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Sportsman
I
thought the inshore water
temperature was not going to
make it to the 70's this
year but as of April 3, the
water temperature broke the
70 degree mark and as of
this writing, April 6th, the
water temperature has made
it all the way to 72
degrees. For those of
you that are reading this
and wondering what I must be
writing about, well, here in
northeast Florida, water
temperature pretty much
dictates the fish bite when
the spring time bite starts
and the mark here is 70
degrees.
Prior
to this water temperature
the bite is sporadic. One
day you might have a good
day and the next slow as
grandmas sorghum in the
winter.
Now
that we have had a little
lesson in water temperature,
lets get down to some fun
fishing. This past
week the redfish have been
fired up with catches of 10
plus slot fish on every
trip. I think if I had some
folks that could effectively
work a top water, we
probably could have caught a
few on my favorites, the 6
inch Spook and the Top Dawg.
These are lures that if
you perfect, can be
productive on monster
redfish and trout and this
is the time of the year to
get them out, replace the
hooks with Daiichi Death
Trap trebles and put a few in
your box, ready to cast for
the studs.
If
you type in these links
http://www.hammondfishing.com/TOP%20WATER%20REDS%20WITH%20VIC.wmv or
http://www.hammondfishing.com/top%20water%20reds%20jim%201.wmvyou
can see the results of a
properly worked top water
lure.
The
key to working these is to
make the lure "walk the
dog". This is a
side to side action of the
lure. The lure is moving in
a right to left motion while
moving towards the boat ever
so slightly. It is more
important to have the lure
moving side to side than
moving towards the boat. To
get this action with the two
lures above, hold your rod
tip towards the water and
using your wrist, move the
rod tip towards the boat
about 1 foot. Then turn the
reel handle to take up the
slack then repeat. Most of
the time slower is better
than faster. If you get a
strike DO NOT rare back and
set the hook. Let the fish
tell you it is hooked. When
the fish has the lure or in
some cases the lure has the
fish, the rod will be bent
over and the line will be
peeling off of the spool.
MANY TIMES the fish will
strike at the lure and miss
it. If you rare back
and set the hook, you will
pull the lure away from the
fish and it will lose your
lure. When I have a strike
and do not get hooked up, I
do nothing for a second or
so then twitch the lure a
little then go back to the
walk the dog action. Many
times the fish will come
back to the lure if you
start moving it slowly, as
long as you have not pulled
it away from the fish. Other
good top water lures are the
Skitter Walk, Poppa Dawg,
Tiny Torpedo (great trout
lure), Creek Chub and the
Pop-R and I am sure there
are many more out there.
Once you have perfected this
technique, it can be more
full than just about any
other style of fishing. Here
are a few things to remember
about top water fishing. DO
NOT set the hook, let the
fish do that, be careful
when landing the fish and do
not get a face or handful of
hooks, check your line for
frays after each fish and
put back the monsters, they
are our breeding stock.
This
is supposed to be the month
that the monster trout show
up in the back waters and
river. They are here for ONE
REASON, TO BREED, so please
put the roe filled trout
back so we can have more
next year. These fish are
generally hungry and will
eat almost any lure in front
of their face. I sum time
refer to trout as the
saltwater largemouth because
of their strikes and
aggressive action towards
most lures. Big paddle tail
lures like the Gotcha 4 and
6 inch shad bodies
http://www.seastriker.com/softplastics/softplastics_files/shad.htm rigged
on a long shank lead head
jig or better on a 5/0
Daiichi Copperhead hook,
work great as an imitation
to a wounded fish.
Try
spooling your reel with 10
pound test Power Pro for
that LOOOONG cast with light
lures.
Flounder
should be moving in this
month and they usually like
a bait fished on the bottom.
Try mud minnows, shrimp,
finger mullet or small
mullet fillets. A lead head
jig works great in the
creeks where the current in
not screaming but in the
river try a carolina rig.
What ever your rig, try
"slower is
better". The bite is
usually a distinctive THUMP.
This is when Power Pro
really comes in handy
because of it's sensitivity.
After I feel the thump, I
like to gently lift up on my
rod. If the flat one is
there, the rod tip will feel
heavy, like you are hung on
a rock. This is the time to
set the hook and TURN THE
HANDLE. If the fish ate your
bait, you should be one your
way to a flounder dinner or
call me and I will come and
get them. If you like to
fish with artificials, a
great lure is the Gotcha 4
inch curl tail that has
soaked in poggey oil over
night. This fishes
great on a lead head jig or
a carolina rig.
