keys trip report

[freeride]

The cold here in Ca was getting to me so I planned a trip with a couple freinds to Marathon in the central Florida Keys. The weather was bad for the keys but great in comparison to the crazy storm that has been going on here! The unseasonably cold weather was the talk of the town resulting in massive fish kills on the bay side and in the cuts and canals. We rented a house on a canal close the the oceanside in Marathon. Normally the water is very warm and clear. So I was very suprised when I pulled up and walked out on the dock to check it. It looked like chocolate milk and was 53 degrees and filled with dead fish We had a 25' parker so we headed out anyway to see if we could get a dive in. The wind was super hard out of the southeast making for snotty conditions and 6-8' lumps at about 4 seconds. It was a real task just getting to the edge of the reef (about 3 miles) but once there we found 73 degree water and about 40' of vis. Every day was windy with a couple of monster thunder storms thrown in for good measure, but it was much warmer than the previous two weeks (about 75 air temp). I spent much of the time playing captian and liveboating for my quickly drifting dive buddies, but it was a blast. We shot a few fish, drank a ton of beer and 2 half gallons of JimBeam and didn't kill ourselves! It was nice to see the over abundance of fish on these reefs. Grouper and snapper blanketed every spot we stopped on, cierra mackeral were thick as fleas and the odd cobia and african pompano would pass by.The highlight of the trip was my buddy frantically yelling for the boat to pick him up because a "shark" was circling and trying to eat his 20lb AJ strung at the end of his reel gun. It turned out to be a giant Cobia I would guestimate at 90lbs. I did not get any good action spearfishing photos or video because my GoPro camera got flooded and fogged up. I will add some more pics if my dive buddy ever sends them to me. All things considered it was a great trip and it was good to get back to the old stomping grounds.

[Ethan kills]

That's cool. I hope my diving ventures take me that way soon.

[freeride]

Originally Posted by Ethan kills

That's cool. I hope my diving ventures take me that way soon.

if so let me know and i can give you some good info

[John Hughes]

sorry your camera got flooded, but glad somebody is getting wet!

thanks for the report, jealous!

[Mike Morgan]

warm water in the middle of winter is always nice! I've been to marathon once as a kid...there was a hotel/B&B called the - Rainbow Bend - each room came with a little 15' whaler and you could use it to fish and dive. I remember fishing with my dad and hooking into something that literally pulled me from one side of the boat and slammed me into the gunwall on the other side. Looking back it must have been a big grouper or something. Great times, would love to go back

[Chainsaw]

What was your average depth for the reef fish diving/grouper and snapper spots?

[SBH20Man]

Originally Posted by Mike Morgan

...there was a hotel/B&B called the - Rainbow Bend - each room came with a little 15' whaler and you could use it to fish and dive.

It apparently it's still there - http://www.rainbowbend.com/

Looks like a neat spot!

[freeride]

Originally Posted by danny j

What was your average depth for the reef fish diving/grouper and snapper spots?

most of the spots we dove were shallow (20-30'). Some of the wrecks are in deeper water.Like the thunderbolt in (120') but it is such a huge ship that it comes up to within 70' of the surface.

[LunkerBuster]

if you don't mind me asking, what happened to the gopro? how did it flood?

[freeride]

Originally Posted by LunkerBuster

if you don't mind me asking, what happened to the gopro? how did it flood?

I dont really know ?? I just noticed that it had so much condensation inside of the housing that it had blocked all of the pictures and video from coming out. I opened and dried it overnight and it seemed to be ok. I think maybe the higher humidity in Fl coupled with the big temp change from 54 degrees to 74 degrees in 30 minuteds may have done it.

[Dnice]

Thanks for the report. I have been to Marathon a few times (college Spring Breaks) and caught some nice fish H&L. Partied in Key West, surfed through Florida on the way down/up....Ah the good old days.

[Kirby]

Nice report!

Are you thinking that the first fish is an AJ? It looks like a trevally to me...But I've never seen either one.

[Dnice]

Looks like an AJ to me. Kinda like a blunt YT.

[Kirby]

Look at the length of the pec fin.

[ny_er]

Originally Posted by Kirby

Nice report!

Are you thinking that the first fish is an AJ? It looks like a trevally to me...But I've never seen either one.

its a yj, yellow jack