Fred the Tree

I fish 300 days per year so I can afford to hunt the other 65. During this time of the year we fish a lot of different inshore/nearshore spots like the patch reefs for yellowtail snapper, wrecks for mutton, grouper, amber jacks and cobia, ledges for sailfish and kingfish, flats for snook, reds, permit, trout and bonefish. On a slack or slackish tide a lot of times you’ll find us anchored under Fred the Tree at the 7 Mile bridge in Marathon.

Fred the tree is a legendary landmark in the middle keys. Fred is an Australian Pine that grows out of the 7-mile bridge railroad track. It’s amazing that a tree grows out of old steel and concrete. Fred has survived many tropical storms, hurricanes and droughts. Fred represents the strength of Marathon and the Florida Keys. Local musicians sing songs about Fred, writers write books about Fred and locals even decorate Fred with Christmas lights during the holidays. To me the most amazing thing about Fred are the fish that frequent under Fred’s shadow during a slack or slackish tide.

I like to fish Fred on the gulf side of the bridge on a slow incoming tide. It’s not rare to anchor under Fred and catch over a dozen different species of fish. We catch yellowtail, mangrove, lane and mutton snapper, black, gag, goliath and red grouper, permit, pompano, porgy and many other species of fish. My favorite fish to target under Fred is the yellow jack not to be mistaken for a jack crevalle which is a jack that is yellow. Yellow jacks fight as hard as a jack crevalle but taste like a tuna with butter built into it. Yellow jacks aren’t indigenous to the Florida Keys and showed up here just over a decade ago.

FWC allows us to harvest 100 lbs. per boat per day. When they are schooled up under Fred, it’s not uncommon for our anglers to catch a 100 lbs on a 4-hour charter. We target them with live shrimp or pilchards on a jighead. You don’t want to play them to much, because if you do they may get taken by a goliath grouper or a bull shark. Chumming is very important at this spot. Happy New Year!

— For a charter with Captain Joel Brandenburg of Ana Banana Fishing Company call or text 305-395-4212  or 813-267-4401 or visit www.marathonfloridakeysfishingcharters.com  or visit us in person at Ana Banana Marina located at 11699 Overseas Hwy Marathon Florida Keys 33050.