It's time for another fishing update! Spring is definitely in the air and as I write this report we have just had a cold front fall apart over South Florida and bring us some much needed rain. After months of dry conditions the fishing in South Florida has either suffered or benefited by the lack of rain. In North Biscayne Bay baitfish schools have returned and large roe laden sea trout are feasting on the shrimp and pilchards, sardines and glass minnows that have been holding over many of the grass flats in the bay. Large tarpon have moved back into the bay and can be seen rolling during slick calm mornings, barracudas, jacks, ladyfish a few mackerel, bluefish and snook are available as well. In South Biscayne Bay grouper are starting to vacate the Finger Channels but a few nice fish are still available. Mutton, mangrove, lane and yellowtail snappers can be caught but most are on the small size. Porgies, grunts, large houndfish, barracudas, bluerunners, yellowjacks, bluefish, pompano and a few mackerel will continue to be available into April when water temperatures will send them north. Flamingo will see a change as far as the backcountry goes with freshwater entering the Glades system many of the snook and redfish will start moving closer to the Gulf as they search for saltier water content and then we will see the snook start to school as they prepare to spawn. I expect to see plenty of action in Whitewater and Oyster Bays from large snook, tarpon, redfish, snapper, goliath groupers and spawning sea trout. Much of this action will take place by using Rapala Twitchin Raps, X Raps, ¼ ounce Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp shrimp, pogies and jerk baits plus the new baits by Trigger X. Cajun Thunders with small baitfish suspended from the cork will get plenty of bites as well. The month of March and April normally provides South Florida with lots of wind and that makes fishing the backcountry a perfect fit for March and April with all of the protected shorelines. The Everglades Conservation Areas have seen falling water levels and that has sparked some of the best Freshwater fishing for largemouth bass, warmouth and shellcrackers. The low water on the flats pushes all of the bigger fish into the canal systems making them easy targets for freshwater fishermen. I have recently fished that area and am having some exciting all day action.
Recent Catches:
Today the wind is blowing a good 20 to 25 miles per hour but we are in the Finger Channels of South Biscayne Bay and the water is much calmer here. I have Joe, and Ava and there children Noah and Sophie out for a ¾ day and by the days end the family had landed Spanish mackerel, pompano, lots of snapper and grouper and porgies using live shrimp fished on the bottom and shrimp fished under a Cajun Thunder.
Back in the Finger Channels today fishing a 4 hr. charter with Jay, Benjamin, Joseph and Arie of New York! The first spot is active but we catch only one nice mackerel after loosing at least six others but for the rest of the trip fishing another two spots the catch ratio increases and the grand total is 57 snapper, grouper, jacks, porgies, grunts and mackerel.
Once again we are in the Finger Channels on a half day morning trip. I have Caesar and his three year old son Francisco onboard. The first spot is a bit slow but Francisco scores first with a two pound bluefish. Time to move on! Fishing a few spots the guys catch a bunch of small yellowtail, mangrove and mutton snappers plus a few groupers and porgies.
Changing things up a bit today and I am fishing with Stew out of the Sawgrass Recreation Park for largemouth bass. We are casting Rapala plugs and soft plastic worms attached to a Mustad worm hook. We got out late and it's a full moon and the fish are slow to hit our baits. Plenty of panfish are striking all around us but we only manage a little over a dozen bass plus many warmouth, gars and mudfish. We did see a few bass over five pounds on the flats but they saw us first and spooked. The wildlife was unbelievable with gators everywhere, ibis, rosette spoonbills and storks always nearby.
I have Joel, Steve and Dana, Steve's daughter in South Biscayne Bay fishing in the Finger Channels. Our first stop Joel connects with a two pound mackerel that ate a shrimp on a Hook Up lure and its time to move on. For the next five hours the group catches loads of bluerunners, snappers, porgies, grouper, bluefish and grunts while fishing live shrimp hooked to a 2/0 short shank Mustad hook on the bottom.
I have Steve, Jay and Bryan in Flamingo today and I am excited about fishing in the backcountry with them. The wind is blowing and I hope to recreate some of the great action we had in some of the protected bays we fished last year. Unfortunately as fishing goes things don't always work out as you would like and after hitting lots of shorelines, channels and rivers our catch included a few small snook, a few sea trout, lots of ladyfish, a few jacks, snapper and catfish. A slow tough day! We did see a pair of eagles fly over head so not a bad day after all!
Back in the Finger Channels with David G and David C and David C's daughter Pia for a four hour charter. The fishing today is a bit slow but the group did manage to catch grouper to 18 inches, lots of mutton snappers, grunts and a porgy.
I have David C on board again and his daughter Pia and we are in Sawgrass Recreation Park looking for largemouth bass. The weather is beautiful and the alligators and birds are everywhere. Fish are popping on the surface and Pia starts casting a small plastic worm that she quickly catches some small bass on. David is looking for the 10 pounder and changing lures often when while using a Pop R he gets a nice surface strike and connects with a two pound largemouth. His next cast a nice bulge appears next to the lure and he hooks up with a four and a quarter pound bass. For the next four hours they catch dozens of bass smaller then the four pounder plus lots of cichlids and panfish plus a gar and a mudfish.
Last up is Gene and his brother Frank. Frank is down from Massachusetts on vacation. When I get to the boat ramp in North Biscayne Bay it is raining so hard you can't see the buildings of downtown Miami. I call the guys to see if they want to reschedule but they are determined to get the day in. I don my Columbia foul weather gear and they theirs and off we go. The rains subside and the wind lies down and we start the day targeting sea trout. In the first spot we quickly release three 14 inch fish using shrimp under a Cajun Thunder and Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp shrimp and Trigger X shrimp when Frank hooks something a little bigger. It's a tarpon in the 60 to 70 pound class on the eight pound trout rod. The fish goes balistic and starts jumping and running and Frank can't keep up with it and lets his brother Gene takes over. For the next 20 minutes it's a give and take battle but were gaining on the fish. The tarpon changes course and heads for a tidal rip that has a lot of floating grasses on it. The grasses fowl the line and as I am clearing the line the line raps around the tip and the fish lunges and the thread like line breaks. Once we compose ourselves we get back to fishing. The winds pick up but the guys managed to catch a bunch of trout to just over three pounds plus a few barracudas and jacks.
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
Well that catches us up for now.
Give me a call and let's go fishing!
786-436-2064
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.
Check out my new web site and see the monthly catches and pictures.
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Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
786 436 2064
shermana@bellsouth.net
www.getemsportfishing.com