Marathon- Florida Keys Fishing Report: December 19, 2008

SAILFISH AND CHRISTMAS CHEER

I would like to begin this week's fishing report by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. In my opinion there's no better place to spend the holiday season than down here in the sunny Florida Keys, far away from the cold and snow up north.

Last Sunday I kicked off the holidays by spending an evening on the water with more than 20 of my closest friends. We were all part of the Permit crew that took home "Best in Show" honors in the Key Colony Beach lighted boat parade.

My hat goes off to Permit Captain Ty Price for patiently waiting until after the boat parade to enjoy a few Christmas libations. He stayed the course, maneuvered nicely through the Key Colony canals, and managed to get the rest of us "less-than-sober" party-goers home safely.

I'd also like to say that I now have a new appreciation for the amount of effort that goes into decorating a 47-foot boat. After two days of hanging lights on toe rails, tying Christmas trees to tuna towers, and trying to figure out how to make 10-foot extension cords fill 12-foot electrical voids, I won't be that disappointed if I'm not asked to do any more holiday decorating this year.

For all of you that participated in boat parades, or plan to do so in the upcoming week, I'd like to remind you to take down the lights before heading out on your next fishing excursion. While the sailfish bite has been phenomenal, the sails can be awfully difficult to catch if you have Christmas lights running up your outriggers.

Speaking of sailfish, I'd also like to congratulate the crew of the Main Attraction for winning the Islamorada Fishing Club Captain's Cup Sailfish Tournament this past week. Marty, Jamie, Ariel, Brendan and Mac represented Marathon well by catching and releasing 17 sailfish in the one-day event. Impressive catch guys!

Off of Marathon we've also been experiencing a tremendous sailfishing and have had more than our share of boats return to the dock flying multiple flags. Now is a great time to book a trip with myself or one of the other excellent fishing captains in Marathon to take advantage of the red-hot bite. I can't think of a better Christmas present to give your family or friends than the gift of a once-in-a-lifetime day on the water.

For those of you planning on heading out to the patch reefs to catch ballyhoo for your sailfishing trips, I recommended putting an extra rod out with a free-lined chunk of fresh ballyhoo, or a whole live ballyhoo on a jig head.  This time of year you will have a great opportunity to catch mangrove snapper, mutton snapper and grouper on the patches. It's always nice to fill the box with some tasty fillets before heading out to pursue the sails.

In addition to bringing the sailfish into the area, the cooler temperatures have also brought the big bottom fish onto the channel humps in Hawk Channel.  The only problem is the bull sharks have been as thick as I've ever seen them, and it's been nearly impossible to bring a quality fish to the boat.

This past week a bull shark exploded on a 20-pound kingfish only a foot from the boat. It was quite a sight watching the shark lift his entire head out of the water and devour the fish ,but it just goes to show you how aggressive the species can be.

On the other side of the islands the fishing in the Florida Bay remains very productive, with large numbers of Spanish mackerel being caught in the seven to 12 mile range. Further back the wrecks are loaded with more mangrove snapper than you could know what to do with, and I've also been catching large gag groupers on them as well. The near shore wrecks have been thick with cobia, although we've had to weed through a lot of small ones to get to the keepers.

When fishing Florida Bay don't forget to have plenty of hooks and jig heads in your tackle box as you're likely to get cut off by bluefish and Spanish mackerel while targeting table fare. Also don't forget to give cut bait a try if you're having trouble getting the snapper, grouper and cobia to bite. With water temps in the mid-60s the fish can be a bit lethargic and often times cut bait will out-fish live bait.

Your BEST BET for the week ahead: Have a Wonderful Christmas Holiday and a Terrific 09'.