 Once again its time for my fishing update.
After yet another strong cold front water temperatures have dropped a bit but will quickly start to rise since another cold front is not due till next week. Spring is just around the corner and many migratory species will slowly start heading north for the next three months. Mackerel have already started to show up in Biscayne Bay and soon the big jacks, ladyfish, bluefish, pompano and cobias will follow. Snook are starting to think about relocating in areas that they will spawn and in Flamingo a more spring pattern has already started in the backcountry an area that I explored a lot with great success last year. South Biscayne Bay continues to provide lots of actions and on my last trip in that area we caught three different kinds of jacks to six pounds on light tackle in just one spot. Yellow jacks, bluerrunners and jack crevalles. Snapper, grouper, mackerel and a large houndfish added to that day’s action. North Biscayne Bay continues to produce lots of sea trout but very soon we will start seeing the spawning trout that are large and fat. Catching trout to 6 pounds in March, April and May is a real possibility and many of these fish will be caught on Rapala Twichin Raps, Skitter Walks and X Raps along with the ¼ ounce Hook Up lure tipped with either a Gulp shrimp or pogy. The Cajun Thunder fished with live pilchards a baitfish that will start moving back over the grass flats as water temperatures rise above 75 degrees will catch the bigger trout plus the snook, tarpon, jacks and bluefish that will be chasing the baitfish schools. Large tarpon continue to be targeted at night, early mornings and just before sunset in and around Haulover Inlet and government Cut.
Flamingo in Everglades National Park will start to bloom as water temperatures start rising look for snook, redfish and tarpon to be hot items on the flats, shorelines and creek and river mouths. Pompano, mackerel, bluefish and cobias are available and can be targeted during half the day and then the inshore species can be targeted during the second half of the day. Large sea trout will be loaded on the flats and eager to eat surface plugs.
Recent Catches:
Last week started out with two back to back four person charters to Flamingo in Everglades National Park. The weather was a bit windy but warm and partly cloudy and on the first day and this trip was a short four hour charter. Our first spot was non stop action with a trout, ladyfish or jack hitting our live baits and Hook Up lures on every cast. A few mackerel and bluefish were beating the other fish to the lures every now and then. Since the charter was a short one I was eager to try our luck at the pompano, cobia and tripletail that we had encountered a few days earlier. Unfortunately the water was a bit choppy in the Gulf and the first spots I checked out already had been hit by other fishermen so we moved on. We fished a spot that had been producing black drum, redfish and snook but the spot was dead and with little time remaining we turned to the flats and finished the day with more trout, jacks and ladyfish.
The second four person charter was a full day and after a late start we headed to the same lat that produced so well the day before. The fish were there again and the guys loaded up on trout, jacks, ladyfish a nice pompano and a few mackerel before we went looking for bigger fish. On the way out to the Gulf every spot we tried was just dead and it wasn’t till we anchored in 10 feet of water and started chumming that we began to get some action again. A flurry of mackerel ended quickly and after boating a six pounder, some jacks and sharks we moved on. Ever spot that I hoped to catch redfish or snook was dead and we finished the day with lots of trout, jacks and ladyfish.
Today I am in South Biscayne Bay with John and his dad Frank. We have a short day to fish and a cold front is on its way. Winds are blowing at 15 to 20 out of the south but that is good for this area. The dirtier water seems to get the fish going here and in no time we are into a short mackerel bite that lets us land a six pounder and lose a few fish to miss strikes and a spit hook at the boat. Our next spot produces at least 8 porgies to five or ix pounds, mutton and mangrove snappers and a grunt before we move on. We have time for one more spot and within minutes of anchoring and chumming a small grouper and some more mutton snappers come over the rail. Frank gets a big hit and after a nice fight his fish turns into a beautiful yellow jack. For the next forty minutes the guys hook a bluerunner, yellow jack or jack crevalles on every cast plus a large houndfish and its back to the barn just as the rains start.
If your in the Miami area for the next few weekends head over to Outdoor World in Dania and check out the fine line of Hook Up lures, Mustad hooks, Berkley Gulp baits and Rapala lures during their Spring Classic and then on the weekend of March 19th – 22nd at the Dania Jai Alai parking lot in Dania.
Well that catches us up for now.
Give me a call and let's go fishing!
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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