Fished Flamingo, Key Largo and Biscayne Bay this week
Capt. Jim Hobales
February 23, 2023
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fished Flamingo, Key Largo and Biscayne Bay this week!
I covered a lot of water in the last week. I fished with long time clients Tim and Paul at Flamingo one day Biscayne Bay the next and then Key Largo a couple days later. They caught a bunch of Snook and Tim's first Redfish; I didn't realize he had never caught one before. He advised me of this and within minutes we were hooked up to a nice one, while Paul was telling nonstop stories catching some nice Snook. Lots of by-catch today of Trout and Ladyfish.
A few days later they met me in Key Largo where we were going to fish the reef and then go offshore. We set up in 60 feet and put out a chum block. The area was active with Frigate birds all around and big schools of Ballyhoo get chased by Sailfish. I put out my Ballyhoop net and waited for a few to get netted, it didn't take long, and I had a dozen. I rigged one and put it way out off the stern. The chum was working and Paul was hooked up to a Yellowtail. At the same time the rod with live Ballyhoo started screaming. Tim picked it up and a monster Sailfish came out of the water. While Tim was fighting the Sailfish Ballyhoo were getting showered around the boat and Sails were in them. I put out another bait but then just concentrated on the fish we had on. Tim fought him from an anchored boat for 20-25 minutes. Tim brought up boat side and I grabbed it for pictures, all the while Paul kept fishing for Yellowtails. Great fish while Yellowtail fishing, the Sailfish is a bonus of the inside reefs this time of year.
We decided to go offshore and take a look. There were plenty of weed lines but no Dolphin. We did get in to 3 separate groups of Tunas busting bait but were moving really fast and disappearing.
We ended the day on the reef again and finished up with an assortment of reef fish. This was a great day with good guys!
In between I fished with Brett and his son Owen in Biscayne Bay, we had an incredible day. We started out in Government, I had a LiveWell full of Pilchards thanks to Joe the Bait guy. It was foggy and really no traffic early. We saw one big Tarpon blow up and set up near it. It didn't take but 10 minutes and we had a really big Tarpon eat a Pilchard. Owen picked up the rod and held on while the fish pulled a hundred yards off the reel. We fought it as it started running towards the middle of the Cut. The only problem we had was a big sportfishing boat running right in front of us. We had to free line it and the boat go by but the fish ran back up the ledge cutting us off. We did manage about 20 Snook to 28" and a bunch of Jacks to 8lbs. Pretty good half day!
The temperatures are in the mid 80's and fishing is good. The backcountry giant Tarpon bite should be good thru this weekend. The tides this past week were incredibly low which helped find some fish around the Flamingo area.
Spring break is here I have some openings so pack up the family or buddies and let go catch em! Give me a call at 305 333 8149 for a fun day on the water. I offer trip to Biscayne Bay Flamingo of Key Largo and freshwater for Peacock Bass.
Capt. Jimbo,
305 333 8149
www.caughtlookincharters.com
Instagram@ caught lookin charters
Flamingo Fishing Forecast:
Tarpon time in backcountry!
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