April 25, 2015 Report (Tarpon)

Regular client of mine and friend David brought his friend Tracy and Tracy's two kids along, Carter and Logan. We fished David's new 32' Intrepid and the goal was to tarpon fish then hit the channels for snappers for the kids. Not 10 minutes after setting up one of the rods goes off and Carter is on a 150lb tarpon smoking 200 yards off the reel! He did a great job and then eventually turned the rod over to Tracy. This was a tussle. The big tarpon got us into a bridge and made another long run into two sets of bridge pilings. All hope was lost but an effort still had to be made so I locked down the drag risking a straightened hook or broken braid and had David put the twin 300 Yamahas in reverse. Unbelievably the fish started to come towards the boat an inch at a time and after what seemed like an eternity he was 30 away from the menacing bridge pilings. After 45 minutes of hand to hand combat the fish came to the side of the boat and we had the release, pis and a DNA sample for The Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. Wow, what a ride! Congrats Tracy! We spent the rest of the trip in the channels catching snappers for the kids and basking in the glory of a tarpon victory.

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

April 24, 2015 Report

Today was certainly a tough day. It started with the stator on my outboard failing 5 minutes into todays trip and forcing me to idle for the entire trip. Thankfully most of the tarpon spots are close to the marina so we pressed on. There were few fish around today although pods of rolling tarpon were around here and there. We hooked on briefly and the rest of the day was spent in the middle of fish that refused to eat. I don't like days like today! Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409

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