Former President Carter Fishes Off Keys

This Green Scene story spotlights an environmentally focused attraction, event, person or place that enriches the Florida Keys

MARATHON, Florida Keys — Continuing a holiday vacation in the Florida Keys, former President Jimmy Carter fished offshore of Marathon Thursday.

Captain Rich Tudor with the Saltwater Experience out of Hawk's Cay Marina, guided the small group to shallow patch reefs on the ocean side a few miles offshore, fishing light tackle and using pilchards and shrimp for bait.

"We found an incredibly good bite of Spanish mackerel in about 15 feet of water and lots of action with snapper," said Tudor. "The President is an impressively agile angler, and for someone who's fished all over the world, he said this was one of the best fishing days he's ever had."

The group caught more than 70 fish, including 12 different species, and brought home about 15 snapper and Spanish mackerel for dinner.

Carter is in the Keys with wife Rosalynn and a number of family members as part of a vacation, during which Carter and wife Rosalynn have had an opportunity to interact with dolphins and help release a loggerhead sea turtle.

The vacation in the Keys is not the first for Carter and his family. In 1996, the family had New Year's Eve dinner at the Harry S. Truman Little White House in Key West and returned there for a visit in December 2007 during a cruise ship stopover.