Fishing report, Biscayne Bay night tarpon
Capt. Bob LeMay
March 30, 2009
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
This past week the night scene in Biscayne Bay varied from good to "on fire"... after a long cold winter it's about time. Although the water temps have finally warmed enough the weather all week long was difficult. In fact we fished in high winds all week, the kind of weather where only sheltered waters offered any chance of fishing at all. Fortunately, this time of year, that's where all the small (and lots of not so small) tarpon can be found hanging in the shadows under one bridge or another.
I started the week on Sunday night with Thorne Sparkman, the founder of Reel-Time.com, the first internet saltwater flyfishing magazine. It was his first night trip with me and the fish were just on fire... The plan was to work small tarpon next to Miami Beach and the fish were just a bit bigger than expected. His second or third cast was taken by a 70 to 80lb fish that just exploded on the fly. One small problem, I had him using an 8wt rod.... We had that fish on for a few minutes of wild action, then the fish turned and ran back through a set of pilings where my skiff couldn't follow. The end result was a lost fly line (a new one...) and the loss of about 100 feet of backing. After retiring my 8wt, we went to the 9 and every fish was a lot bigger than the usual 20 to 40 lbs, most were 60 and above. After three or four more fish jumped the 9wt. needed a new stripping guide so it was retired as well. By evening's end all I had left was a 10 and an 11wt. By the end of the five hour trip Thorne had jumped just about a dozen fish that ranged from 30 to almost 80lbs, getting three to the boat. Here's a photo of one fish...
The next two nights it was Cris Meyer with a different son each night. The plan was to fish the same spots with Dad on the fly rod and his sons using spinning gear. The fish were a bit more difficult the first night with Cris jumping a few, and breaking a new Orvis rod on a fish, then his son Andy hooking up on his first tarpon. It was a thirty pound fish on 10lb spinning gear using a lure and it was the perfect first fish since it ran through the bridge and fought in open water. Here's Andy...
From the photo you can see he's ready to attend Michigan next year... The next night went much the same except that Cris went on to jump some nice fish using one of my rods. Here he is fighting one of about fifty pounds...
By the end of the evening it was seven fish airborne and four to the boat.
After a few days off I was back on the water Friday and Saturday nights with Ken Hawkins who flew down just for some late night silver. Ken's a very experienced fly angler who brings his own tarpon flies (they're quite different from what I usually tie, and deadly effective). Since the night fish are tide sensitive, each night started at midnight and ended at 5Am. If you're serious about fishing at night being on the water when the tide is right makes all the difference... Once again it was high winds but lots of fish. The photos tell the story...
Once again many fish were in the 40 to 70lb range, we stuck with a 10wt rod and it was the right gear. We had everything from fish that wouldn't jump to fish that rocketed back through sets of concrete pilings... it was pretty hectic at times. The night fish do it all...
Starting next week from the 5th of April for about four days that night tide will start early in the evening
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