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Miami - Haulover to Fowey Light
Capt. Dean Panos
April 24, 2001
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
4/2401
WOW!
Between the Miami Billfish Tournament two weeks ago and the Coco Plum Sailfish Tournament this past week, close to 800 sailfish were caught and released. That's Right - 800 sailfish all off of the coast of Miami. That clearly makes Miami the premier sailfish destination in the United States. That is a phenomenal number considering less than 130 boats fished the Miami Billfish Tournament and less than 52 boats fished the Coco Plum Tournament. My hats off to all the anglers, including my anglers, for a phenomenal past few weeks.
Needless to say, the sailfishing continues to be great off of Miami, but other species are being caught as well. The dolphin have moved in to the blue water edge and can be found along the same waters as the sailfish. Although most of the dolphin were on the small size, bigger dolphin are always nearby. Venture a little shallower, say 100 - 80 ft of water and the kingfish are there, especially down towards the Key Biscayne area. Blackfin tuna have shown up, especially during the afternoons, as have the bonitas. While live baiting on the reef, it is not uncommon to get blasted by bonitas on every rod you're fishing with. Although not great table fare, they are a blast to catch especially on light tackle and fly tackle, and can definitely keep you busy while waiting for the sailfish, dolphin or kingfish bite.
It has been on the rough side this past few days, so I haven't heard of many anglers fishing for tarpon at night. I would bet that as soon as the wind lays down, anglers fishing for tarpon should not have any problems scoring on some big tarpon. This time of year, the tarpon are on both outside areas of Gov't Cut (along the North side of the jetty - also known as the South Beach area, as well as on the South side of the jetties). Tarpon this time of year are definitely on the large size with 150 - 200 pound tarpon not being uncommon. The tarpon will be eager to eat shrimp crabs as well as slow trolled mullet. Circle hooks are great on tarpon and offer the best hook up ratio for most of the guides using them.
Tight Lines and Good Fishing,
Capt. Dean Panos
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