Florida Fish Reports - Flats, Keys, Biscayne Bay - Bonefish, Snook, Permit, Tarpon, Redfish, Cobia, Spanish Mackerel

Florida Sport Fishing Reports - Flats, Biscayne Bay, Everglades and Florida Keys
• Current Fish Reports From South Florida, Everglades, Florida Bay and Upper Florida Keys
• Water Temps, Hot Bites
• Tarpon - The Silver King - Return to South Florida
• Bonefish Heating Up in Biscayne Bay
• Snook On The Bite in Florida Bay

Big Tarpon are willing to take the fly!

CURRENT FLORIDA SPORT FISHING REPORTS
The Silver King has Returned!!
April 22, 2008
Their back! The boys of spring and summer have made a strong showing already this year with numerous fish being jumped and or boated for a picture each day. Ocean side fish are on the move in 3 to 8 feet water and are eating some flies: green, purple and burnt orange toads or double bunnies are good in clear water.

On the Gulf of Mexico side I think the Tarpon are eating a lot better. We are finding fish from Oxfoot bank to Big Sable and some fish are starting to show up in the basins, the best bite has been in the mornings finding rolling and gulping fish on the last part of the outgoing tide and the first part of an incoming. They are eating my Everglades Grizzly flies as well as cockroach patterns. I am using a Loomis 12 wt GLX with a Tibor Gulfstream topped of with S.A. Tarpon intermediate or floating fly line.

On the plug side the X-rap is a sure bet, best colors are white, orange and the silver # 8 with 40lb fluorocarbon leader and a 60lb fluorocarbon bite leader tied onto 30# braided line on a medium light rod and a Quantum Cabo 50 or 60. And if you have a chance to get out at night around Card Sound Bridge there are a lot of smaller fish between 20 and 80 lbs these fish are eating pinfish, shrimp and ladyfish drifted back. Even if you just jump a few a day it is a blast, and to see a 100lb plus big momma coming out of the water shaking her head it can only make you smile! And remember DON’T freeze when that fish strikes.

Biscayne bones are charging hard at flies too, some schools are fighting each other for a shrimp pattern fly as we saw this week. I think the bone fishing will only get better as time goes. I am finding schools of bones on the western side of Biscayne Bay along with some tailing permit. On calm mornings which are a treat now-a-days (cause there hasn’t been a lot of them) bones and permit can be seen tailing a good distance away using binoculars this is a good way of not
pushing fish that may be not so active off the flats.

Snook have been plentiful on the flats of Florida Bay until this last little push of cold air. I was finding mucho amounts of line-siders for fly and sight fisherman on the flats and these guys where eating real well. The water temp dropped 10 degrees on the last front and moved the fish to muddier waters where these fish will return in the next few days.

So get out and enjoy some warmth and listen to the sound of the silver king gulping air first thing in the morning on a calm day man it doesn’t get any better!

Until next time keep the sun at your back.
Capt. Jim Hale
786-255-1788

Fishing Report for January-February 2008
For all you sight and fly fisherman the past six weeks has been very good for stalking bone fish. On warm days in between cold fronts they have been pushing up on the flats to play. Most of the fish I am finding are small schools of mudders and tailing fish pouring in an outgoing tide and are not spooky, in fact, in one area that we have been fishing, most of the fish are swimming around the boat waiting for us to feed them. I have been fishing this school for several weeks with good outcomes.

Eric Johnson from Long Island, New York fished with me and found this out by bringing 2 bones to the boat on fly, one at 8 lbs and another at 12 lbs with plenty of shots at more fish. Also Mathew St. Jermain and David Torbert from here in Homestead fished this week and Mathew caught his first 2 bones sight fishing on the flats with spinning gear. Great job guys!

THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF BONE FISH IN BISCAYNE BAY for Feburary. On SOME days I am seeing well over 100 bones! With all the hot temps lately and warm water there are also mega permit around they are acting like it is April. That should change back soon when we will get a cold blast this week and put the crazy fishing to rest or until this weird so called winter goes away again! I don’t like the colder months and the past 2 months have made me grin and I am actually enjoying this winter!!

I’ve been tying my own fly patterns and they have been working well. One of which is a small shrimp pattern in olive fur with pearl chenille gold with gold flash, and tan craft fur with pink flash and silver body with pearl chenille brown on a Mustad 34007 #4 hook.

North of Flamingo in the back bays the big Tarpon are here to play with warm water and calm days , the largest tarpon to the boat so far is an estimated 110 lbs taken on a X-RAP with plenty more around the 80 + in lb range. On fly the large everglades flies are working well for big fish, this week James Dillard of Miami jumped 6 and boated a fish at 100 lbs. A cold front this week will push them out for a little while but they should return when it warms up. (continued at top of the right hand column)

Windy and cloudy days can push fish down and out and weekends can be tough for Tarpon too with a lot of boat traffic around, this can push these weary fish around so if you are fishing for Tarpon and you see a line of boats please give them room and find other fish… there are a lot around, the slightest motor noise can ruin a anglers day and mine!

In Florida bay the sight fishing has been a little tougher than last year. Last year reds and snook were plentiful. Lately I am finding good fishing early in the day on outgoing clean water. Larger redfish are starting to show up in small schools with singles and doubles too tailing on the flats. (These fish are kinda skinny, I know they spawn in low light months so maybe they are just starting to munch!)

For anglers learning to salt water fly fish this can be a blast. The last week large snook are in pot holes to the east!

When it has been windy and making Florida bay look like chocolate milk we have been tossing artificals around the mangroves in moving water, with results of snook to 10 lbs and plenty of redfish.

Good luck
Capt. Jim Hale
786-255-1788

Bonefish action has been HOT!

Sight fishing Bonefish has been very good.

The last week large snook are in pot holes.

HURRICANE SPORT FISHING ON TELEVISION!
Last April, I had the pleasure of fishing with Bill Boyce and IGFA Angler’s Digest while they filmed a show that aired in July. I had a wonderful time and would like to thank Jason Schratweiser and Mike Myatt of the IGFA, Bill Boyce host of the show the IGFA Anglers Digest, Dee Peralta and Richard Chudy both on the camera. That day we jumped 3 tarpon brought 1 to the boat caught numerous snook some on fly and Mike’s 2 nice sight fished reds on the flats.

The show is coming to Florida on FSN and you'll be able to catch the action starting in the 3rd quarter (June. 2008) so keep an eye out for Hurricane Sport Fishing on IGFA Angler's Digest.

If you would like to see a sneak preview of the show, please go to our South Florida fishing videos page. Behind the show and all of it’s organization was Merijo Attong and Jennifer Barber of Sportsman’s Addiction, thanks for all the help you two, you made it great!!!! The show will rerun in December so check the IGFA Angler's Digest website for more info.

Merijo Attong of Sportsman's Addiction with her August catch of an 18lb Flamingo Redfish.