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Father & Son catch their first Backcountry Slams.
Capt. Alan Sherman
March 29, 2008
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fished with father and son yesterday in Flamingo. The anglers were Steve and his 10 year old son Zach. Zach had never fished in Flamingo before but has fished in North Biscayne Bay many times in the past with me. Weather was beautiful. No rain and light winds in the morning. We were working the last of the incoming so we tried our luck in a shallow channel near Conchie Channel. We were hoping for snook but only caught sea trout. But lots of them! We were throwing Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp shrimp and Cajun Thunders with a Hook Up lure and a Gulp shrimp. The trout were there and in big numbers and boy were they hungry. In less then a couple of hours we had over 25 fish from one to three pounds and kept. Now it was time for snook, reds and tarpon. Headed into East Cape Canal and Steve quickly caught a small snook and Zach missed a fish. The tide was falling fast so we headed into Lake Ingram where for the next few hours we caught snook, redfish and lots of catfish. The guys had there slams but only one of the reds and none of the snook were keepers so it was time to move on. Headed back toward Flamingo and fished a channel with Hook Up lures and live shrimp. Zach lost a snook that was easy 6 pounds half the way to the boat, Steve caught a small snook and Zach was reeling in a small jack when a big bull shark tried to steal it from us. I rigged a shark rod and opted to release the jack and use one of the dead ladyfish we had in the well. We had used the head earlier and still had the back 2/3 of the ladyfish left. I hooked the ladyfish on and made a cast to the edge of the channel. It wasn't long before the Baitrunner started to sing and Zach tried to hook the shark but it was too small to eat the whole bait and ended up spitting the bait back to us. Recasted the bait a few minutes went by and the Baitrunner was singing again. This time it was an erratic run so I picked up the rod and tried to make sure the fish had the bait swallowed. When the line came tight I set the hook and a fish leaped out of the water. I wasn't sure what I had seen but it looked like a big snook. To eat that ladyfish it had to be. I handed the rod to Zach and he started to lift and reel the fish back to the boat. The snook made a run then jumped again as it shaked its head he threw the hook and the battle was over. In the commotion of the fight Steve had a hit and landed another keeper redfish to end a great day. One of the things I love about Flamingo is that you almost always see something spectacular on each trip and on this trip the guys got to see their first American crocodile in the wild.
Flamingo Fishing Forecast:
Fishing in Flamingo will only get better as water temperatures start to rise. Sea trout are spawning, redfish are starting to school up and snook will be heading for their spawning holes where they will accumulate in huge numbers. tarpon will be heading to the channels and river mouths and the sharks are already here and in good numbers.
Target Species:
Snook, Tarpon Redfish, Sea Trout, Sharks, Cobia, Tripletail
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