October 2006 fishing report

UNBELIEVABLE ACTION The fishing has been incredible for the last couple of weeks; multiple backcountry “Grand Slams” on every trip. The Tarpon, Snook, Trout and Redfish have been on fire in the backcountry of Whitewater Bay. The catch numbers are really high 23 Snook and 25 Reds in a day not to mention everything else, like Goliath Groupers, Jacks, Ladyfish and Sharks. Tarpon fishing is as good as it gets from out front at Flamingo to the Gulf of Mexico all the way to the Harney River. There are assorted sizes depending on location, we caught them from 2 lbs to 150 lbs. These Tarpon are eating lures, finger Mullet, Thread Fin Herring, and Pilchards, so it shows they are not picky. 100506- Today I'm with Bruce Carlton a good friend, we fished Whitewater Bay in N.E. winds 25 to 30 mph. We used the wind to our advantage fishing points on the mangrove islands, the fish would be in the eddies waiting for bait to flush thru and ambush it. Once the sun was straight up we looked for some shady fall downs specially the ones with current. We were rewarded with a quality day of fishing 25 Reds and 23 Snook, 15 Trout, Black Drum, Goliath Groupers, and more. 100706- I am fishing the Jeffries family for the next 4 days, Bruce, and his sons Phil and Paul. First impressions are everything; on our first stop hundreds of Tarpon were rolling along a mangrove bank, all 3 guys made cast right up against the shoreline! Bruce had several explosions on the top-water and Paul got hooked up quickly and landed one on jerk bait, next Phil caught one on a chugger. The next 3 hours were hook-up after hook-up on top-water lures. I think the total was around 8 for 40 on Tarpon and a couple of small Snook. 100806- I decided to move on for something else, bigger Tarpon! These guys live in Houston so they catch plenty of Redfish. Tarpon and Snook is what they wanted so that’s what they got, for the next 4 days we caught Tarpon “big Tarpon”. The 30 to 40 pound fish responded well on Saturday plenty of bites. I think we ended up 3 for 6 on Tarpon. The day ended up catching a bunch of small Snook and Reds up to 23 inches. 100906-On Sunday we caught finger Mullet and Herring and went on the hunt for big fish. It didn't take long Paul caught hooked and caught a 45 lb Tarpon on an X rap, not long after that Bruce had every bit of a 150 lb Tarpon in the air. The next hour was a constant battle attempting a release on the big Tarpon. Phil had a hookup as well when the big fish was peeling line; but came off. We ended up with 4 Tarpon boated up to 100 lbs and the 1 release. The by catch of Tarpon fishing is a small Hammerhead Shark, 2 Black tips Jacks, Mackerel, Ladyfish and Trout. We made 2 stops on the ride in; they caught 3 small Reds and a couple Trout on the first stop. On the second stop they hit the mother load, I forget but somebody caught a small Snook and the all hell broke loose; Bruce was hooked up to a monster Snook, it fought hard we netted it and took pictures and let the 36 inch fish go. Phil was next with a 25-inch Snook and another smaller one. All of a sudden I hear the drag screaming from Bruce’s reel and there’s another big Snook is jumping around the mangroves. Bruce being the good father passed the one of to Phil a little bit later it frayed thru the 60 lb leader. The one thing I haven't mentioned in all of this is the “light tackle” we are using everything is under 20lb test and most is 12 lb, to land most of the fish they have caught takes skill. 100906-Monday morning we started out trying to catch some little Tarpon, they weren't interested. But we did manage some top-water bites from Snook catching only a couple. It was time for Tarpon and we went looking for bait again, perfect finger Mullet and Pilchards. We threw the net 2 or 3 times and had plenty or at least I though I did; by the end of the day I wish I had more. The Tarpon responded again, it only took about 50 yards on our first drift and Paul was hooked up to a 90 lb crazed Tarpon, but that’s the best kind. They wear themselves out quicker that way; we got him boat side and release him. I don't think we were back in action 1 minute and Phil hooked a really nice Tarpon it looked about the same size at first when we brought him into the boat it was obvious it was a much larger Tarpon. The cool thing is the Jeffries videoed the whole week and took some great pictures some thing most people don't do. It was like filming a show and they have the proof on film. It wasn't long and Bruce hooked another 70 lb Tarpon; the weather changed and we made a run to an area they hadn't been to, again Bruce caught another 25 lb Tarpon. It was all they had hoped for to get a good bite. On the way back to the