Everglades days, Biscayne nights
Capt. Bob LeMay
March 15, 2009
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
This past week has been a good one, we seem to have finally shaken off the cold fronts of winter that alternately bring sudden temperature drops and high winds. The fish, both day and night, have responded well. We caught and released our first big tarpon in Whitewater Bay on fly, jumped tarpon at night and found some great variety fishing in Everglades rivers. Now for the details.
Last Monday night I had Chip Harding, his son and another guest aboard for some Biscayne Bay sightfishing - the late night version. We found tarpon at the first bridge right at the surface in the shadows, but never saw any shrimp moving... As a result we only jumped two fish, one on fly, a first for Chip, then another on a lure by his son. The one on the lure took us to school, alternating strong runs, crazy jumps, then quick maneuvers on one side or another of the bridge's concrete pilings. It didn't take long for the fish to jet between a series of pilings and break us off. We saw lots of fish that night but few would even look at our offerings. I suspect the outcome would have been a lot different with a few shrimp coming by... We'll have great night small tarpon action until the end of April. All that's needed is a falling tide.
On Wednesday I fished Alex Emerson and his guest, Dr. Mark Cheney (hope I've spelled your name correctly..) in the backcountry of the Everglades out of Flamingo. Both are actually large animal vets that specialize in horses, particularly racing or show types... It was strictly a fly trip with hopes of an encounter with a big tarpon. Our first hour or two were quite slow, we then shifted to the coast near the Shark River and began working Clousers in downed timber along a mangrove shoreline. Doc Cheney quickly hooked up his biggest redfish to date next to a submerged tangle. The fish gave a good account of himself and measured out at 25" before being released.
We then worked a bit longer outside then shifted back into the interior hoping the water had warmed up enough for the giant tarpon to become active. This is the time of year when the mornings start at 65 - 67 degree water temps and should warm up to 70 or more before noon... Unfortunately along with the warmer water the wind was blowing strong. Not much fun fishing the open waters of Whitewater Bay in the wind (for anyone who's never been there, Whitewater is 10 miles long and roughly 6 miles wide), but there are always areas that are out of the wind and a few will hold the big fish. After one or two spots with no fish, we finally found them. Giants from 80 all the up to and over 150lbs, laying quietly in little more than 3 feet of water. These fish weren't rolling, or moving around, just laying suspended along a shallow shoreline in crystal clear water. We had shots at 8 or 9 fish before Doc Cheney scored on an 80lb fish at point blank range with a black and purple rabbit strip fly. I thought for a moment the fish was coming in our boat. When hooked it dashed towards the shoreline about fifty feet away until it ran out of water then rocketed back towards us, just missing the bow. At that point it was off to the races and Doc was almost spooled before I could start the engine and follow (the strong wind prevented us from poling after the fish...).
He fought the fish to a standstill and I was able to leader him after a tough 20 minutes. It was his first big tarpon and an outstanding catch on a 10wt... and also a great end to the day.
The next day I had Alan Lewis aboard, a retired educator and author that's fished with me for many years. We started the day with speckled trout and ladyfish on light spinning gear then moved west into the river system. If you look on a chart of the interior north and south of the Shark River area it's a maze of rivers, creeks, and narrow drains that almost defies description. All of it in heavy mangrove jungle, and the vast majority are just nameless tributaries of the Shark River itself. When the water is moving you can stay busy all day with just light gear bouncing lures and jigs along the bottom or working areas that the birds are working along drains, corners, and places where one or more river meet. In one stretch of less than 100 yards Alan caught and released fish on every cast. When I counted he'd landed snapper, grouper, speckled trout, jack crevalle, spanish mackeral, bluefish, and I've probably forgotten a few species. One of the snapper weighed right at 5lbs and was invited home for dinner. One of the bluefish was so hungry he even took a bite on my thumb and I'm currently wearing a bandaid for my carelessness...
In the afternoon we ran back into Whitewater and found the wind was blowing harder than the day before and from a slightly different direction. No laid up tarpon, so we found the sheltered corner of a large island and proceeded to set out a few live baits where we could see the tarpon working. Not one tarpon bite, of course they never got to the bait before a shark found it. They were bull sharks of every size all the way up to 7' and more.... fortunately we weren't using any wire leaders so each bite wasn't too prolonged. Between bites Alan caught and released more than thirty speckled trout at a nearby corner. The tarpon didn't co-operate that day but Alan had a great time. I'm sure he caught and released at least 200 fish on lures. That's the backcountry in the spring.
Tight Lines
Capt Bob LeMay
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Need
More Fishing Reports:
