Summer is here in South Florida and our draught has definitely come to an end. Water temperatures are rising and the summer pattern is taking a grip on South Florida. Recent stormy conditions and west winds that are more normal in the fall and the winter has confused our fishery a bit but the action remain good in all of our fishing locations.
North Biscayne Bay has had a lot of freshwater runoff from our recent rains. Areas near the salinity dams have become very brackish and some spots I fish near these dams are not producing many fish at all. Sea trout have cooperated on one flat while being nowhere to be found on others. Large jack crevalles have been in the Bay but have eluded my clients on recent bay trips. Snook are on some shorelines and in and around Haulover and Government Cut inlets for catch and release. Ladyfish can be caught around many of the bridges late in the day and at night. Mangrove snappers have invaded the bay although most are on the small size but that's because when the snappers reach their minimum size limit and that is 10 inches from tip of tail to their nose they get kept and never get a chance to grow to a respectable size. Tarpon have been around the ocean inlets along with spawning snook and a few permits but biting only in the early mornings and late afternoons except for some that have cooperated at night around the dock lights and bridges. There have been snook, lots of small jacks and some snappers under the dock lights but one homeowner welcomes you and others calls the cops on you. As long as you don't touch the homeowners' property you are within your rights to fish the water under the lights.
Offshore we have had a mixed bag on the days that I could get offshore. Kingfish to 12 pounds, lots of bonitos, barracudas and lots of triggerfish and jacks. Recently every time I have had a chance to target dolphins they have been too far offshore for me to target them on a four hour charter.
Flamingo is the BEST BET once again and will continue to be so through September! Unfortunately I have not gotten much interest in this charter trip mostly due to the drive by car to the park, the fear of mosquitoes and deer flies and the heat. For those that have made the trip to Flamingo they have been rewarded by the sightings of bald eagles, manatees, bottle nosed dolphins, sea turtles, large sharks, alligators and crocodiles. Just this past Monday three crocodiles were sunning themselves at the inside boat ramp at Flamingo. Check my web site for the pictures. Snook are schooled up in Florida Bay and along the Gulf shorelines and into Whitewater Bay. Redfish are on top of the flats and along the sides of the channels in Florida Bay along with jack crevalles, snappers, ladyfish, tarpon and sharks. Along the Gulf shorelines besides the snook are sawfish, goliath groupers, snappers and redfish. Out in the Gulf and along the Parks boundary lines cobia, permit, tripletail and mackerel can be caught. This is an all day fishery.
RECENT CATCHES:
Today I have Paul on the boat again with his son in law David and David's boys Sam and Zach. After catching enough bait we head offshore. This is a late afternoon trip and we head offshore in hopes of getting one of the blackfin tunas that have been feeding off of Haulover. Again we get lots of strikes and miss a lot of the fish to cut offs and slashed baits but do manage to release a bunch of bonitos of which one we were sure was a tuna after it ran almost all the line off the 10 pound spinning outfit. The boys also landed a nice kingfish plus a few remoras before we headed back in.
Back on the water today with Aryl his wife Patricia and friend Ahmad. We are fishing from three to 9 PM and it is pretty hot when we hit the Bay so I suggest we try offshore but they want to fish inshore for trout and snook. Our first snook spot produces only barracudas so we head offshore to see what we can come up with. Things are slow to start but we do miss a couple of fish before hooking a nice fish that fights Ahmad real hard. After 30 minutes of battling the unknown fish on 10 pound spin we see what looks like a 30 pound kingfish. Soon we have the fish to boat side and it's a 20 pound barracuda that we get some quick pictures of before we release the fish. On our next drift we get some nice hits and loose the fish on the run and then head in to do some inshore fishing. We hit a favorite trout spot that is loaded with mullet. I am excited about the amount of nervous baitfish on the flat but at first the fishing is very slow but finally the trout start to find our baits fished under a Cajun Thunder float and we land over a half dozen trout in the 17 to 22 inch range before the sun sets and we try our luck at the snook or tarpon that might be holding under the lights. We hit two lights and see some big snook but there are so many small jacks under the lights that we can't get our baits to the snook so we call it a night.
Today I have two charters with the first one being with Gordon who is from Virginia. He just wants to bend a fishing rod so I take him to the Inlet where I have seen quite a few tarpon rolling in the mornings. I have some crabs on board and we put two out and in no time Gordon is hooked up to a nice fish. The fish doesn't jump so I suspect it might be a large jack or a permit. After a 25 minute battle we get the fish to boat side and take a few pictures before releasing a beautiful 24.5 pound permit. We make another drift but no luck so head offshore to see what we can find. We make a drift in 100 feet of water and hook up two nice fish but one cut through our leader and the other throws the hook. I had mentioned dolphin to Gordon and he wanted to see if we might find some so offshore we head. After searching for a while and seeing nothing we run out of time and head on in.
