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Fishing Reports for Local Area - Location |
    
CaptainIDS (Captainids)
New member
Username: Captainids
Post Number: 43
Registered: 9-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 10:16 am: | |
Are you a Licensed Coast Guard Captain?
This is for you
http://www.captainids.com/ |
Merijo Attong (Lady_snook)
New member
Username: Lady_snook
Post Number: 9
Registered: 5-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 09, 2006 - 9:14 am: | |
Florida Bay has been on fire as of April with schools of large redfish cruising the flats. I have seen 20 -30 fish in a school all around 9 to 10-pound category. The smaller fish are not in the schools yet and they seem to be in potholes waiting to ambush mullet. Along with the reds are some really big trout for Flamingo. The biggest trout we have landed was
6.5lbs and a bunch more between 4 to 6lbs, just as the smaller redfish, these large trout were in potholes ambushing mullet. Some good size snook are also playing the same game in potholes. The snook have not shown up as thick on the flats as of yet but I am expecting them at any time now, when they show up expect some exciting fishing in the mornings until the end of July into early August. I am using the Spike-It holographic lures working them in and around the holes. Remember to imitate your bait and Spike-It lures have some of the best jerk baits and colors around. I am using a #2 Owner hook with a 1/8 oz shot above the lure, also making sure the tip of the hook is at the top of the lure and is easily punctured insuring a quality hook set.
Tarpon are on the move from spot to spot! Some days they are easy to find in deeper water around flats and some days it is not as easy in Florida Bay. Early calm mornings are the easiest ways of finding them rolling and most of these fish are in schools of 10-30. If you are fishing in light colored water they are easier to see as it looks like a large black cloud moving on top of the water with fish breaking the surface. Throwing live bait like a mullet or pilchard in front of them should get a bite. Getting in front of the school and throwing a fly (colors: black and red, yellow and brown are some choices) on 12-weight gear will be another great step in capturing one of these silver kings.
Biscayne Bay is also a great place to fish for Tarpon. The deeper water on the ocean side flats is the place you will want to be. These fish will be on the move and again the schools will hold roughly the same numbers as Islamorada and Florida Bay.
Permit have also shown up as the water has warmed up nicely. Merijo Attong, of Homestead, caught a 36 lber on a live crab in late April. These fish can show up in schools of 20-50 fish swimming with their backs out of the water or tailing singled out fish. They can get very big as the largest I have taken in the bay was 44 ¾ lbs on a Quantum reel, 7 ft medium action rod and 10 lb power pro and a # 1 Owner hook. Most of the schooling fish average 20-25lbs and live crabs are a must.
Bonefish in South Biscayne Bay have been nice to me lately as well, with nice bonefish schooling up and eating live small crabs since the shrimp are small this time of the year. Many shots are had with calm and warm days with these fish averaging 10 lbs and a fly fisherman's dream!
Capt. Jim Hale
Cane Polin' Charters
786-255-1788 |
Merijo Attong (Lady_snook)
New member
Username: Lady_snook
Post Number: 8
Registered: 5-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 19, 2006 - 10:23 am: | |
Transition time is here again with cold fronts moving in about once a week, some stronger than others. In March they became weaker making for some great fishing opportunities. In between fronts are producing some nice calm sunny days great for sight fishing. Bonefish have been making a strong presence on the Oceanside flats with 10-20 fish in a school, but good amounts of schools. Some of these bonefish are showing up on the inside flats now as well. Peter Santini from Boston and Gustavo Hernandez from the Galapagos, both first timers landed bones of 9 and 10 lbs. respectively with opportunities for more.
Tarpon in April and May will be a strongly sought after, as the silverking makes their way north on the Oceanside edges. Expect them to show up in large numbers. These fish will be in the 40-130 lbs category with the smaller fish being closer to the shore in shallower water. All these fish can be taken on fly this time of year and Green Clousers is a good fly for these fish in the clear waters. Tarpon fishing in Everglades National Park will tend to eat more on Red & Black or Cockroach Brown, as the water sometimes is not as clear. Tarpon have already made a good showing in White Water Bay as well as out front of Flamingo. Remember a strong front can push these fish back out, but they will return quickly as the water warms. For those of you who do not fly fish, Tarpon can be taken on large live shrimp, pilchards or finger mullet. Fishermen have good shots as well by finding rolling fish that are feeding in creek mouths. A great plug is the Rapala Skitterwalk silver and black or a red and white subsurface Yozuri worked slowly.
Tarpon are also making a strong presence in Government Cut. Redfish and Snook are cruising the flats. Reds are there in some places in a good number with up to 100 shots at fish in one day and that number should remain strong going into spring. Small jerk baits on weedless rigs are working well. I find fishing dark colors in clear water and light or silver in murky water works best. Gambler 3” Ugly Otter was crushing the Reds and always the Excude Gold RT Slug Saltwater. I personally like the Holographic Spike-It Bait myself.
