Beginning of April
Capt. Jim Hobales
April 6, 2008
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
The fishing has been good thru March, the one constant we have had is the wind which normally dies @ the 2 week of April. On the days the winds are down and and we can fish around the beaches and Government Cut there have been Tarpon, Permit, Snook and numerous other species. April is the month we switch to Crabs and the Tarpon bite is usually consistent every night. If you have ever read my reports you know I am a big proponent of the Gulp products and during the day they catch fish that Shrimp don't, so use them if you can.
The Tarpon will be everywhere at Flamingo as soon as the wind dies, April and May are when we start to notice them in the Gulf in more than one area. There are still some Tarpon in the Back country but the wind has effected this in a big way. The Snook fishing has been and will be very good no that the water temperatures are back where they like it. The Redfishing is always good but during the next few months it will produce some schools on top of the flats which is what we all love to do and see. The Tripletails will start to show up in the Gulf as well and these are a bonus while Tarpon fishing. Every day and year that goes by I learn new info which in turn I offer to my clients. One of those thing I hope to capitalize on is the Permit I have found for the last 2 years while Tarpon fishing.
040308
I am part of a corporate group trip today, I have James and his wife Linda onboard and we are starting out in Government Cut. The wind is up around 18 knots, we gave the Cut a shot for while but it was a little to much for Linda. James had caught a couple small Snappers and we decided to move to calmer waters. The bay worked out they caught 20 Trout and a few Barracudas.
040408
Today we are doing the other half of the corporate group and I have Troy, Bruce and Larry. The winds are even stronger this morning taking Government Cut out of the picture. I decided with the other captains in the group to run north to the next inlet which was holding a lot of bait and some big Jack Crevalle. I spotted some birds diving on the way up and checked it out, on the first 20 cast the trio of anglers hooked up on Jacks. They kept me busy running from rod to rod unhooking there fish for about 30 minutes, it's cardio fishing at it's best! The Jack bite continues for an hour with a couple big Trout mixed in. I can still here Larry laughing at how incredible it was. we moved to the inlet where Troy had a monster Jack rip the eyelet out of his Rapala X Rap. Troy caught several nice Spanish Mackerel and Bruce had a big Jack hit his plug and come loose. We finished the day Trout fishing catching a handful.
040508
Eric called me and said he wanted to take his 2 young boys Eric and Pete fishing and to concentrate on teaching them and letting them catch all the fish. I said no problem this is a big part of my business! I hate saying this in every report but it was really windy again which in turn muddied up the high water. The tide starts moving 2 hours earlier to the west so that's the direction we headed. I was looking for schools of Trout, Jacks and Ladyfish for these guys to get the feel of catching fish. We worked on casting and then getting a feel for a Gulp jig on the bottom, it don't normally take long for the kids to get it. The fish responded and the Jacks,Trout, Ladyfish and Snappers started coming in the boat as well as the wind gust that continued to get stronger. We ended the day Shark fishing but even the Shark didn't like the wind today. The kids came up and thanked me for a great day without there dad telling them, to this really made my day!
If your thinking about a fishing trip the next few months are great, give me a call if I can help at 305 333 8149.
Let's go catch'em,
Captain Jim Hobales
Flamingo Fishing Forecast:
The winds should being coming down soon!
Target Species:
Tarpon, Snook, Bonefish, Permit, Redfish
More Fishing Reports:
