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North Biscayne Bay Fishing Report
Capt. Alan Sherman
January 30, 2008
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing in South Florida has finally taken a turn for the better. Weather conditions have changed with a more normal winter patter. Cold fronts are moving in to South Florida almost twice a week and we are finally seeing our fishing turn more seasonal. The cooler temperatures make fishing the full day at lot easier and the cooler water temperatures mean that getting up before the sun rises is no longer necessary because most inshore species won’t get real active until after 8 AM when the sun starts to warm the water. The cooler temperatures have more migratory fish moving in and out of the bays as well as along the ocean reefs and in Everglades National Park.
Most of the fishing that I offer my clients is done with light tackle. The reels we use are Daiwa Tierra spinning reels loaded with six to 12 pound line. The rods are medium to medium heavy Key Largo seven foot graphite rods. These outfits allow almost any angler the opportunity to get the most out of every fish that eats his or her bait. And if an extra large fish should take the bait the catch can become a catch of a lifetime. With my 22’ Pathfinder Bay boat powered by my Yamaha 200 HPDI outboard engine there is no where I can’t fish in North Biscayne Bay and on the calmer days ocean fishing is a real possibility. The Finger Channels in South Biscayne Bay are easy to fish from my boat and on occasion bonefish and permit can be part of a South Biscayne Bay catch. Flamingo in Everglades National Park is an ease and my boat can cover over 70 miles in a day of fishing. Almost all of this fishing is done in calm protected waters except for the Ocean fishing.
The sea trout are now in season in South Florida and fish over 20 inches have become much more common in North Biscayne Bay. We cast ¼ ounce Hook Up jigs tipped with a Berkley Gulp shrimp or Pogy or a live shrimp or pilchard under a Cajun Thunder. On calm days casting Rapala Twitchin Raps, X Raps and Skitter Walks can be deadly on the sea trout not to mention the snook, large jacks, tarpon, barracudas, sharks, bluefish and mackerel that take any of these baits that are intended for the sea trout. Pompano and cobias are a possibility in the bay this time of year. We fish the grass flats for the sea trout and always have any of the above species crash the party. When targeting snook we use my 36 volt Minn Kota trolling motor to ease us along a grass flat or shoreline as we cast live pilchards into areas that might be holding a quality fish. On mild night’s snook, tarpon, ladyfish and jacks can be caught while casting live shrimp under lights and shadow lines around bridges.
Tarpon fishing has heated up now that the shrimp have started to migrate from the grass flats out into the ocean through the ocean inlets. These tarpon are large with many way over 100 pounds and I target them on calmer days because the fish are normally in the ocean inlets or along the beaches. Since I prefer calm water charters these tarpon are not always available due to windy and rough conditions. We fish heavier tackle with 20 pound outfits the norm for these giant silver kings.
Offshore fishing has taken a turn for the better with Spanish mackerel just outside the surfline and large kingfish just a short distance further offshore. Outside the outer reef line sailfish, dolphin, kingfish, tuna, wahoo, barracudas, sharks and bonitos have been available. Much of this fishing is done with the inshore tackle. Eight pound outfits can make a kingfish catch quite exciting. While we fish live baits on the light rods we put out a couple of baits deeper on 12 and 20 pound outfits in hopes of hooking up on a cobia, amberjack, grouper or big mutton snapper. Offshore fishing is done on the calmer days of the week and can be part of a charter that started in the bay.
South Biscayne Bay has a lot to offer for the next few months. I like the action that can be non stop for mutton snappers and groupers while we fish baits on the bottom. Most of these bottom dwellers are under sized but fish in the 10 pound range always seem to show up on trip or another. Spanish mackerel, pompano, bluefish and ladyfish feed in the Finger Channels as well and are eager to take live shrimp fished on the surface. Porgies, yellowjacks and jack crevalles, bluerunners, mangrove and yellowtail snappers, hogfish, barracudas and sharks are always around when we fish the finger channels. Bonefish and permit work the nearby shallow flats and can become part of the action as well.
Flamingo in Everglades National Park is a highlight this time of year if not for the fishing then because of the wide variety of birds that migrate to the park each year. While fishing ibis, white and brown pelicans, osprey, bald eagles, blue and white herons, snowy egrets, roseate spoonbills, flamingos, skimmer birds, storks and the list goes on can be feeding as you hook a snook, redfish or tarpon while fishing the shallows of Florida Bay. Sea trout, jacks, ladyfish and sharks all can be caught on or near the flats in Florida Bay. Go a little further north and your fishing Cape Sable, Shark River or Whitewater Bay and catching snook, tarpon, redfish sheepshead, goliath and gag groupers and black drum. Outside of the Gulf shorelines to the park boundaries anchoring and chumming can bring Spanish mackerel, bluefish, pompano, jacks, sharks, snapper and ladyfish right to the stern of the boat where they can be caught on almost anything put on a hook or lure. This fishing continues as long as the tide is moving and then there are the markers and crab buoys that hold cobia and tripletail.
The last place that I offer clients this year is fishing from shorelines along the Tamiami Trail for snook, largemouth bass and tarpon in freshwater. We fish scenic canal shorelines with small jigs, plugs and soft plastics with eight pound spinning outfits and on a recent trip 18 snook plus largemouth bass and alligator gars where caught all on artificial lures. The cool thing was that we were only a few feet from feeding blue and white herons, storks and alligators.
Clear some time on your calendar and call me at 786-436-2064 or drop me an e-mail at [email protected].
Check out my report in the Miami Herald’s Sports section under Fishing Updates each Thursday, or tune into the Florida Sportsman Magazines Live Radio Show on WMCU 1080 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 WMCU 1080 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 Too out of Whale Harbor Marina, Capt. Mark Schmidt on the Sundancer out of Murray’s Marina in Key West and Capt. Wayne Conn on The Reward Fleet, Captain Jay Cohen on the Spellbound out of Haulover Marina and more.
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, 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, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Saltwater Assassins, Fishbites, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida.
“Tight Lines & Great Fishing”
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
FOR SALE:
2006 22' Pathfinder Tournament Addition, 2006 Yamaha 200 HPDI outboard engine with warranty through 2010. Lowrance GPS/Recorder, Minn Kota Trolling motor, VHF radio, cast net locker, tackle station, lockable rod locker, 2 live wells, 1 release well, 1 recirculating well, 10 rod holders on the console, eight rod holders on the gunwales, Continental aluminum frame and stainless steel fasteners, dual axel trailer with torsion suspension and more.
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