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North Biscayne Bay Fishing Report
Capt. Alan Sherman
May 10, 2007
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
Another week or two has passed and it’s time for anew fishing report. Once again I have been very busy with either family obligations or extended day fishing trips and not many local trips but that all will change as I get back to a more normal schedule.
I spent four days a few weeks ago moving my daughter home from college. The weather was great and the drive easy. Once back I the pleasure of fishing Rodger Kock and his son Wyatt in North Biscayne Bay where the two cleaned up on sea trout to 18 inches. I kept telling the guys that there were some big fish around but it wasn’t until one of our last casts that Wyatt hooked a 5 plus pound trout on a Hook Up lure tipped with a plastic tail and a piece of Fishbites for added scent only to see the fish shake the hook just out of netting range. I’m sure the fish was a large female trout full of roe so seeing the fish swim away to spawn was OK with us. After that trip I had to prepare for a 6 day trip from Ft. Lauderdale to Key West and then on to the Dry Tortugas for 3 days of fishing before coming back to Key West and then back to Ft. Lauderdale. I boarded the brand new 68 foot Hatteras and after winding our way through the New River on Thursday morning we were on our way to Key West. The run was pleasant with calm seas the whole way and we arrived in Key West before sundown Thursday night. The owner of the boat and his friends and family were to arrive in Key West on Friday and then on Saturday morning we were headed for the Dry Tortugas for two and a half days of fishing. After studying the weather forecast I could see a weather system that could cause us some problems late Sunday or early Monday and suggested that we start our trip on Friday afternoon instead of Saturday. That decision may have saved our trip because the weather all day Friday, Saturday and most of Sunday was as nice as one could hope for. We headed out through Northwest Channel and worked our way to a Marker K where we anchored the boat for the night. While anchored we were able to catch some nice red groupers, mangrove snappers and yellowtail snappers. I had been told that first thing in the morning the shrimp boats would anchor and clean there catches in the area that we where and sure enough that is what happened. We traded the shrimps some beer and sodas for by catch chum and fresh shrimp. The chum we used for bait and the shrimp we ate for dinner, lunch, snacks and dinner again. Wow what a treat. We had hoped to anchor near the shrimp boats and have steady action on blackfin tunas and bonitos but there were so many other boaters in the area that the fish never showed up. We did manage to catch some real nice flag yellowtails. While anchored in the area a 30 plus foot boat approached us with a few people on board and the captain shouted out o us if we were interested in catching some permit. Of course I said and he proceeded to give us some numbers out of his secret book. As the captain idled away I asked who he was and he replied they call me Hammer! Rob Hammer! Wow what a surprise. In these days where fishing hot spots are kept close to one here was a well known and respected captain offering GPS numbers to us. We headed for the deeper spot first and found a wreck on the numbers. Anchoring was difficult and after a couple of tries we were close enough to get a few hits but did not manage a hook up. Soon small sharks were eating almost every bait that we put in the water. The guys managed to manhandle a few 200-pound nurse sharks to the surface for pictures before we moved on. The next spot was shallower and after anchoring we were stunned to have over 100 large permit right under the stern of the boat. We managed to hook two fish and land a 25 ponder plus a few bottom fish before moving on again. We headed for Rebecca Shoals and found plenty of grouper, mutton snapper, yellowtail, jacks and a few sharks. At one point we had a7 pound mutton snapper on the hook just to see a 20-pound cuda eat a quarter of the snapper and then giant amberjacks in the 30 to 50 pound range were trying to eat what was left. Before we could get a bait in the water for the amberjacks they were gone. Sunday morning a slight chop had formed and we decided to cross from the Gulf side to the Atlantic side. The crossing was short and easy and the plan was to troll out to 1000 feet of water in search of dolphin. When we reached the 700-foot depth the water became slick calm and there were scattered weeds. From the fly bridge we started spotting explosions on the surface. Most were bonitos and we landed an artic bonito on the troller. The splash came near a piece of Sargasso weed and as we got close we spotted a nice sailfish swatting a baitfish with his bill. By the end of the day we had seen over 2 dozen sailfish and had one chase a ballyhoo to the boat and another chase a plug to the boat but no takers. These sailfish had only one bait on there minds and that was whatever was hiding under the weeds. We continued our search for dolphins as we pointed the boat towards Key West. One of the trollers got a scorching strike and the fish cut through the leader. A wahoo I suspect. We spotted a lone 2 by 4 and caught a nice dolphin under it. Later we found a pallet that had 3 tripletail and a few dolphin next to it and caught 2 tripletail releasing the smaller one and then another 7 or 8 dolphins up to 14 pounds before heading to Key West. As we approached Key West the wind started blowing strong from the north and we quickly tied up to the Westin Marina in Key West. The owner and his friends and family headed back to Puerto Rico on Monday and we brought the boat back to Ft. Lauderdale on Tuesday. All in all it turned out to be a great trip. While at the Westin Marina we were discarding some of the old bait and besides the huge tarpon that came by to eat the scraps we had a 200 to 300 pound Goliath grouper practically eating out of our hands.
Now back to fishing North Biscayne Bay, Offshore and Flamingo where the fishing will be very good until the doldrums of summer set in.
Well that catches me up for the moment. Give me a call and lets set up your next fishing adventure.
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, my monthly South Florida fishing report in the Florida Sportsman Magazine or tune into the Florida Sportsman Magazines Live radio Show on WKAT 1360 on the AM dial every Saturday morning from 7 to 8 AM. Check out my new web site and see the monthly catches! Check out my weekly South Florida Fishing Report at www.floridasportsman.com and my monthly South Florida Fishing Report in The Florida Sportsman Magazine each month. We continue to broadcast the Florida Sportsman Magazine Live on WKAT 1360 AM every Sat. morning from 7 to 8 AM where we get 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 Two out of Whale Harbor Marina, Capt. Wayne Conn on The Reward Fleet, the Newport Fishing Pier and more.
Get Em on The "GET EM" Capt. Alan Sherman “Get Em” Sportfising Charters Inc. Cell 786-436-2064 Home 305-757-5503 www.getemsportfishing.com
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Mustad, Ande Lines, Precision Tackle, Capt. Hank Brown’s Hook Up Lures, Hydro Glow Lights, Ono’s Bi focal sunglasses, Saltwater Assassins, Fishbites, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida. “
Tight Lines & Great Fishing” Capt. Alan Sherman
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