Florida Keys Charter Fishing Seasons | Marathon Islamorada Key West

The Florida Keys are one of the most desirable deep sea fishing charter destinations in the world. Most islands in the Florida Keys offer access to a wide variety of fish species, with significantly less travel time compared to other parts of the country. That, combined with year-round warm weather and a relaxing tropical setting, makes the Keys a great place to vacation.

In Marathon, Florida, our fishing vessels reach depths of 250ft only 10 miles offshore. At 20 miles offshore, we reach 650 ft, and at 30 miles, we can fish in depths over 1,000ft!

Main Attraction offers offshore fishing trips to the Marathon Hump, which is a fantastic fishery that almost always holds blackfin tuna.

From May to August, calmer seas allow our Captains to head further offshore to the hump to target blackfin tuna, dolphinfish (also known as mahi mahi), sailfish, wahoo, and the occasional marlin. We are less inclined to reef fish this time of year because the fishing is so good offshore.

The exception to this is the mangrove snapper, which spawns on the reef in June and July, providing a fantastic way to quickly add some meat to the box before heading offshore. During the mangrove snapper spawn, a combo trip (reef and offshore) is a great idea.

Interested in a particular species? Select the species you are interested in below to see our general seasonal guidelines. Remember, the fishing conditions on the day of your trip are ultimately what should determine what you target.

African Pompano (a.k.a. Threadfin Trevally, Pennant Fish)

We catch our african pompano on the Atlantic side on sunken wrecks from late February through April. These are great eating fish that put up a good fight and weigh upwards of 40lbs or more. You can find smaller versions of this species on the Gulf side.

January	Fair
February	Fair
March	Possible
April	Good
May	Excellent
June	Excellent
July	Excellent
August	Excellent
September	Possible
October	Possible
November	Fair
December	Fair

Articles That Mention African Pompano

Greater Amberjack (a.k.a. Reef Donkey, A.J.)

This member of the Jack family is one of the hardest fighting fish you’ll encounter. We catch them on wrecks or at the hump in sizes over 100lbs.

January	Fair
February	Excellent
March	Excellent
April	Excellent
May	Excellent
June	Excellent
July	Fair
August	Fair
September	Fair
October	Fair
November	Fair
December	Fair

Articles That Mention Amberjack

American Red Snapper (a.k.a. Genuine Red, Northern Red, Gulf Red)

Typically caught in in the Gulf during the short summer harvest season on our center console vessels. Sometimes caught as bycatch on our larger vessels on the Atlantic side when fishing wrecks for mutton snapper.

January	Closed
February	Closed
March	Closed
April	Closed
May	Closed
June	Excellent
July	Excellent
August	Excellent
September	Closed
October	Closed
November	Closed
December	Closed

Great Barracuda (a.k.a. Barracuda, Cuda)

This toothy prehistoric looking fish loves to try and eat your yellowtail snapper when you fish on the reef! Great oily, bloody baitfish. Consuming larger barracuda may cause ciguatera poisoning.

January	Excellent
February	Excellent
March	Excellent
April	Excellent
May	Excellent
June	Excellent
July	Excellent
August	Excellent
September	Excellent
October	Excellent
November	Excellent
December	Excellent

Blackfin Tuna

Sushi-grade deliciousness, available at the world famous Marathon Hump!

January	Good
February	Good
March	Excellent
April	Excellent
May	Good
June	Good
July	Good
August	Good
September	Good
October	Excellent
November	Excellent
December	Excellent

Articles About Blackfin Tuna

Black Grouper (a.k.a. Rockfish, Jewfish, Blackbass.)

There is a wide variety of grouper that we can catch in the Florida Keys but black grouper is the most common. We catch them on the reef and on sunken wrecks.

January	Excellent
February	Excellent
March	Good
April	Fair
May	Excellent
June	Excellent
July	Good
August	Fair
September	Good
October	Good
November	Excellent
December	Excellent

Articles That Mention Black Grouper

Blue Marlin

A very rare but welcome sight in the Florida Keys, if you catch one here you better play the lottery!

