Tarpon on Miami Beach!
Capt. Jim Hobales
January 31, 2010
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
012910
This morning I am fishing with Stu, his wife Nicky and 5 year old son Nelson from Connecticut. They are staying on Key Biscayne and Nelson wants to catch fish. I really would of liked to take them to Government Cut for Tarpon but it was breezy and they just wanted Nelson to catch fish.We didn't do aything fancy,I just anchored up in the finger channels put out a chum bag and let Nelson wear himself out on fish. Nelson caught a Snapper, Grunt and a Blue Runner on his first 3 cast all by himself which caught me off guard. At 5 yrs old he felt the bite and started winding in his line with out any help, I have had adults that couldn't do that so I was impressed. We bounced around the Stiltsville area and caught plenty of species Mutton, Mangrove and Lane Snappers, Groupers more Grunts.Stu and Nicky got in on the action and caught there fair share of fish as well. Nicky finally looked at me and said he's had enough let's go.
1200 noon,
I dropped them off and had a few hours before my afternoon Tarpon trip, I stopped in Government Cut and now I wished I would of come here in the morning. It was a little sporty with the outgoing tide and 15 mph S.E. wind but the fish were biting. I was dropping down with a Gulp Shrimp and bouncing it on the bottom where I was marking big schools of Snappers. I caught a couple Snappers and then a big bight which I missed, I let the bait fall back down and caught a 7 lb Gag Grouper. I released it and then had another couple Groupers and then the Mangrove bite turned on and jumped a Tarpon. I was having a blast the Mangroves were 14 -17 inches, its all about the hit and the Snapper trying to stay in the rocks. I catch plenty of Tarpon while playing with the Snappers. It was time to go I had an hour and a half to go get a bowl of chowder at Shuckers on the Bay and meet Steve for our afternoon trip.
It's 4 PM and I picked up Steve Singer from Minnesota and we are headed out onto Miami Beach for Tarpon. I put out my Jumbo shrimp and dragged them into the 1-2 foot waves while I had Steve casting a lure off the bow. On our second drift Steve had back to back Tarpon hits, the first caught him by surprise but on the second one he was waiting. The fish hit hard and made a long run but threw the hook. It hard to explain the look of disappointment on his face! I said it's early we'll get another chance and shortly after we did. This time he stuck the Tarpon good and it was off to the races. Steve help on for a while but the big Tarpon wore thru the 60 lb leader when he jumped. We stayed out for another hour without any bites so we called it a night and Steve will be back tomorrow.
013010
Steve is itching to go he me at called at 830 a.m. wanting to go. The winds were strong and I told him we would be better off in the afternoon when the wind switched to the s.w. plus I had to fix a bilge pump that broke the night before. I met Steve and his buddy Sheldon at 2 PM at Haulover marina and ran down to Government Cut. I rigged up a couple Gulp Shrimp and started bouncing the bottom, it was right at the tide shift to incoming which can be great for Tarpon. There was no boat traffic because it was nasty but we had some protection from the jetty. The Gulp's weren't getting hit so I switched to live Shrimp and on the first drop Sheldon hooked up a nice mangrove. He got hit on the first 4 drops with shrimp finally Steve said give me a Shrimp too! They caught a bunch of Snappers and Sheldon hooked a big Grouper which got a standing ovation from the people on a passing cruise ship which was pretty cool. I said it time to go Tarpon fishing which I know Steve was ready for. I set up for our first drift, I put out the baits and waited while I had them casting lures. Steve got hooked up but it was only a Blue Runner, he was anxious. Steve has fish all over North America and has never caught a Tarpon. As we drifted along I noticed the Shrimp rod dip a bit, Steve started reeling and it was a big Cero Mackerel. The next bite was not a normally Tarpon hit but the fish was up in the and threw the hook before we could react. I told Steve maybe they are turning on ! It was about 5 minutes later and the Shrimp got hit, the fish was running. Steve picked up the rod and started to reel and the Tarpon made a big jump Steve was in heaven. The fish pulled,ran and jumped for the next 15 minutes, Steve fought the 45 lb. Tarpon next to the boat where I lipped it and took some photos. Steve was happy he finally got his Tarpon! That was all he wanted and we called it a night.
The moon was just starting to rise and there was a possibility of more but they had to meet there wives for dinner.
It will be good this week with the full moon and a little front pushing thru. The shrimp could run and the Tarpon will feast when that happens
Flamingo Fishing Forecast:
Full moon and cold front could produce shrimp run which will have Tarpon feeding.
Target Species:
Tarpon!
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