Springs still here

Better days ahead Redfish Tour-Jacksonville Tournament April 16-17 My partner Capt Timmy Shabareck said I jinxed us by talking about getting a cold front Cold front conditions all week in practice, 37 degrees 30 mph out of the north. Ridiculous weather. This is just what we wanted, we had been up to Jacksonville the week prior fished in the same weather and figured out were the fish were. Day 1- it warmed up to almost 73 degrees, just enough to get the Redfish active. They were feeding like they hadn’t eaten in a week. We caught and released about 12 fish up to 10lbs and just over the slot size which is 18” to 26 ½,” not to mention 5 Trout between 3 and 5lbs. Some days everything goes right. Final weight for day 1 was 16.11lbs, enough for third place. Timmy put on an exhibition on day 1. He caught every fish he saw and a couple he didn’t. Day 2- having a chance to win this tournament, I really didn’t sleep much. Jacksonville is a difficult places to fish on the higher stages of the tide, so for the first 2 hours all we did was cast and cast .The tide started to fall and our spot was getting active. The lower water allowed us to see thru to the bottom, Jacksonville has a 6 ft tide range, which makes for tough sight fishing. The fish on this spot had been spooky several days prior so we new we had to be quite. This is a artificial lures tournament only, we were using a Exude crab. There was one point that the Redfish kept trying to get to, so we worked it. The fishing was not like day one yet. I caught a 5.25lb fish which was a good start, we were confident when the tide went out they would bite like the day before. Wrong, the numbers didn’t show up. Although, I did loose one quality fish which hurts. We had 1 hour left and our championship dreams were on the line, we cast and cast working faster casting farther, this was the part of the tide we did really well on the day before. The fish were there but swimming away from the lures. 40 minutes were left we started to get bites landing several rat Reds, just under the 18 in minimum. We caught 5 in the last few minutes and never caught that last Redfish we needed. Our ride back to the boat ramp was full of anticipation, how did we do! While talking to friends waiting to be called up to go to the weigh in scale we found out everyone else struggled as well. We weighed in our 5.25lb Redfish and dropped to a 12th place finish in the tournament with a total weight of 21.41lbs. I know I sound disappointed but, I have been on tour 4 years and that’s our best finish. April 25-04 Last month everyone thought winter was over. The cold air should not have made across the state line and the winds should have been still by now, but that hasn’t been the case. The air temp was in the upper 40’s last week and the wind has consistently been steady at 20, but that seems like it could be close to ending. The weathermen say we are a month behind. So spring is in full swing, finally! Miami Area/ Biscayne Bay Tarpon are still feeding nightly around the South Beach - Government Cut area. These fish are eating crabs coming in with the tide, and should be around until June. The numbers are decreasing as the masses of Tarpon make their way south to the edges along southern Biscayne Bay and further. There have been some big schools of Jacks running through the Cut area these Jacks weigh from 5-25lbs they are always fun on even the heaviest of tackle. May gets interesting in Government Cut; some years Permit schools show up. They will get to your Crab way before the Tarpon ever see it. These fish are not small either they average about 18 lbs. Inside the Bay up to the north, Tarpon should make an appearance until mid June. These are light tackle, lure-eating Tarpon. The Trout Bite has been good and should stay consistent. Tarpon, Permit, Bonefish. That’s what’s going on in south Biscayne Bay. Bonefishing is real good right now cool water temps allow the Bonefish to feed and even tail in the middle of the day on the right tides. Permit have been offshore spawning but should start making an appearance in good numbers this month. Last but not least is Tarpon; they are making their way south on the springtime migration. These Tarpon eat flies better than anything else. This past Saturday Brian Carpenter experienced the frustration of fly-fishing he had shots at Bonefish and Permit which turned on the fly only to spook off. Flamingo The fishing at Flamingo is normally incredible. The weather this winter/spring seems to have some fish on the sluggish side on the real windy days. In the backcountry the Snook bite has been pretty good and consistent. There are plenty of Tarpon around; we have had to work for our Snook fishing the outside of Florida Bay. The season is closing May 1st so the bite should turn on. The fishing in general will just get better. The Tarpon, Snook, and Redfish come to a peak the next few months, catching numbers is no problem. The fishing can be outstanding in May, no matter where you fish. Give me a call I can arrange your trip of a lifetime 305-333-8149. “let’s go catchen” Captain Jim Hobales Select another page || Go to Home Page

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