Vacation In The Florida Keys

JoNell and I packed up the Jeep and headed down to the Florida Keys for a week’s vacation on Marathon.  We were invited to stay there with friends Alex Dolinski and his wife Brenda over the 4th of July holiday.  Alex rents a house near Vaca Cut for a month to run charters out to the deep blue for mahi-mahi, wahoo, sailfish, marlin and whatever else may show up in the trolled spread.  He blocked out time for us to fish, dine and enjoy a break playing on and in the clear water. 

I know what some of you are thinking.  “You took a vacation from fishing to go fishing?”  Right.  I did.  You have to understand, I take people fishing and usually don’t get to wet a line myself.  Don’t worry there are also plenty of other things to do while in the Keys.



The house Alex rented was perfect.  Lots of room for everyone (Alex’s daughter Danielle  was there and Ken, the owner of Master Bait and Tackle visited for a few days) and right on the water with a view of the Atlantic Ocean.  The dock and deck was big enough to accommodate the boat, a Venture 34, and lots of porch chairs for evening cocktails and cigars.  Speaking of the boat.  The Venture was on loan from Andy, a friend of Alex’s.  What a nice ride.  Big and roomy with a tower for spotting fish and a head (bathroom) for the ladies.  Fully equipped with all the electronics you could ask for and enough rod holders for 39 rods.  Hmm... might need ‘em you never know.


We plotted the next day’s strategy each evening and then set out just after sunup.  We’d motor out to where the water turned from sea green to a deep blue.  The depth was from about 700 to 1000 feet.  Trolling was the go-to tactic and I got a crash course on how to rig trolled ballyhoo and how to set outriggers.  I’ve got to tell you, Alex is a great instructor.  Once the baits were set it was time to watch for birds and weed lines.  I soon found that Brenda has the best eyes for spotting birds.  She almost always seemed to see them long before the rest of us did.  The trick to trolling is to get the baits near the birds and weed lines in hopes of finding a hungry fish.  Baits tend to hang out near the flotsam for protection.  The birds find the bait and also follow moving fish.  It’s a pretty amazing food chain.

Alex had already warned us that this particular year had been slower than most.  No one seemed sure why, but the consensus was the overly warm winter might have something to do with it.  He was right.  It was slow, but when we did hook a fish it was almost always an event!  The highlights...  JoNell’s 30 pound mahi along with quite a few in the 12 to 15 pound range for the rest of us.  We even managed to get a 22 pound wahoo, the first I’d ever seen or had the pleasure of eating.

When we weren’t fishing we were relaxing or eating or drinking or... all of the above.

  We hit quite a few places for lunch and dinner but my favorites were the Lazy Days Restaurant in Marathon and the No Name Pub on Big Pine Key.  

The Lazy Days was right on the water and had a chef that obviously knew what he was doing.  They also had a “cook your catch” menu that was right up our alley.  We caught fresh fish, but who wants to cook while on vacation?  On two different occasions we took mahi and wahoo there for a seafood feast.  Wonderful!  

The No Name Pub is one of those places you have to visit while in the lower Keys, but only if you can find it.  Seriously.  Their slogan is “ a nice place if you can find it”.  They aren’t kidding.  A GPS certainly comes in handy.  Once found there are a couple of things on the menu you need to try.  Number one, the Caribbean wings.  Oh my.  I’m a self proclaimed buffalo wing nut and these were the best I’ve ever had.  Number two the pizza.  They have delicious pizza.  I don’t know why a little bar in the middle of nowhere with “no name” has great pizza, but just go with it.  You won’t regret it.


Toward the end of the week JoNell and I opted out of fishing and headed down to Key West.  We made a stop at Schooner’s Wharf to listen to Michael McCloud, Mango’s for lunch, the Hemingway House to visit the 6-toed cats, Kelly’s Bar and Grill for tacky frozen tourist drinks and a couple of cigar factories.   It was a fun, relaxing day and good to be back in a place that has so many good memories for the two of us.


Back in Marathon we caught more fish, went snorkeling at Sombrero Reef, ate more food, drank more drinks and watched the 4th of July fireworks from the boat.  Thanks much to our hosts Alex and Brenda for a great time.  That was fun!