Florida Keys Fishing Report – September 2023
Autumn means more than just a weather change in the Florida Keys. Similar to the pre-pandemic years, our schedule has eased as the kids return to school. During this brief hiatus from daily fishing, our crews are dedicating their efforts to our yearly boat maintenance tasks. The Main One being brought to the boatyard for repairs. Vessel Update We had an engine problem in June on our 49-footer, the Main One. Captain Marty and Katie have been working with a Caterpillar dealership to get all the proper parts and pieces to [...]
2023 Florida Keys Dolphinfish Report
If you follow our fishing reports and updates, you may have noticed we haven't been writing about Dolphinfish nearly as much as in previous seasons. There is a good reason for this; there simply hasn't been much to write about. Fortunately, that is starting to change! Here in the Florida Keys, Dolphinfish, a.k.a. Mahi, are the most requested fish to catch. That suits us just fine in the late spring through summer when Dolphinfish abound. However, this year, the Dolphinfish have been on a different schedule. Better late than never! The Dolphin season is finally starting [...]
Ben O’Fishal Main Attraction Fishing Charter Affiliate
You might remember Captain "Big" Ben Zdan, who fished with us last year. The 6' 4'' Captain fished with the Main Attraction team primarily in the summer, as he is also a commercial lobster and stone crab trapper. Ben also fishes with Marty on tournament teams and helps fill in whenever necessary. Ben and his fiancé welcomed their second baby girl recently, and decided he wanted to build a charter boat business for his family. Captain Ben has been around long enough and understands the importance of starting your business on the right foot. Ben approached [...]
17th Annual Mother’s Day Dolphin Tournament Fishing Report
Last week on May 13th, Habitat for Humanity of the Middle Keys hosted a one-day Dolphin tournament. This non-profit organization has hosted the Dolphinfish tournament every Mother's Day weekend in May for the last 17 years. The Main Attraction team had three boats from their marina signed up to fish. A week before the tournament, the weather report called for sporty conditions, 10-20 knots straight out of the East. While it's the perfect wind direction for dolphin fishing, the clients that signed up to fish with Captain Marty, decided it was too windy for them. [...]
A Florida Keys Summer Dolphinfish Story
On July 17th, 2022, Captain Marty Lewis was a man on a mission. That mission was to help Vinny Yeager, age 66, catch his first Dolphinfish (Mahi-Mahi). Just eight months before, Vinny had the trip of a lifetime along with his son Nick aboard the very same vessel. Captain Marty helped Vinny catch his first Sailfish. In fact, Vinny also caught his second and third Sailfish that day! Main Attraction Co-Owner Katie Lewis enjoyed the article and video about the trip as well as receiving positive feedback on it from her customers. Katie decided a summer [...]
Florida Keys Fishing Report – May 2022
How is it May already? This year is flying by as summertime fishing is already right around the corner. May 1st is a special day for us in the Florida Keys because it's the opening day of the eight-month-long Grouper season! May 1st is nearly a holiday for many anglers, with the ultimate goal being to get their limit on the first day. Grouper Update Captain Alex and first mate Steve had a three-quarter day charter with Laura Kennedy and her friends on May 1st opening day of the season. They had a blast, catching four nice [...]
Main Attraction Vacation Break – Fishing Report Fall 2021
What do fishermen do on their time off? Why we fish, of course! Our crew worked hard this past summer, and we thought everyone could use a couple of weeks off to relax, fish, and spend time with their families before the holiday rush begins. It was a fantastic past two weeks, and for the most part, the weather was sunny and warm. Once Hurricane Ida passed below the Florida Keys and headed for New Orleans, it left lots of floating debris in the ocean, which is never bad for Mahi fishing. Natalie poses [...]
The “Secret” to Successful Mahi Fishing Trips in the Florida Keys
Whether you call them Mahi-Mahi, Dolphinfish, Dorado, Coryphaena hippurus, "Maui," or any of the other dozens of names we have heard this fish called, most agree that Mahi are an extraordinary fish. The voracious appetite of Dolphinfish combined with their ability to reach sexual maturity within 2-3 months allows them to reproduce at incredible rates. Mahi are the fastest-growing fish in the sea, capable of growing more than 2.5 inches per week, reaching lengths of 4 feet, and weighing up to 40lbs within the first year of life! Dolphinfish are also a blast to catch, offering [...]
ECA 36th Annual Fishing Tournament – Hawks Cay Marina
Florida Keys summertime means two things, hopefully, lots of Dolphin Fish (Mahi) and fishing tournaments. Every year, we look forward to participating in these Florida Keys fishing tournaments. The Engineering Contractors Association or ECA holds their annual Dolphin & Wahoo tournament out of Hawk’s Cay each year. Last year it was suspended, due to COVID, so we were excited it returned in 2021. Main Attraction has been fishing this tournament for years, for a wide variety of companies over the years. This year The Paving Lady, a paving and road work contractor based out of West Palm Beach, [...]
All About The Florida Keys Dolphinfish – Facts About Mahi-Mahi
All About The Florida Keys Dolphinfish - Facts about Mahi-Mahi This is the first installment of a series we plan to write about the many unique species of fish in the Florida Keys. Our past articles often tend to focus on catching fish in the Keys and the techniques we use to catch them but not so much on the species themselves. The fact of the matter is the more you know about the fish you are targeting the better you will be at catching them! Knowledge gained about a fish's eating habits, migratory patterns, and general tendencies, [...]
Get Social With Us