By
the time this hits the
press, the Spanish Mackerel
should be at the inlets.
This is without a doubt one
of the most fun fish to
target and they broil and
smoke up pretty darn tasty.
If you are into the meat
fishing end of this action,
here is your rig.
Ugly
Stik Tiger Rod BWC 2202,
Shakespeare Arsenal AR15AL
reel, Sea Striker
Fluorescent 50 lb test line
on the reel spool, Gotcha #1
planner, snap swivel, 5 feet
of 40 lb test Sea Striker
clear Monofilament, Sea
Striker Mackerel Tree. In my
opinion, this is the best
trolling out / rig for
Spanish Mackerel around the
inlets, if you are meat
fishing. With this outfit /
rig you can catch up to six
spanish at a time on each
rod. If you tie this rig in
the order that I have it
described you will end up
with rod and reel then
planner then snap swivel
then 5 feet of mono then
mackerel tree. Get going
about 5 to 7 mph and send
this out about 50 to 75 feet
behind the boat ( I drag 2,
one on each side of the
boat) and put them in the
rod holders. When you send
them out the planner should
deploy and the rod should be
bent pretty good. When a or
multiple fish get hooked,
the rod will start jerking
and the planner will come to
the surface.
Now
if you are more into the
sport but still like a few
for the table, here are
the rigs for you.
Pflueger
spinning or bait cast outfit
spooled with 20 lb Power
Pro. A 30 lb mono leader
about 2 feet long and a
Gotcha casting jig or Clark
Spoon casting rig. Find the
birds and cast this as far
as you can in the direction
of all the commotion. When
it hits the water let it
sink for about 4 seconds the
TURN THE HANDLE as fast as
you can. You will hook up
and have a great time until
the birds go away.
The
rigs can be purchased online
at http://shop.seastriker.com/index.html
The
rods and reels can be
purchased at your local
tackle stores.
For
those of you that are into
catch and release only, try
the rigs above and bend down
the barbs on the single hook
and replace the treble with
a single with the barb bent
down.
These
four spanish came from one
mackerel tree all at one
time.
There
are still lots of yellow
mouth trout in the river and
they will eat almost any
kind of cut bait, squid,
shrimp, soft plastics on jig
heads and mud minnows. Look
for deep rocky banks or
around the bridges.
Emily
Bailey with 2 of many she
landed using live shrimp and
a float rig
The
ocean is still producing
good numbers of snapper with
some nice grouper mixed in.
Most of the catches are
coming from 10 to 18 miles
out in water from 80 to 90
feet deep. Best bait is a
live cigar minnow but boston
mackerel also works.
The
redfish are schooled up on
the lower tides and can be
caught using a carolina rig
with a piece of crab fished
on the bottom.
Nona
Bowes with a fat one she
caught on crab
Remember
Moms and Dads, spend some
time with your kids taking
them fishing. It will make a
positive difference in their
lives.
Don't
forget to watch Fun Fishing
on ION Media Network,
Saturdays at 8 am. Go to
www.fishingwithjim.com
to see the station in your
area.
Capt
Jim's Fun Fishing Inc.
17184 Dorado Cir
Jacksonville, Fl 32226
904 757 7550
Captain Chris Myers -- Mosquito
Lagoon, Indian River, Banana River, Titusville and Cocoa Beach
Central Florida Sight Fishing Charters Tel:
321-229-2848 e-mail:
info@floridafishinglessons.com
April 14, 2008
Captain.
J.C. -- J.C.’s
Indian River Fishing Charters, Melbourne Florida In
Port: 772-388-0805
Cell:
772-633-4349
E-mail: captjc@bellsouth.net
April
21, 2008
Ok
well the cold front came in and now we look like we might be headed
for summer and top water action for sure. The cold weather really made
fishing a challenge as the water temps went from 80 down to the low
60’s causing our friends to be less than cooperative. This week they
are calling for temperatures during the day of 80’s with lots of sun
so the water temperature should move into the low 80’s. So lets
break out the top water and let the fun begin.
