Sister Creek, Marathon?

[guanacay]

Has anyone ever fished Sister Creek in Marathon. We are staying on the creek the first week of May. We'll be about 3 docks down from the ocean. I was wondering how the fishing from the dock will be. Thanks.

[Alley Cat]

I will be in Marathon at that time but I do not know where Sister Creek is. We will be there with two boats so maybe we can get together.

Email: dghemp@aol.com

[guanacay]

Sister Creek goes from the ocean into Boot Key Harbor. It's right near Sombrero Beach.

It looks like there would be good water flow between the ocean and harbor and that fish would cruise through. Plus, the mangroves along the west side of the creek look like they could hold a lot of fish.

Where will you be staying?

[Alley Cat]

I will staying on a canal 85th st. ocean side right across from the airport. We will keep one boat tied up in the canal and the other on a trailer for Gulf side fishing or calm days on the Ocean side. This will be our second year at this location and last year the fishing was great. This is actually our third year on the keys and the fishing has completly spoiled me for my home region (the Chesapeake Bay) where most of the fishing is for stripers (poor performers compared to most of the species available in the Keys).

[guanacay]

We stayed very close to where you stay a few years ago. We were closer to Vaca Cut, but less than a mile east. We from our back door, we were looking at the ocean, over a huge flat. At low tide, some of it was exposed. Fishing was actually pretty good from our dock. We had about 20 yards of deep water between our sea wall and the flat and fish cruised up and down along the sea wall.

A 2nd boat for the Gulf? That sounds pretty cool. There were times that we stayed pretty far from the nearest pass and it took a long time to get from one body of water to the other.

Do you guys run over to Vaca Cut to hit the ocean or do you head out one of those dredged channels through the flat?

This year we will be about a mile from the 7 Mile Bridge so that's how we'll be getting to and from the Gulf. Most of our other trips have been closer to Vaca Cut.

Do you guys ever fish the Thunderbolt wreck? We've had a blast fishing there. It's 115 deep and there's usually a considerable current, so anchoring is tough. There's a mooring ball on it you can tie off to. Only problem is it's 15 feet under water. If we're the first boat there, I'll dive in with a rope and wrap it once around the cable, then back up to the bow cleat. Thatt way, I can just uncleat the tag end and pull it trough when I'm done. I don't want to dive back in after chumming for a few hours.

The dolphin should be running pretty good the week we're down. Hopefully they'll be close to the reef. I've caught them a mile from the reef some years and other years I never found them. Guys would be running 30 miles to find them and that wasn't worth it to me.

My in-laws use to live on the Chesapeake (Dames Quarter, Eastern Shore) so I use to fish the Chessie all the time. Rockfish and croakers don't can't fight nearly as well as some of those tropical speedsters down there.

[Alley Cat]

We have a dredged channel to get out to the ocean you really have to stay right on the markers though. Interesting information about the anchor ball. We have a windlass on the Grady but not sure we have the necessary line for 115 '
These trips are the high points of my year and I really look forward to getting there. Between the fishing and good friends times are good. The only thing I dread is hauling a boat 1200 miles.

Have you ever fished the back area out of Bahia Honda?

Please stay in touch sounds like you have much to share.

[guanacay]

We've towed the boat many times. And we've had it all. Trailer lights, bearings, tranny on the tow vehicle. All the while, we have two young kids with us. Talk about stress. 2007 was our last tow job. We started renting in 2008. It's expensive, but you figure the extra $400-500 in gas, it's not as bad as it seems. And we split it with my in-laws. Plus, the stress is a lot less and we make the trip in better time.

I never fished as far west as the Bahia back country when staying in Marathon. I fished Niles Channel a lot when staying on Summerland, but that's not practical from Marathon.

We try to spend as much time fishing out front as we can. We fish the Gulf when it's too windy to fish out front. We usually fish the banks. Mostly Bamboo Banks. We also like to fish the Steel Pile which is straight out from the airport, in the Gulf. It produces a lot of trash fish, but I have kids and they love catching a variery of stuff and a lot of it.

I'll be active on the Florida Keys post until we leave on April 29th as I'm pretty anxious to get down there.

Do you guys snorkel or scuba dive as well?

[Perchguy]

I will be there just ahead of you April 16-24 staying KCB. I will post how we do. Can't wait to get there, only 59 days, but who is counting.....

[guanacay]

Who's counting??? ME!

Here's our place for this year. Look at the website almost daily :)


http://www.marathonrental.com/poponea.htm

[shoot-straight]

plenty of good shore fishing to be had. go to the marathon side of vaca cut at night. there is EVERYTHING hiding in the shadows of the bridge lights. got my first tarpon there, on a fly rod... drift a live shrimp. you will catch.

by boat, go to any patch reef or bay wreck, throw in a full chum bag. catch fish till your armsa wear out.