lively for a long time on your hook. These fish range in sizes but most of them are the really tasty sizes from 5-30 lbs. The Marathon Humps (two humps about 200 yards long each); and; The West Hump (about 900 yards in circumference) Best time of year to catch blackfin in the Keys. Here at Delph Fishing we almost always use live bait to catch Mutton Snapper. Bait species such as Pilchards, Goggle Eyes, Mullet, and Blue Runners are not easily transported as they are much more delicate than shrimp or crabs. To find out why I like May so much, you’ll have to stay tuned. As soon as we set up the one rod, we looked for the bird activity in which Sunday was about a mile away from the hump. Before you know it, you'll have a sack full of smoked fish dip makings. You can make bait at Alligator Light, where these small fish dwell in the surrounding patch reef, about 25 feet under the water. We netted about 1000 pilchards for our charters this week off Marathon in the Fl Keys. I have some bait needs as well. “The bigger the bait the better,” Walker explains, “even a 30 lb. Here, it's gag grouper. Funny how things change not only by preference but bait availability etc. The last 3 are pretty rare though, although I am sure there are some shops that have them consistently, and if you read this and know of some email me and I will list them on here. We use the pilchards to live chum for blackfin tuna and sailfish. While sometimes the weather is touch rough to fish, we can often use those days to catch bait. Marathon in the Florida Keys should be your next fishing vacation destination. We catch all of our bait and take the upmost care in keeping them healthy before they get to your hook. Paul from Jacksonville (right), and Captain Drew Dinan with this nice wahoo caught aboard the Best Bet. Sailfish didn’t get the memo about quarantine I guess! Fresh dead baits are good to buy also, fresh dead pilchards and ballyhoo make great baits, cut up or whole, and you can get a lot more weight for your buck. var minutes = 60; You can find them in roughly 70 feet of water. Usually pinfish but possibly pilchards and/or blue runners. Speedos are always more work. Any advice about fishing from the canals? Rather than risk the engines putting down the fish (this spot gets its share of attention from private and charter boats), Perez stopped short and started live-chumming pilchards (scaled sardines) that filled the boat’s baitwells from a stop at a bait receiver after we left the Faro Blanco dock in Marathon. We netted about 1000 pilchards for our charters this week. I am soooooo excited!!! $.cookie(cname, cvalue, {path: '/', expires: date}); 8 sabikis, you can catch pilchards around markers or underwater structure (in a few feet of water or as deep as 120 feet). “What was your go-to plan when it was time to catch blackfin?” Rodger asks Walker who responds simply, “We need that bait.” Though feathers can be used Walker describes it really takes live bait to get the big blackfin. The pilchards are two to four inches in length, and you want to catch as many as your livewell will hold. Chris Johnson December 3, 2012 Marathon - Saltwater Fishing Report. Things such as hook placement can be important to properly use some of our live baits. I hooked into a few mangrove snapper, the biggest being 3 lbs or so. Once we got their we set up a 20lb mono rod with a small lure. Patch reefs are small coral reef formations inside of the main barrier reef.Most of the patch reefs are 5 to 15 feet deep and 100 feet or less in size, and most are accessable with a small boat.Fishing patch reefs are a good way to start out fishing in the keys,and learn the techniques of Florida keys fishing. Live bait such as ballyhoo, pilchards, small bluerunners, goggle eyes, cigar minnows and threadfin herring are the top choices. posted in: 7 Mile Marina, Cast Net for Bait, FREE Fishing Seminar | 2 FREE MARATHON FISHING SEMINAR JULY 20, 2010 “THE ART OF CAST NETTING BAIT” The 7 Mile Marina and Captain Hook’s Marina have joined forces to host a new series of FREE fishing seminars. We deliver straight to your bait pen or livewell. We caught this fish in 180ft of water inthe Fl Keys. Much of this fishing is done in the Gulf Stream, which wobbles offshore of Marathon anywhere from 10 to 30 miles. $('.cookie_content_stip_div').css('display', 'none'); I would avoid most frozen baits except for squid, usually if you have squid you can catch small fish and then in turn use them to catch smaller fish to use for live bait or cut bait. The Blackfin (Tuna, Blackfin) continue to show up at sunset. Don’t use bait that has red spots around the nose or has missing scales. Good food, family coming in town, and great fishing is what we all here in South Florida look forward to around this time of year. With spinning reels in sizes more for redfish and seatrout and spooled with 20-pound braid, it initially felt odd drifting a live bait a couple of hundred feet down for big mutton snapper, especially that far from the wreck. Pilchards — think of ‘em as the ocean’s burgers from a value menu — are available in high volumes, and favored by the bellies of just about every species that swims. You'd better watch out …. Sounds great doesn’t it? Pelicans . Pilchards and threadfins are my bread and butter bait. Catch-and-release shark fishing. May 2012 in Keys General Fishing & The Outdoors #1. I am hoping to find a contact in Marathon that would sell live bait. For chum just plain commercial menhaden chum works fine, really trick is to find the spot where the bait is. How-To Catch Articles and Videos, Where's the Bite, Regulations, and more! A Mutton Snapper will almost never resist a live bait when dropped down to the bottom. And, the blackfin bite at the humps has been excellent for those willing to brave the conditions to get there. “Although we bridle baits if kite-fishing, when drifting liveys, we run circle hooks up through the bottom jaw and out the top of the bait’s mouth so … Consider doing a chartered fishing trip, they have the GPS data to set up over the fish, and know just how to catch them. Florida Sportsman's 50 Favorite Sportfish of Florida: Sailfish. You will die of exhaustion before you catch blue runner or speedos in a cast net. Live pilchards are some of the best bait. A wide selection of baits are working for these species, including live pilchards, goggle eyes, small bluerunners, ballyhoo and cigar minnows. $('body').removeClass('cookie_visible'); How to catch bait in Marathon Florida Keys 14 Jul 2010 FREE Fishing Seminar! Look for diving pelicans early in the morning on the flats to find pilchards to cast-net for your baitwell, Perez suggests. Venture a little further out in the Gulf, and you'll have another opportunity to catch grouper before the season closes.