November 2006

Season Change It’s already Thanksgiving; the temperatures have finally dipped into the 80’s! I know that sounds funny to a guy reading this in Wisconsin but we were at the 90 degree mark right up into November. The Tarpon, Snook and Redfishing has remained outstanding. I don’t say this just trying to get people to book trips; it’s honestly been very good. There are baits running down both coasts; Miami is loaded with bait and the predators are following. The Miami Tarpon bite might not be to far off hopefully in time for the BCS bowl game and the Super Bowl, which is in Miami. 110106- Jack Crittenden from E boat loans was working some mullet schools, which have poured thru this past month, when he hooked up with a 7lb Snook on a Rapala Twitch and Rap. We added anther 9lb Snook and then went Redfishing. We got into some really big schools; we caught a bunch up to 30 inches and then went looking for Tarpon. That’s all Jack need for the Grand Slam he had caught a Trout somewhere earlier. We got into the Tarpon but unfortunately they had lockjaw and no hookups on this day. 110306- I have been fortunate enough for my customers to catch some quality Snook, Dan Ista caught a nice one which weighed 9 1/2 lbs. again on a Twitch and Rap. The big Tarpon where swimming in about 10 inches of water, that’s means half their body was exposed. Dan and his buddy Mark had 5 fish come up in front of them with no success, we cast at Tarpon all morning and then some tailing Reds. We ended up the day Shark fishing only to hook what I though was a big Snook, we went Shark fishing but just couldn’t keep a Shark hooked up. 110906- Brad and his dad Stan, We started out in front of Flamingo marina one of the biggest schools of bait I had ever seen was moving across the flats. There were some big fish busting them up, I saw Tarpon in the school but unbelievably no bites. I decided it was time to move to a spot that had been red hot for me. They had lots of bites but the majority of the fish hooked were Ladyfish and Jacks. Brad did have a big fish hit which broke him off. Time to move again! I went to an area holding a big mullet mud; we worked the edge, which was clean. We poled across the flat, I told them to watch for muds from spooking a Snook. I spotted a mud and staked the boat out and told Brad to cast at a certain area. The next thing Brad felt was line being stripped from the reel, after what seemed like an eternity Brad got Snook next to the boat. I reached down with the Boga grip and pulled him in the boat. Brad was pumped as he just caught his biggest Snook ever 34 inches 11 ½ lbs. This Snook got his pictures taken with a guy with a big smile. We poled 20 yards and Brad was at it again this time 31inch 9 1/2lbs. I told Brad early in the morning about the satisfaction that comes with catching a quality Snook or Tarpon on a plug; he understood what I meant at the end of the day! 111106- Veteran’s day. Today I am honored to fish the Veterans Day fishing tournament out of south Biscayne Bay. Capt. Dave Sutton served in the USMC and puts on this little tournament every year in appreciation for his fellow military buddies. He gets a bunch of us guides to help him out and take these veterans out for a day of fun. There were guys that just got back from Iraq to guys who served in WW2 and Vietnam. I had John and Bill (Afghanistan) on my boat, the fishing was tough but we managed to catch plenty of fish by the end of the day. It wasn’t about setting records or winning; it was about fun and that’s what I specialize in. At 1 pm we all met at a pavilion we ate had a few beers and listened to some great stories. This put a lot of smiles on a lot of faces, count me in next year Dave. 111706- There is no better way to start a day than the sight of rolling Tarpon, today I'm with Conner and his son Drew and they liked what they saw. Super low tides pushed all the Tarpon into a basin which was loaded with mullet. I had them casting the lures that have been working for me, a Rapala X Rap, a Twitchin Rap and a Gulp jerk bait,the Jacks,Trout and Ladyfish were eating but the Tarpon weren't interested, Time to move! We headed west where the bait and Tarpon had been thick. I threw the cast net 1 time and caught 30 perfect mullet. We arrived at East Cape Canal, normally this area is busy but not today. The Tarpon were busting mullet which were pouring in from Florida Bay, this was an awesome show. We anchored up and went to work, it wasn't long before Drew caught a 50 lb Bull Shark, his largest fish ever. The bite was consistant and we had plenty of big runs one took 200 yards of braided line; then Conner go a backlash that ended in a broke off fish. The Tarpon were still busting the mullet as the tide slowed and changed, all of a sudden the line is screaming again and all of 100 lbs of Tarpon leaps into the air. The Tarpon fought hard but managed to come free. We ended up with 3 nice Tarpon bites, but all broke or jumped off. I loaded the well with Pilchards and went looking for some Snook. I started to chum with them and in turn turned on the whole flat. Drew had a live bait and Conner was casting a Twitch and Rap Conner cast at and area which was being busted by Snook and caught a 26 inch fish. Drew caught several big Jacks and we had a school of Reds come up but unbeleivably no takers,Conner even caught a few Cuda's. This day started slowed but gradually picked up, the guys had a blast. Winter arrived today! 