December 29, 2014 Report (Amazing Incident!)

Little did Marc from England nor I know what would unfold before our eyes towards the end of our trip today. The events that unfolded made the previous 7 hours of our trip a blur providing further proof that in the Magic City, anything can happen. Staking out on a flat in 3' of water we set up for some shark fishing to wrap up our day and waited for sharks to make their presence known while Marc and I sat back and talked. About 30 minutes later the right rod doubles over and the reel starts to scream as 6' of angry shark raced across the flat at warp speed leaving a trail of mud and foam. Several head shakes later the braid breaks and we lose the shark we both wanted to land. I deployed another bait right away and within 2 minutes the rod goes off and another shark heads straightaway from the boat at our twelve o'clock as the drag screamed. I could tell it was a smaller shark until in typical lemon shark fashion I see thrashing, water spraying everywhere and mud flying as a BIG shark struggled against the line and revealed its dorsal and tail fins with a solid 4' between the two. That would put this shark at around 8'! Moments later the shark continues to fight but once again, like a smaller shark. Minutes later a 4' lemon shark comes to the boat with the back 3rd shredded and bloodied. That's when I realized what had just transpired, an estimated 8' shark tried to eat the 4' shark Marc had hooked and was fighting! The realization was absolutely amazing and like nothing I have experienced before. We released the small shark as quickly as we could after a few pictures and hope it survives the injuries. The absolutely unpredictable nature of working as a full time guide is one of the things I love about my job and today was further confirmation. All I can say is WOW!

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

December 28, 2014 Report

Last year when Gary and his two 12 year old sons, Adam and Jake, fished with me one of the boys was severely out fished by the other. For a year one of the boys sought redemption while the other teased incessantly about out fishing him. Today this would change. Catching a well full of live pilchards, we headed to the finger channels where they caught mutton snappers and lost a few other nice fish. I couldn't help myself but taking them to some little known spots in the bay and they caught grouper of several sizes, mutton snappers, mangrove snappers and big blur runners. At one spot I threw out a hand full of live pilchards and immediately fish began busting on the bait with splashes and audible crashes. The first hooked bait that hit the water was slammed and the kids enjoyed some rather amazing non-stop drag screaming fishing until they called it quits and wanted to chase sharks. At one point I tied on a top water lure on 8lb test tackle and Gary caught several nice fish that blew up on the top water lure with amazing speed, splashing and ferocity. Several time we could see nice sized grouper come up top the surface and eat the baits! WOW, Miami is indeed an amazing place! Oh, and someone is enjoying some redemption!

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

December 27, 2014 AM & PM Reports

AM Report Rob and his two 8 year old grandsons Eton and Eli wanted to catch some fish and have a good time. The morning started with hard pulling jacks on light tackle that gave them a work out on almost every cast. As the action slowed we fished one spot with little action and them I pulled up to a nearby wreck that ended up being the last spot we would need to fish. The action was fast and furious with every single cast with producing a fish or a hard strike. They kept count of how many fish they caught and the total tally was somewhere around 60. Before the trip was over they became tired of catching fish and wanted a boat ride. Kids being worn out from catching so many fish, I love it!

PM Report David was back on board with his friend Joe and the weather was polar opposite from what we had on the 24th. We hit the finger channels immediately and the hot action continued with fish on almost every cast including big mangrove snappers. After a while we decided to go shark fishing on the flats at the end of the out going tide. Staking out on a nice flat I like for sharks we deployed out baits and waited. The live shrimp I had were put to good use targeting bonefish as well. Not long after, the 8lb rod doubles over and the reel sings. After a short run a bonet head shark comes to the boat. Deploying another live shrimp, the rod again doubles over but the drag burned fast as a big bonefish inhaled the bait and tool off. After a long run the fish settles down for a few seconds as we chase it down. It makes another 50 yard run and he cuts us off on rocks that litter the bottom. NO!!!!! David and Joe caught a few more small sharks and had 5 big sharks in our slick but they were being very finicky and only one took a half hearted swipe at one of our baits.

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

December 26, 2014 AM & PM Reports

AM Report Javier from Spain and his son Danny from N.Y. had never fly fished in saltwater before and they wanted to check it out. I explained we would start slow and target productive species as they learned the double haul and other saltwater fly fishing techniques. Fighting breezier conditions than I would have liked for a first time saltwater fly fishing trip and almost constant drizzle, we fished a nearby ship wreck in 12' of water that had been producing for me. As they both got the hang of the list of things they needed to learn, Javier had a few takes and lands a nice hard fighting blue runner. Moving to the second spot of the morning ended up being the only other spot we had to fish. Around the boat were tinker mackerel, runners, snappers, barracuda and tarpon. They both caught several species on fly and Danny had a take on fly that immediately parted his leader with an audible "pop"! Javier had some great shots at tarpon but no takes. It remains a mystery if the fish Danny lost was a tarpon or big barracuda.

