull.  A bonus wahoo and monster mangrove snapper also came back to the dock.

We will pack, freeze and ship more than 60 pounds of fresh Florida Keys fish back to Washington to be shared and enjoyed with family and friends.  Doug plans to smoke some of the dolphin, and I can’t wait to hear how it turns out.

Anglers: Doug and Sherry Wooden, and Doug Sr., from Ridgefield WA

Charter Type: Three Quarter Day

Fishing Venue: Offshore

Species Caught: dolphin, wahoo, mangrove snapper

Click for more information about Marathon Fishing

Click to be redirected to our handy CONTACT FORM …

Our websites:
SeaSquared Charters
Marathon Family Fishing
Marathon Shark Fishing
Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise

Well, these guys didn’t have enough fingers!

Visiting Marathon for the Faro Blanco Invitational Tarpon Tournament, Tim and James opted for an additional shark trip.  Basically, a repeat of their experience with SeaSquared last year.

Except they upped the ante this year with each catching and releasing 11 very large lemon sharks in about two hours.

Doubled up on multiple bites …

They certainly kept Jason busy snipping wires to release the sharks!

They actually called the the trip early to have time to recuperate for their evening tarpon trip.

How many sharks will they catch next year?

Anglers: Tim McCoy, from Wellesley MA, and James Cashiola, from Cabo San Lucas Mexico

Charter Type: 4-hour Shark Fishing Adventure

Fishing Venue: Florida Bay

Species Caught: 22 lemon sharks

SeaSquared Charters practices 100% catch-and-release shark fishing using non-harmful circle hooks.  All sharks are released unharmed.

Shallow water shark fishing is an exhilarating experience for all ages and abilities.  The SeaSquared has hosted shark wranglers from 6 to 90!

Click for more information about Marathon Shark Fishing

Click to be redirected to our handy CONTACT FORM …

Our websites:
SeaSquared Charters
Marathon Family Fishing
Marathon Shark Fishing
Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise

Unfortunately, one tarpon was eliminated due to regulations regarding touching the leader, but Glenn and Sam had a great time anyway!

And, the famous Florida Keys sunset is always a bonus when evening tarpon fishing at Bahia Honda!

The Faro Blanco Invitational Tarpon Tournament (commonly known as the

McDonald’s Tournament) is held annually in May, and the proceeds benefit Ronald McDonald charities.

Anglers: Glenn and Sam Lubeznik, from Michigan City IN

Charter Type: Tarpon

Fishing Venue: Bahia Honda

Species Caught: 2 landings for 3 hook-ups on tarpon

Click for more information about Marathon Tarpon Fishing

Click to be redirected to our handy CONTACT FORM …

Our websites:
SeaSquared Charters
Marathon Family Fishing
Marathon Shark Fishing
Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise

Kian (13) and Aidan (11) each caught and released their first tarpon today!

Anglers: Scott, Kian and Aidan Martin, from Jupiter FL

Charter Type: Tarpon

Fishing Venue: Bahia Honda

Species Caught: tarpon

Click for more information about Marathon Shark Fishing

Click to be redirected to our handy CONTACT FORM …

Our websites:
SeaSquared Charters
Marathon Family Fishing
Marathon Shark Fishing
Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise

Scott Martin has treated his sons, Kian and Aidan (11) to many trips on the SeaSquared.  For their May outings, they had two species on their target list: permit and tarpon.

Today, we took care of the permit.  We had three bites and the boys each landed one.  Kian’s weighted about 30 pounds and Aidan’s came in at about 35.  Both were released unharmed.

Aidan also caught a gorgeous 27-inch black grouper and the guys added 18 good size 14- to 17-inch yellowtail to their day’s total.

Tomorrow, we go after the tarpon.

Anglers: Scott, Kian and Aidan Martin, from Jupiter FL

Charter Type: Three Quarter Day

Fishing Venue: Reef/Wrecks

Species Caught: permit, black grouper, yellowtail snapper

Click for more information about Marathon Shark Fishing

Click to be redirected to our handy CONTACT FORM …

Our websites:
SeaSquared Charters
Marathon Family Fishing
Marathon Shark Fishing
Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise

Tremendous rains turned down the water temps and sent the tarpon out to the reef.  So, Joe and Kris opted for some fun fishing in Florida Bay with good eats as their reward for being flexible.

Anglers: Joe Winslow, from Wildwood Crest NJ, and Kris Mundelius, from Madison WI

Charter Type: Half Day

Fishing Venue: Florida Bay

Species Caught: limit of mangrove snapper and big sea trout

Click for more information about Marathon Shark Fishing

Click to be redirected to our handy CONTACT FORM …

Our websites:
SeaSquared Charters
Marathon Family Fishing
Marathon Shark Fishing
Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise

These Minnesotans have caught some trout in their time, but nothing like what they got on this trip!  They caught four sea trout in the 16- to 19-inch class and threw back another 20 in the same weight group.  They also landed a pair at 21.5 inches and had to release another two of the same size plus a 22-incher.