111806 Today im fishing with some of the guys from the Miami Sportfishing Club we are looking for Cobias. A cold front passed and it cold and windy we attmted to fish the wrecks but with a steady 25 knt wind it was tough. We decided to go back inside to cacth some Snook. We managed 2 Snook and an assortment of other species. Thanksgiving week forecast is supposed to get colder this is a great time fish the deeper areas with shrimp tipped jigs or whole "jumbo shrimp". This is typically when the Reds and Snook will stack up in these spots, its possible to catch large numbers although some times they can be smaller fish. It sounds like the shrimp are moving with the cold and wind inside North Biscayne Bay thats means a good Snook and Tarpon bite is close! The biggest shrimp usually move early in the season so its also a time dip them for eating. 112306 Thanksgiving Day - For the last 10 years a group of us have fished early in the day and then made it home intime to feast, this year it was down to myself and my buddy Pete. It was cold in the morning and the previous pattern I talked about jigging the deeper areas paid off. The Redfish were schooled up we caught 20 or so and then moved on looking for Snook. The Snook seemed to be missing in action today we did watch as Snook busted baits but only in one area. We tried several areas that hold fish in the winter but I think they made a move to deeper water. I have some areas that are really good when the wind blows from the north and today a couple of them paid off. On the bottom of the tide we fished the edge of the flats, we had 50 Sharks feeding in 8 inches of water it was pretty cool to watch! The water was clean so we could sight cast to the Resfish that were there. We caught several nice ones up to 26 inches and had a couple of great Shark bites which we managed to pull away before they stole our lures. It was time to go eat now. 112406 I'm with Pete again today, we started out really shallow today but the fish weren't there. I think there was a lack of bait in the area, we moved to an shallow drainage off a flat near Sandy Key. The water was ripping off the already super dry flat. On my first cast I got slammed but missed, 2nd cast same spot and landed a big Flounder not really a common Flamingo specie. The Trout were large we had 25 or so with the largest one over 5lbs and 27 inches. The fish fought like a big Redfish but Pete was happy none the less, it was his largest Trout ever. We caught Jacks and Ladyfish as well. We needed to move the Snook weren't there either. I moved to a reliable edge that usually holds a little bit of everything. We pole a short stretch and spooked several fish, the water was crystal clear but we both spotted a nice Redfish in a hole at the same time. Pete cast his Rapala twitch and rap in the hole and the fish slurped it up. We had several more fish in the same scenarios it was fun, it was very clear and we could really see their reactions. I went to a couple areas I haven't been to in a while and checked them out post hurricanes. One hole was full of Snook and Goliath Grouper thats really nice to see. The creek pattern is red hot, jig the bottom slowly and use Gulp by Berkley it catches fish. The shallow bays in Whitewater Bay were also red hot this weekend, Redfish everywhere is what I was told (probably not everywhere). The big backcountry Tarpon bite! If the weather stays like this the big Tarpon could move in early like last year late January or February. If hundred pounders on light tackle or fly is your passion stay tuned in I'll keep you informed The fishing will be good whether it’s on Miami Beach, the inlets, the Biscayne Bay flats or Flamingo. The full moons will start the Shrimp runs which produce some great nights, during the day the baits schools are getting beat up. If your needs are Bonefish, Permit, Tarpon, Snook, or Reds give me a call at 305 333 8149. If you’re in town and want to catch fish I’m your guy. Let’s go Catch’em Captain Jim Hobales www.Caughtlookincharters.com (Click to enlarge) Select another page || Go to Home Page

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