The Snook are still in potholes waiting to ambush mullet as they swim by, so look for an area with a good amount of white holes in shallow water and you should find your snook. Large trout are mixed in as well with the Reds and Snook. In late March we boated 8 fish over 24” which were all released. After a great Tarpon run we are looking forward to a stellar run of Permit in May and June.
Tight lines and Gin Clear Water!
Capt. Jim Hale
www.canepolincharters.com
786-255-1788
800-950-FINS, Ext. 1 |
Merijo Attong (Lady_snook)
New member
Username: Lady_snook
Post Number: 4
Registered: 5-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 07, 2005 - 8:17 am: | |
Capt. Jim Hale’s Florida and Biscayne Bay fishing report from 9/1/05 to 10/6/05
Fishing days have been numbered throughout September by tropical systems and too much fresh water in Biscayne Bay and in parts of Florida Bay. Florida Bay is coming back with a lot less fresh water than three weeks ago. My usual flats for the bonefish in Biscayne Bay are just now starting to hold fish again. Since the South Florida water management was letting out a lot of the fresh water into the Bay the ratio of fresh to salt was extremely high.
This is my first fishing report since Hurricane Katrina and the following has been my observations while fishing. The landscape has changed in Florida Bay in some areas such as Cape Sable, Lake Ingram, Shark River and some of the run offs into Florida Bay common from Hurricane Katrina. Some of my targeted spots for fishing under and by mangroves and points are now under water or have washed away, making for numerous snags, but hasn’t deterred the fish from eating, as a matter of fact it has made for more protection for the fish looking for their next meal!
Black Drum started showing up early this year, they have not been the 20 to 30 lbers, but we have caught them up to 10lbs in the deeper cuts with good water flow using shrimp tipped jigs. Along with the drum some good-sized reds have also been taken. Fishing the mangroves around Florida Bay has been producing good to a very good snook bite. Some days are producing up to 20 fish a day and the average size has been in the keeper range, most all of these fish have been released to catch another day. Tarpon of all sizes are still here in some of the deeper water around the flats. The bite, however, was not that great because the fish must have been full from all the baitfish around. I have jumped a couple of big poons on the gulf side, seems to be a lot of them over there.
The flats around Flamingo have been red hot on some days and other days the only bite is from that horse fly doing circles around the boat that just wont leave you alone! I had the pleasure of taking Bob Maucher, from Outdoor Florida Magazine, out last week. We fished the flats for reds and snook and had a pretty decent day catching 5 good-sized reds and missing a whole lot more. Just one of those days where the fish didn’t like the hook, we saw an estimated 100 fish tailing the flats, no schools but singles everywhere. We were field-testing some of the baits I had mentioned in my last report, mostly Gambler plastics. They have come out with a new line and the 5” super stud bleeding shrimp was knocking the redfish out. Gambler also has a bullet weight that is no slide and can be brought up and down on the leader that I feel in love with. Spike-It holographic baits made by grand bay lures have been a great snook lure fishing them in potholes on the flats or around mangroves. I want to thank Val Osinski for supplying us with Gambler lures and hope that the future anglers out there can see the value of what I believe to be a great lure.
More reports from Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay will be coming soon. Let’s pray for some good weather and some better fishing conditions. If you are eager to bend a rod on some of these reds and snook call Island Fishing Adventures and book today.
Tight lines and gin clear water
Capt. Jim Hale
Cane Polin’ Charters
800-950-FINS, ext. 1 |
Capt. Tom Haynes (Capt_tom_haynes)
New member
Username: Capt_tom_haynes
Post Number: 3
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 22, 2003 - 5:09 am: | |
Pray for the BUCS. If fishing were as bad as the BUCS right now I would sell my boat and have a big garage sale on my dirveway to get whatever value my fishing equipment would bring. Not so at present. I have been having some of the best snook fishing in 5 years! Recently on an outing with my best customer, Brent Halvorsen of Sarasota, a 22 pound snook (44 1/2 inches long) was caught. OK you may say, but this was in the heart of the backcountry. (Wheybac-get it!). Without a doubt this was my largest snook in 30+ years fishing caught in nearly fresh water. And it wasn't winter condition that will drive the big girls back into the backcountry. What is more inportant, in two day's of fishing caught 50 snook! And many of these were above 30"! Lost count of keeper size. With bait everywhere on the outside, Brent and I would load up and streak back to the backcountry before most or all died from the fresh water. Non stop action ensued. Short lived, but what great action.
