Our family, and another family, are renting a house on Marathon Key for the week of thanksgiving. We will have access to a bay boat and want to fish alot! I hardly know enough about Charleston fishing, so would appreciate any help. What types of fish can/should we target, types of rigs, bait, etc. any help would be greatly appreciated. We are already spending enough $$$ so a guide is out of the question! Thanks again!
Don’t have a knack for makin motors crank,
But I’m pretty good at drinkin beer
The best way to a fisherman’s heart is through his fly.
If you are on the atlantic side, between Sombrero Light and Hawks channel you can ride around and find patch reefs. These are small coral reefs that vary in size from 100 ft2 to 100 yrd2. Usually in 15 to 30 feet of water. Take frozen block chum, any cut bait, and either a carolina rig or weightless rig and have at it. These patch reefs hold various species of snapper, grouper. There are local “hot spot charts” you can pick up at most tackle shops to help you out.
While you can sometimes find worthy fish on the patch reefs, most of my nice Grouper, Mangrove Snapper and Yellowtail Snapper were caught in 50-100 ft of water on the reef line. If you can find some good bottom in that region, anchor up and chum the hell out of it. you can flat line (bare hook or 1/16th oz jighead) with strips of ballyhoo to target Yellowtail but I’ve caught everything from nice grouper to a 20 lb king while flatlining small strip baits. I’d also put live pinfish down on the bottom. They’re ridiculously easy to catch and are pretty strong willed so they stay alive well. Everything will eat those as well. It will not hurt to put a LIVE small yellowtail, blue runner, mackerel, anything out under a balloon with a foot of wire leader and let it drift back in your chum slick. You’ll mostly catch big barracudas and king mackerel but I’ve got legal grouper and sailfish doing to same thing.
I just moved back to SC from Summerland Key and was a guide for the Boy Scouts down there so I fished about every day. PM me if you’ve got any questions and I’ll help you with whatever I can.
We are actually staying on the waterway that connects the gulf and atlantic. We are closer to the gulf side but not sure that matters. Thanks for the help as always and Rapchizzle, I will definitely be in touch.
Don’t have a knack for makin motors crank,
But I’m pretty good at drinkin beer
The best way to a fisherman’s heart is through his fly.
Atlantic side - Fishing the edge with current is key to catching lots of fish. Gulf side - look for birds and you will find Spanish macs underneath. It may be too early for barracudas on the flats but a fast moving artificial works great. Barracudas are a blast. There are always resident tarpon in those canals/waterways that you are staying.
Fished out of key west tue. Worked a few wrecks and managed 5skipjack, 2 nice mutton and a nice black grouper. Was hoping for a few black fin but only saw one on the dock. They are here and may try again this weekend. Not much on the flats from what I’m hearing. Also a few wahoo,kings and mahi being caught. we will also have our pic in fishmonster next month. i Will report back if I go back out.