Finger Mullet Schools have Flamingo Red Hot!
Capt. Alan Sherman
October 15, 2008
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Another great week of fishing in South Florida just passed us by but don't worry if you haven't had a chance to get out on the water recently the fishing will continue to be great for another month or so before settling in on a more normal fall/winter pattern. I have had the opportunity to fish three locations in the past week and can attest to just how good the fishing is here in South Florida. Here is just a sample of what's available here in South Florida right now!
In Everglades National Park/Flamingo yesterday with a weather report that may have had some clients canceling(60% chance of rain/20 to25 mile per hour winds from the NNeast) but we went anyway because you just never know how the fish will respond during different weather conditions until you test them yourself. My clients had a great day catching lots of snook, redfish, sea trout and jack crevalles plus putting two tarpon in the air that would have given each angler a Grand Slam (tarpon, Snook, Redfish Sea Trout). Large schools of finger mullet were everywhere and the fish were eating them throughout the day. We caught fish with Rapala Twitchin Raps, Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp shrimp, Hook Up lures with a live finger mullet hooked to the jig head and live finger mullet fished under a Cajun Thunder. We had to don our foul weather gear twice but got rained on only once and yes it was windy but only in the afternoon.
Inshore fishing in North Biscayne Bay has been very good with location and time on the water a key to your success. Huge schools of pilchards, Spanish sardines and threadfin herring have been joined with large schools of migrating finger mullet. Shadowing these schools of baitfish have been large numbers of small to medium sized tarpon and these fish have been actively feeding on the baitfish schools especially at first light and then again in the late afternoons and into the evenings. Large jacks in the five to 15 pound class are feasting on the baitfish schools and sea trout to 24 inches have been waiting in the grasses and then smashing into the baits as they move over head. Mangrove snappers, ladyfish, barracudas, bluefish and a few small kingfish and Spanish mackerel have joined in at times. Snook have been available around the inlets, bridges, flats and sea walls but have scattered a bit making them harder to target then before.
Offshore along the beaches when the mullet schools are moving just outside the swim buoys large tarpon, jack crevalles in the 10 to 20 pound class, large ladyfish, pompano, bluefish, small kingfish, Spanish and cero mackerel, barracudas, sharks and snook can be seen throwing themselves out of the water as they crash into the baitfish schools. On the outer reef kingfish have been available in large numbers and in sizes from five to 20 pounds and can be chummed right to the surface and fished with artificial lures. Limit catches can be made in just a few moments and then dolphins, wahoo and tripletail have been biting along the weedlines and under debris. On Friday we had a sailfish swim right to the stern of the boat. The fish was in 80 feet of water and followed a bait that we were reeling in but spooked before eating our bait.
If your in the market for a new landing net then you need to check out the Stow Master landing net line. I have owned two Stow Master landing nets in the last three years and the only reason I don't have my origional net is because I allowed it to catch a mangrove tree in a small creek with a lot of current and it tore the net and broke the handle. The Stow master landing net is a knotless net that is coated with a material that almost makes hooks getting stuck a thing of the past. It has extensions and folds in half taking up half the space of a normal landing net and easily stows in a rod locker or hatch making it impossible to be blown out of you boat while traveling. Stow master nets can be bought in many of your local tackle dealers or on line at www.stowmaster.net/
Do you live on the water? Do you have a dock or sea wall behind your home? If your answer was yes and you have read my report then you need the Super Fish Light on your dock or sea wall. The Super Fish Light easily attaches to your sea wall or dock and runs off of a 110 volt power cord and once set up to go on at night and turn off at a specific time will have snook, tarpon, snappers, jacks, ladyfish and baitfish like pilchards, shrimp and glass minnows right at your back door. From there you can either name your new pets or catch them for catch and release or dinner. www.superfishlight.com I hope to have some pictures real soon of my Super Fish Light and the fish it has attracted.
Captain Alan Sherman"Get Em" Spotfishing Charters
7864362064
[email protected]
www.getemsportfishing.com
Check out my report in the Miami Herald's Sports section under Fishing Updates each Thursday, the Florida Sportsman Magazines South Florida Internet Fishing Report (www.floridaspotsman.com), my monthly Action Spotter Fishing Report for the South Region in the Florida Sportsman Magazine each month or tune into the Florida Sportsman Magazines Live Radio Show on 1080 WMCU or WKAT 1360 on the AM dial or listen on the internet at www.1080wmcu.com every Saturday morning from 7 to 8 AM and here the up to the minute fishing forecasts from some of the top Capt.'s in South Florida like Capt. Jimbo Thomas on the Thomas Flyer, Capt. Bouncer Smith on Bouncers Dusky, Capt Skip Bradeen on the Blue Chips Too out of Whale Harbor Marina, Capt. Wayne Conn on The Reward Fleet, the Newport Fishing Pier and more.
Check out my new web site and see the monthly catches!
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Mustad, Ande Lines, Pure Fishing, Gulp, Berkley, Precision Tackle, Capt. Hank Brown's Hook Up Lures, Hydro Glow Lights, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Saltwater Assassins, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida, Power Pole, Stow Master Nets, superfishlight.com
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
Flamingo Fishing Forecast:
Expect the fishig to get better everyday as more and more baitfish schools move into our area bringing along all of the quality migratory and residential fish right to our playground in south Florida!
Target Species:
Snook, Tarpon, Trout, Redfish, Sharks, Mackerel, Dolphin
More Fishing Reports:
