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North Biscayne Bay Fishing Report
Capt. Alan Sherman
July 24, 2007
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
Have you ever heard of a fishing tackle show called the ICAST? This show is probably one of the biggest fishing tackle shows of the year. Tackle manufactures like Daiwa, Shimano, Penn, Rapala, Mustad, Berkley and many other large manufactures of fishing tackle and the small guys too that are just introducing their products to the market are there as well. I had always wanted to attend one of these shows if for no other reason then just to see what it was all about. Well I got my chance this year and took my wife along as well. The show was held in Las Vegas and I had never been in Vegas so why not mix business with pleasure. Vegas was just as hot as they say it is in Vegas during the summer. I spent about a day and a quarter at the show and I can say that I have done that and I have the shirt and now I don’t need to do it again. Lots of products to see! Some new some old and lots of stuff the manufacturers want the big retailers to see but other then that nothing that a fishermen need to cover so many miles and endure such hot temperatures to see. Better to wait for the products to hit the market and be written about in a major fishing magazine. One company that caught my eye was the Old Harbor Outfitters who had a nice display of light weight foul weather gear and tackle bags that you could tell fishermen had designed for fishermen Other products like the RigSaver a little tackle box with a soft square in six different locations in the box. One square for each of the six razor sharp Sabiki hooks that comes in a rig. Just remove the sinker and store the rig in the box and its ready for your next trip and out of the way. I also liked the new plastics that Fishbites will be introducing soon that are impregnated with their bait scented solutions. I also saw so many new braided lines that it made my head spin. Then there was the Smart Shield sunscreen bug scented sunscreen and the new Ultimate Insect Repellent. The Costa Del Mar 580 sunglasses and the new Sea Mates. Mustad had a bunch of new hooks that will hit the market soon and then there was the Arc Dehooker tool. Berkley had a display of their new Gulp Alive and on and on and on.
Summer time fishing in South Florida can be one of the most memorable fishing experiences of ones life. Calm cool mornings allow fishermen to target surface feeding fish. Large fish can be seen from a distance allowing for easy presentations of artificial lures and natural baits. During the summer months a short 4 hour morning trip may be all one needs to accomplish that special fishing experience of a lifetime. Late afternoon and early evenings is the next best time to be on the water as mid afternoon water temperatures slowly drop as the sun sets in the early evening sparking another feeding spree of game fish. Or one can take the ride to Everglades National Park and spend a full day on the water and be in fish all day long. By fishing early mornings and late afternoons into the early evening you can stay away from the hottest part of the day and give yourself the best shot at hungry fish. Yes we have early morning showers at times but not everyday and in most cases we can run away from them if they become a threat and yes the bugs at Flamingo can be bad but this year as last year bugs have not been a problem.
Just to give you an idea of what you might be missing by waiting to book your next trip here is a tease of three of my last trips.
Fishing a full day with Jess Palumbo of Miami and his brothers Anthony and Ryan from Jersey in Flamingo we started the trip out by launching the boat on the Florida Bay side and running to Conchie Channel where we caught dozens of live ballyhoo, pinfish and pilchards. We then headed to the Gulf shorelines targeting snook, redfish and tarpon. The guys preferred to throw artificial lures. I rigged them up with ¼ ounce Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp shrimp and Pogy’s and the guys were quickly into jacks and ladyfish plus a half dozen nice sea trout. No snook, tarpon or redfish so we moved on. We did see a few big sharks and 2 nice permit that saw us before we saw them. We slipped into a tiny creek and were quickly into some red hot action. The guys landed 2 snook to 7 pounds loosing many, 2 redfish to 20 inches, a black drum, 7 out of 12 goliath groupers to 11 pounds with the biggest fish breaking us off and one lost large shark that ate a live pinfish under a Cajun Thunder. The shark almost took all of Ryan’s line before breaking off. Cool thing was we all got to see the shark eat the bait right off the surface. Later we headed back to the Gulf shorelines looking for more snook and releasing 2 more and Ryan lost a snook after a nice fight that was over 12 pounds. On the way in we landed a 6 pound tripletail that was free floating on the surface. All of the action was on artificial baits except the shark and tripletail that ate a live shrimp under a Cajun thunder. Except for a couple of mosquitoes at the marina and a few horseflies on the water the bugs were never a problem. Light weight long sleeved shorts and pants and a little insect repellent on your hands and ears and you’re in business.
The next trip started in North Biscayne Bay with Alex Shub and has daughter Jessie age 12 and son David age 9 from Puerto Rico. We left the dock at 4 PM and caught lots of small baits in the bay and then headed offshore where we started chumming with some of the baits I had netted. In no time we had bonitos crashing all around us and soon had landed 3 bonitos on light tackle between 4 and 15 pounds plus a cero mackerel and an ocean tally. We then headed back into the bay where we caught and released small king mackerel, ladyfish, blue runners and jack crevalles. With the sun setting we turned our attention to snook and tarpon and released 3 snook, 2 snappers and 2 tarpon before heading back to the ramp at 10 PM.
The last report is a trip off of Key Biscayne Bay where we targeted bonefish and permit on a shallow flat that was less then 2 feet deep. I rarely do shallow water bonefish charters due to my boat being a 22’ Pathfinder Bay boat that is too heavy to pole. Instead I use a 36 volt Minn Kota trolling motor to quietly slide us along the flats. My fishermen had fished with me many times before and knew what the boat was capable of doing. We spotted over 60 bonefish, 3 large sharks and at least 2 permit that at the end of the day stuck their sickle fins at us but all of the fish refused our offerings. Why? It could have been that they were skittish from a large storm that was nearby or they may have heard the slight hull slap from the waves that the storm had created or they may have sensed the slight vibration from the trolling motor or they just may not have been feeding since all of the fish were cruising not tailing. What ever the reason we were both excited to see so many fish in such shallow water.
Do your self a favor before the summer is over and book yourself a trip so you too can get in on some of the great summer fishing. Don’t procrastinate or before you know it the fall and then the winter will be here. Great fishing will hold through early October when water temperatures start to drop and South Florida fishing makes a change and we start targeting migratory species.
Get Em on the “Get Em”! Capt. Alan Sherman 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, Pure Fishing, 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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