Marathon April 9-13

[twobyfour]

House is booked. Any reccomendations for fishing? Any locals or or members looking to go or looking for a HO let me know. I will be fishing in a 25 Contender CC. Also looking for any suggestions on things to do or where to go.

[Perchguy]

Make sure that you stop at Robbie's in Islamorada to feed the wild Tarpon. Is this your first trip to the Keys? I will be heading to Marathon for the first week of April. This will be my 3rd annual trip. Can't wait to go!

[twobyfour]

Yes, 1st time

[Perchguy]

I have had very good success the last two years fishing the outside edge of the reef when winds allow. Anchor in about 40 to 60 feet and use lots of chum. I put out 2 bags with a block in each one. I also thaw a block out the night before and mix it with some water and oats. You can ladle a bunch of this out right after you anchor to get them going quickly. Then bait up with either shrimp or squid pieces and drift it back into your chum slick. The patch reefs inside the main reef line are also good and give you a little protection if its a little bumpy. If its too rough to fish ocean side, you can access the bay through Vaca cut. Be careful as you go through the cut though as there is a LOT of current when you go under the bridge (depending upon the tide). If you are used to boating in rivers it is not a big deal but can surprise a freshwater angler who is only used to lakes. Make sure you try some fishing off your dock also. My sons caught a couple of big nurse sharks off the dock last year. Biggest was around 100 lb. Caught them at night using a dead pinfish. A fun way to spend a nice evening. Best places I found for bait are either Captain Hooks right at the Vaca Cut bridge or Big Time Bait. The K-Mart in town carries a bunch of tackle also but I prefer to go to one of the local shops. Keys Fisheries is a good place for dinner in Marathon. Are you staying ocean side or bayside? We are staying on a canal just a little bit east of Vaca Cut with ocean side access.

[Tins-]

i'm coming from md. renting a boat. no idea what i'm doing, but our canal is oceanside. have kids so thinking the yellowtail bite. but wouldn't mind going off the ledge if i had some numbers to hit

[Perchguy]

Fishing the reef is hard to beat for kids. Usually lots of fish to catch and the fishing is not too technical. Gives the kids lots of action, particularly if you are not focused on any one species. You never know what you will catch out there!

[twobyfour]

Staying in a house on the Ocean about 10 blocks west of Vaca Cut. Only thing I know I want to target is mahi as I'm pretty much an offshore guy, but I may have to team up with some locals if there not in close. Any type of pullage for bottom dwellers or drifting will excite my kids. I do very little if any chumming or live baiting. Will these fish bite on artificials? I'm talking about the mahi or mackeral or blackfin? I have tons of jigs and stuff, just don't know whether to bring them or not.

[Perchguy]

Can't really speak for the Blackfin as I have never fished for them. Mahi will certainly take trolled lures. Usually on the surface. You want to look for a line of weeds floating on the surface and troll along that edge. If you see any floating debris, that can be a fish magnet. Either troll past or stop and cast to it. Could be some sailfish around still also. They would take the same lures that you would troll for Mahi. King Fish will take trolled lures also. Diving lures would tend to be a better bet. Could use a mix of both while trolling for Mahi but you might run into trouble with the diving lures fouling with weeds. The only way I have fished Spanish mackerel is with bait but they are a pretty aggressive fish and I believe you could do well with small spoons or jigs. They have VERY sharp teeth so wire leader is needed.

[cookiemonster1]

I'll be down there from April 7-14 with my fishing buddy and our wives. WE'll be in Key west but are looking to go fishing a few days and we'll have a rental car to be able to drive.

WE're from MD as well.

Let me know if you want to hook up

[Tins-]

thanks perchguy. guys, i have a friend who went to U Miami, has a friend blah blah blah......but the guy said that if you can get some live bait like pilchards (caught on sabiki rigs up on the flats) you can drift out in 100-150 water on the oceanside of the outer reef. up high on bobber you can catch kings and maybe a sail if you're lucky. also he presents live baits mid depth and the bottom. catches big mutton snappers once in awhile on the bottom. i guess my plan is to do the chum bite and get the kids some action. if things go well we'll try to get out a little deeper and drift some live baits and listen to the radio. good luck