The summer has been fantastic here in the Florida Keys. The season started strong with some big mahi, complemented by beautiful weather. Giving himself an overdue break from fishing, Captain Marty celebrated his 48th birthday last week. The celebration included a family breakfast at The Island, a massage at Isla Bella Spa, and a wonderful dinner at Tavern N Town in Key West.
While Captain Marty enjoyed his day off, he was never on land for long. Unsurprisingly, he was back to work on Sunday, June 29th, guiding a regular client on a fishing excursion.
The plan for that Sunday morning was to head offshore and catch some mahi for his clients to take home. Captain Marty found his clients plenty of action, and they started boating schoolie Mahi one after another. They even added a couple of solid gaffers to the box, making for a respectable day by any measure.
Then Captain Marty saw it. Birds working the surface led them to a true giant: a bull dolphin easily over 50 pounds! The excitement on the boat was real as they pitched baits, but the massive fish ignored every single one before disappearing back into the deep.
The disappointment was tough. It wasn’t just a missed fish; it was a magnificent one. “It’s a shame,” Captain Marty said, shaking his head. “That was the biggest dolphin I’ve seen in years.” Although it would have been a great catch, just seeing the creature was a privilege. Mother Ocean is magnificent, and what she produces is incredible!
The next day, the wind picked up. While unusual for this time of year, it’s been a recurring theme this summer. So that Monday morning, Captain Marty worked the Reef and the Wrecks with his group aboard the Main One. They caught mangrove snapper, grouper, and a large mutton snapper.
Captain Alex Lewis also worked the reef that day aboard the Main Attraction, helping his clients catch their limit of yellowtail snapper. After they limited out, Captain Alex had a peek offshore with his clients. They had an unforgettable shot at a sailfish. Even though it hadn’t landed, the clients were thrilled to watch its acrobatic display of the fish on the surface.
4th Of July
The offshore mahi bite slowed on Tuesday and Wednesday, with much fewer legal-sized fish being found. This was a shared frustration among many of the local captains. When the mahi aren’t cooperating, we shift our focus to the reefs and wrecks to target species like yellowtail, mangrove, and mutton snapper, so that is just what our crews did.
A few days later, as Marathon grew busy with the July 4th holiday traffic, the Lewis family stocked up on groceries to avoid the inevitable crowds.
Although the charters continued, the Lewis Family made time to watch the annual July 4th parade, off Sombrero Blvd, attended a pool party, went to Castaways for dinner.
After dinner they attended the fireworks display by boat, it was a perfect day.
July 11th
The following Friday, Captain Marty, Wife Katie, and daughter Natalie went fun fishing aboard the Main One. It was a beautiful day, but windy for the summertime. Captain Alex had a charter, so he headed offshore with his clients, which meant he couldn’t join the family for the day off.
They hit the reef first, and the Mangrove bite was fantastic. A definite sign of the start of the mangrove snapper spawn bite heating up.
They also caught some nice sized mutton snappers and a few barracudas.
The Lewis family headed back indoors to spend the rest of the day together. After filleting their catch, they prepared a fish fry at home, feasting on fresh mutton snapper sandwiches with tartar sauce. The relaxing day off was perfectly timed, offering some much-needed rest before the busy month of July ahead.
If you are heading to the Keys and looking for a great fishing adventure, we have multiple vessels to meet your needs. Call us at (305)-289-0071 or visit our contact page.
