Summer Ups and Downs
Capt. Orlando Muniz
September 12, 2010
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
Some say that Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer. Over the last month or so the fishing has been a bit inconsistent ranging from very good to very slow. One of the keys to success has been the wind and current. During days when we've had good north current and a little bit of wind the fishing has been very good. Even though we haven't been fishing as much as we do during other times of the year, we've still made it out several times with mixed results.
Most of trips have centered on bottom fishing for yellowtails and some mutton snappers. Robert and a couple of business partners that were visiting here from China wanted to try their luck so we headed south to fish the reefs. On this day we had a ripping current that made it almost impossible to get our baits down into the right position for the fish to pick up. The strong current forced us to fish shallower than I would have liked. Fortunately after a slow start we things started to pick up with four muttons and close to a dozen yellowtails. We also caught some small bonito.
A few days later I was fishing with Alex his friend Marc and their two boys. Our day started as many days do by netting some bait and filling the bait well. On this day the weather was relatively calm so I decided to anchor up near on one of the county wrecks. It didn't take long before we started to get bites from hungry kingfish. Everyone on the boat got to fight fish but for some strange reason we were have a hard time staying connected. Later we decided to cut the trip a bit short since the motion of the ocean had gotten to one of the boys. I headed back to the dock to meet Robert again with two other friends that were visiting from Mississippi.
Again, Robert wanted to introduce his friends to bottom fishing in Miami. The plan was to head for the reefs south of Triumph. On this day it took a while for the chum to start doing its thing but when it did the bites came often. Just like our trip a few days earlier we had to fish shallow due to a strong current. Everyone on the boat caught fish but the hero of the day was Robert's eight year old son who was dialed in on the bite.
Shortly after fishing with these guys I received a call from Mike who wanted to fish with his dad that was visiting from Texas. Mike is the regional director for the CCA and wanted to try the offshore action off Miami. We decided to head out for a half day and didn't waste any time. I decided to pick up some bait from Ashley live bait in Government Cut in order to save time and give these guys their best chance at a nice catch. On this day the wind was blowing a bit so I decide to dust off the kites and put them out. Our first half hour of fishing was pretty uneventful but as often happens this was due to change. First, we got blitzed by the bonitos with a triple header. Second we boated a nice king in the 15# range. The action was so hot from this point on that we could never get our full spread out again. Later, I spotted some birds working a school of bait that seemed to be getting attacked from below. Originally, I thought it was school of bonito but as it turned out the baits were getting corralled by a pod of hungry sailfish. One of the sails spotted one of our baits and it was game on. Mike did an excellent job of holding on while I cleared the rest of the lines. We managed to bring the fish to the boat form some quick pictures before releasing him to fight another day. Congratulations to Mike on his first sailfish. We ended the day with another nice king a several more bonitos before heading back to the marina.
My last trip took place last night with James and his buddies from Ft. Lauderdale. These guys fish with me on a regular basis and they always seem to get lucky. I think that last night was probably their slowest trip even though we did catch several nice fish. Shortly after departing from Key Biscayne, I ran to one of my favorite bait spots after getting reports that it was loaded. The baitfish made up of mostly Spanish sardines, and cigar minnows responded immediately to the chum. We got a couple dozen on the sabikis and then I felt that they could be netted even though the sun was bright and the water clear. My feeling turned out to be right and we were rewarded with a well full of bait. From this point forward things kind of went downhill. We had to work very hard for close to a dozen snapper and a bunch of blue runners. The culprit to the slow fishing was a very weak south current. We marked a bunch of fish but they seemed to have lockjaw. I spoke to a couple of fellow captains and it seems like this was the case for everybody on this day.
The news is that things can change very quickly and the water will soon be cooling off a bit. I've got a couple of trips coming up shortly and I'm sure the conditions and the fishing will be improving. If you're interested in booking a Miami fishing charter or if you have any questions about the types of fishing available give me a call or contact me at (786)266-0171. You can also check us out on the web: www.FishingCharterMiami.com.
Till Next Time,
Capt. Orlando Muniz
Nomad Fishing Charters
www.FishingCharterMiami.com
(786)266-0171
Miami Fishing Forecast:
Fishing should continue to improve with upcoming cooler weather. The first cold fronts of the year will push spanish mackeral and kingfish down to the South Florida area.
Target Species:
Snapper, Kingfish
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