Good Tarpon action!
Capt. Jim Hobales
February 12, 2011
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
020311
I am with Gary and Jim tonight looking for Tarpon up out of Haulover Inlet. We got out early and it was slow it stayed that way until we got our first hit @ 8 PM. We had a big Tarpon on, it hit and ran for a long time. Jim had the rod and was ready for pursuit as the Tarpon jumped 150 yards from the boat and spit the circle hook. Lost fish, awesome run! We set up again hoping they were going to turn on but no such luck. I decided to move to the inlet and that's where our luck changed. On our first drift thru we caught a 15 lb Snook, then the next 5 drifts produced Tarpon and a smaller Snook. The tide quit on us so we called it a night.
020411
Roger and his buddie Tom had to drive from N.Y. to N. Carolina to catch a flight down here because of the heavy snow fall. The great part is when they got here the sun was out and it was low 80's. We started out for Tarpon in Government Cut and caught some Groupers, Grunts, Mackerel's while the Tarpon rolled and busted all around us. We worked hard all day for a Tarpon but the just didn't bite. We decided to go inside the bay and bend the rods for a while. We got into a mixed bite of 3 lb Jacks, Cudas and Trout to 20 inches for the last 2 hours on almost every cast.
020411
I am with Bob Werger and his Brother's Ken and Ron who flew in from Green Bay. It was cool and windy in the morning so we launched on the Whitewater Bay side. We fished the the north east corner of the bay waiting for the sun to help warm the water. We caught a few small Snook and had a few Redfish mixed in. We were waiting for the Tarpon to turn on with the warming of day and they did. Bob had one swirl on his lure but he had a tangle in his line so missed that one, shortly after he had a good 40 pounder jumping wildly. The Tarpon fought hard and threw the lure. We caught a few more Snook with Bob catching a 31 incher. Ken had a big fish swirl and eat his lure but missed it, that's when had some big fish roll in front of us. Ken cast his lure out in front the rolling fish, the next thing you know he's hooked up to a 90 lb Tarpon. Ken fought the fish for 45 minutes and eventually got it boat side for pictures. The Jacks, Ladyfish and Trout were pretty thick as well.
021011
I am part of a 2 boat trip with a couple really good guys from Quebec, we got out early and there was absolutely nothing going on. As a guide this scares you but you learn to be patient. It was windy and sloppy and most of the boats that were fishing Government Cut had moved somewhere else. Like I said I'm patient! The tide slowed and the Cut got calm and I heard the magical sound, it was the sound of a Tarpon popping a shrimp on the surface. This usually means its on and today was no different. We moved back to where they were popping and immediately hooked up with a 65 pound fish on 15 lb. spinning tackle. It took about 30 minutes and we got the fish up for a couple photos, back to the spot and went to heavier tackle. We hooked up again this time a double but both fish jumped off. I got back into position and on the next pass we hooked a 30 lb Tarpon, this one on heavier tackle which came in quickly. We hooked several more but the tide quit and it got cold.
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