Middle Keys · Year-Round

Reef & Wreck
Fishing
Charters

Drop a line over Marathon’s shallow reefs, then push out to the wrecks where the bigger fish live. Snapper, grouper, amberjack, and more, all in one trip with Captain Kevin Goodwin.

Call Text

4 – 6 Hrs

Trip Duration

Up To 6

Guests Per Trip

Reef Fishing

Fish The Reefs Of Marathon

The shallow reefs off Marathon sit along one of the largest barrier reef systems in the world, and they’re loaded with fish.

Working depths of 20 to 80 feet, Captain Kevin will help you drift cut bait back in a chum slick for delicious yellowtail snapper year-round. You can also bottom fish for mangrove snapper, grouper, yellow jack, nurse sharks, and more.

Yellowtail snapper on the Marathon reef — Yellowtail snapper

Mangrove snapper caught on the Marathon reef — Mangrove snapper

Mutton snapper caught on the reef — Mutton snapper

In the wintertime the reef lights up with a flurry of predator activity. Cooler north winds blow in, and massive schools of live bait can be found much closer to shore. That brings kingfish, cero and Spanish mackerel, and the occasional sailfish onto the reef, making it an exciting way to catch your dinner.

Hit the reef in July when the timing is right and you can catch mangrove snapper off the bottom fast and furious. They’re the biggest mangrove snappers you’ll see all year, too. There’s always something fun to catch on the reef, and it makes a great family trip on its own or combined with wreck fishing, or even offshore if you book a long enough trip.

Reef Species

Some of what we target on the shallow reef.

Yellowtail Snapper

Mangrove Snapper

Mutton Snapper

Kingfish

Barracuda

Nurse Shark

Customer holding a mutton snapper caught on a wreck

Wreck Fishing

Deep Wreck Fishing

Scattered in deeper water off Marathon are wrecks and artificial reefs that hold bigger, harder-fighting fish than the shallow reef. Captain Kevin runs to proven numbers in 80 to 200-plus feet and drops live bait right on the structure.

These trips are built for anglers chasing a trophy and don’t mind a longer ride and a harder fight to earn it. Grouper and amberjack don’t give up easily, and in the right season the wrecks can also produce cobia, African pompano, and permit.