South Florida Fishing - It Depends on What Your Looking For!
Capt. Alan Sherman
February 28, 2010
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
Once again the week has been filled with one strong cold front after another. Water temperatures in Biscayne Bay and Flamingo have been as low as 56 degrees in the morning to 65 degrees in the afternoons making the later part of the days a bit more productive.
Find the warmer temperatures and there has been a better chance of getting into some fish.
Near the Ocean inlets water temperatures have been closer to the 70 mark. Offshore waters have held its temperatures better with 70 to 75 degree water temperatures being recorded. Best action has been on the days between the cold fronts and that has made planning a fishing trip very difficult.
This past week I have fished the Ocean, North and South Biscayne Bay and in Flamingo with mixed results.
In the Ocean on one of the nicer days I fished by myself. I found and netted plenty of live pilchards in the bay and then headed offshore where I got into some hot action from kingfish to 12 pounds, bonitos to eight pounds and small red grouper and a 50 pound sailfish. All caught on light tackle. I was fishing live pilchards on three rods. Two were rigged with a 1.5 ounce egg sinker attached to a 12 foot 50 pound mono leader and a Mustad 3/0 long shank hook and then dropped to within about 20 feet of the bottom. The third rod was rigged again with a 30 pound mono leader and a 3/0 Mustad long shank hook and the bait was free lined about 50 yards away from the boat. During a three hour period I had hit after hit in about 150 feet of water but missed so many fish due to cut offs, pulled hooks or baits just being knocked off the hooks. I definitely had two to many rods in the water for one fisherman but sometimes the more baits in the water the more strikes you get. I landed a legal limit of kingfish and released the rest including the sailfish that made me miss two other fish that struck the other baits while I fought the sailfish to boatside.
Fishing in Biscayne Bay with Scott and his seven year old son Derek we tried our luck at a school of tarpon that kept rolling next to the boat but due to the cold front that had just passed through the fish just didn't seem interested in the jumbo shrimp we were trying to feed them. The gulls however had a field day on our baits. From there we fished the grass flats nearby and had good action on sea trout that eagerly ate live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder and ¼ ounce Hookup lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp.
Last trip of the week was to Flamingo and another cold front greeted us at the Park. Temperatures were right at 40 degrees when we launched the boat and water temperatures varied between 56 to 64 degrees depending where we went. I had Ken and Larry fishing with me and I must compliment them on their patience. We had not a bite for over two hours but did get treated to a bird watchers dream day as roseate spoonbills and maybe a flamingo or two, white pelicans, terns, herons, egret's, skimmers and others fed on the exposed flats just yards from us. Plenty of bottle nosed dolphins corralled mullet schools nearby. Our first strike came around nine or ten in the morning and was followed by quite a few others resulting in a half dozen sea trout, jacks and ladyfish. We moved on and had slow action till we went offshore and tried our luck on one of the Banks in Florida Bay. I was hoping for lots of action my Spanish mackerel and we did catch one plus a bluefish. Small sharks, three catfish, jacks, blue runners and more ladyfish then we cared to catch. We moved on. Headed closer to home and fished the Conchie Channel area where we were rewarded with one strike after another by ladyfish and good sized sea trout.
Give me a call at 786-436-2064 or e-mail me at [email protected]
Let's go catch some Fish!
Check out my new web site and to read about the weekly catches and to see your pictures.
www.getemsportfishing.com
[email protected]
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.
I have recently been wearing a lot of Columbia Sports Wear on my fishing charters and the new Blood & Guts shirts are amazing. I have had mackerel, cobia and snook just splatter me with blood and one good washing and the shirts are as good as new. Check out their web site at www.columbia.com
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Mustad, Ande Lines, Pure Fishing, Gulp, Berkley, Precision Tackle, Cajun Thunders, 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, Columbia Wear, Tempress Seating
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
786-436-2064
w ww.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 Report Thursdays Edition
Miami Fishing Forecast:
The Key to our fishing right now is getting the water temperatures to rise and that won't happen till we get some extended warm weather. Once that happens you can be sure the fishing will take off in Biscayne Bay and Flamingo. Redfish have been available in Flamingo along the deeper channels next to mangrove shorelines. The Offshore fishing will continue to be good but better on the mild days and a good tarpon bite is available but once again with best action taking place on the mild days off of the beaches, inlets and at night under the bridges. Lots of sea trout are available throughout Biscayne Bay.
Target Species:
Tarpon, Sea Trout, Redfish, Cobia, Kinfish, Spansih Mackerel
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