IT'S ALL ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS AND GREAT FISHING ON THE GET EM
Capt. Alan Sherman
December 8, 2011
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
Before I start my latest fishing update I would like everyone to go to Get Em Sportfishing Charters on Facebook and like my page. Thanks!
Now to the fishing!
Fall came in early this year but then disappeared and up till now has not reappeared. Water temperatures are still holding in the upper 70's and last year at this time water temperatures had already dropped into the 60's. What that has meant is first a lot of the baitfish schools that moved into the North Biscayne Bay months ago has remained in the bay and will stay over the grass flats and nearby channels until a real cold front comes in backed up by a second front. Many fish like the Spanish mackerel, bluefish and a few pompano that migrated into the bay with the baitfish have stayed in the bay and will until colder conditions chase them south. These migratory fish have joined with sea trout that can be targeted for catch and release, ladyfish, jacks, snapper, grouper, snook and tarpon making for quite a bit of light tackle action.
South Biscayne Bay has been a bit of a disappointment because water temperatures have not pushed any fish into the channels. That will change soon though!
Offshore fishing has been great for mahi mahi better known as dolphin plus a good number of sailfish and a few kingfish. Because of very strong winds over the last month or more I have only made it into the ocean twice but on both trips we had a good amount of large schoolie dolphins.
The Patch Reefs are producing some good action from mutton snappers, gag, black and red groupers but once again the wind has to be in your favor to take advantage of that area.
Flamingo in Everglades National Park has been excellent for redfish, a few snook, tarpon, sea trout, ladyfish, sheepshead, black drum, jacks, snapper, tripletail, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, cobia and a few pompano. Catch a nice day and all of these species might end up on your hook during one outing.
High water in the Glades has largemouth bass scattered into areas that I can't reach so for now I will wait till the waters recede and then start hitting the freshwater canals like I did last year.
Recent Catches:
On this weekend I was supposed to be in the Bahamas fishing a three day charter on a client's 65 foot Hatteras but weather conditions sent us back to Miami. We did manage to get a six hour day in on the Patch Reefs and caught a mess of mutton snappers to 8.5 pounds.
Today I am with Brad and his dad John in Biscayne Bay. After loading the boat up with pilchards the guys wore their arms out with small jacks, bluefish and lots of Spanish mackerel that ate live pilchards under a Cajun Thunder float.
Once again we are in North Biscayne Bay with David his girlfriend Kattie and nephew 8 year old Sam. Once again we loaded the boat with pilchards and then turned them into bluefish, bluerunners and loads of mackerel.
Back in North Biscayne Bay with Joel and Steve and the mackerel, bluefish, small jacks and bluerunners kept the guys busy for eight hours.
Today I am in Biscayne Bay with Outdoor Writer Sue Cocking to see what we can find. First we find plenty of bait and then a bunch of sea trout, small jacks and a barracuda that ate Rapala X Raps and Hookup lure jigs. We head to a spot that had been holding a bunch of bluefish and Spanish mackerel but today on the tide we were on the fish were not cooperating so we moved on. In our next spot Sue and I caught Spanish mackerel on free lined pilchards, pilchards fished under a Cajun Thunder float and on Rapala X Raps. Time to move on to see if we can get the bluefish biting! In our last spot the bluefish and mackerel are here but for whatever reason they were not cooperating today. As we were idling away from our spot to head for the boat ramp a nice pompano skipped by the boat so we made a dozen casts with Hookup pompano jigs but only managed a few lizardfish so we called it a day.
Today I am with my son Zach and we are in South Bay to fish the Patch Reefs. After catching more pilchards than we knew what to do with we headed offshore. After anchoring on a rocky bottom we found that the tide and wind were against each other and caught only a few small groupers and one nice mutton snapper. With all that bait we headed offshore looking for sails and dolphins. The sailfish were there but only eating live threadfin herring or ballyhoo. We did see some action offshore and headed into the area where we had a school of heavy lifter dolphins surround us. We landed seven fish and lost a bunch before heading back to the Patch Reefs. Now the tide was in our favor. We hit two spots and had some big fish on but lost them to the rocks and released a half dozen gag, blacks and red groupers that were just under sized.
