What would you recommend to anglers fishing in Marathon, Florida for the first time?

Prioritize the emphasis of your trip on enjoying the time on the water, the natural beauty of your surroundings, and the company of friends, family and interesting people rather than bringing in a trophy fish, and you’ll have a great experience…Remember that the best part of “fishing” sometimes goes far beyond just bringing in the fish…

So many different ways to fish in marathon. But we wanted something that wasn’t too taxing on the wife and kids so we decided on yellowtail. We got plenty of fish, didn’t have to go 20 miles offshore and it was just an all-around awesome day

Captain Robert and his mate, Dalton, are just incredibly patient, articulate and warm people who really help you learn how to catch fish. They have decades of knowledge you can rely on and the true patience of teachers who want you to have a great day. You are in excellent hands - novices and expert fishermen alike. Can’t recommend them highly enough.

Follow captains recommendations on what’s biting where. Coming with a fixed expectation of what you want to catch is not always going to work out so stay flexible and remember that the most exciting fish may be the hardest to catch. Even the best captains can’t always put you on the fish you want.

Go down to Key West Now after looking further into options for charters in Marathon i have found we have been totally ripped off! $1,100 for that boat ride was a joke, and these people should be dropped from your booking site!

January can be rough month with weather and what is biting. I felt I could trust them to recommend where to invest the time to put us on the fish that we wanted without pressure to even go out due to the sea conditions. We were comfortable in a not ideal day (5-8ft), but the boat and crew did great!

Buy or make a Bally Hoop net to catch ballyhoo for live bait. Get a trolling motor that has the ability to hold a gps position so you don’t have to mess with an anchor. Take 4 blocks of chum for a day on the water. Take plenty of water to drink.

Get a guide for your typical fishing trips. It will save you time learning the areas and recommended techniques. Also talk with your captain before the trip to cover specifics. Contact Captain Jays for a fun half day lobster lesson. Ben took good care of us.

These guys are so helpful. Anything you need for fishing is provided. Don’t forget sunscreen and a to take Dramamine the day before not the morning of… makes folks real tired when taken same day. WE did half day reef fishing trips. Excellent experience.

Look for a trip that allows you to go Offshore, and do any type of fishing. I prefer a reef and wreck / Offshore combo tour. I prefer 6 hours. I also prefer a boat that is 30 feet or longer. If you are fishing with children or females look for a toilet on board. I also prefer to have a charter with a first mate.

I know that there are better times of the year to fish the Florida Keys but the fishing in late January 2022 was great. The advantage of fishing in January/February is the wonderful weather with air temperature in the low 70's and water temperature in the mid 70's.

Make sure you get a guide that knows where to go for the fish. Our guy did not. We went on a fishing trip with a guy from our campground and caught a load of fish. So it's all in knowing how and where the fish are going to be.

Use knowledgeable Captains! 5th Generation Fishing Charters is the one! They go above and beyond to take care of you at any cost.

Try to experience all different types of fishing. For us: Day 1 - 30 yellow tails, Day 2 - 3 Mahi Mahi, day 3 - 2 tarpon on, one landed (6’, 150#). Yes we got lucky but guides were awesome.

Weather only permitted us to go out 1 of 3 days, so probably not a reliable review on March fishing.

The wind was bad all week but got Lucky and got out on good day but we were not able to go on Atlantic side .

If you are prone to getting seasick make sure to take something. Our trip today was very choppy but didn’t bother any of us. They worked hard to find us fish to catch and it was a success!

After Bryce cleaned our fish, we brought it to Lazy Days Restaurant and had a great dinner! They cook your fish for you and it was incredible. Highly recommend it!

Absolutely! It was our first time out in these waters. The crew helped every step of the way on best methods for catching lots of fish.

On this charter, simply let the captain know what you’d love to do and he will make it happen! Hat, glasses, & good balance ;)

Sport fishing is more April through August but there is still great fishing for great quality smaller fish. We took ours to lazy days and it was fantastic eating.

We had a blast fishing in March. Be sure to set your expectations for the time of year and you won't be disappointed.

It's worth the extra cost to have a boat to yourselves. Bigger fishing boats just don't give you the same attention nor the variety of fish to catch.

Book with Hennessy Sportfishing. He knows where the fish are at and can help you get what you want!

Light tackle, I was surprised how light we went. It was an absolute blast though.

It was much better than I expected. I would bring a windbreaker as it was very windy on water.

February even if the Keys is still winter, weather front every 3-4 days. Windy days come with even the sunny weather. But it’s still the best place to be in February ????

Check the weather before you go, the day before we went the winds were rough, but the day we went was perfect 8-10 mph winds. Water was a really clear and clean.

Fun to go if you are here this time of year but not best time of year for FL fishing, that’s not a captain’s fault.

Just know that the wind can be blowing and the water cab be a little choppy in January. Also a lot of good fish are not in season, Grouper for instance.