marina I spotted some free jumping Tarpon as we approached we saw the bait schools getting destroyed, we caught several big Jacks and a 27 inch Redfish and got on some Tarpon that were in 1 foot of water with their backs out of the water, these were the first tarpon that wouldn't eat. We called it a day, a great day! 101006Tuesday- We have to get it done quickly today the have to catch a flight, again we start out for Tarpon we jumped one caught a nice a Snook and 3 big Trout. I had some Mullet so we went looking for a big Tarpon and Sharks. Bruce was throwing top-water on the shallow flats Phil was throwing a jerk bait and Paul was watching the bait rods. It was good choice because a 150 lb Bull Shark came up and ate the bait, which was really cool to watch. We brought the Bull Shark along side I held him there for some pictures and we called it a great couple of days. It was time to catch a plane. They kept track of all the species, which show how much variety we have down at Flamingo, here’s there list- Tarpon, Snook, Redfish, Trout, Hammerhead Shark, Bull Shark, Back Tip Shark, Ladyfish, Jack, Mackerel, Goliath Grouper, Snapper, and of course the lowly Catfish. 101306 Today I'm fishing with buddies Bruce and Mark. We started the day like most of the others plenty of Tarpon we all got a chance at them on fly. The Snook were active as well this morning, although nothing was very big we had plenty of big hits. I think we ended with about 6 Tarpon on fly and at least that many on lures up to 15 lbs. We continued thru Whitewater Bay; the bite has been really good. I stopped at areas that I haven't been to in a while to see if they were holding fish,they are! Snook up to 27 inches, Mangrove Snappers up to 16 inces, Goliath Groupers (big) and of course more Tarpon on the coast. 101706 Ron and Nancy experienced a bite thats not really common not because it doesn't happen it's where. The Buttonwood canal going into Whitewater Bay is normally busy with boat traffic. Today is a Tuesday and there are only 5 trailers in the parking lot and they are already gone down the canal. I was getting all the rods out of my lockers on the Pathfinder 2200 and the Tarpon were popping minnows. I hurried and got Ron a rod, it didn't take long before he was hooked up with a small Tarpon, we did this for an 1 1/2 hours getting a bunch of releases next to the boat. Next stop, more Tarpon! The Tarpon were visible from a distance so I slowly approached on the trolling motor. The same bite was happening around Tarpon Creek, the minnows were stacked up in the pocket and the Tarpon were "BUSTING" them up. We stayed on these fish until 10:30am and they were still eating but it was hot and time to move on. The next spot is a everthing type spot today Snook tomorrow Reds and Trout. Thanks God today was a Snook day, Ron had monster Snook on a Gulp Shrimp, at first it fought like a big Red staying down and pulling hard. She then came up on her side, all 20 plus pounds of Snook. I grabbed the net and did a lot of screaming; Ron was too! This was a BIG Snook, the fish took off and must of nicked a tree. The 14lb Spiderwire Stealth normally is tough, but the fish was gone. I told Ron at least we saw how big it was, this takes out all the guessing. We move on and ran out in the Gulf of Mexico there have been a lot of Tarpon out there, I have been catching them on bait and lures, we hadn't caught bait yet and we were throwing plugs. All of a sudden there was 80lbs of jumping fury, Nancy tried to get tight on the Tarpon but fish threw the X-rap. We caught some Mullet and went back to Tarpon fishing, it didn't take long and we had one smash a bait the rod doubles over Nancy fought the fish. The fish wasn't fighting like a Tarpon. The Tarpon was gone and a 5 lb Mackerel is on our hook! This shows how hard a Tarpon slams a Mullet that he cound't get it after it hit it, but the Mackerel did. Several more Tarpon bites and numerous Sharks released including a Hammerhead and it was time to go. 101906- Pre-fished Flamingo today with my partner Pete for this Saturdays "Friendly Flamingo tournament". It was a good day the Tarpon, Snook, and Redfish the fish were where there, we called it an day and hoped they would be there on Saturday. 