Need advice on boat fishing in the keys Inshore Offshore ETC

[mallardtone-man]

Hey guys, I post on here every so often, I posted a few months back asking advice on some bridge fishing, shark info and some other stuff for an upcoming trip. I had a blast and caught a ton of fish, many of them thanks to the advice I got from guys on this forum, I just wanted to say thanks.

Now, on to my question. I had so much fun last time that I am headed back down with my brother and a couple of buddies and will be there from may 4th-14th. We plan on renting a boat this time and seeing what we can do but this will be a whole new thing for us. I have reserved 20' Cobia CC with a 130hp 2 stroke Yamaha, it has livewell, fishfinder, GPS etc. It is $155/day for 3 days + Gas from Captain Pips Marina in Marathon (if someone knows of a better deal please let me know). I will be using it with my brother and two buddies. This is kind of alot of $$ for us so we want to do everything we possibly can to make sure we get on fish and have some fun. We are interested in doing just about any kind of fishing availible to us as well as some diving/spear fishing. I have experience boating and have done a fair amount of salt water fishing but very little of it from a boat and NONE of it from a boat captained by me lol, so definitely I need some help.


Things I need to know:

- Fuel Useage and Cost -
They would would not give me any idea of what the fuel useage of this boat is. Like I said it is a 20' Cobia CC with a 130hp 2 stroke Yamaha. We will have 4 guys aboard, will likely have the livewell full and a fair amount of gear. I understand it is almost impossible for you to give me any kind of accurate estimate but just want to get an idea of what the price range might be. Unless we find something that we are really tearing it up at we may do a fair amount of motoring, we want to try as much as we can and still have fun. I had estimated between $50 and $100 a day, hope I wasn't too far off :/.

- Tips and Tactics -
I do alot of freshwater fishing and have done a fair amount of saltwater so I am not clueless but I could definitely use help. I am an avid fisherman amongst other things and I am not afraid to do what it takes in order to catch fish. I not super particular but would like to try several things and am most interested in doing something that we will have a high success rate at. I have a fair selection of gear that I am bringing down, both light and heavy tackle. Most of my reels are fairly high capacity and are loaded up with 40-100lb power pro. I just spent a bunch of $$ on rods, reels, line and terminal tackle so I can't buy a ton more stuff but have a few dollars. I plan on catching lots of live bait, last time down I was able to catch/net almost everything I needed save shrimp, those I purchased. I expect I will have pin fish, mullet (both finger and big guys if I can get em), Pilchards, live/dead shrimp, Crabs, Squid, menheddon chum, Fish heads (Bonita, Mackeral, Barracuda for sharks). I like to fish live baits as often as possible and usually use the biggest ones I can get. I am sure we will spend some time fishing around the bridges for snook, tarpon, snapper, grouper, etc. I have fished from the bridges before but never around them in a boat. I know generally what fish might be there and what they might hit but could use specific advice such as bait placement/presentation and hot spots I may be able to reach. I am very interested in finding some wrecks/reefs that we can dive/fish. I would be trying to catch both bottom fish and pelegics/game fish. I am not sure what the weather is going to be like but if it is not too much in fuel gas and conditions allow I plan on fishing offshore at least once (this is one of the things I am most concerned about having sucess at). I have been on a charter out of Marathon once before and my knowledge of offshore fishing is limited to that day and what I have seen on tv. The only thing I would really know to do without any other instruction is fish the color change and drag live baits. I doubt if we will do too much back country fishing if any.


- Where to go -
Captain Pips Marina is at the base of the 7mile bridge in Marathon. We wont be trailering so I would imagine our range will be a 15 mile radius or so (maybe more/less depending on our top speed, weather conditions, fuel costs, etc). I dont mind doing a little running and spending the time/$$ to get to the right spot as long as there is a good chance it will produce good results. I know that around the bridges is a great place to start and I have done a little kayak fishing in the back country (I dont know what the boat drafts so im not sure if we will be able to get in there). I am really hoping to get some specifics on reefs, wrecks, rocks, anywhere we might be able to catch/shoot some fish. I have a handheld GPS and can navigate fairly well so getting some numbers would be awesome. We are respectful guys and responsible fishermen and are only fishing for three days so please don't be afraid we are going to trash/steal your favorite spot or something. I have come to rely on this kind of advice over the years and always try and reciprocate if I feel I can help someone out. Ideally I was hoping that someone might be interested meeting us up and showing us a spot or two as well as giving us the rundown. We could probably even throw you some money for gas. I have seen people looking for riders on other sites, so if someone has room for 4 in thier boat we would happily chip in for gas in bait. If it is close enough and ok with you I could fish that spot in the rental boat later but will respect it if it is you honey hole or something.


Thanks,
James

[StyngRay]

You're scripture is too fabricated. Who did you copy and paste from.
You ask a simple question and manage to find the answers yourself.
Seems you know more than most of us, good luck and keep us posted.