I
fished all week and as said earlier the beginning of the week was a
challenge. The water temps were in the low 60’s so we went to the
drop offs of the spoil islands and the flats early around 9 in the
morning. We used Gulp 3 inch glow shrimp on a 1/8 ounce jig and worked
them slowly and did manage to get a few Trout most in the 10 to 14
inch range. The bite was very finicky and they had to be coaxed into
taking the bait. I do not usually like using Gulp as the price is a
little high and you always seem to feed the puffers. Using the gulps
when the temps are down though does seem to cause them to bite more
aggressively. Later in the day we did move onto the flats and saw lots
of big fish. Key word here is saw and talking to other people they saw
a lot also but no catching. While on the flats we did catch some Trout
and Short Snook all in the range of 10 to 15 inches. We were using
D.O.A. jerk baits in Arkansas glow and Yo-Zuri 3d fingerlings in green
prism.
Ok
later in the week things changed as the water temperatures started to
climb. We actually moved back to more of a summer pattern. Working the
flats and sand bars of the spoil islands early with D.O.A. shrimp and
jerk baits in glow and red with gold fleck we caught Trout and again
some short Snook. All the fish were still in the 10 to 15 inch range
but we had a lot more fish. The jacks and ladies were also a lot more
prevalent and created nonstop action some mornings. Once
again we saw big fish and talking to other people if you stayed it
paid. Seems they would start biting for a while but there was no rhyme
or reason to when. Late afternoon though did seem to be better. Once
we had worked the flats and spoil islands we moved to the docks and
had better success then the week bef ore. I think the cooler weather
moved my Sheepshead and Black Drum back into the docks. Using live
shrimp on a #2 owner hook with split shot we had some nice Black Drum
in the 6 to 7 pound range and some nice Sheepshead in the 4 to 5 pound
range. We also had some Snook in the 18 to 20 inch range.I did have one evening trip this past weekend and using top
water we had one Red that was 21 inches. No it was not big but hay top
water what can you say but yea baby.
Now
for the coming week and what to do if you head out. First get out
early and fire up the tope water plugs.If it is dead calm I would go with a small popper like the
Yo-Zuri 3d working it slowly or a walk the dog style lure like the
Skitter walk. I would try the flats or edges of the spoil islands and
look for bait. I would be looking for finger mullet or glass minnows
and work the edges of the bait. The other place I would hit is the
mangrove edges especially down south of the Wabbasso Bridge. Later in
the day I would still work the flats and spoil islands using soft
plastics such as jerk baits. Base your color on water clarity. If it
is clear I like flashy baits such as clear with gold fleck or
chartreuse with gold fleck. If
the water is dirty I like dark reds with gold f lake or Arkansas glow
.Where retrieves are concerned you should start out slow and speed up
over time. Since we will have warmer water temperatures you will need
to see what they are looking for. The other thing to do is go late in
the day. I would plan an evening trip and do some top water starting
like 6 or so and work until dark. Oh and yes if you are looking for
action hit the docks with live shrimp. The other bait I will start
favoring for the docks is Pin fish. The
docks should start being a great place in the later morning for Snook
as the water heats up. They should start moving in under them to stay
cool.
I
hope everyone has a Blessed and Safe week. If you have any questions
about what’s biting and where drop me a note. I am more than happy
to give you the low down on what’s been working for me.
For contact
information on the Charter Fishing Captains below, see the Charter Directory)
Capt. Tris
Colket Last Mango Sport Fishing Charters
Tel: (772) 559-0594 e-mail: fvmango@juno.com
March 24, 2008
As the wind howls outside my window on
an otherwise glorious and sunny Florida afternoon, I find myself relecting
on one our more recent charter trips.
The nasty green water that had eddied down from the Cape all
through Feb and March had definitely made the fishing a little tougher
than usual and there were several days when we struggled to make
something happen!
With live bait difficult, if not
impossible, to catch on any of the inshore bouys & other 'not
so secret hot spots & bait holes', our options were limited. Trolling
is always a great way to start the day (and finish the day if the fish
cooperate), but that green water had covered up the bar and
on out to at least 180' and there were no 'conditions' to be found at
it's offshore edge.
Well, perserverence pays off more often
than not and we captured a few small dolphin as well as the requisite
bonita & barracuda mix. It was time to put a serious bend in the
rods. Ooops, 'no' live bait and cold water on the bottom on the
bar. What to do? Finish the day off trolling or.........."make it
happen!"
So you know where I'm going with the
charter trip now. Out to the deeper water, trolling rigs put away and
the Shimano jiging rods coming out of their compartment and readied
for serious battle with the infamous "reef donkey",
aka AJ/amberjack.