January	Slow
February	Slow
March	Slow
April	Slow
May	Possible
June	Possible
July	Possible
August	Possible
September	Possible
October	Possible
November	Possible
December	Possible

Articles That Include Marlin

Bonita (a.k.a. Little Tunny, False Albacore)

A commonly found cousin of the blackfin tuna. Typically used for shark bait because of the dark red bloody flesh. NOT to be confused with the bonito which is a toothy member of the mackerel family.

January	Good
February	Good
March	Excellent
April	Excellent
May	Good
June	Good
July	Good
August	Good
September	Slow
October	Good
November	Good
December	Good

Articles That Mention Bonita

Cobia (a.k.a. Ling, Black Kingfish, Black Salmon, Codfish.)

A great eating fish that we find following sting rays and lobster boats. These opportunistic feeders can reach 100lbs and they fight with shark-like intensity!

January	Excellent
February	Excellent
March	Excellent
April	Excellent
May	Good
June	Good
July	Good
August	Good
September	Slow
October	Good
November	Good
December	Good

Dolphin Fish (a.k.a. Mahi-Mahi, Dorado.)

One of our most requested species of fish. These fish can often be found migrating through the waters of the Florida Keys as early as May and as late as October.

January	n/a
February	n/a
March	Possible
April	Fair
May	Good
June	Excellent
July	Excellent
August	Excellent
September	Good
October	Fair
November	Possible
December	n/a

The “Secret” to Successful Mahi Fishing Trips in the Florida Keys

Other Main Attraction Dolphinfish Articles

King Mackerel (a.k.a. Kingfish, Smoker King, Kings.)

King mackerel are commonly referred to as Kingfish in the Keys. They show up in the winter when the cooler north winds start to blow. Kingfish tend to grow much larger than their counterparts the spanish and cero mackerel. Very large Kings are referred to by their preferred cooking method smokers. This is because their oily flesh is gray and soft and doesn’t hold up well when seared or fried.

January	Excellent
February	Excellent
March	Excellent
April	Fair
May	n/a
June	n/a
July	n/a
August	n/a
September	n/a
October	Fair
November	Excellent
December	Excellent

Main Attraction Mackerel Articles

Mangrove Snapper (a.k.a. Mangies, Mangos, Gray Snapper, Black Snapper)

Mangrove snapper is one of the most common snapper fish caught in the Florida Keys. Smaller ones can be found off bridges, in canals and in the shallows of the Reef. During July spawn season we catch huge mangrove snappers on the reef early in the morning before heading off to catch mahi.

January	Slow
February	Slow
March	Slow
April	Slow
May	Slow
June	Excellent
July	Excellent
August	Excellent
September	Fair
October	Fair
November	Slow
December	Slow

Mutton Snapper (a.k.a. Muttonfish, King Snapper.)

Mutton snapper is the Florida Keys Atlantic sides answer to the red snapper found primarily on the Gulf side. Delicious, mild flavored flaky white meat, lots of fun to catch on the Reef and wrecks. We catch muttons over 20lbs on the wrecks and believe it or not occasionally in the winter-time we can catch big ones on the kite!

January	Good
February	Good
March	Good
April	Good
May	Possible
June	Possible
July	Possible
August	Slow
September	Slow
October	Possible
November	Excellent
December	Good

Articles About Mutton Snapper

Permit

We catch permit in the Spring as they spawn on or near sunken wrecks in the Florida Keys. We consider permit a sportfish that we catch-and-release, allowing inshore anglers to fish them all year long.

January	n/a
February	Possible
March	Good
April	Excellent
May	Excellent
June	Possible
July	Slow
August	Slow
September	n/a
October	n/a
November	n/a
December	n/a

Articles That Mention Permit

Queen Snapper (a.k.a. Night Snapper, Brim Snapper.)

