Big Bites!
Capt. Jim Hobales
September 8, 2011
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Like I wrote in my last report Hurricane Irene got things kicked up and the mullet are moving from north to south. They are coming down the beaches and intercoastal so it really is getting to be "fun time". Tarpon, Snook, Jacks and many more are following,
090411
I am at Flamingo with George Shipley today looking for some big bites! The tides out front this morning are a 4.4 which is really a big tide, but not unusual for Sept.. The winds were S.W at 15 so the crowd was light. I netted some mullet right off the bat and hit a couple spot in front of Flamingo. It didn't take long and we had a Tarpon all over the mullet, the mullet was running for his life and jumping to get away. He did a good job because the Tarpon lost interest so we moved on. Fished right on Cape Sable and had another bite which pulled 100 yards of line then let go. I continued running working top water lures, by now the tide was getting pretty low. George threw at a rolling Tarpon and got a swirl out of it, caught some Trout, Jacks and ladyfish. We still were looking for a big bite and we got it from a very large Snook, which knocked the plug 3 feet into the air. George fished hard and ended up loosing a over slot Redfish at the boat. George never let down and kept casting hooking a few more fish and then it happened a big Snook blew up in front of us. I set up with a good angle at the tree it was on, I explained where the lure had to come thru so the fish could hit it. George made a few good cast and then a monster Snook crushed it! The fish just let go, it could have to do with the SW wind flow. The fish were skittish but we managed a handful of real quality bites, even the Sharks were not eating. George was excited and cant wait to get back out!
090511
I am with Greg Covin today in N. Biscayne Bay, I was worried it would be really crowded because it's Labor Day! I picked Greg up at his home and headed out across the bay. The mullet run has officially started and the bay is full of mullet and it didn't take long before we got onto some mullet being chased by predators. I had Greg casting a "Twitchin Rap" the mullet showered in front of us he cast the lure behind the mullet and got hooked up to a 3 lb Jack. We caught a bunch of Jack and Cuda's and then moved on looking for some Tarpon. We were moving down a shoreline when a bunch of Tarpon rolled in front of us, Greg started casting in their direction. He made a few cast and said look at the Trout behind my lure, I looked down and saw a Redfish! The fish had flared gills which you can't mistake, then the Redfish turned off. I grabbed a Gulp Shrimp and handed it to Greg he cast it right where it needed to be. "I'm on" is all I heard and I thought "my first Biscayne Bay Redfish", then a Snook comes blasting thru the surface. I am thrilled about the Snook but the Redfish haven't been stocked in Biscayne Bay for a long time. Captain Alan Sherman had a couple Redfish in the same area this week so it is very interesting. We got a few more shots at some Tarpon only catching a big mangrove Snapper. We moved on to catch some Trout for Greg's dinner, the next hour was non stop catching. Greg had something eat the "Twitchin Rap" and peel of line,when he got it close to the boat it was another big Mangrove Snapper. We were catching a lot of smaller Trout on the "Twitchin Rap" so I gave him a Gulp Shrimp to try. It didn't take long and he had a 23 inch Trout for dinner. The bite was good and on every cast we both were hooked up. Greg took big Trout and Snapper home for dinner.
Flamingo Fishing Forecast:
things are looking solid fo a good mullet run
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