Ok, so most of our charter wasn't so
sure about this idea, in fact, only one of them was the least bit
famiiar with vertical jigging. Well thank you Antanas Bukauskas!
At 16 or 17, this young man with the support of his father Vyto, was
not only familiar with jigging, but kicked some serious amberjack tail
while the others became more and more interested in our effort.
Darrell Hathaway was next with another 40 plus pounder and then things
got hot.
At one point it was total mahem with three on at a time and
anglers hanging on to Shimano's finest fishing rods for dear life (and
to escape the wrath of the captain perhaps)! All were up to the task
and we boated several 45 lb amberjack and had way too
many "Palm Beach Releases' directly under the boat). Back to
knot tying 101...note to self...'when tying Spectra to mono, you had
better do it right'! Ah heck, some of them just broke off or ripped
off under pressure from some very serious anglers.
Although we weren't that lucky on this
trip, plenty of grouper and sanpper are caught on these jigs; kings,
wahoo and tuna as well. Remember that the 'toothy critters' may take
your jig with them. You don't want to lose any more of them than you
have to!
The investment is substantial and losing a jig or two is all too
common, but what a 'great back up plan' for a day when the trolling is
off and live bait is hard to come by. Try your hand at it or better
yet, come aboard the Last Mango.. www.lastmango-charters.com
... and let us initiate you into the World of Vertical Jigging!
Note: Although Asian fishermen and
perhaps others, have been capitalizing on not so recent
advances made in 'verticaI jigging' for some time, I will have to give Shimano
credit for bringing the penomenon to the U.S and
subsequently, to my attention. Their entire line of vertical jigging
rod and reel combinations have been well researched, well made and
well marketed. Their line of actual jigs is also hard to beat.
Catch em up! www.lastmango-charters.com
Capt Tris
Tris Colket
www.lastmango-charters.com
267 Marina Drive
Fort Pierce, FL.34949
Cell: 772.559.0594
Capt. David Ide
Lady Pamela II Sportfishing
Tel: (954) 647-3503 e-mail: ladypamela@bellsouth.net
May 2,
2008
This story took place almost a
week ago and I am still wearing the same stupid grin I had on
when I stepped off the boat at 2am.
My brother Mike, my fishing buddy
DJ and myself chartered the Lady Pamela 2 out of Fort Lauderdale
on Saturday April 26th for a combo day / night charter. We
arrived at the boat at about 12:30pm. I noticed right away that
the captain and mate were excited about the trip. As they loaded
the boat I saw the load carefully cut strip baits and the
freshly tied rigs. It didn't seem like another day at the office
which is the norm with charters in my experience. Like us, these
guys loved to fish and it showed. The weather was cooperating
and we were on our way.
We left the slip at 12 noon and started trolling a few miles out
of the inlet. As experienced northeast offshore fishermen the 3
of us settled into the waiting game. After about an hour of
trolling Paul the captain noticed a large black shadow in the
trolling spread. With a little convincing from Chuck the mate
and the captain the big blue marlin hit and headed off to the
horizon. As luck would have it the fish hit the 30lb outfit in
lieu of the heavy stuff. My brother Mike jumped in the chair and
the fight was on. Even on 30lb tackle Mike was starting to tire
a bit until the captain called from above with the most
motivating one liner I ever heard on a boat, "Mike, if you
land this fish you have the rest of your life to rest".
Well after all that we lost the fish a good distance from the
boat. The captain said we were hunting elephants with a BB gun.
We're not sure how big the fish was but according to my brother
its gets 100lbs bigger everyday he tells the story.
Next we tried our luck with wreck
fishing. Paul backed the boat over a wreck and Chuck dropped
down a fresh live bait. Nobody was home and we moved on to the
next wreck. These guys were persistent. The next wreck we hooked
into something heavy and it was DJ's tern in the chair. We were
using heavy tackle to make sure we could get the fish away from
the wreck. After a few minutes we landed and released a 53"
amberjack. A great fish Paul estimated at about 60lbs.
Back to trolling....
Things were quiet and by about
5pm I headed inside for a nap. I was shortly awakened by 4 guys
yelling for me to get in the chair and a screaming reel. The
first thing I saw was a huge splash about 100yds behind the
boat. I looked like someone dropped a depth charge in the water.
