Before I get started with this last report of this year I'd like to thank all of you who fished with me this past year. Here's hoping you all have a great New Year and that your holidays were spent with your loved ones. As the years roll by, they're the ones that matter....
This past week was all about variety, both day and night. My one night out in Biscayne Bay was about the great tarpon fishing around our local bridges. We found the fish that night, and in good numbers - all from about 15lbs to over 30 and right in the shadows where they should be. What we didn't see were any shrimp moving. As a result the fish were more apt to follow a fly than eat it. We still managed to get three or four to make a pass, and jumped one nice one in a short evening tide. Almost a week later there are finally some reports that the shrimp are being seen at night so the next few nights should be good. Typical gear is an 8 or 9wt rod, floating line, and small white flies (or light spinning gear with a 40lb leader and a shrimp type lure...). The night fishing should be good all winter long and into the spring when the tide's right and the shrimp are moving.
In the backcountry of Everglades National Park we had a great three days, right up until Christmas Day... The best fishing has been grouper (gag grouper up to 10lbs and more...) in the rivers between Oyster Bay and the Gulf coast on any tide as long as the water's moving... We caught them on lures, cut bait, live bait, wherever we found them. These fish are very aggressive when you find them in a feeding lane - most were biting on lures (jigs or lead heads with Gulp tails) and we caught some quite large fish on relatively light gear, usually 10lb spinning gear with a short piece of 40lb fluoro for a leader. Our best on lures was a 25" fish which was carefully released (the legal minimum is 24"), our best on live bait was a solid 27" fish that got invited home for dinner... There are larger grouper around but beating a really big one will take some luck as well as skill. These guys live in very bad places!
Along with the grouper there are lots of really nice snook still holding a lot nearer the coast than you'd guess for this time of year. The nearby tidal creeks that drain extensive mud flats are also holding lots of redfish to go with the snook. This action will go on all winter long in the right places.
Here's a few photos from last week...
This is a typical river grouper, we caught and released them as small as 6" all the way up to well over legal size.
Here's a really nice one taken on light spinning gear and a lure (at 25", this wasn't our biggest...)
This nice slot sized snook was caught and released in one of the many small tidal creeks that drain out into the Little Shark River.
Tight Lines
Capt Bob LeMay
(954) 435-5666