Big Game Sportfishing is the owner operator boat in Marathon with one of the longest local records behind the wheel. Captain Ariel Medero has lived and fished these waters since 1994, around 25 years guiding, and he owns and runs the one boat himself with mate Austin, so the captain you book is the captain who meets you at the dock. Reviewers across more than 60 trips call him the human fish finder, and the record is deep and loyal. The boat is a capable 34 foot sportfisher. The honest gaps are that the rates are not posted, so you call to book, and that a single boat limits both the range of trips and the dates it can take.
The verdict and where it ranks
At 7.6 Big Game is third in the Marathon ranking, level on the overall with Top Notch and placed just ahead of it on the tie break, which goes to the higher captain and crew score. This is the captain’s boat: the case for booking it is Ariel Medero himself, the years on these grounds, and a record that reads as steady as any in the port. The marks against it are the unposted pricing and the limits of a one boat operation. Book it when you want a proven, named captain and a private day offshore, and you are happy to call for the rate. For posted prices on a comparable single boat, Top Notch is the alternative; for the most boat, Infinite Blue leads the port.
The boat
Big Game runs a single 34 foot sportfisher, rigged for up to 6 anglers and set up for the range of trips the captain offers, from a nearshore half day to an offshore run or a swordfish drop. It is a capable, well kept boat, though it is a step down in comfort from the 50 foot cabin SeaRay that Infinite Blue runs, with less shelter on a long day in a sea. For the kind of fishing most groups book here, a half or full day on the reef and offshore, it is well matched. The single boat is the operational limit: there is no second hull to take the overflow on a busy date.
The fishing and what you target
The fishing scales with the trip. A half day of about 4 hours bottom fishes for snapper and grouper or works nearshore for sharks and amberjack, which is the right speed for new anglers, families, and kids. A full day of around 8 hours runs offshore for sailfish, wahoo, mahi mahi, and tuna, and the operation also runs the 25 mile trip to the Marathon Hump and dedicated swordfish trips. Captain Medero matches the day to the season, sailfish in the cooler months, mahi from late spring into summer, and the Hump on calmer days. The target shifts with the calendar, and the captain’s read of the grounds is what the reviews keep coming back to.
Trips and prices
Big Game sells by the whole boat for up to 6 anglers, and the weakness sits here: the operator does not post a rate table and asks you to call or text Captain Ariel to book, so the clear price lives in a phone call rather than on the site. What is clear is the booking terms, a 20 percent deposit that is refunded on a cancellation 7 or more days out, and that the fishing license and gear are included. Confirm the half, three quarter, and full day rates and the trip length when you call. Our cost guide sets the benchmark for a private Keys day against the cheaper Marathon Lady party boat seat.
The crew
The crew is the whole case for the score. Captain Ariel Medero owns and runs the boat, and across more than 60 reviews the praise is consistent: a captain who finds fish when others cannot, teaches as he goes, and runs a professional, safe trip, backed by 25 years on the same water. Mate Austin works the deck. Because it is a one captain operation, you get the named captain every trip, which is the strongest signal the method looks for, and the limit is availability rather than consistency, since there is no second boat to absorb a busy weekend. The record is deep and loyal if narrower in raw volume than the big fleets.
Booking and what to know
Book by phone or text with Captain Ariel, since the rates and the calendar are not online, and confirm the trip length and the departure from the Bluegreen Hammocks Resort at Mile Marker 48. Bring food, drinks, sun protection, and a cooler; the license and gear are covered. The single boat means good dates fill, so book ahead, especially for a Hump or swordfish trip that needs a calm weather window.
How we scored it
Big Game scores 7.6: one of Marathon’s most experienced captains on the deck every trip and a deep, loyal record, on a capable single sportfisher, held back on value because the rates are not posted and on service because one boat limits the dates and the range. Captain and crew is its strongest factor by a clear margin. See how we scored this boat for the full rubric and weighting, and compare it against the rest of our Marathon rankings, including Sweet E’Nuf and Main Attraction.