Miami Tarpon and Backcountry Report

Miami Fishing
Florida Sport Fishing Charters
With Capt. Jim Hale
[url]www.floridasportfishingcharters.com[/url]
786-255-1788
A brief fishing report for South Florida

Hey everyone! Calm conditions are here for the hot summer and the fishing will only get hotter.
In Miami the Tarpon fishing is excellent on the out going tide. They are migrating from the south are filling up under the bridges and the major cuts waiting to eat before their trek to the north which will be in the next month or two.
They are eating live pilchards shrimp and on certain occasions crabs but you have to be in the right place and at the right time.
Tuesday of last week we jumped eight Tarpon in Government cut in a hour in a half on live shrimp. They are also stacked up north and south of the jetty, best bait is a live mullet if you can get em and I fish them on a 6/0 Owner circle hook. Also live pilchards will work. Drifting big baits in the day have been working as well.

For fly fishing for Tarpon there are plenty of shots on fish rolling close to the boat late afternoon into early evening in the same areas, I have not had the clients to do this type of fishing yet this year but it will be soon.

At Flamingo there are plenty of big Redfish and big Trout up on the flats in Florida Bay,the Reds are averaging 26 inch And the Trout are between 18 and 25 inches.
We are fishing runoffs and potholes for Trout with Berkley Gulp jerk baits.
In one day we landed 11 Trout over 18 inches and 6 Reds at 24 inches.

Fishing Monday for reds on fly we were sight fishing an island in Florida Bay looking for reds cruising under the mangroves. We tried several places before we hit the mother load. I saw a shadow moving slowly under a mangrove I asked Eric to load up the rod and shoot the minnow under the branch, as the fly sank not one red but a school of reds came out. I looked left and saw 4 more schools with at lease 50 fish per school headed out to chase the chartreuse clouser minnow.
We landed only three that day but had several more chances before a storm chased us away from the action, So there is good Red fishing here.
On the west coast of Florida in the rivers and beaches there are plenty of Snook and Reds on the last part of the outgoing and the first part of the in coming tide.
The past Tuesday we caught 7 Snook on topwater lures at the mouth of .... creek.
The largest Snook was 29 inches.

Yesterday fishing out of Everglades City we were fishing as beach loaded with Snook that would not eat, but we kept trying........My client noticed a bunch of bait coming our way and asked if what they were, I glanced up and said I think they are mullet not paying to much attention to the bait but concentrating more on the Snook. WELL the wake got a little larger approaching the boat and I said it looks like school of Reds in about 4 feet of water ....but as it got closer I saw a school of 300 Black Drum each fish had to weigh 50 pounds. All 3 of us hooked up on 8 pound braided line but with an 8 foot Bull Shark chasing the school we broke off all 3, that was fun! We did catch some nice Trout a bunch of small Snook and a bunch of big Mangrove Snapper for the frying pan.

Good luck
Capt. Jim Hale