Fishing good considering heat index!
Capt. Jim Hobales
August 16, 2011
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
081211
I am in Marco island area pre fishing for tomorrows Backwater series tournament with partner Paul. We started out near the ramp throwing top water plugs we had a bunch of small Redfish in the area and they really like the top water lures. We did this until around 12 o'clock an then we had to catch some bait for the next day.
081311
The take off for the tournament was out of Caloosa Marina in Goodland, I am with partners Paul and Mitch. We had a 55 mile run south and we buckled down and ran the Pathfinder as hard as we can. It took roughly 90 minutes and we were treated to perfect conditions, it was calm with very low water perfect for the top water bite. It didn't take long and both Paul and Mitch were hooking Redfish one after another but they were small. We had a couple good misses and then a few Snook, I was really optimistic we were going to get a couple big ones. Mitch hooked a good one but it ended up being an inch over, then Paul lost the best one we hooked all ay to a tree. The fishing was excellent 25 Redfish, 5 Snook to 15 lbs and a 70 lb Tarpon hook up all by 9 A.M. We had to move around a bit but continued to catch at least 1 Redfish at each spot, unfortunately we didn't get enough weight today. This Backwater tournament series is in it's 3rd year and is plenty of fun and really completive.
081411
I am with Barry and his dad Pete today from Russsia at Flamingo, I told them about the bite we were on yesterday and decided to make a long run north in the Gulf of Mexico. We got in the area and there was plenty of action going on, first cast Pete caught a decent size Mangrove Snapper. We had ladyfish schools busting bait and Redfish and Snook swimming around,. Barry had a nice Redfish hit his top water lure but let go. We teased the big Lemon Sharks and then would pull the lure away after they swirled and smashed it. We saw a bunch of Redfish on the shore lines but were unable to hook up. We netted some Mullet and had one really good Snook bite. The tide started to get to high and we moved trying to bend the rods. We caught Ladyfish, Trout, Jacks, Redfish, Snappers and a few really big Sharks.
081511
I am with Benoit, Benjamin and John today from France, I really thought today was going to be the day. We started out trying to catch mullet but they were tough and only netted 1. I ran down Snake Bite channel and put out the Mullet while they bounced Gulps off the bottom. It didn't take long before the first Tarpon hit themullet and knocked him out of the water. We watched for a minute or so,but the mullet was in trouble. The Tarpon backed off and eventually the mullet was eaten by a Shark. We found some really nice 100 lb tarpon laid up (floating just below the surface). We quitely and slowly moved in on them but as soon as we were in casting range a storm moved in our direction and chopped up the water so bad we couldn't see them. We did hook a bunch of Sharks during this time as we waited for the storm to pass. Once it cleared we got up on the edge of a flat and watched Tarpon bust mullet, we had a couple shots at them but they seemed to only want mullet. We had a school of Redfish mudding on the flat,Benjamin made a good cast and caught a 30 plus inch fish. We continued to chase the Tarpon with out any hits. The full moon and heat may have had a part in the way they were feeding. We ended up the day with Redfish, Snappers, Trout, Jacks, Ladyfish, and Sharks.
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