Fishing Report for Flag Yellowtail & Fat Mangrove Snapper 3/13/2011
We may have left an anchor behind, but we came back to the dock with a great catch of mangrove and yellowtail snapper.
Jason Reilly, from New Richmond WI, and Ryan Henze, from Galena IL, were scheduled to fish last week, but the strong winds kept us at the dock. Steve Compton, from Cumming GA, and Carl Caira, from Swampscott MA, were scheduled for their second trip of the weekend and were generous enough to invite Jason and Ryan along so they didn’t miss out on some great Florida Keys fishing.
We returned to the reef to get in on more of the awesome snapper bite, and non-stop rod-bending prevailed for the next 3 and a half hours.
When it came time to pull the hook and head home, the reef was not letting us leave. We tried to no avail for an hour to free the anchor from the rugged bottom. With the afternoon group waiting at the dock, I made the decision to cut the anchor and have a diver friend retrieve it for me at a later date. With time spent splicing on the replacement anchor, we simply ran out of daylight to get the second group out. Thankfully, they were good sports and agreed to go the next day.
Back at the dock, Jason, Ryan, Carl and Steve enjoyed some cold adult beverages while I cleaned their 31 snappers, including flag yellowtails and 3- to 6-pound mangroves.
They split the fillets up among them with each taking nice bags of fresh Florida Keys snapper to enjoy. Steve, Carl and Carl’s wife feasted on their catch at Porky’s Bayside BBQ in Marathon.
Steve Compton, from Cumming GA, fished with us last September along with his dad Bob and brother Andy. They had a great day of catch and release shark fishing and brought home snapper and grouper for dinner.
Steve brought his buddy, Carl Caria from Swampscott MA, along on this trip to Marathon Florida Keys. They booked a full day and a half day of fishing.
On day one we headed to the reef. We had a pretty windy week, but things had calmed down somewhat on this day. The ride to and from the reef was a bit bumpy but it was calm enough while anchored to get in some good catching. Steve and Carl made pretty work of catching their limit of 2 to 6 pound mangrove snapper, lane snapper and a couple of yellowtail snapper. They also released a 25 inch black and a 30 inch gag grouper.
We moved on to another spot so I could put the guys to the test on some hefty amberjack. They each landed an AJ with both going 45 to 50 pounds. I’m smoking some of it to send to Carl back in Mass.
Call 305.743.5305 to book your charter today!
Last edited by Fishing Report; 03-18-2011 at 08:22 AM.
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