Our friends, Chris and Kristy, are having a few friends over tonight so we popped out to catch some tasty mangrove snapper.

With winds gusting to a good 30+ mph and the horizon bobbing back and forth, the five of us went to one of my honey holes near the Seven Mile Bridge.

In about 45 minutes, we caught our limit of 14- to 16-inch mangrove snapper (that’s 25 fish) plus some good size yellowtails and a bonus yellowjack that Jaiden caught after he got this grunt.

Our crew consisted of Jason and Alex Bell, Chris and Jaiden Larken and me.  Good friends and good fishing.  Can’t wait for the good eats tonight!

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

We’re having a pretty warm winter here in Marathon, with not too many days requiring sweatshirts and socks as compared to the past two years.

This bodes well for February fishing, as the fish don’t like cold temps any more than the anglers do.

Variety in Hawk Channel

This time of year, it’s hard to beat the Hawk Channel areas for excellent fishing for a wide variety of species.  Conditions are generally smoother than out on the reef edge, with seas never getting much bigger than two to three feet.  And, the 25- to 40-foot Hawk Channel depths are just a couple of miles from shore.

Shrimp presented on the bottom in Hawk Channel will load the cooler with all manner of snapper – lane, yellowtail, mangrove and mutton.  Various other food fish also respond to a shrimp offering, including the much sought-after Florida pompano, porgy and hogfish.

 King mackerel season is here

And, if history holds true, the king mackerel will show up on the channel humps and coral heads.  These fish aren’t called “kings” for no reason.  The largest ones approach 40 pounds and more and the long, blistering runs they give make them an absolute blast to catch on 15-pound tackle.

Cero and Spanish too

Mixed with the kingfish are plenty of cero and Spanish mackerel.  While all three of the Keys mackerel species are excellent fare for the smoker, the cero and Spanish are also quite delicious grilled or blackened when freshly caught.

Reef fishing

When fishing the reef line in February, it pays to be prepared for anything.  With the mild weather sticking around, the yellowtail bite should remain active.  You’ll find king, cero and Spanish mackerel here as well.  You may even run across a sailfish or two.

Fishing on the wrecks

On the wrecks, the mutton snapper bite well with most fish in the 10- to 12-pound class.  But, the big game on the wrecks is amberjack fishing.  The AJ’s average 20 to 40 pounds with some brutes coming in at 50-plus.  These reef donkeys will put you to the test and you’ll really know if that gym membership is paying off.

Again, be ready for just about anything to happen while fishing the wrecks as dolphin and sailfish will often swim right up to the boat looking for a meal.

What’s happening in Florida Bay

In the waters of Florida Bay, fishing for Spanish mackerel remains solid.  And, when the water temps are in the high 60’s, the mangrove snapper bite turns on as well.

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, we gave it a good shot.  I ran the boat all over the Gulf and we found too many gag grouper and jack crevalle to count.  But none of the big kings.

So I came in a little closer to shore and the guys set to catching a good haul of mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel.

The crew consisted of Fred Scott and Fred Thimmes, from Lancaster OH, Dave Singer, from Elwood IN, Ted Singer, from Newcastle OK, and Jim Sollecito, from Syracuse and 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

This morning’s group limited out on snapper on the reef, so I thought this afternoon would be more of the same.  Not so.  No big deal.  The beauty of fishing in the Marathon area is the variety of venues we have.

We moved in the Hawk Channel, which always delivers up some tasty treats.

Victor and Karen Face, from Homer MI, and Rodney and Cindy McFadden, from Marshall MI, had a blast with non-stop rod bending action.

They landed 27 lane snapper to about 17 inches, three yellowtails, a mangrove and rounded out their catch with a hogfish and a porgy.

Nice catching and good eating!

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

Mike and Denise Stehr and their friend, Kim Farr, all from Minnesota, shared a half day of fun fishing with SeaSquared Charters.

The trio caught their limit of snapper, which consisted of 29 good size yellowtail and a 10-pound mutton landed by Mike.

A couple of tasty porgy rounded out their catch.

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

We started out on the reef, where Gene made quick work catching his limit if yellowtail snapper plus some hogfish.

We then moved in to Hawk Channel looking for porgy and more hogfish.  Gene caught a few of each.  He also got more snapper, but we had to send them back to catch them another day.

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

And, that’s what they got … plus some.  John shared his trip with his sister and brother-in-law, Sharon and Jim Akers, from Fork Union VA.