The next hour seemed like forever. We had hooked a huge mahi
(again on the 30lb long rod). The fish jumped out of the water
at least 20 times as we prayed for the hook to stay put. Paul
maneuvered the boat perfectly and Chuck calmly coached me every
step of the way. We had the fish within 20 feet of the boat for
20 minutes but he wouldn't budge. Chuck had an idea to change
course down sea to give us a slight edge. This was the advantage
we needed, the big bull presented a shot, and Chuck took it home
with the gaff. The fish hit the deck and the celebration was on.
Paul the captain ran down from the bridge and we all jumped
around for a good 5 minutes. Again, these guys loved to fish. We
(definitely a team effort) landed a 61" roughly 60lb mahi
on 30 test. Not bad.
At this point we were behind schedule on getting to sword fish
land about 15 miles off Miami. Chuck quickly cleared the lines
and we steamed out away from the setting sun. We all helped set
the gear at dusk and began waiting. We worked the baits for the
rest of the night and continued to wait. At this point Mike, DJ,
and I were laying in the cabin killing time by breaking each
other's chops (DJ you still can't come to the picnic). By 11pm
we were shot and I gave Paul the go ahead to head for the barn.
It was a good day and we were satisfied. By the time I changed
out of my bib pants and boots Paul and Chuck noticed one of the
lines was heavy. The fight was on. My brother Mike went toe to
toe with one of the toughest pelagics BY HAND. He was hand
lining a broadbill sword fish over eight feet long. This time
around Paul was in the cockpit and Chuck was at the helm. After
a relatively short battle the fish was at the boat and Paul sunk
the gaff home. The fish hit the deck and this time Chuck got to
run from the bridge to celebrate with the team. For Mike, DJ,
and me this was the first broadbill we landed. Unbelievable.
In the organized chaos that
ensued no one noticed that we had another heavy line. We boated
another smaller broadbill while the first one was still flopping
around on the deck! Not as impressive as the first but still a
great fish. Had enough yet? DJ landed and released an 8 foot
long hammer head on the last line out.
We finally arrived at the slip at 2am. The mahi was off to the
taxidermist and we all hung out at the slip for about an hour
gloating over our success. For 3 lifelong fishermen who have had
their share of both personal and private trips either blown out
or struck out this was one great day. Thanks to Paul (the
captain), Chuck (the mate), and Dave (the owner) from the Lady
Pamela 2 for a very memorable trip. Sorry for the long winded
story and don't forget to tip the crew.
Tight lines, Lou
A Fishing Report by a very happy angler!
Captain David Ide
Captain Taco Perez -- Ft.
Lauderdale
Hooked Up Sportfishing
Tel: (954)
764-4344
e-mail: info@tacohookedup.com
Feb 29
Today we had
Clint and Nikki from Mountview, Wyoming, along with their friends
Verne, Mark, and Brett from Utah. We spent the first half of the trip
fishing North of Pompano with no luck. We heard of few sailfish being
caught but they were spread, one here, and one there, not much to it.
We worked our way out to 350 feet of water and put out some dead bait
for sharks along with our live kite baits, and still no luck for us.
Clint told me early in the trip his main goal was to get his wife,
Nikki hooked up with a big game fish. Then, I really felt the pressure
because not many fish were biting at all. I decided to move on to the
South. We did manage to catch one dolphin fish and Verne reeled it in,
for this was not the big trophy fish Nikki was searching for. Everyone
on the boat was getting a little restless, and I was pulling my hair
out when all of a sudden, there he was. Not just any sailfish, but a
very big sailfish. Nikki wasted no time jumping in the chair to get
hooked up with the fish she was waiting for all day. While we were
fighting the fish, my kites hit the water and it made it difficult to
keep the boat pointed at the fish for Nikki. At this point, Nikki’s
fish meant a lot more to us then our kites being in the water. After
25 minutes of fighting, Nikki finally got the fish to the boat. Way to
Go Nikki! Thanks for making the day! We also managed to save our
kites; the day was a great success.
That is all for February 2008. We are very excited to be moving into
the springtime and we are expecting a hot sailfish bite this season.
Give us a call at (954) 764-4344 and come get HOOKED UP in sunny south
Florida.
CAPTAIN TACO
Fanntastic Fishing -- Ft.
