Been wanting to fish the Marquesas for years.
Who has done it?
Did you make the run there and back in a day or Mothership it?
Is it worth the effort/ cost?
Interested in this as well. It was obviously a popular spot back in the day, then I google mapped it and was surprised at the location of it.
Ga Drifter has done it more than once
For many years, Iāve been talking about getting a small group together to do this. Trailer to Key West, spend the night, run to the Marquesas the next morning, come back to spend a second night, then trailer home. Whoās up for that?
The book āThe Marquesasā by Jeffrey Cardenas is a must read for anyone interested in doing this. Itās his account of six weeks on a house boat (with a skiff in tow) in the Marquesas back in the mid-1990s.
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Iām down if my schedule works and someone can pick me up from the airport!
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Seems like the two biggest challenges are finding a reliable place to launch/stay and hitting a good weather window. If you can check those two boxes the rest is just going fishing. If you miss the weather window part thereās plenty to find in the rest of the keys. Iāve only run out of key west harbor a couple of times and we did not have the weather to hit the Marquesas. That area turns into big water quick and itās definitely not something you want to get stuck in.
Iād be game DB. Just make sure whoever is with me can also pole a boat 
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@DBStoots that sounds like a good time, and something Iād likely be intrested in as well. Not the sorta trip for my skiff though, but Iād be down to buddy up on someone elseās skiff.
@Smackdaddy53 just fly into KW, then you can walk wherever..lol. Probably completely cost prohibitive though.
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If you have not been and your priority is to see the area, then yes, it is worth the effort. Unfortunately, like most places these days, fishing is not what it once was and if fishing out of Key West is the priority, there are better choices. Launch at Garrison, run the lakes passage and pray that Boca Grande is not stacked when you have to cross, both on the way there and back.
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Since we picked up the larger boat weāve been eyeing this for February. Doing exactly what Db said, stay two nights. Iād certainly be down
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I would love to go. My craft is definitely not sufficient for the crossing however.
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I havenāt fished the Marquesas since the ā80s. Iām sure a lot has changed. I fished there with the late Capt. Ralph Delph aboard his Hewes Redfisher 18 for tarpon and mutton snapper on the flats, and his SeaCraft 20 and then his SeaVee 25 for big sharks on fly and light spin tackle in the shallow grass basins.
It was a wild and pristine place back then. I watched a 1000 LB Hammerhead chase down and eat a 100 LB tarpon on the flats there. The tarpon was aerial for most of the chase, until the sharkās brute strength and stamina outlasted it. Wish I had that one on video.
I am not at a point where time and budget would allow me to attend at the moment. But anyone who can make the trip should go!
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Man, that sounds like a fun trip. But hitting a good weather window is sometimes a roll of the dice.
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I did the Marquesas w two Air Force bros, on a PF2200 Pathfinder, in 2003. We launched out of Boca Chica, and we followed a navy F18 guy in his HB ( not sure what model) . It was a lot of running and not a lot of fishing! But it was fun as heck, I would be up to doing that, but I would recommend a Marquesa or a Vengeance type of craft.
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Finding a two day window will be toughā¦
I would suggest getting an AIRBNB somewhere down near big pine key with a few rooms so you can fish the finger channels on the Gulf Side if the weather doesnāt cooperateā¦
BTW, Daveā¦I donāt think you skiff is setup for the crossingā¦
The 21 Chitham, 18-HPXV, a deep V ECC, and of course, there is a reason HB called it the Marquesaā¦
Having fished down there several times offshore behind the Marquesas for snapper, I can tell you it can change in a matter of a few hours from dead calm to huge stormsā¦
I would suggest contacting a guide - maybe a HB guide, tell him your thoughts of putting together a few skiffs, and let him āguideā you acrossā¦Iām sure for the right $$$ it could be put togetherā¦
Itās a long run across a lot of open waterā¦
Having an AIRBNB as a home-base would work out greatā¦just get agreement from everyone on sharing the costsā¦
DC
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How long is the run from KW? Pretty sure FMT has tracks in the area so navigation is not the issue. Weather is!
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Distance is about 24-28 miles depending on the routeā¦but, it almost all open waterā¦thatās the challenge.
DC
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I made the run to the Dry Tortugas from Key West in a 25 Bluewater running with a companion 31 Contender. It was a white knuckle ride all the way out. We camped and fished for a couple days. The return trip wasnāt as bad. The Marquesas arenāt as far, but as others have pointed out lots of open water to cross to get there.
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Shoot Iāve met 2 people that made the run to Bimini in a flats skiff! No way in hell Iād try that. Yeah the day might start out glassed out but no guarantees it will be that way on the way back!
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If this can be schedules and put together Iād certainly be game. Long tow from Charleston but the Egret would be the right ride for the trip across.
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The 24 miles is from KW. Itās about 7 miles from Boca Grande Key to the Marquesas but Boca Grande Channel is where the Gulf meets the Atlantic and it can get shitty if the wind gets against the tide. The same for the Harbor and the Northwest Channel.
The fishing can be great and the fishing can be fishing. I think it is a great idea but youāll have to be flexible about the weather and have B, C and D plans. The idea of staying in BPK and trailering down if the weather looks good is a good idea. The fishing around the Lakes can be great and the Boca Grande flats are cool.
If it was me I would do it in May, June, July when the wind is generally calmer but youāll have to deal with summer storms which isnāt great.
You can get this pretty quickly.
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