Captain
Carl Bish

Member since June 2017 Marathon, United States
Background
I earned my first Captain's License at the age of 20 and immediately began operating charters on the Great Lakes. On Lake Ontario, we fished for King Salmon, Steelhead, Atlantic Salmon and Lake Trout. Walleye ruled Lake Erie, so we went after it, while Smallmouth bass always made for a fun trip. During the offseason I taught science in high school. The two careers were soon complementary – I focused on providing family-based trips aimed at getting children into sport fishing. I ran this service each summer during the fishing season until selling it in 2015 to move to the Florida Keys. Here in the Keys I continue to focus on family-based fishing in a relaxed "go out and have fun" style. I enjoy educating families on the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the surrounding ecosystem. Onboard, our goal is to fish up the food chain or as our slogan says: "Start with a shrimp....end with a monster!"

Hey, I'm Captain Carl Bish

Marathon, United States
Background
I earned my first Captain's License at the age of 20 and immediately began operating charters on the Great Lakes. On Lake Ontario, we fished for King Salmon, Steelhead, Atlantic Salmon and Lake Trout. Walleye ruled Lake Erie, so we went after it, while Smallmouth bass always made for a fun trip. During the offseason I taught science in high school. The two careers were soon complementary – I focused on providing family-based trips aimed at getting children into sport fishing. I ran this service each summer during the fishing season until selling it in 2015 to move to the Florida Keys. Here in the Keys I continue to focus on family-based fishing in a relaxed "go out and have fun" style. I enjoy educating families on the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the surrounding ecosystem. Onboard, our goal is to fish up the food chain or as our slogan says: "Start with a shrimp....end with a monster!"
225
Reviews
14
Fishing Reports
Verified

My Charter Listing

Foodchain Fishing

State licensed
Excellent
4.9 / 5
(225 reviews)
Marathon
 Last booking: 1 day ago
 Instant Confirmation
Trips from US $550

Fishing Reports

Sometimes we like to be at the top of th
Sometimes we like to be at the top of th
Oct 17, 2019 Marathon
We headed out over the reef to the outside edge and anchored in 75 feet of water. (Our anchor is virtual meaning it is a GPS guided motor that maintains our position.) Immediately the chum brought up fish, but we noticed that they were not the right type. None the less, we caught a few then adjusted our position by moving south about 100 feet and just over a drop off. GAME ON!!! The yellowtails were snappin' and the decision was made to fill the limit and transport the fillets back to Maryland!! We found that the best set up was a bare #2/0 circle hook with a bb shot up about 6 inches and white 1/16 oz yellowtail jigs. The best bait was chunks of bonita and 1/2 inch pieces of shrimp. There was a contest in the back of the boat to see which bait could catch more, I can't even remember which won...nobody really cared by the end of the bite!!
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Pallet fishing off Marathon
Pallet fishing off Marathon
Jun 27, 2017 Marathon
Headed off shore with a Mom, young adult daughter and teenage son. We headed south past Sombrero light destined for the gulf stream and looking for birds and weeds. Found a weed line just past the reef and put out a couple of Billy Baits. Hooked up with a Bonito on black and red. Boxed him for bait and moved on. 13 miles later we found a flock of birds diving on a school of dolphin. Changed from green to black and purple and doubled up on Mahi. We followed the the birds and came upon a pallet. Wanting to catch a diversity of fish we changed up tackle and pitched to Triple Tail that had set up residence under the wood. After several deft casts as we drifted by Adele hooked up with the biggest one, a nice keeper fell to the temptation of the DOA Shrimp. While we were drifting the Mahi were cruising around the boat. We kept pitching to them, but the Trigger fish and Banded Rudder fish were chowing down our bait. We dropped hook size and added several for the dinner plate. Difficult to fillet, the taste and texture is worth the trouble. We boxed a few more Mahi on the black and purple and blue and purple. Fast speeds seemed to work best for us today at speeds around 9 mph. We were successful in pitching bait to the Dolphin when fighting other Dolphin, otherwise the Triggers and Banded Rudders gave us fits. Back to the dock by early afternoon in time to shower and make happy hour!!
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Customer reviews

Rating summary
Excellent
4.9 / 5
out of 5 stars from 225 reviews
See details
Boat
Excellent
4.9 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience
Excellent
4.9 / 5
Photos & videos by reviewers (277)
Capt. Carl was awesome!
Capt. Carl was awesome!
Capt. Carl was awesome!
+274
Angler rating
208
12
2
0
0
Anglers claimed
Good experience
98%
Friendly captain
100%
Recommend this charter
98%
Appropriate for children
98%
Satisfied with the boat
100%
Caught fish
96%
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5 of 225 reviews
Dan T.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Absolutely great for what we were looking for.

VERIFIED   3 1/2 hour Sunset Family Fishing on May 15, 2024
Highly recommend and would gladly direct others to Captain Carl Bish. Our sons (12 & 14) as well as ourselves (adults) had...
Dan T. recommends Foodchain Fishing
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Shaloam B.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Capt Jim was amazing

VERIFIED   5 hour Fish with Captain Jim on March 18, 2024
Took my son and his friend to catch some dinner and Capt Jim delivered. The fish were there at first cast and kept the boys...
Shaloam B. recommends Foodchain Fishing
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Jamie W.
Lynchburg, VA
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Evening Trip With Capt. Carl

VERIFIED   3 Hour Trip โ€“ Summer Sunset on May 12, 2022
This was by far the best fishing charter Iโ€™ve ever experienced. Capt. Carl has a great boat and he put us on fish IMMEDIATELY.ย ...
Jamie W. recommends Foodchain Fishing
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1 person finds this review helpful
You and 1 other person found this review helpful
Jamie W. recommends Foodchain Fishing
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1 person finds this review helpful
You and 1 other person found this review helpful
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Joel B.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Food Chain: our catch straight to the table!

VERIFIED   5 Hour โ€“ Family Charter (Morning) on July 5, 2024
Capโ€™n Carl great, friendly, informative.ย  Made our trip great in more than just the fishing. Advice, other activities, gear...
Joel B. recommends Foodchain Fishing
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Joel B. recommends Foodchain Fishing
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Lauren M.
Marathon, Florida
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Great evening fishing trip

VERIFIED   Half Day Trip (PM) on May 21, 2022
The goal was to relax and have fun (accomplished!) and catch a variety of fish (accomplished)! We had a very enjoyable and...
Lauren M. recommends Foodchain Fishing
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