Next up is Stuart and his grandson Stuart. We start at 6 PM and try the tarpon at the Inlet but no takers and move inshore where we hope to get snook under the dock lights. I have larger baits tonight. Baits that I hope the jacks won't be interested in and the snook will. Our first light produces one strike and young Stuart hooks a small tarpon. We get a few nice jumps and a nice run but the line breaks and no more hits under this light so we move to the next. At this light there are a few nice snook but lots of jacks and all of the fish are tuned into the small shrimp and baitfish that the current is sweeping by the light. Everything we throw gets eaten by the jacks so we move on. The next spot the homeowners are not happy that we are fishing their light so we move on to the next. Here we see some more snook but once again the small jacks won't give the snook a chance at the bait so we head to our last spot. Here we see fish hitting baits all around us and we get some great strikes but can't hook them. Finally the Stuarts are hooking fish and they are jumping. Ladyfish! After catching their fill we head in.
Last up is my wife Dana, my son Zach and daughter Courtney. No one wants to fish Flamingo so I take them to the Park. We get a late start and the wind is blowing out of the west northwest at a steady 15 to 20. Not a great condition and I am starting to wonder if this was a bad idea but a day on the water is great but one with my family the best regardless of what we catch! Our first spot is in a channel with a shallow flat on both sides of us. We just turn the engine off and we have small tarpon all around us. I hook a nice fish on a Hook Up lure tipped with a Gulp shrimp and it turns into being a 5 pound jack crevalle. We get a lot of strikes but keep missing the fish. I watch a tarpon turn and hit my Hook Up lure but the fish misses the hook and it's over. We move on. At our next spot a manatee swims right by the boat and a bald eagle lands on a tree on the island next to us but we get no real good hits and are on the move to locate some baitfish. After netting a bunch of ballyhoo, pinfish and finger mullet we head for the next spot. I release a snook on a Hook Up lure and then Zach and I both hook up with Hook Up lures tipped with a ballyhoo. We have double header sawfish. This is unheard of. These fish are related to the ray family and are scarce and protected so we get a few quick pictures and release them. We continue to work the shoreline and catch one snook after another plus a few snappers, ladyfish and jacks. Courtney and my wife are catching snook on Cajun Thunders and live baits. Courtney spots something next to a tree stump and it's a goliath grouper with its head down near the bottom. The fish is trying to root out a lobster or crab and all you can see is his tail. We try and catch the fish but he spooks and it's time to head in. On the way in we see a few tripletails that won't eat and a group of bottle nosed dolphins jumping. At the boat ramp we encounter three American crocodiles out of the water lying on the hot asphalt. Check out my web site to see the pictures.
Well that's how this past week went and you can clearly see the possibilities that South Florida has to offer fishermen during the summer.
Well that catches us up for now!
Give me a call and let's go fishing!
786-436-2064
Check out my new web site and see your monthly catches and pictures.
www.getemsportfishing.com
Check out my report in the Miami Herald's Sports section under Fishing Updates each Thursday, the Florida Sportsman Magazines South Florida Internet Fishing Report (www.floridaspotsman.com), my monthly Action Spotter Fishing Report for the South Region in the Florida Sportsman Magazine each month or tune into the Florida Sportsman Magazines Live Radio Show on 1080 WMCU on the AM dial or listen on the internet at www.1080wmcu.com every Saturday morning from 7 to 8 AM and here the up to the minute fishing forecasts from some of the top Capt.'s in South Florida like Capt. Jimbo Thomas on the Thomas Flyer, Capt. Bouncer Smith on Bouncers Dusky, Capt Skip Bradeen on the Blue Chips Too out of Whale Harbor Marina, Capt. Wayne Conn on The Reward Fleet, and more.
I have recently been wearing a lot of Columbia Sports Wear on my fishing charters and the new Blood & Guts shirts are amazing. I have had mackerel, cobia and snook just splatter me with blood and one good washing and the shirts are as good as new. Check out their web site at www.columbia.com
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Mustad, Ande Lines, Pure Fishing, Gulp, Berkley, Precision Tackle, Cajun Thunders, Capt. Hank Brown's Hook Up Lures, Hydro Glow Lights, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Saltwater Assassins, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida, Power Pole, Stow Master Nets, superfishlight.com, Columbia Wear
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Flamingo is the Best Bet for the Next few Months but early mornings and late afternoons and calm days will bring great fishing in North Biscayne Bay and offshore!
Target Species:
Snook, Tarpon, Redfish, Cobia, Kingfish, Dolphins, Permit, Sharks
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
www.getemsportfishing.com
Host of Florida Sportsman Radio Live/South
786-436-2064
