Captain
Kevin
Goodwin

Ask around the Marathon docks for Captain Redbeard and people know exactly who you mean. Captain Kevin Goodwin has the beard to back it up: Irish, red-headed, and weathered by a lifetime of Middle Keys sun. He came to the Keys as a young boy and has fished these waters most of his entire life, and there isn’t much between the Gulf and the bluewater he hasn’t figured out.

His passion started early. He was fishing recreationally by sixth grade and commercially by seventh. Growing up among the sons of local commercial fishermen, Kevin learned the backcountry, the reef and the bluewater from veteran captains who took him under their wing. After high school he kept commercial fishing while working as a mate aboard private charter boats, the kind of apprenticeship you can’t buy.

Decades on the water have made Kevin a true all-around fisherman. Offshore for mahi, blackfin tuna and sailfish. The reef and wrecks for snapper, grouper and kingfish. The Gulf and backcountry for light-tackle action. And the bridges in spring for world-class tarpon. He has also chased fish well beyond the Keys, in Cuba, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and the Bahamas.

What guests tend to remember, though, isn’t just the fish box. Kevin is a teacher, patient with kids and first-timers, sharp enough to keep seasoned anglers on their toes, and stubborn about running to the next spot until he finds a bite. Experienced angler, family on vacation, or someone who’s never held a rod, the goal is the same: a day on the water off Marathon worth talking about long after you get home.