With winter at our doorstep, now is the time for all to get those lure ready. Bait will begin there annual migration south leaving no other choice but to fish with schrimp or the tired and true lures. Some folks will not fish during the winter months. When the bait leave their usual haunts, some fisherman will not fish. A mistake for sure. It does take more effort to catch that snook with a lure, but the rewards of "making" old linesider bite that plastic is well worth the extened effort. Doing it the MAN"S way of fishing. Next article will have some hints and help to catch winter fish within the Everlgades National Park, for that matter, any place you might fish with mangrove structure.
Tip of the week......
Hook sharpnest. Diiachi hook's. Keep in mind that sponsorship in not free road. I have to buy my equipment. Although the sponsor's I have do give me a price break, I still let go of some hard earned cash. One other thing, I don't solicit sponsor's for the sake of free material. I have to rely on everything to be of top quaility, if it isn't, you will not find it on my boat. My guest's fish better and the trip is usually more of a success. I have found the Diiachi hooks are of superior quality. In fact they are so sharp the hook will not stick you, but will actually cut. I handle those with respect. Try them. You will increase you hook-up's. |
Capt. Tom Haynes (Capt_tom_haynes)
New member
Username: Capt_tom_haynes
Post Number: 1
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 22, 2003 - 5:29 am: | |
Note: Old computer blew up-New one in place. Have had my share of heart ache with the old machine. Off line for about two weeks. Tired of the snails pace, and now have nothing but lighting under my delft fingers and lighter wallet. And speaking of lightning, that what is all over the place in the Glades. Have had two, maybe three days without the sparks chasing us back to the dock. Don't mine a bit fishing in the rain, does keep you cool, and it does not kill you. Chicken? I'm cock of the walk and not a bit ashamed.
Fishing has steadily improved over the past few weeks. With all of the heat in the water, fishing was best very late and very early. With the days getting shorter and with all of the cloudy conditions, the water has cooled some. Although snook fishing is catch and release, that been just short of great. Reds? Everywhere. Most within the slot. And more than just a few above the slot. Great fun. Trout, what can I say. They are there willing and waiting to take anything presented to them. Most are around the 12 to 18 inchers, but one of every five or so are above 20! Good action and plenty of sport. Something to think about..............Trout are NOT very high on the survival scale after being caught and released. Handle gently and if possible don't handle them at all. Use your needle nose pliers to shake them off the hook. Those fish will have a higher rate of survival for another day.
Tip of the week.................
Another lesson learned. I'm very proud of my equipment. G-Loomis/Shimano combo's all. I never let that equipment go without oiling and cleaning as needed. I don't keep Shimano oil on board. If I see or feel a reel getting noisy, or stiff, it is broken down and cleaned. Period. I had a couple of guys on board last week that insisted on using their own equipment. Ok by me.......Halfway though the day one of reels started making noise. He look at his reel and then to me asking if I had any oil on board. Nope, just WD-40. Never, ever use WD-40 on bearing's with any reel. Most bearings are sealed and WD-40 will penetrate those seals and "wash" away the grease within. Point. Carry extra oil made specifically for the equipment you use. Needless to say I put a small container of oil in my tackle box for just such emergencies.
Had the good fortune to have a camera crew from Sportfishing Magazine/TV show film a show about me and the Everglades. Host for the show was Dean Clarke. We fished for three days and caught more than our fair share. Doing so, it will be worth watching. Great fun with great people. This will be aired in the fall on OLN Network.
Will keep you posted on when. Also will be doing another show in the fall for another Network which I can't announce at present.
Tight lines and be safe.
If you gotta'..................Snook are in season Sept. 1-----
Call.
Capt. Tom Haynes
(813) 973-0774
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Capt. Tom Haynes
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 3:30 am: | |
Subject: Fish Report For April
Just before the cold front at the beginning of April, fishing was just short of spectacular. Had several parties out with results daily in the 20's for the snook. As the reds go, several each on those trips. Was surprised and pleased with those results. As all good thing's, that ended abruptly. With that cold front, the fish sought warmth and solitude. Had to bust my, you know, just to get bait. When the bait god's smiled on me, took same into the back country and did well. Those fish in the back country don't see too much live bait, and when they do, they will not leave it alone. We were back just about as far as my Action Craft 2020 would allow, and fished a run-off. Had several small mullet aboard. Threw those little guys into the main portion of the run off and without hesitation on the part of the fish, hooked and landed several red fish that went over 36 inches! OK you might say, but I'll tell you folks this. Have been fishing the back waters, Wheybac, of the Everglades for many years now. Without a doubt, these were the BIGGEST red fish that this writer has ever caught that deep in the glades. PERIOD. A new and exciting lesson for this old dog to learn. Admitted it also to the guy's on board. I was probably more excited than they were. Some that don't have "my experience" think that is the way it is! Many picture's of those bulls, then released. Those reds, should be goldies, were a very deep gold color indicating that they have been in the back country for some time. Hope I get the chance to see them again. Great fight when they run above 10 pounds. And speaking of fight, no doubt that reds will fight longer and harder than snook, pound for pound, when they get over 6 or 7 pounds.