Lauderdale, Pompano, Port Everglades, Miami, South Florida and Bahamas Captain Mark Fann (954) 728-9880 (954) 661-6911
e-mail: captmarkfann@aol.com
September 4, 2007
Wow - how time has flown by - It's
already December and the holiday season is upon us - We have
holiday gift certificates available - what a perfect gift - a day
on the water!
The warm weather this past week has
slowed down the sailfish action a bit. Dolphin, blackfin
tuna and scattered wahoo are still being caught offshore.
Today and Wednesday, a cold front
will pass through South Florida and re-energize the fishery.
Sailfishing should be good through the end of the week.
I've heard good reports on the
swordfishing both day and night trips with the day trips producing
bigger fish upwords of 400 lbs.
Kingfish are still being caught on
the third reef with some cero and spanish mackeral mixed in.
Vermillion snapper have been biting
near the deeper structure.
HI. It's been a while since my last
report. Truth is I have been very busy fishing and just had a
rain day to go through my notes and saw my report was OLD!
The bite off Fort Lauderdale has
been strange this winter so far. Did I mention winter? We have
had very few days of chill here. I think I only needed to go for
the jeans instead of shorts 5 days all winter so far. After 28
years on the water here I can unofficially say this feels the
warmest yet. What that has done for our fishing is confusing.
The water stayed warm and the the fish bite is very hot and
cold.
I wish I could write you and
tell you it has been unreal, great and fantastic but I try to be
up front and honest. We are getting our good days but many we
have seem to be a waiting game. One of the great assets I bring
to the table is many years fishing light tackle and my center
console boat that is set up for it. When the big bite is off I
often switch over and start bending the lighter rods with more
cooperative species. This is not what you might have set off to
do but it does produce bent rods and helps to bring a smile
onboard. When they are biting I get into the Sailfish, Kingfish,
Dolphin and Bonita like the rest but I can also pull out
the ammo and get you onto action with my inshore and nearshore
experience. It is better then the old skunk.
It looks like we do have some good
action on the way. March, April, May and early June are our peak
season for ALL fishing species here. It is just around the
corner and by the time you read this it might be here,
especially if I drag on my updates again...
You can always go to my website, www.actionsportfishing.com
and check for the latest reports and photos there too.
Offshore:
Still windy and still only a pick of Dolphin offshore this
past week. There were several Blue Marlin seen and one
hooked and lost on the Fish tales from Whale Harbor Marina.
Capt. Ron Allen on the Fish Tales hooked a Blue that was
estimated at near 400 pounds. The fish ate a blue
Islander lure rigged with a Ballyhoo in 600 feet of water.
The humps are producing Black Fin Tuna and Amberjack, but
the big sharks are still on the prowl and make it tough to
get many whole fish to the boat.
Reefs:
Go figure, the Sailfish are still here and willing.
Capt. Chris Scott again this week on his Dog House Charter
boat had a banner day on the Sails, releasing eight
out of 13 one day. The Yellowtail Snapper are
biting well and most anglers are getting a limit of the
feisty “Tails” before heading farther out to look for
Dolphin. Also in the 90 to 140 foot depths are the
King Mackerel and a live bait deep should prompt a bite from
the toothy critters. The Permit are showing up on reef
coral heads and wrecks. Most captains do not venture
out to the reef without taking several live Blue Crabs to
throw at the Permit.
Gulf and Bay:
Gulf /bay boundary areas such as Schooner and Oxfoot bank,
Sandy Key and 1st. National bank have seen very little
angling due to the relentless wind that has been blowing.
These areas hold great numbers of Tarpon and are a haven to
many guides and private anglers due to the remoteness and
distance to travel to get there. Also, the Seatrout
and Snapper action can and will be very good, as the water
temperature is in the mid to upper seventies in these areas.
Flats, Backcountry and Flamingo:
In and around Flamingo the Trout are in good supply and are
eating jigs as well as Shrimp on a float. The east
Cape Sable beaches are giving up Snook, Reds and Drum while
drifting Shrimp along the sandy beach bottom. Closer
to home, Capt. Dave on the No Politics skiff has been
catching Bonefish with regularity Oceanside Islamorada.
Tarpon action is good, bad and ugly, mostly due to the wind
and hard tides. Mullet are thick as thieves in the
Whale Harbor area and pretty easy to net as Tarpon bait.
Many captains are getting Pilchards too as bait for Tarpon
and Snook. There are plenty of Tarpon being caught,
but the catches will get better when, you guessed it, the
wind lays down.
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