(The regulations for spotted sea trout are not less than 15″ or
more than 20″ (statewide) except one fish over 20″
per person.  Four fish per harvester per day in the SE Region.)

Kevin and Karen also caught their limit of mangrove snapper to about three pounds.  And, to top off the day, they brought in some Spanish and cero mackerel which they’re smoking back at home using our brine recipe.

Anglers: Kevin and Karen Randolph, from Medina MN

Charter Type: Half Day

Fishing Venue: Florida Bay Banks

Species Caught: spotted sea trout, mangrove snapper, cero and Spanish mackerel

Click for more information about Marathon Shark Fishing

Click to be redirected to our handy CONTACT FORM …

Our websites:
SeaSquared Charters
Marathon Family Fishing
Marathon Shark Fishing
Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise

The first shark to take a bait today was a young bull.  We primarily get lemon sharks, with the occasional bull and blacktip, so I was really pleased to see this guy show up today.

It gave Daniel a good 30-minute fight before coming to the boat for its photo opp.

The guys went on to catch four more lemons for a great morning of father-son bonding!

Anglers: Anthony and Daniel Naples, from Branchburg NJ

Charter Type: 4-hour Shark Fishing Adventure

Fishing Venue: Florida Bay

Species Caught: 1 bull and 4 lemon sharks

SeaSquared Charters practices 100% catch-and-release shark fishing using non-harmful circle hooks.  All sharks are released unharmed.

Shallow water shark fishing is an exhilarating experience for all ages and abilities.  The SeaSquared has hosted shark wranglers from 6 to 90!

Click for more information about Marathon Shark Fishing

Click to be redirected to our handy CONTACT FORM …

Our websites:
SeaSquared Charters
Marathon Family Fishing
Marathon Shark Fishing
Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise

Ahhh May.  You’d be hard pressed to find a charter boat Captain who doesn’t love May.

May is the month when every major fishery in Marathon and all of the Florida Keys really kicks into high gear.

Grouper season

First and foremost is the opening of grouper season in the South Atlantic on May 1.  Black, gag and red grouper will be hitting the docks in great numbers this month.  If the catches we’ve seen just prior to the season opening are any indication, it won’t be surprising to get grouper over 40 pounds.

May snapperpalooza

Also on the reef, the yellowtail snapper are beginning to spawn, which makes for some of the best flag fishing we see all year.  Flags are yellowtail in the 20- to 24-inch range.  Every year on the SeaSquared we manage to get at least one or two in the 26-inch-plus class, weighing six or seven pounds – absolutely huge for this species of snapper.

And, the mutton snapper are also beginning to congregate heavily on the reef as well as slightly further offshore on the wrecks and rough bottom patches.  When you find the right concentration, it’s easy to put 10, 12 even 20 muttons in the box in a short amount of time.  Again, these are some of the largest fish we see all year with more than a few surpassing the 20-pound mark.

Adding to the May snapperpalooza are the mangrove, which are also forming their annual congregation on the reef.  Most of these are large, mature fish in the four- to seven-pound category.

Permit

The mighty permit are hanging on the higher profile wrecks, with many going 25 to 40 pounds and the occasional specimen exceeding 50 pounds.  Permit are highly sought after in the Marathon area and a true test of your angling abilities.

Tarpon

May is when the tarpon are at the peak of their run at the Marathon bridges from Bahia Honda to Long Key.  On an average four-hour outing, you’ll see a couple hundred tarpon rolling, and the chances of landing the fish of a lifetime are very good.

Sharks

Shark fishing is outstanding as their migration peaks in May as well.  If you have the desire to tackle some of the largest sharks we have – tigers and hammerheads – now is your time.

Dolphin

Oh yea – the dolphin run is in full swing and, again, with some giants coming through the Marathon waters this month.  Blackfin tuna and wahoo add to the offshore action.

So, you’d be foolish to miss out on everyone’s favorite month to fish in Marathon.

If for no other reason, come and bend a rod in memory of the Spanish Fly, Jose Wejebe!

Capt. Chris Johnson is a member of the Yamaha National Fishing Team and specializes in offshore, reef/wreck, gulf/bay, shark and tarpon fishing with SeaSquared Charters out of the 7 Mile Marina in Marathon.  

Click for more information about Marathon Fishing

Click to be redirected to our handy CONTACT FORM …

Our websites:
SeaSquared Charters
Marathon Family Fishing
Marathon Shark Fishing
Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise