April 2006 fishing report

heating up! Flamingo Report Like Forrest Gump said, "life is like an box of chocolates", the fishing has been an assorted box of chocolates lately. The weather is getting more stable everyday, soon it will be mid summer. Tarpon, Snook, Reds have been plentiful and so many big Trout, the Sharks are everywhere. The other day we watched a 12-foot Hammerhead as it fed on some unfortunate Tarpon. The Tripletail have showed upon the crab trap buoys and any other floating objects. The reports of cobia have been steady. Ladyfish are jumping; Jacks and Bluefish are crashing baits. The bait schools are thick and that has all these fish in a feeding frenzy. This is what a typical day has been like lately down at Flamingo. We might not get into every specie everyday but enough to really stay busy. 04-2-06 Terry and his son Ben just wanted to catch fish, Ben had never fished before. We fished out of North Miami Beach and got into Jacks right away big schools of big fish. They wanted to catch a Tarpon so we ran down to Government Cut. This was a busy Sunday morning with great weather everyone and the mother was running thru there, we managed 3 hookups on Gulp Shrimp but none were landed 04-04-06 The boys from Zacry construction were back, 4 boats. First thing, Tarpon fishing in the backcountry, the guys on my boat hooked 2 giant Tarpon they were big and jumped high they guys were excited. The wind kicked up and the bite slowed, next Trout was on the list we caught 30 in about an hour that was enough. We ran way north looking for more Tarpon but they were scarce but we managed some decent size Jacks more Trout. We ended the day with a keeper Snook and a couple really tired dudes. 04-07-06 Jeff and Robin from cold New Jersey they were here on a little get away from their 5 month old triplets. We fished some small Tarpon they just didn't want to play today, lucky for us the Snook and the Reds did. Jeff hooked a couple real nice Snook and a big over slot sized Redfish. The catch of the day went to Robin while fishing here Gulp shrimp under a mangrove point, she thought she was stuck but her line was running away. Robin battled this fish for a long time before we saw it come up under a mangrove branch. It was a very big Jewfish she pulled then it pulled; what a great fight on 10lb test. This was a 35lb jewfish on a Biscayne rod designed for Reds and Snook. Outstanding! We finished the day catching loads of Trout, Jacks, Bluefish, Ladyfish and of course plenty of Catfish. We hooked a couple a 6-8lb Jacks, which finally depleted what energy they had left. Jeff and Robin were beat from the amount of fish they caught they probably slept well that night. 04-08-06 Scott wanted big a Tarpon, The wind was blowing really hard and the backcountry was un-fishable. We fished Fla. Bay and were getting stumped, the fish were there and they were refusing my Gulp Baits. I don't get it they usually love them. I moved around to a couple spots and finally had a Snook eat chartreuse Gulp jerk bait; I looked at Scott and said you earned that one buddy. I ran into a fellow captain and he gave me some pilchard's, man that changed the way the day went. We went up and started fishing the same area the fish were refusing to bite earlier. Scott was casting the same jerk bait as I manned a live bait rod. It didn't take long and the Pilchard got eaten, only the Snook wrapped under the roots and broke us off. We re rigged and did it again this time Scott caught him He ended up the day with a bunch of Snook up to 7 lbs and got his dream a giant Tarpon ate his bait but jumped off. 04-015-06 It has been windy all eek this is the first day the wind hasn't blown in 8 days we went into the backcountry looking for Tarpon we found one small area but they were not eating that's Tarpon fishing some days. We ran around Cape Sable catching Jacks Ladyfish and Trout and 1 nice Snook. Mitch really wanted to fight something that pulled hard. I pulled up to a creek and pitched out a bait knowing it would be eaten by a big Jewfish, after 20 or so hooks ups and fighting them with every once strength he had he finally said that's enough. 04-018-06 I fished Joe and Joel at Chokoloskee today something a little different. The wind was cranking again but we found some fish. Joe had a couple Redfish bites landing 1. We caught 12 or so Trout and had Snook come up on their lures on more than one occasion but no bites. We had some Tarpon that were laid up and again no bites, just can't figure it out some times. 04-19-06 Al and Rich from California. These guys are serious anglers; they do a lot of traveling so I knew I had to produce some quality fish. With a really low tide we started off working the edge of some flats, which were loaded with pilchards and minnow's. I had them throw top-water plugs and we had some nice hits in an area which usually produces big Snook for me, but they were big Trout instead. After catching 10 or so the guys wanted to try something else so I took them to an area holding some big Tarpon. The Tarpon were busting mullet schools; we put out a couple baits out and made a drift. It didn't take long Riches rod doubles over and I thought we had a Tarpon, only to see a 24-inch Trout pulling some drag. I re-rigged his rod only to have Al's rod go off with another big Trout. I don't catch big Trout like that everyday so I wasn't too disappointed. We finally had a bait get eaten only have the Tarpon spit it out the bait came back all scaled, that is a sure sign of a Tarpon or Snook usually. They wanted to live bait for big fish so we anchored up in East Cape Canal and put out baits it didn't take long. The rods were doubled over for almost non-stop for 3 hours, they hooked a lot of Snook and Sharks, but these guys were snake bit. They were getting cut off in the trees no matter what they did. We re anchored farther away and still cut off. I really haven't had that problem before, just unlucky that's day. The bait is really plentiful, on the coast and in the creeks. 