Things are heating up in South Florida!
Capt. Alan Sherman
July 21, 2008
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
I had a busy week fishing Flamingo and North Biscayne Bay with similar results. This time of the year fishing can be fantastic to down right poor. This is due mostly by the weather conditions and the most noticeable weather condition in July and August is the heat and the second is tropical systems. An educated angler or guide normally takes both of these conditions into consideration before they head out on the water. Recently we have had outside temperatures reaching the low 90's and water temperatures as high as 94 degrees in Snake Bight in Flamingo the other day. In North Biscayne Bay we had water temperatures start in the upper 80's at first light and then reach 92 by the time we headed in at 11 AM.
This is how I handle the conditions during the summer. In North Biscayne Bay I book half day trips starting at 7 AM and ending at 11 AM. We catch the coolest part of the morning when fish are more likely to be feeding heavily as they prepare to sulk as water temperatures heat up in the late morning and into the late afternoon. I also fish from say 5 or 6 in the afternoon on into the night calling it a day at 9 or 10 PM allowing us once again to take advantage of the coolest part of the day. During the mornings it is small tarpon, snook, trout, snappers, barracudas, jacks and ladyfish I hope to catch and in the late afternoon the same species again. If the day is calm and large baitfish are available we might venture offshore but this requires a ¾ day or full day and here we fish into the heat of the day but dolphins, bonitos and a few kingfish are available plus some snappers.
In Flamingo I fish mostly 8 hour days and keep moving around in search of waters that are the coolest. Mornings typically are the most productive over the shallow flats but fishing a channel that has a flowing current can be very active during the hottest part of the day and then there are places in deeper waters that hold cobia, tripletail, tarpon and goliath groupers that can be targeted in the middle of the day. Get a day when there is a little cloud cover or showers and the fishing can just explode on you.
So no matter what the conditions may be there will be pretty good fishing in North Biscayne Bay and Flamingo and at times outstanding fishing for the next three or four months.
Book a half day trip with the kids before the summer ends or a full day trip and lets make a special moment on the waters of South Florida happen.
Capt. Rick Murphy has just launched a new Web Site called Insider Fishing.(www.insiderfishing.com)
It is a subscription site that once you are signed in you can go to the site and click on any of the 20 or so Charter Captains up and down the Florida Coast and get a daily detailed fishing report. Captain Jimbo Thomas of the charter boat Thomas Flyer is doing the Dade and Broward Offshore report and I am doing the Inshore Dade and Broward fishing report. When you decide to join please mention my name Capt. Alan Sherman so I get the referral. At this moment you can log on for free to check it out.
Recent Trips:
Fished the Bill, his wife Ann and their daughter Sarah in the back country of Flamingo and had a so so day casting ¼ ounce Hook Up Lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp or Pogy and had snook to 33 inches, trout, snappers, jacks and ladyfish. We didn't have the non stop action that I had hoped for but we did see some large fish that might have made for a special day but did not bite our offerings. Sarah did catch her first snook.
Next up was Rich Moore and his buddy Al and the fishing in Flamingo was a bit better. Fishing the backcountry on out into the Gulf the guys landed lots of snook, snappers some real nice redfish, goliath groupers, jacks and ladyfish and saw a sawfish.
Fished with Mike Bonner in the backcountry on a nasty day with lots of rain a bit of wind at times and some mosquitoes that kept us busy but the fish were biting. Mike caught lots of snook, a redfish, nice mangrove snappers, trout, jacks and ladyfish. He also caught snook, trout and snappers on fly.
Fishing North Biscayne Bay today with Sandy and Don and they are looking to catch some fish on four pound line. We started on the west side of the bay and soon had gone 1 for 2 on tarpon before they shut down and then targeted trout, snapper and barracudas. By 11 AM they had released 25 trout to 2.5 pounds, a dozen mangrove snappers and a few barracudas.
Next up was Mark and his buddy Bob and again we are fishing North Biscayne Bay. The tarpon did not cooperate but we did manage quite a few trout to three pounds, barracudas and some snappers. All of the fish were caught on Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp baits
and we were back at the dock by 11.
Last up is Mark and Andrew and we are back in Flamingo. It's a beautiful start to the day with light winds and lots of bait at the bait spot. From there we head for a shoreline looking for snook and redfish but not much happening but Mark hooks up with a nice redfish to start the day. The red ate a Hook Up lure tipped with a Gulp Pogy. Now to the next spot and once again not much happening but we do release a small snook and its on to the next spot where we see two cobias daisy chaining. Both guys throw pinfish to the cobias and one is just under the legal size and the other in the 20 pound class. The cobias follow the baits and Mark is hooked up again. It's the smaller fish and we release the cobia his first and turn our attentions to the bigger cobia. Andrew hooks up this time and it's a three pound trout. We continue to try for the bigger cobia but no luck so we move on. Next spot gets one of the guys a nice jack crevalles and then the next spot Mark gets his first goliath grouper about 20 pounds. From there we hit another shoreline and the guys release five or six more snook and we on the move again. The winds have picked up and so has the water temperatures with one spot registering 94 degrees. Its getting late but time for one more spot were there is a goods flowing tide and for the next hour the guys are into trout, ladyfish and nice mangrove snappers till its time to head home.
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, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida, Power Pole, Stow Master Nets, www.Insiderfishing.com.
Tight Lines and Great Fishing!
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
Miami Fishing Forecast:
North Biscayne Bay snook, tarpon, sea trout, jacks, ladyfish, snappers, barracudas and sharks during early mornings and late afternoons into the evening, Offshore dolphins, kingfish, bonitos, tunas and an occassional wahoo or sailfish and Flamingo lots of snook, redfish, snappers, trout, tripletail, goliath groupers, permit, loads of sharks and a few cobias.
Target Species:
Snook, Tarpon, Trout, Snapper, kingfish, Bonitos, Dolphins,
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