We headed straight to the reef in search of yellowtail snapper.  We caught a few but lost a lot more to the Goliath grouper and kingfish.  So, we switched gears and started bringing the kings into the boat, with the largest coming in at about 25 pounds.

When we had enough of that action, I came inshore and we fished the patches, where the crew added some delicious porgy to their catch.

They ate their yellowtail and porgy at Porky’s Bayside BBQ that night, and I’m smoking their king mackerel for them.  They ended up with 21 pounds of  smoker kingfish – yum!

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

Bill and Irma O’Connell and their kids, Dillon and Devon, from Acworth GA, had a nice afternoon fishing in Hawk Channel just offshore from Marathon Florida Keys.

They caught a bunch of lane and mangrove snapper, delicious hogfish and porgy and a bonus Florida pompano.

They had such a good time, they posted their own review on TripAdvisor and Bill and Dillon booked a tarpon trip for May.

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

The goal for today was to raise some sailfish.  A couple of hours into it with no action, we decided to change strategy and head to the wrecks.  Just as we  were moving on, a sail free-jumped right at the side of the boat!  No landing, but Mike and Luke at least got to see one up close.

We dropped on a wreck and the guys caught two very large mutton snapper.  I then noticed a strained look on Luke’s face indicating he had something really big on his line.  He did a great job wrestling the beast to the boat and only needed a little assistance at the end, when he was rewarded with an 80-pound amberjack!

To finish off the day, we stopped on a patch reef and added porgy to the day’s catch.

The amberjack will be smoked and packaged for the Scott family to enjoy back home in Cranleigh England.

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

Big game options

Sailfish reign supreme at the reef edge off Marathon throughout the winter months.  If you can handle it, the rougher the better for catching these acrobatic billfish.  A good north to northeast wind really puts the sails on the feed.

Most often, we catch sailfish spraying ballyhoo on the reef in just 20 to 30 feet of water.  There’s nothing more fun than chasing after the fleeing ballyhoo with the frigate birds diving overhead as you pitch a bait directly toward the sailfish.

If you don’t find the sailfish trailing the ballyhoo, you can work the reef edge in the 100- to 200-foot depths by live-baiting pilchards or ballyhoo.  Kite fishing with goggle eyes or small blue runners also proves worthwhile.

Sailfish are not the only ones to attack these baits with abandon.

The mighty kingfish roam the same areas.  The kings average 10 to 20 pounds this time of year with some real smokers of 60-plus pounds making their way to the boat on occasion.  You may even encounter some wahoo and winter dolphin for a tasty addition to the cooler.

Reef and wreck offerings

Yellowtail snapper are abundant on the Marathon reef and will average 16 to 18 inches.  Copious amounts of chum and a variety of frozen baits or fresh shrimp are the key to attracting these succulent specimens.  You may also get some delicious hogfish in the same areas.

The inshore wrecks hold nice size mutton snapper in the 10- to 15-pound class plus fair numbers of amberjack.  These fish respond to live baits such as ballyhoo or pilchards, but pinfish will also do the trick.

Mackerel and mangroves in Florida Bay

Affectionately referred to as spotted speedsters, Spanish mackerel give you a good run for your money and are excellent on the table or in the smoker.  Chumming plus live shrimp, small pilchards or pinfish drifted back in your slick works best.  For lightening strikes, fish a bucktail cast back and retrieved rapidly.

Once you get your limit of mackerel, move to a near shore wreck or bank and catch yourself a nice bunch of mangrove snapper.  These fish respond to the same offerings as the Spanish mackerel, which makes it a nice stop on your way home.

Florida Keys smoked fish

To learn how we brine and smoke mackerel and for our smoked fish dip recipe, please drop us an email at SeaSquared@bellsouth.net.

Cobia and more on the Gulf wrecks

On the far Gulf wrecks in the Marathon area, you will find a wide variety of species willing to bite, including king and Spanish mackerel, bluefish, mangrove snapper, cobia and even some hard-fighting jack crevalle.

Chum and live bait are the best approach, with pinfish being my favorite bait.  For some exciting action with the big kings, nothing beats a blue runner either flown from a kite or tethered to a balloon.  You will attract fish in the 40- to 50-pound category.

The crew at SeaSquared Charters wishes you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012 filled with family, friends and fishing!  And, remember, only 120 days until grouper season!

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