102106- Friendly Flamingo Tournament lines in at 7 am, by 715 we already had caught a couple small Snook and a keeper Trout. The Tarpon where rolling everywhere but were not interested in our lures. I went to a fly which small Tarpon cant refuse normally, but today there's no interest. I did catch a Snook and Trout on fly. We where catching Snook on every cast for a while I know at one point I was up to 6 cast in a row catching a Snook. I finally landed a small Tarpon 19 inches. He wasn't very big but they were not eating and I knew it might make a difference. We we definitely on a good bite and took advantage, we caught over 30 Snook the largest 28 inches, while attempting to catch a Tarpon. There were other fish as well, 2 Jewfish up to 10 lbs, Small Reds up 16 inches, Jacks, and Ladyfish. This was a very good tournament which had great organization, its 2 years in a row we finished second. we will be back next year this tournament is fun. 102206- Today we are fishing a 2 boat group of seasoned anglers. I have Mark and Brett on my boat, we started out on Redfish in very shallow water. the Reds were "waking up" but were hard to see in windy. After a few missed hit Mark had a Redfish eat his Gulp jerk bait and take off for a bit only to let go. There were 3 different tournaments this weekend and a lot of boat traffic. I think today's bite showed the pressure. We managed to catch 5 Snook up to 26 inches Mark lost one bigger than that but none the less got his blood pumping. Brett saw a Tarpon roll made the cast and watched the Tarpon eat his lure; that made his day, right up until we had some big jacks busting baits. Brett made the proper cast and his lure got smashed; this got his attention, we released a 5 lb Jack. The day started slowly but we stuck with it and made a respectable day out of it. 102806- The weather has been tough this week, we had our first cold front and today the second is moving in. The weather forecast was 100 percent chance of rain and sw wind 20 -25mph; no one in their right mind goes fishing. The first think I of in times like this is I have to know how they bite in these conditions because eventually I will get booked by a die hard angler who dont care about the weatherand has the "let's go attitude". I called my buddy Wayne we haven't got to fish together in a while and he dont care how bad it gets he's a die hard angler! The day started slow in wet; not rainy, Wayne fell in. It wasn't long after the rain started and like i told him he just got a head start on getting wet. The barometric pressure was falling and fish sometimes don't bite, thats the challenge? I have been on a great pettern and I attempted to see if it would hold , the water was dirty and most of the areas weren't producing. One of the big factors of catching fish is clean water and current so we headed right into the bad weather and found the clean water, it didn't take long. We caught a couple small Redfish and missed a couple big bites. Big Mangrove Snapper is what they were, Wayne was throwng a chrome rattle trap it was getting some attention he quickly landed a 16 inch snapper which is a great fish on a plug. On the next point he had a monster blow on his plug, the monster Snook only showed his head while shaking the plug loose. All I could say is that was a "monster'! We continued fishing every point on every island in the area,the weather was getting worse. We had to catch 20 Mangroves between 12-16 inches, these fish all fight like Snook wrapping up in trees and trying to cut you off. It's a guessing game at first while your casting for Snook the Mangroves were gorging pilchards and getting to the baits first. I made a cast on a flat with great current pushing across the point and got hit, it wasn't a samll fish in and out of the mangroves and finally a peek at her another "monster" but she wasn'tin the boat yet! This snook made 3 giant runs back into the roots and luckily the tide was so low and she could not get under them. I kept pressure on the fish finally my buddy Wayne grabbed her with the Boga grip. This was a big fat Snookwhich brought lots of excitement to us, after a few phots we revived her and she swam away. This Snook was over 40 inches and weighed 18 1/2lbs. on the Bogagrip. This was a day we should of stayed home but ended up playing the conditions for what they gave us. This days total fish count was 5 Snook, 4 Redfish, 1 Trout, 20 Mangroves, Ladyfish, Jacks and jumped 1 Tarpon. I told Wayne, S.W winds fish aren't supposed to bite laughing, we could of stayed home today but we made the best of the conditions and I caught my personal best Snook. We both laughed at that one. As of 101206 the bait schools are pouring down the beach thru North Miami Beachs Haulover inlet. Miami Beach will be loaded with fish. The bait runs are going off on both coasts so its getting interesting as you can see. The fishing will remain like this until the hard cold fronts start pushing thru. If your interested in getting some drag pulled give me a call at 305 333 8149. Let's Go Catch'em Captain Jimbo www.caughtlookincharters.com (Click to enlarge) Select another page || Go to Home Page

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