Back in North Biscayne Bay for a short ½ day charter with Arron and his friend Jose. The guys wore themselves out catching bluefish, Spanish mackerel and jacks. Where were these fish the day Sue fished with me?
Back in South Bay to fish the Patch Reefs with Flyn, Flyn Jr. and grandfather Frank. We caught our bait but it was too windy to fish the Patches so we settled with the Finger Channels but were disappointed in the lack of action. Besides a few small mangrove snappers and a couple of undersized gag groupers there seemed to be nothing else in the channels. We did manage to salvage the day with some hot snook action that produced but one small snook plus a few nice jacks and a couple more gag and black groupers and a barracuda.
Today I am in Flamingo and I am part of a five boat charter. My fishermen turn out to be two fishermen that I have fished many times before. Lance and his son Eric. They camped out at the Camp Ground in the Park the night before. We hit our first spot and never left the area. After four hours of fishing the guys were wore out 12 catching redfish to 25 inches, jacks and two tarpon of 30 and 80 pounds. The 80 pound fish was leadered before the release.
Last trip of the week is Bill and his best friend Gene. We caught our bait and looked for mackerel but maybe because the winds had finally died down to nothing they weren't feeding. We headed offshore to look for dolphins and hit one school that resulted in four nice heavy lifters and one gaffer bull dolphin plus a big skip jack tuna.
Now that you know what's going on and what to expect as far as the fishing let's not forget this is the Holiday Season. So let me take a moment to thank everyone that has fished with me this past year and years and all of the guides and captains that give me reports that I use in my Miami Herald Fishing Update and all of my great sponsors that help me stay in business. Here's a Big Thank You from me to all of you!
Now how about some great gift ideas for that someone who is special to you?
I recently went to the web site of Key Largo Rods located in Islamorada (shouldn't it be Islamorada Rods?) www.keylargorods.com and glanced through the product list and found many of the fishing rods I use on my charters listed on the product page. You too can do as I did and find a top quality and affordable fishing rod to match any fishing you might want to do and order them direct from Key Largo Rods to have shipped before the Holidays or you can just charter me and fish with my Key Largo Rods.
You probably noticed in the pictures I send out on my fishing updates that I use a lot of Daiwa spinning reels and there is a reason for that. Daiwa makes a great product and if you are willing to spend some hard earned bucks you too can own a high quality fishing reel for less than two hundred dollars that can last you a lifetime. www.daiwa.com.
You have probably noticed that in my writings I mention my new Yamaha SHO VMAX 250 Four Stroke Outboard engine a lot. The reason I do that is because this is by far the best outboard engine that I have ever owned. www.yamaha-outboard.com. Beside the fact that it matches up perfectly with my 2012 Pathfinder 22' XL Tournament Edition Pathfinder Bay Boat made by Maverick Boats,
www.pathfinderboats.com., My new SHO gives me a cool 3.1 to 3.8 miles per gallon at 3500 RPMs and at 30 to 33 miles per hour with a full load on board which is my comfortable running speed while on charters and the outboard engines still gives me the peace of mind of being as reliable as any Yamaha outboard engine that I have ever owned. Call Bob Hewes Boats at 305-681-6602 and ask for Pedro Molina or Brian Wiborg or go to www.bobhewesboats.com for information on how you can obtain a Maverick Pathfinder boat or Yamaha outboard engine.
My boat has every little toy a fishermen might want like my 36 volt Minn Kota I-Pilot trolling motor www.minnkota.com, Humminbird depth recorder/GPS and my Talon shallow water anchor all things I cannot live without when fishing shallow waters in Biscayne Bay, Flamingo and in the freshwaters of the Everglades, www.power-pole.com., my casting platform on my bow that was manufactured by Jeffrey Ray of Grand Slam Aluminum Fabricating Inc. that specializes in manufacturing anything aluminum and installing all of your electronics the way they should be installed on your dream boat 305-904-3344, and of course you want the best seating a boat can have so why not put some Tempress seats on your boat like I have on mine. Every small boater needs a high quality trailer to place their boats on so how about a new Continental Trailer www.continentaltrailetrs.com, and of course you're going to need a reliable, fashionable, comfortable and strong vehicle to pull that boat so check out the new Chevrolet Avalanches, Silverados and Tahoe's that will get you to your destination in comfort and luxury. www.Chevrolet.com, www.gm.com .
