April 23, 2015 Report (Tarpon)

Kyle and his wife Liz were in town from VT and booked a last minute tarpon trip so off in the dark we ran in order to get into a good morning bite and be back at the marina before the crazy Sunday boaters hit the water. As we pull in to the morning's tarpon spot we see fish rolling around. A bit later Liz's bait goes down and she's on a tarpon! She reels to come tight to the fish and there is no tension. HUH? We reel in the bait and it's half eaten, the tarpon never got the hook in it's mouth. Geeze! A while later the other rod goes off and Liz is on a big tarpon jumping and tail walking right towards her! She reels in the slack, the fish comes a few feet from the motor and makes a long run. After a brief battle she hands the rod to Kyle and he fights the fish for the balance of the hour long fight. The tarpon dragged us about 3/4 of a mile from where we hooked up and soon I see a big bull shark near the boat. In an effort to save the tarpon we put max pressure and get the leader release on Kyle's first tarpon and try to drag the fish back to a flat away from the big shark. Unfortunately, 5 minutes after the leader release the shark obliterates the 150lb tarpon so close to the boat we could have grabbed its dorsal fin! It was a very exciting but very sad ending to see this fish lost to a shark. You never know what to expect in Miami!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409

April 22, 2015 Report (Tarpon)

Tom and Cal have a place in Key Largo and we've fished together a few times and these guys are always great. Arriving at our first tarpon spot of the day immediately there were tarpon rolling everywhere and within a minutes of Cal setting up he hooks up to a nice tarpon in the 140lb class. He fought the fish for about an hour and as the big tarpon is close to the boat it did a 180 and headed right under the boat. No! Before anyone of us could react the tarpon was under the boat and broke us off. Urgh!!!!! The rest of the day was spend being teased by tarpon that refused to eat. Today was certainly a tough day!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409

April 21, 2015 Report

Dean got his 150lb tarpon on a half day Sunday and he was back for a full day of tarpon fishing today. The bite was good overall and there was action throughout the day. However, we went 0-8 getting 8 bites, hooking four fish and losing all of them for a number of reasons. All in all it was a fun day with Dean but boy was I looking forward to getting a few to the boat today. Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409

April 20, 2015 Report (Tarpon!)

Dean from TX has fished with me several times before and has lost his tarpon every time for different reasons and we were both looking to today as being the magical day. Leaving the marina in the dark we set up on our tarpon spot and waited. Eventually, among a number of rolling tarpon, one of the rods goes off and Dean is on! Ten grueling minutes into a fight that had us dragging the big tarpon away from structure with the boat and he makes one last jump and comes off. Oh no! I'm starting to feel the pressure now but 10 minutes later one of the rods goes off again and Dean is on again. After a number of hair raising attempts to break us off and 40 minutes of intense man against beast battle Dean's fish comes to the side of the boat. A few pics and a DNA sample for the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust later the estimated 130lb tarpon swims off. Wheww, pressure is off and Dean had a BIG smile. I love tarpon season!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409

April 19, 2015 Report (Tarpon)

What a morning! Joey and his wife Brandy boarded at 5:45 am and the goal was tarpon. Sundays on the bay can get crazy so the goal was to get in, fight some tarpon and get out before the mayhem began. Moments after arriving at our location and setting up Brandy's rod goes off with a big tarpon launching into the air and the braid breaking immediately. Urgh! Silence for a few minutes and then another bite, and another, and another. In total we had 5 bites and lost them all for a number of reasons. So frustrating for me but Joey did a great job on his fish before the premature release and we were able to get some nice pics out of it although I came close to the leader release but was short about a foot. Joey used to be a fishing guide and has caught numerous big tarpon so the morning is nothing new to him but I always hate losing fish. These were great folks and we were in by 9:30 am.

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409

April 18, 2015 Report (crazy tarpon report!)

Wow, this tarpon fishing trip was crazy! Local client J.C. and his friend George hopped aboard while still dark for an early morning tarpon trip. Marking tons of fish on my Raymarine we get a hit while still setting up but George brings up a half eaten bait. Geeze! A bit after I mark more tarpon on my Raymarine and sure enough J.C.'s rod doubles over and over 100lbs of tarpon goes sky high and J.C.'s on tight to his fish. During the one and 40 minute fight the tarpon took us through an obstacle course of rock jetties, docks, anchored boats and markers but we managed to safely navigate all the obstacles in spite of some VERY close calls. Unfortunately, the end result of the battle was a big 9 plus foot bull shark eating J.C.'s tarpon. A real heart breaker for many reasons. In Miami's Biscayne Bay you never know what to expect!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409

April 17, 2015 Report

Under clear skies locals Manny and Marcel were in for a full day of tarpon, bonefish and permit fishing. This was the second day of slow fishing so we ended the day fishing a few wrecks in the bay where we kept the rods bent. Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409