Marathon Key Feb 19-23

[sniper's mojo]

Heading down to the keys to stay with family in the Florida Keys. Just wondering if any of you guys have taken any party boats in the keys and what your experiences were. We took one out of Marathon last year that put us on a lot of junk reef fish but really nothing worth bringing home. Wish I could afford the private charters but it is not in the budget. I did some bridge fishing with success but again all small junk eating fish. Any experience or guidance to bridge fishing would be apreciated also.

[GrouseBuster]

You should do better on a head boat than on the bridge. If you can't swing a totally private charter have you considered a make up charter? You split the cost of the off shore charter with another party as well as the tip. Even splitting an off shore charter will cost more than fishing the flats. Fishing the flats you will most likely be after Jacks and cuda in Feb. You would be lucky to find tarpon or bones. IMO Feb is about the worst month in the keys to fish. A lot of wind and storms. If your stuck on the bridges try the NW side of the Islamorada bridge or maybe you can find a canal spot on Pine Isle. You might also consider surf casting on Bahia Honda which at least is the prettiest spot in the keys and not far from Marathon. Don't miss the Islamorada fish house. You can get a fried yellow tail basket and a beer for about ten bucks. It's right next to the World Wide Sportsman. A visit to the Red Bone Gallery is fun and you can always hang out on the docks when the boats come back in. I like Bud n Marys marina.

[PIKERPETE]

I would recommend the Party Boat out of Bud n Mary's. It goes from 9-4. Get a spot in the back of the boat (get ready to make chum balls with shrimp inside ). We caught, snapper, kingfish, sharks etc. A great trip and cheap! Once we limited out on snapper we were drifting for Kings, thats where we got some sharks. I also did party boat out of Robbies, preffered Bud n Mary's!!! Good Luck!! Bunz restaurant and Tower of Pizza were both good eats!

[Bassman Dan]

Everyone I know that has done the party boat thing was not happy. They pretty much all said that customers were paying the captin to go were they wanted. No one really said that they were put on any good fish and that it was a waste of money.

[ALLEYES]

If you go on a party boat, tip one of the guys handling the rods and baiting the hooks as soon as you get on the boat. You will be surprised how much of a difference that makes. It will help you to get the best bait and the best spots on the boat.;)

[jigworm]

Bud n Mary's for sure. As stated previously, stay in the back of the boat where they are dumping the most chum and pre tip the mates. Amazing what a little green will do.