Fishing tackle is a must if you expect to catch some fish so having the best equipment to add to your fishing reels and rods is a must.
Mustad hooks have been on the market for over 100 years and they only get stronger, sharper, lighter and better. www.mustad.no, and of course you will need fishing lines like Stren monofilament www.stren,com, , if you like fishing artificial lures like I do than you're going to need a stock of Rapala products www.rapala.com, and of course Hookup lures to fish your Gulp shrimp and jerk baits from www.hookuplures.com, Gulp Alive www.berkley-fishing.com, and a tool that I will never be without while on the water the Cajun Thunder float made by Precision Tackle and of course when I need to catch live bait and that is on almost 80 % of my charters I need a top quality cast net and my cast net of choice is the Bait Buster nets that can be found at www.justcastnets.com, and I always use a sunscreen and insect repellent when I'm around the water and Smartshield fills the bill every time. wwwsmartshield.com, and when it's time to land that trophy fish I won't be caught without my Stow Master landing net the finest landing net on the market.www.stowmaster.norsemenoutdoors.com.
When it comes to boat and engine work the guys at Bob Hewes Boats are top notch! www.bobhewesboats.com
While on the water you definitely want to look good and how better than to look like you know what you're doing so be decked out with Columbia Sportswear. Whether its pants that dry fast and are light, pants that are warm, shirts that protect you from the sun, bugs, blood and guts, to socks that are comfortable, face, head and hand coverings to protect you from the sun, jackets that keep you warm, foul weather gear that is light as a feather but still does the job and shoes to meet everyone's needs no matter what your outdoor sport might be and all comfortable, stylish and durable. www.columbia.com.
To keep in touch with what's happening in Florida Fishing what about a yearly subscription to Florida Sportsman Magazine. www.floridasportsman.com.
And last but not least a fishing adventure of a lifetime with Captain Alan Sherman on the "Get Em" of Get Em Sportfishing Charters.
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.
Sponsors:
Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Suffix, Trigger X, Mustad, Pure Fishing, Gulp, Berkley, Precision Tackle, Cajun Thunders, Capt. Hank Brown's Hookup Lures, Hydro Glow Lights, Saltwater Assassins, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida, Power Pole, Stow Master Nets, superfishlight.com, Columbia Wear, Tempress Seating, Aluminum Fabricating Inc.
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
786-436-2064
www.getemsportfishing.com
Field Editor of the Florida Sportsman Magazines Action Spotter Report South Region
Field Editor of the Florida Sportsman Magazines Internet Fishing Forecast South Region
Editor of the Miami Heralds South Florida Fishing
Miami Fishing Forecast:
I expect the fishing to be pretty consistent for the next three or four months with lots of SEA TROUT, JACK CREVALLES, LADYFISH, BARRACUDAS, SNOOK, TARPON in NORTH BISCAYNE BAY and OFFSHORE of MIAMI KINGFISH SAILFISH and DOLPHINS available on the calmer days and in FLAMINGO in EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK will have a huge amount of wildlife like the WHITE PELICANS, ROSEATTE SPOONBILLS, SKIMMER BIRDS,GULLS, OSPREYS, EAGLES, TERNS, EGRETS, HERONS, ALLIGATORS, CROCODILES, BOTTLE NOSED DOLPHINS, MANATTEES, SHARKS and TURTLES and of course the wide variety of fish that migrate into FLORIDA BAY and the GULF waters during the cooler months of the year. SNOOK, TARPON, REDFISH, SEA TROUT, SHEEPSHEAD, TRIIPLETAIL, BLACK DRUM, SNAPPER, GOLIATH AND GAG GROUPER, POMOPANO, COBIA, MACKEREL, PERMITS, BLUEFISH and I'm sure I am leaving a few other fish species out will be available to all anglers at one time or another throughout the rest of the Fall and Winter months.
Target Species:
SNOOK, TARPON, MACKEREL, TROUT, REDFISH, DOLPHINS, SAILFISH, SHARKS
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