We're in full summer mode now, bookings have dropped off and I'm spending more time in my shop than on the water... Our last booking was on Saturday out of Flamingo with David and Benny Stefan from Maryland and Connecticut. Since there was a tournament out of Flamingo that day we ran the other way to get away from all the boat traffic, heading up north towards the Highland Beach area. Our second stop on the way resulted in a great hook up on a tarpon of about fifty lbs on light spinning gear. Since David was using 10lb spin with a 30lb leader and a small jig the outcome was never in doubt. That fish did run off at least half a spool of line, though, before wearing through the leader. The Gulf coast of the 'Glades this time of year is always full of surprises... that tarpon came from a snook spot with a lot of downed trees.
As we worked our way north we caught and released trout, snook, and small triple tail -- but the sharks seemed to be doing better than we were. We lost more than one fish to a huge explosion... the sharks seemed to be at more than one of the spots we hit, just waiting for us to hook something... Finally we found a small creek just as the tide was dead high. We got our best fish of the day there, a redfish that measured 26" and weighed nearly 8lbs on the Boga Grip. David nearly lost him to a shark as well but we managed to get the fish to the boat before it was shark food. At that same spot Benny hooked more than a few toothy critters, both lemon and bull sharks - his biggest to date. We ended the day with a short foray offshore to a spot that held at least one large jewfish, maybe more. Since the fish there really took us to school it would be hard to be sure if it was only one fish or they were tag-teaming us. A good indicator of how we fared was that our heaviest gear with 250lb leader wasn't enough. Anything that can pop a leader that size is probably too big for any gear I'll have aboard... At the end of the day it was a long run back towards Flamingo but the "instant air conditioning" made it relaxing. Here's two photos from the trip...
As you can see David is just a bit bigger than the guide...
One very nice red and in the slot so we invited him home for dinner...
**minor commercial plug** Since this time of year I'm doing a lot of shop work for shops, local anglers, and other guides... it's been a mix of fly tying and lure making each day at home.... Here's a pic of part of one of my bucktail orders....
Fifty 1/4oz backcountry bucktails, ready for packaging.
Here's a tip for anyone buying bucktails or lead heads for plastic tails. After you figure out what style heads you're looking for, find the right weight then look for heads with the strongest hooks. Lures with the strongest hooks are a bit more but well worth it for the salt...
Tight Lines
Bob LeMay
(954)435-5666