04-20-06 Al and Rich again today right off the bat we had bait school getting busted up really hard, we stopped and the guys caught a bunch of Bluefish, Ladyfish and Jacks. It took all of 30 minutes and my boat looked like a scene from "Goodfellas". We tried some top water again today with the same results, no Snook. We ran to another spot today we caught a bunch of bait and went looking for the "elusive" Snook. We ended up in a creek pitching live baits up in the trees. We were surrounded by Tarpon. We had several Snook hooked up but lost to cut offs and finally caught a real nice 7lb.Redfish. We stayed on those fish thru the falling tide. The Sharks made the rods double over more than a couple times which was fun. These guys would of stayed out for another 10 hours if possible. 04-22-06 Herman Lucerne Memorial fishing tournament, 7 species, Tarpon, Snook, Bonefish, Redfish, Trout, Snapper, Bass or Black Drum, 2 days to catch them all, but everything has to go right to win. I'm fishing with Buddies Sergio and Leo. These guys are off shore anglers but they listen, cast and fish well; we have been fishing together for the last year and I felt they would be able to meet the challenge. Day one produced a lot of fish but I hadn't caught a Snook or Tarpon all week; I was nervous! We started out on my big Snook spot and again today they just aren't there yet. The Reds moved in and we were 0 for 5, I started getting this knot in my stomach. I moved to another spot, Leo hooked up pretty quick, we were throwing Gulp Shrimp in the mangrove roots on a very low tide. The fish got wrapped up in the roots we moved in and untangled the fish, it was a 10lb Jewfish, great catch but disappointing, we really thought it was a Snook. As we get set up Leos yelling again this time he gets the fish out of the stumps it's a small Redfish. Now its 930 am and we are on the board. We ran back to the area I had found Tarpon and big Trout a couple days earlier but the wind muddied the area so I kept going to a creek which was holding Tarpon only to find boats in there. We changed gears and ran out to Sandy Key, I have a spot that sometimes can hold big Snappers one of the species, not today it was full of Redfish and another nice Jewfish. We caught 5 Redfish. the biggest 19 1/2 inches it was time to catch a big Trout, it was getting late. We caught 19 inch Trout in 5 minutes and decide to spend the last half hour on Snook. Day 1 ended with 38 ½ inches; not very good! 04-23-06 Day 2. I was determined to redeem myself, this tournament is for bragging rights among the guides and you better produce. This morning right off the bat we caught another 5lb Jewfish, great start although it don't count. Today I went to an area that has been producing but had been slow recently; but I had faith. Our next fish was finally a Snook, just short of 26inches, it's cool keep casting the potholes. I tell them there's plenty more. As I'm poling I saw a tiny swirl, I stopped the boat and told both of them where to look and how far to cast. They both made the perfect cast and both guys got hit Sergio fish takes off and Leos lets go. After a short but exciting fight I netted the Snook a 29incher. Now we need a Tarpon and they are rolling all around us. I spotted a couple around the point, to my surprise there were hundreds. I power poled down and had the guys casting and casting. The Tarpon would not eat anything, finally I had Leo use a twitch and rap from Rapala. I've seen this work in a couple situations when the fishing was tough. The first cast got a reaction the second a hook up and a landed 36-inch Tarpon. We also added a 24-inch Redfish while casting at the Tarpon. Now we needed a Snapper and a Bass we caught a Snapper right at 10 inches and about 25 Trout all19 ½ inches Sergio finally caught a 21inch Trout. We ended up with 118 ½ for the tournament. As of this writing im not sure where we finished hopefully in top 8. 04-25-06 Fished Flamingo with my buddy Capt. Bruce today. Bruce had some real nice hits and swirls in his first couple cast We caught 2 snook had several Tarpon hits on our first stop. Exude jerk baits and Gulp shrimp were the ticket here. The Tarpon have been out in the Gulf of Mexico, so we headed west. We hooked 5 Tarpon and landed 2, Bruce was having a field day. The Thumpertail Storm swim baits and a pumpkin Chartruese Exude is what were throwing at those Tarpon, We had a couple live Ladyfish out behind the boat as well but the Sharks kept eating them. We ran further out into the Gulf and hooked 30 or so Triple tails cathing 20, the larger ones were around 7lbs. 04-29-06 Today I fished with Pat, we started out on a couple schools of Redfish,hooking 1 but the hook pulled. Next we looked for a Tarpon but ended up with a 15lb. Snook Great catch! Next we went out to look for Tarpon in the Gulf only it was blowing 25-30 mph and 2-3 ft seas. The Tarpon were not around or active, so I asked Pat if he wanted to try the Triple Tails. We ran the trap line 5 cast 5 Triple Tails up to 6 lbs. We ran in to East Cape canal for protection from the wind and put out some live mullet , next on the hook was a 200lb Bull Shark we landed him and then went looking for Tarpon again. I anchored on a channel edge with a lot of current put out 2 live mullet and waited. A couple minutes later a big crashing sound but the fish missed the bait or at least I thought he missed. The bait was cut off, Big Shark. The rod was re-rigged and a fresh Mullet placed in the same area. This time the bait was hit really hard and scaled , most problably a Tarpon. Re-rig again and the baits are sitting behind the boat when both rods double over, Tarpon on the right Shark on the left. Pretty cool but fish came off. The baits make the difference sometimes today they destroyed the mullet. The fishing is getting better, The Tarpon have moved into several locations in good numbers and the Trout have been incredible. Redfishing gets better as summer gets near, Bonefish Permit and Tarpon are roaming the ocean side flats pretty good right now. The evening Tarpon bite in Government Cut has been very consistent as well, we are getting close to spawning season for the Snook they will gang up in the inlets starting this month, and these are big females. If this get you pumped up give me a call and lets do it. My cell# is 305-333-8149 anytime. Let's go catch'em Captain Jim Hobales WWW.CaughtLookinCharters.com Select another page || Go to Home Page

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