Late summer and fall fishing should continue providing strong, steady action inshore. There has been a lot of concern over the Gulf oil spill recently however; the fishing has been great. The waters have been teaming with fish from Flamingo to Biscayne Bay. Summer has had a great variety of all-around action. Snapper, trout, bonefish, redfish, tarpon, shark, and permit fishing has been good. As we move through to the fall the bite should remain just as good and even improve as we start to see the mullet migration and gradual temperature changes. I think the beginning of the fall is one of the best times to fish of the year. Fishing should only get better and better as temperatures and climate starts to change. In the meanwhile I would suggest flats fishing Flamingo flats and cuts for redfish, trout, and snapper. Biscayne Bay flats fishing should continue to be awesome for bonefish and permit. Later on when the mullet start moving and the shrimp-the tarpon will start eating well again. But you will never know if you don't go.
Favorite Flamingo baits include the Gulp shrimp or Fishbites products. I also like to use weedless spoons this time of year due to the vegetation and because they can be cast far and easy to use. Biscayne Bay baits for this time are still the standard staple; shrimp and crabs. Bring a shiny plug for the barracuda. And some sharp hooks and split shot for the flats.
Below is a narrative my oldest son, Ariel wrote about his fishing experience this summer:
My name is Ariel Cabrera and I like to go fishing with my dad, Capt. Ariel, on the boat. I like to fish bonefish on the flats. The flats are shallow with green grass and blue waters. Fishing is fun. To catch these bonefish you can use a regular fishing rod or a fly fishing rod. My dad's been teaching me how to use the fly rod. It's easy. The bone fish are camouflaged in these green grasses. If you want to use a fly rod to catch these bonefish you can use a fly. I make flies at my dad's house with different types of fur. Which is like deer, hog, and cow fur. My dad is a captain and I like what he does. He does surveys and takes people fishing. This summer I went to a tournament with my dad and his friends. On their big boat I got sea sick. My dad's friend Juanito is a cook and he brought Cuban- style lechon and we ate it on the boat he was the cook on board. The tournament was in south Miami Beach; it was the Monica Burguera tournament. We caught dolphin and triple tail using the flies my dad made. The dolphins we caught were 7 or 8 pounds. The triple tail was like 6 pounds. We found pieces of wood flowing on the water the wood had barnacles and under the wood there was the dolphin and the triple tail we caught three dolphins and one triple tail. My dad caught many dolphins with a fly rod. We got runner up to first place and my dad's friends were very happy we got a trophy. After we finished fishing we went to Miami Yacht Club to show the people the fish we caught. When we got there we put the fish in the cooler and took it to the place where they weight them. We showed the fish to the people and they put the score of the fish. We ate fish and different dishes. Then we left and had a good day. It was a good experience.
