by Capt. Chris Johnson
The waters off Marathon offer abundant opportunities for a wide spectrum of species during June.
On the reef, it’s all about the snapper fishing, with yellowtails and mangroves providing the majority of the action. Large amounts of chum will keep the fish interested. We supplement our frozen block chum with a mixture of oats and YellowtailUp from Aquatic Nutrition. Any cut baits, such as ballyhoo or bonita belly, work well.For snapper fishing on the reef, we use Penn Slammer III 5500 or 6500 matched to a Star Stellar Lite 12- to 20-pound boat rod. Leaders are 15/20-pound Seaguar fluoro. Hooks are Owner #4 Mutu Light circle hooks for the yellowtails, and SSW 2/0’s for the mangroves.
Wreck fishing for mutton snapper is usually very good during June, with all depths from 100 to 250 feet worth investigating. There are lots of larger fish in the 12- to 18-pound range, plus we often find our heftiest muttons of the year at 20 pounds and greater. You’ll need to use Owner 4/0 AKI hooks for success.While fishing the deeper wrecks, you’ll also catch larger grouper – blacks, gags and reds. Any large live bait, such as big grunts or bluerunners, usually draw their attention.
This is the time of the year we see the peak of the dolphin (mahi-mahi) run offshore of Marathon. What the fish may lack in size, they make up for in quantity. So, if you’re looking to fill your freezer, you’ll be able to load up on schoolie-size dolphin.All of the standard dolphin fishing tactics will work. Try trolling or looking for weed lines, birds working the surface or floating debris.
Out at the Marathon Humps, 26 miles offshore, there’s typically plenty of blackfin tuna during June. Most of these fish are in the five- to ten-pound class. For larger specimens, fish live baits deep in 200 feet.
If you find some floating debris in these deep areas, you may luck into a wahoo or two. For best results, troll lipped plugs past the debris or drop large bucktails or butterfly jigs to 200 feet and retrieve them to the surface as fast as possible.
While there’s still some tarpon action at the bridges, it tends to wane dramatically by midmonth. So, if catching a Silver King is on your bucket list, get out there early in the month.
If you miss the tarpon run, you still have the opportunity to catch a trophy-quality gamefish in the form of sharks. Shallow-water, catch-and-release shark fishing in Florida Bay is red-hot during June. Lemons are the primary shark species this time of year, but you may also see blacktips, bulls, hammerheads and more. These sharks range in size from five to eight feet, and it’s not unusual to find yourself with a 200-pound toothy critter on the end of your line. They give you a good fight, with acrobatics, before you reel them in to the side of the boat for a photo opp and then release them to fight another day.
Capt. Chris Johnson specializes in offshore, reef/wreck, gulf/bay, sailfish, shark and tarpon fishing with SeaSquared Charters, docked at Faro Blanco Resort and Yacht Club in Marathon.
305-743-5305
SeaSquaredCharters.com
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