SEVEN-MILE WEEKEND

While the Boston Marathon (which was held this past Monday) may be considered the world’s most prestigious long-distance running event, I’d have to argue that it’s definitely not the most scenic. That distinction, in my biased local’s opinion, has to belong to the annual Seven-Mile Bridge Run which takes place this Saturday, at you guessed it, the Seven-Mile Bridge.

Where else but here in the Florida Keys can runners compete against a backdrop of beautiful blue and green waters, shallow ocean and bayside flats, and an abundance of aquatic wildlife, including fish, sea turtles, sharks, porpoises and more.

I have a hard time imagining that anyone would rather spend their day running next to sky-rise office buildings, taxi cabs, or street vendors. I’ve been planning on running in the event for quite some time now, but it just so happens that each year I wind up fishing on the exact day the race takes place.

Go figure!

Speaking of “runs,” the most famous Florida Keys run- the springtime tarpon migration- is in full swing from Key Largo all the way to Key West. Throughout the islands, from the flats, to the channels to the bridges, large silver kings, in excess of 100 pounds (and sometimes 200 pound plus!) are feasting on mullet and other baits, and just waiting to give you the angling experience of a lifetime.

More and more tarpon are showing up each day in the Atlantic and Gulf waters, and now is the time to book your tarpon trip and head out to do battle with one of the world’s most highly sought after game fish.

Another event that’s taking place this Saturday is the inaugural “Sharkathon” shark tournament held at the Seven-Mile Marina in Marathon (bayside just before the Seven-Mile Bridge). For those of you interested in testing your angling skills, as well as your strength and endurance, the shark tournament is a great opportunity to reel in some hard-fighting toothy critters, and to win some cash!

This past week I had the pleasure of taking John Mahoney, formerly of Arkansas and now an “AC- Specialist” in Marathon, out shark fishing on the Best Bet II, and I’m happy to say he had quite the experience. Mahoney reeled in a 100-pound blacktip shark on spinning tackle while at the same time fighting bouts of nausea and seasickness. Hopefully I’ll be able to hook into a few more of those in this weekend’s Sharkathon.

Offshore in the Florida Keys, the blackfin tuna continue to be the target of choice out on the humps. Trolling has produced good numbers of fish (albeit the smaller ones), while live baiting with pilchards has rendered consistent catches of the large blackfins. On the occasions when the crowds have been out in masses, vertical jigging on the humps has worked best for the tuna that have been driven deep.

The dolphin fishing offshore remains spotty although there are fish to be found here and there. Anticipate the late spring dolphin push to begin any day now so keep your eyes open for birds and debris while out fishing the blue water.

At the beginning of last week we had some phenomenal tailing sailfish action at the edge of the reef, with multiple fish being recorded on nearly every trip. Unfortunately, that push of fish didn’t stick around as long as we would have liked, but we are still seeing significant numbers of fish between 80 and 200 feet of water.

With summer approaching and water temperatures on the reef (anywhere from 25 to 100 feet) continuing to rise, the yellowtail fishing has really started to heat up. On several trips this past week we’ve loaded the box with large flag yellowtails, all over 20 inches!

Look for the yellowtails to begin spawning soon and for the yellowtail fishing to remain fantastic over the upcoming weeks. There are also plenty of smoker kingfish still hanging around the reef as well if you decide to put up a kite while fishing for the tails.

To conclude this week’s fishing report I’d like to wish a happy upcoming birthday to my father, Mike Long (4/28), and a happy second wedding anniversary (4/27) to the now famous Jennifer Dinan (from Drew).

Your Best Bet for the Week Ahead: Take a Tarpon Trip

Not only is now the time to hook up with a trophy silver king, but there are tons of exciting big game fish you can catch while out tarpon fishing the bridges and channels. On any given trip you may do battle with any number of species including sharks, jacks, goliath grouper and more. Plus tarpon trips are easy on the wallet, and you don’t have to worry about getting seasick.

Be sure to visit TryCharterFishing.com to read next week's Florida Keys fishing report.