Trout, when I fish for them during the "slack" time fishing for snook, have been large. They are biting the hard bait, and the bigger ones are taken on medium size white bait. Seems the never fail bait has been the motor oil color scrimp tail fished near the bottom. I have had good results with red head Yo-Zuri crystal minnows. Killer bait in any color. Dark days, darker lures, lighter days, lighter lures.
Outlook..........IF, being a big one, the weather holds, fishing will turn on full force. Bait is another variable that must be contented with. It seems it is around, but it may take a couple of hours, and patience, to chum, chum, and chum some more to get the live well full. They have been running large, scaled sardines, that the pup's (small snook) can't eat readily. I like the busy fishing for snook. But some of the big girls have yet to make it to the mouths of the river's. The spawn is not far away. When the mullet make their appearance, so will the big snook. Redfish will also begin to make an appearance around hard bottom as the summer season approaches. Trout are not as abundant this year as last year. Can't truly explain why. Very few on the flats that are above the slot.
Tip of the week........
With the large white bait as mentioned in the article, I have found that a 5/0 J hook has inproved the hook up's. Usually use a 3/0 Diiachi but with the large bait going to the larger hook is in order. Smaller bait, smaller hooks.
Tight lines and be safe......
Capt. Tom Haynes
813-340-1276 |
Capt. Tom Haynes
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - 3:23 am: | |
Subject: Fish Report For March
Spring has make it's way into the fishing picture. Water temperature is at an unusual high for this time of year. But it does relate to outstanding fishing. Snook have been on the prowl, and are easy target's. (If that is possible.......). Redfish have been on the small side, but this writer feels that the red's, good ones that are over the slot, are just around the corner.
Gotta tell you this. I hate to clean those big one's. (Within the slot........) Tough as sheepshead. Good eat'n for sure, for the customer.
Sharp knives are the order of the day when at the cleaning table. Trout are on the flats in good numbers and when the tides and winds condition are not "just right" for snook and reds, they can be fun if you wish to get the string pulled.
Bait is hit and miss when the winds don't howl. Muddy water drives them off shore, and I have not been able teach myself how to throw the net off a deck that is heaving in four foot swells. Don't plan to do it either. I have a
box full of Yo-Zuri lures that work. That is plan B. Say it again Capt. Tom..........Lure fisherman by heart, live bait by necessity.
Pinellas County gang on board..... Tom Hatton, Rick, and Mike. These guys are experienced fisherman. Got bait and went after them. (Snook is "them").
A period of time lapsed with little results. Just around the corner is a favorite hole of mine that I felt would be good in short order. Well, my favorite hole was invaded by unknown person's. I lowered my head and said the "D" word. Watch those guys beat it up. Or so I thought. They leave. Still waiting for the tide to get "right," lo and behold, within 15 minutes another boat show's up on my hole. MY FISHING HOLE!
Again said the D word, this time twice. They leave. And before the bubbles from the outboard settle from the departing boat, my anchor is on board and by gosh I'm going to sit on that bad boy and wait for things to happen. We
anchor up. Within fifteen minutes, the snook fishing gets out hand. Throw some chum out there and they start. We were out gunned in the beginning.on more than a few. Started them out with ten pound gear, and the horses tore
up that light stuff. Went to my G-Loomis SUR945S with Stratic 6000's spooled with 20 pound test Yo-Zuri line trying to level the playing field. It did.
The big girls came and went. Within an hour we probably caught around 20 to 25 snook, and probably lost 8 to ten that were hooked for a jump or two and were gone, and all of this on the last of the outgoing tide. Great fishing there. And on a hole, MY HOLE, that was pounded twice within two hours. I was so busy that I had to sit by the bait well. Take fish off, cut back frayed leader, retie, rebait, and back they went to the action. We, or they had double's multiple times. Timing is everything! I did fail to say that we kept 3 snook from 28 to 30 inch's. Best eatin size in my opinion. Good guys, and I didn't mine going the extra mile for them. Much fun here, and many laughs!
Tip of the week...
Leader material. (Florocarbon...PERIOD!). Went the bite gets going, been there and done this, show some patience, or should it be, DON"T GET LAZY, cut back the leader material when it begins to show wear, then retie the hook.
It will increase your catch ratio.
If you gotta go...
Capt. Tom Haynes
(813) 340-1276
Tight line and be safe |
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