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!

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Hooked On Marathon Vacation
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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

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Hooked On Marathon Vacation
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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

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Hooked On Marathon Vacation
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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

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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

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Hooked On Marathon Vacation
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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.  

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Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise

Relentless rain and wind for three days took its toll on the tarpon population at Bahia Honda Bridge.  They most likely moved out to the reef, but will certainly be back when the sun and calmer conditions return on Thursday.

Despite the raining and blowing conditions, Robin hooked into a big, 140-pound class fish that gave him a 15-minute fight before breaking off on one of the bridge pilings.

The crew enjoyed the sight of the tarpon’s acrobatics and the fight so much, they’re giving it another try on Friday morning, so stay tuned.

Anglers: Robin and Deann Turner, from Gatlinburg TN, Ron and Jennifer Mossotti, from Lexington KY

Charter Type: Tarpon

Fishing Venue: Bahia Honda Bridge

Species Caught: 140-pound tarpon (hooked, but not landed)

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Our websites:
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Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise

Sailfish

The sailfish are feeding so aggressively on their way to their spawning grounds that it almost makes no difference what bait you use.  While live bait increases your odds of a catch, many dolphin fishermen have been pleasantly surprised while trolling naked ballyhoo.

Windy day options

If you have any influence with Mother Nature, you may want to put in a request for her to bring the winds down.

On these windy days, there is still good fishing for mangrove snapper and sea trout on the banks in Florida Bay.  Another excellent windy day alternative is catch-and-release fishing for sharks in the Bay.  These shallow water areas hold massive numbers of lemon, blacktip, nurse, bonnet head and other species of shark.

Windfinder.com says the winds will subside by tomorrow.  The reef bite will be excellent again for yellowtail, mutton and mangrove snapper.

Grouper season opens!

And, the day we’ve all been waiting for is just around the corner.  Tuesday, May 1 is the opening of grouper season!  I will be on the reef and wrecks with my charter, and I hope to see all of you out there too.

Permit and tarpon

There are still plenty of permit providing great rod-bending action on the wrecks and artificial reefs.  These fish average 25 to 30 pounds.

The tarpon population at the bridges and in Key West Harbor increases everyday.  Good news for the many tarpon tournaments coming up.

The week’s best catches

The SeaSquared finished out April with tarpon and shark trips and some mangrove snapper thrown in for dinner!

We think we had a record number of “Live Free or Die” folks on the boat in one week, with three different groups hailing from New Hampshire.  In addition, we hosted groups from Washington, Oregon, Georgia and Kentucky.

Click here to read all the reports.  Click on the links for more information and pictures.

It’s getting to be time to think about summer vacation, and our calendar reflects that many of you have already planned your fishing charter with us!  Thank you!  We still have days available in June, July and August, so give us a call to get in on the fun!

TripAdvisor has come to be a very important source of new customers for us.  Please take a minute to leave us a review.  While you’re there, why not review the place you stayed as well as the restaurants and attractions you enjoyed while in Marathon.  We’ll all appreciate it!

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

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Our websites:
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Marathon Tarpon Fishing
Hooked On Marathon Vacation
Marathon Sunset Cruise

This group had three trips booked with us, but the non-stop rain limited them to just one tarpon outing.  With a short window of opportunity, we headed to Bahia Honda Bridge where the tarpon have been rolling.

First time tarpon anglers need to pay close attention to the instructions from Capt. Chris and Jason.  Once your live crab bait is drifted back, you can never take your eyes off the bobber or you can easily miss a bite.  It takes a little bit of practice and a lot of patience, but the payoff is huge when you have a 100-pound Silver King taking you for a ride!

They may have missed a few bites, but the Harrison crew went one for two with Ben fighting a 100-pound monster for about an hour before bringing it to the boat for a photo opp.

Anglers: Jim, Jimmy and Canaan Harrison and Ben Senneff, from Ft. Mitchell KY

Charter Type: Tarpon

Fishing Venue: Bahia Honda Bridge

Species Caught: 100-pound tarpon

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