May 27, 2015 Report (Tarpon Video)

Local anglers Rick and his 15 year old son Ricky and I headed out today in Rick's boat for a morning tarpon trip. The bite was slow but then it turned on and Ricky was on to a 120lb tarpon that he fought for about an hour. Ricky did a great job fighting his fish and we got the leader release before breaking off. Congrats Ricky!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409 Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing

May 24, 2015 Report (CRAZY Tarpon Report!)

When I go to work everyday I never know what to expect and although I have seen a lot, Nick from N.Y. and I would experience something nerve wracking today. The plan was to tarpon fish early morning and then hit the flats to avoid the Memorial Day crowds. Arriving at tarpon spot number 1 we set up and I walk Nick through the intricacies of tarpon fishing on fly. No instruction I gave him could have prepared him for what would happen just minutes from now. Just minutes into casting at tarpon I see him strip strike, the rod bend and 130lbs of angry tarpon hits the air making several jumps right at us, 40' from the boat and closing! Nick stays tight to the fish and settles down into a long fight. Halfway through the tarpon takes us through a series of pilings and we manage to clear the menacing cluster. He was just getting us warmed up. After a brief tussle on the flat he hits deeper water and races to a nearby dock. In spite of our efforts and to our horror he gets us under a dock. My instincts kick in and I tell Nick to jump on the dock while I hold the fly rod. Once on the dock I give the tip of the rod to Nick, he grabs it on the other side and by now the tarpon is under another dock! He keeps the rod bent, I come around, Nick jumps into the boat and we speed to the next dock with the reel screaming. We repeat the process under and around a smaller, tighter dock with about 3 feet of clearance between pilings and while still handing the rod to Nick, the tarpon is under a 3rd dock! This is beyond crazy! Nick jumps into the boat on the other side of the dock and the 3rd dock is yet higher than the previous 2, they were getting progressively higher. Nick tries to jump on the dock and I grab his leg and lift him up with one arm and the fly rod in my other hand. I hand him the rod under the dock and go around for him to jump into the boat. By now the fish is out into open water where we managed to get the leader release, several times for good measure. Nicks tarpon makes another run for the docks again but we stop him short but 25' away as Nick is putting the pressure on the fish to get the hero shot and I get a DNA sample for the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust the fly line breaks where it had been shredded by the pilings. Nick got his tarpon and a workout to boot. What a morning!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409 Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing

May 23, 2015 Report

Mike and Jesus came in from Texas courtesy of their boss that treated them to a weekend in Miami for a job well done. After 1 1/2 hours of tarpon fishing and no bites but plenty of fish around we decided to change it up. Hitting the grass flats Mike and Jesus caught a bunch of trout, Jesus hooked and fought a spinner shark for a while and we were spared the unbearable Memorial Day boating traffic. Great job guys!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409 Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing

Very Proud Moment!

I opened my inbox this week and found out I was the recipient of TripAdvisor's Service Excellence Award. I truly have great clients and am thankful for the feedback everyone has provided to TripAdvisor over the last year. My goal is always to ensure my clients have a great time and catch fish and this is confirmation that I was able to accomplish just that with so many of you, thank you!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409 Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing

May 22, 2015 Report

Trevor and his brother in law John flew in to Miami to golf and fish so fishing we went. They really just wanted to keep the rods bent and catch lots of fish and not spend a long time waiting for bites so this is exactly what we did. Fishing close to the marina was good with a number of trout caught and many more missed and the weather was gorgeous. Wanting to show them more of the bay, we made a long run to some shallow water wrecks where there were schools of snapper, bar jacks and more within 20' of us and they could watch the fish swarm and eat their baits. So cool. We even had a pod of dolphins feeding 100' feet away. Our run back to the marina was slow due to a spun hub on the propeller but these guys kept me laughing and the back and forth teasing made the long trip more enjoyable.

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409 Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing

May 20, 2015 Report

After a few unplanned days off, more details to follow in the next week, Eric jumps aboard and says tarpon fishing but I want to catch fish. That is right up my alley! We gave tarpon fishing 45 minutes and while there were a few rollers we didn't get a bite right away and I started to feel the natives getting restless. Or was it me getting restless? Oh well, we make a sure run to a trout flat and spent the balance of the trip catching a bunch of seatrout and there were many more which either came off or we missed the strike. We even a a docile 1,200 lb visitor next to the boat a number of times. You really can't beat fishing in Miami, you never know what you'll run into.

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409 Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing

May 14, 2015 Report

My afternoon trip today was with A.J. and his 2 kids for a kids fishing session. I tried to talk the kids into letting dad tarpon fish for the first hour or two of the trip but they would have none of that. A.J. was awesome and agreed to just get some fish for the kids. Spot 1 was slow and I decided to make a long run to a small wreck inside the bay. The moment a bait hit the water near the wreck it was on! The first few fish we lost to a big barracuda but the 3rd fish we got in the boat and tossed it back out as live bait. Within seconds and just a few feet from the boat the 'cuda nails the bait and 9 year old Ava is on! A few minutes later the 'cuda make a jump and broke her off. With the 'cuda out of the way the kids proceeded to go through over 80 shrimp and caught so many fish they decided to take a break. I love it when that happens! At the end of the trip A.J. invited my family and I to watch him work and it was a blast! Thanks A.J.!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409 Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing