Biscayne nights - tarpon on fly, 7 December 2018
Capt. Bob LeMay
December 7, 2018
Biscayne Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
Did my first winter night-time tarpon trip last night. On board was visiting British angler Charles Booth-Clibborn, an avid fly angler. Water temps last night were better than I had expected and we found small tarpon in docklights and in the shadows under a bridge. As always the tarpon in docklights were hard to feed - the ones up under a bridge were willing to eat any fly that came their way... Here's the fly pattern we used last night - a small white Keys style tarpon fly called the NIght Fly. I've been tying and fishing this pattern since the late seventies - and it's still effective in a size 1/0 or 2/0....
[img]https://i.imgur.com/CaGrjSg.jpg[/img]
We fish it with an 8 or 9wt rod, tossing it at fish that average 20 to 40lbs - all you can stand on a light fly rod...
Last night we found fish and Charles delivered the fly where it needed to be.. Here he is hooked up solid and taking care of business....
[img]https://i.imgur.com/JkvAyRJ.jpg[/img]
That night we jumped 7 fish in a few hours, releasing two at the boat -the rest managed to release themselves in fine fashion...
[img]https://i.imgur.com/WtDPWIz.jpg[/img]
Here's a pic of the last fish that came to hand...
All of last night went down without the first shrimp seen anywhere. The fish all seemed to be feeding on small baitfish wherever we went. Once the winter shrimp run gets started I expect things to heat up (if that's possible...).
On a personal note, there's just nothing like running the Bay at night - it's just a different place once the sun goes down and most of the boats are long off the water or back at their moorings and the later at night you run the better it is... My first night trip - the very first time I was taken to one of the bridges that connect Miami and Miami Beach was way back in the winter of 1972 ... That very first night - and I was hooked forever...
Be a hero... take a kid fishing....
Tight Lines
Bob LeMay
(954) 435-5666
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