Seasons come and seasons go.
That is the trend that we are into right now. Tourist
season at least the late summer one has traditionally left
with the passing of the Labor Day Holiday. For those of you
that were left here on Tuesday, you saw just what I mean.
The road, the stores, heck you could even find a parking
space at the Marathon Post Office! We won’t be seeing too
many visitors now until late October with the exception of a
nice increase in European Tourist that take advantage of the
lower cost of the ‘off season.’
As far as seasons coming, we are
now into snook season. It opened on the first of the
month. This elusive fish can be as frustrating to catch as
dating but for those that enjoy the fight as well as the
taste, just as rewarding. ‘OLE Linesides’ is a favorite
fish of many anglers for his jumping ability as well as his
excellent flavor. Plugs, Rapala Lures, D.O.A. Shrimp and
live baits are the favorites of local anglers for these
mostly nocturnal feeders. At least, that is the case in the
near shore waters. They hang around channel passes as well
as along the mangroves in many of the open canals throughout
the Middle Keys. But you will have a hard time getting them
to bite in the daytime locally. You can find them to be
quite aggressive in the daytime if you venture up into the
park waters.
The shallows of Everglades
National Park are full of snook, redfish and trout this time
of year and all three will eagerly take a casted plug, lure
or live bait in the daytime. This is one of the ‘forgotten’
fisheries that we have available to us in the Middle Keys.
It is not that far to run, in fact, it is just about the
same distance to some of the good spots as the lower
backcountry. As long as the winds are not over 14 knots,
you can transverse the crossing in a flats skiff
comfortably. The amount of action that you can find in the
park waters can be so great; you’ll wonder why you don’t
fish there more often.
The offshore action this past
weekend was above normal according to reports. This may be
due to the huge increase in the number of anglers that were
participating in offshore fishing this holiday weekend.
Some very nice dolphin were taken and not that far out
either. Several were caught in less than 600 feet that
weighed in over 30 pounds with numerous 20+ pound fish. The
afternoon bite the past couple of days is still a good one.
The time I am talking about is from around 4 in the
afternoon to dark. There have been some good weeds forming
just past the reef line providing a target for the anglers
as well as cover for the fish.
The reef fishing is similar.
Good yellowtail action was available for those that had good
working chum lines, especially after dark. In fact, the
evening reports were all good for yellowtail, mangrove,
mutton & lane snapper as well as a variety of some pretty
big grouper. Most of this action was reported to be along
the ‘edge’ where the reef drops off from 45 to 90 feet. If
you are going, look for fish to show up on your machine
rather than just going to a favorite spot. They have been
reported to be moving around quite a bit.
The bonefish have been holding
steady according to area flats guides. Quite a few fish
have been frequenting the ocean side flats while the
backcountry has been rather slim for the most part. The
mornings are still the best but don’t be surprised to come
across a large school of ‘mudding’ fish even in the middle
of the day if the tide is up on the flat. Numerous anglers
have reported this lately. Now that the jet skis are gone
for a spell, you actually have a chance to set up and wait
for the fish to come to you as opposed to having to charge
them before they got run over. This is a good sign for the
48th Annual Marathon International Bonefish
Tournament that is being held later this month. Most of the
area tackle stores have all the information about this
classic event.
Well for those of us that are
left here in the Keys, here we are in September. The month
of the year with the greatest fear of ‘Summer Squalls.’ It
makes many of the old time locals that have seen quite a few
of them a little tense. To put is another way, September
is the month that local proctologist go on vacation!
Captain Dave Navarro is a lifelong resident of Marathon,
Owner of the World Class
Angler in Marathon and captain of the charter boat, “Dave’s
Dream.”
Seasons come and seasons go. That is the trend that we
are into right now. Tourist season at least the late summer
one has traditionally left with the passing of the Labor Day
Holiday. For those of you that were left here on Tuesday,
you saw just what I mean. The road, the stores, heck you
could even find a parking space at the Marathon Post
Office! We won’t be seeing too many visitors now until late
October with the exception of a nice increase in European
Tourist that take advantage of the lower cost of the ‘off
season.’
As far as seasons coming, we are now into snook
season. It opened on the first of the month. This elusive
fish can be as frustrating to catch as dating but for those
that enjoy the fight as well as the taste, just as
rewarding. ‘OLE Linesides’ is a favorite fish of many
anglers for his jumping ability as well as his excellent
flavor. Plugs, Rapala Lures, D.O.A. Shrimp and live baits
are the favorites of local anglers for these mostly
nocturnal feeders. At least, that is the case in the near
shore waters. They hang around channel passes as well as
along the mangroves in many of the open canals throughout
the Middle Keys. But you will have a hard time getting them
to bite in the daytime locally. You can find them to be
quite aggressive in the daytime if you venture up into the
park waters.
The shallows of Everglades National Park are full of
snook, redfish and trout this time of year and all three
will eagerly take a casted plug, lure or live bait in the
daytime. This is one of the ‘forgotten’ fisheries that we
have available to us in the Middle Keys. It is not that far
to run, in fact, it is just about the same distance to some
of the good spots as the lower backcountry. As long as the
winds are not over 14 knots, you can transverse the crossing
in a flats skiff comfortably. The amount of action that you
can find in the park waters can be so great; you’ll wonder
why you don’t fish there more often.
The offshore action this past weekend was above normal
according to reports. This may be due to the huge increase
in the number of anglers that were participating in offshore
fishing this holiday weekend. Some very nice dolphin were
taken and not that far out either. Several were caught in
less than 600 feet that weighed in over 30 pounds with
numerous 20+ pound fish. The afternoon bite the past couple
of days is still a good one. The time I am talking about is
from around 4 in the afternoon to dark. There have been
some good weeds forming just past the reef line providing a
target for the anglers as well as cover for the fish.
The reef fishing is similar. Good yellowtail action
was available for those that had good working chum lines,
especially after dark. In fact, the evening reports were
all good for yellowtail, mangrove, mutton & lane snapper as
well as a variety of some pretty big grouper. Most of this
action was reported to be along the ‘edge’ where the reef
drops off from 45 to 90 feet. If you are going, look for
fish to show up on your machine rather than just going to a
favorite spot. They have been reported to be moving around
quite a bit.
The bonefish have been holding steady according to area
flats guides. Quite a few fish have been frequenting the
ocean side flats while the backcountry has been rather slim
for the most part. The mornings are still the best but
don’t be surprised to come across a large school of
‘mudding’ fish even in the middle of the day if the tide is
up on the flat. Numerous anglers have reported this
lately. Now that the jet skis are gone for a spell, you
actually have a chance to set up and wait for the fish to
come to you as opposed to having to charge them before they
got run over. This is a good sign for the 48th
Annual Marathon International Bonefish Tournament that is
being held later this month. Most of the area tackle stores
have all the information about this classic event.
Well for those of us that are left here in the Keys,
here we are in September. The month of the year with the
greatest fear of ‘Summer Squalls.’ It makes many of the old
time locals that have seen quite a few of them a little
tense. To put is another way, September is the month that
local proctologist go on vacation!
Captain Dave Navarro is a lifelong resident of Marathon,
Owner of the World Class Angler in Marathon and captain of
the charter boat, “Dave’s Dream.”