We catch our queen snapper in depths of 750-850 feet with an electric reel. They are not only beautiful too look at, but also delicious to eat!

January	Fair
February	Fair
March	Possible
April	Good
May	Excellent
June	Excellent
July	Excellent
August	Excellent
September	Possible
October	Possible
November	Fair
December	Fair

Queen Snapper Fishing Article

Sailfish (a.k.a. Atlantic Sailfish, Billfish, Ocean Gar.)

Sailfish are hands down our favorite fish to catch. They are the most exciting species that we can catch consistently when the conditions are right. Pure adrenaline when you hookup and see these beauties tailwalking across the ocean surface.

January	Excellent
February	Excellent
March	Good
April	Good
May	Excellent
June	Slow
July	Possible
August	Possible
September	Slow
October	Possible
November	Good
December	Excellent

Articles About Sailfish

Shark (a.k.a. Mako, Thresher, Bull, Hammerhead, Dusky, Silky, Nurse etc.)

There are too many species in the Florida Keys for us to list, but most of our clients aren’t picky about it. When they want to catch a shark they want to feel the raw primal power of an apex predator on the line, and all our species down here deliver that.

January	Excellent
February	Excellent
March	Excellent
April	Good
May	Excellent
June	Fair
July	Possible
August	Possible
September	Good
October	Excellent
November	Excellent
December	Excellent

Shark Fishing Article

Swordfish (a.k.a. Broadbill, Billfish.)

We love to catch swordfish, its high risk when it comes to fishing time but the payoff is huge. First, we have to go way offshore in the deep water well over a thousand feet. Second we need calm winds and a current moving 2-3knots. When all that lines up the potential for a huge catch is in play.

January	Good
February	Good
March	Good
April	Good
May	Excellent
June	Excellent
July	Excellent
August	Excellent
September	Good
October	Good
November	Good
December	Good

Swordfish Articles

Tarpon (a.k.a. Silverking, Atlantic Tarpon, Poon)

We target tarpon in the late Spring into the summertime during their massive annual migration through the Florida Keys. We typically tarpon them in the evenings under bridges and other inshore areas that we know. Tarpon also feed well in the morning, but we are usually catching dolphinfish during the day this time of year.

January	n/a
February	n/a
March	Possible
April	Fair
May	Excellent
June	Excellent
July	Excellent
August	Good
September	Fair
October	Possible
November	n/a
December	n/a

Tarpon Articles

Wahoo (a.k.a. Ono, Pacific Kingfish, Ger Fish)

Wahoo are a highly sought-after fish in the Florida Keys. Wahoo have a delicious sushi-grade flesh that makes it one of the tastiest fish in the ocean. They have sharp teeth and long slender bodies. Typically we catch them high-speed trolling in the wintertime but we also catch them on or near wrecks and floaters throughout the year.

January	Good
February	Fair
March	Fair
April	Fair
May	Good
June	Good
July	Good
August	Fair
September	Fair
October	Possible
November	Excellent
December	Excellent

Wahoo Articles

White Marlin (a.k.a. Atlantic White Marlin, Skilligalee Fish)

White marlin are the smaller cousins of the big blue marlin. White marlin are a rare sight for us in the Keys but we catch more of them per year than we do the blues.

January	n/a
February	n/a
March	n/a
April	n/a
May	Possible
June	Excellent
July	Fair
August	Fair
September	Fair
October	n/a
November	n/a
December	n/a

White Marlin Article

Yellowtail Snapper (a.k.a. Tails, Flags)

Yellowtail snapper are our bread and butter in the wintertime. Delicious and fun for all ages to catch. Many families book half day yellowtail fishing Reef trips with us every year. These fish can get skittish depending on the conditions; sometimes it takes a little finesse to catch them.

January	Excellent
February	Excellent
March	Fair
April	Good
May	Fair
June	Fair
July	Fair
August	Fair
September	Good
October	Excellent
November	Excellent
December	Excellent

Yellowtail Articles