PM Report My afternoon trip was with Michael and his 16 year old son Alex from N.J. We almost cancelled the trip due to weather but when they arrived the weather improved and we had great conditions. Starting off looking for tarpon, we found a number of them where I had found them in the morning but no bites. When the tide changed we hit the finger channels and once again, they were lit up! Baits wouldn't last more than 45 seconds before being eaten by a number of different species. As in other days, Michael and Alex caught mutton snapper, mangrove snappers, yellow tail snappers, porgies, black grouper, red grouper, porgies and big blue runners. The day ended with another shot at tarpon at the tide but although they were present, no takers today.

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

December 24, 2014 Report

It is always amazing to me how weather can change from one day to the next. Regular client David hopped aboard with his nephew Charlie and the 20-25MPH winds didn't have us too thrilled. The water was mostly dirty from the strong north wind but even in areas of clean water the fishing was slow. Pulling tricks and spots from the recesses of my memory weren't producing much, a hit here and there. Finally we ended up hiding from the wind and fishing some usually productive pilings which produced a few snappers and a few other fish, probably small groupers, that got us in the rocks. Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409

December 23, 2014 Report

All the way from Brazil came Fabio to spend Christmas and New Years in Miami and along the way, get a little fishing done. Fabio had never fished the flats or inshore waters and wanted to try it out, a far cry from the sailfish tournaments he's fished for many years. Looking for tarpon and finding few of them we focused on lighter tackle and smaller gamefish. Trout fishing definitely improved over yesterday and Fabio caught several trout on soft plastics and hard plastic baits. We wrapped up the day in the finger channels where the action was absolutely on fire! Baits lasted less than 45 seconds before being slammed by a host of species such as mutton snapper, mangrove snapper, yellow tail snapper, big porgies, red grouper, big blue runners and a couple of nice fish we lost before getting to the boat. At the end of the day Fabio told me he loved the inshore fishing in Miami and definitely wanted to do it again. One of the recurring comments was how relaxing fishing inshore was. I agree!

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

December 22, 2014 Report

Dan and his wife Ashley were in town from N.J. and took some time to explore Biscayne Bay. The fishing started slow with a few trout, caught by Ashley who reminded Dan she usually out fishes him anyway, and no tarpon to be found. We ended the day fishing the finger channels in between the flats and caught snappers before heading to the flats to look for sharks. The shark were apparently hanging out with the tarpon as they were MIA so we called it a day.

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

December 21, 2014 Report

William from Brazil joined me today for a full day of fishing Miami's Biscayne Bay. The morning started rather calm so I was tempted to look for tarpon. The tarpon were certainly around with fish in the 60-100lb class rolling aggressively but moving fast. Several times we got in front of them and presented baits but no hook ups. A second tarpon spot revealed more but they had lock jaw as well. As the wind picked up the tarpon fishing ended and off we went in search of a variety of species. At the end of the day William had landed about a dozen different species including a fish blitz in the last 45 minutes. Once the action got started in the finger channels it was non-stop with mutton snappers, mangrove snappers including one about 4lbs, grouper, runners, yellow tail snapper, lane snapper and we lost a major fish that took a lure and destroyed the 10lb line! It was certainly a productive day with William not able to drink his beer because the rods were going off every 30 seconds. That's the kind of day I like!

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

December 18, 2014 Report

On an exploratory mission, I fished with local angler and buddy Gil. The goal was to check out some spots in the bay and have some fun and it sure looked promising with clear skies, no wind and crystal clear water. Looking for bait along the shoreline we found several schools of bonefish and redfish cruising and occasionally tailing in 14" of water. Perfect casts by Gil were ignored so onto our search for bait. Finding none, We fished about a half dozen spots and some were better than others. Some had nice grouper on it but the minute we pulled up they would see us and leave. Others had giant barracudas on it and yet others held massive balls of snapper on it. We had a great time, I got the rare opportunity to fish and the day was absolutely perfect!

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

December 16, 2014 Report

Today I fished with Richard for a relaxing day on the bay. We had absolutely gorgeous weather and calm winds. The goal was to fish a few spots for snapper and see what was hanging out in Biscayne Bay today. After looking in several places for bait and finding none, the live shrimp in the live well would do. The finger channels were a bit slow but we managed to catch mangrove snappers, small grouper, bar jacks, mutton snappers and a few mystery fish that ended our relationship sooner than we would have hoped. All in all it was a nice day.

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

December 14, 2014 Report

Local resident Alejandro had his nephew Andres and friend Javier in town from Columbia and wanted to take them fishing. Conditions were nice today but a little cloud cover kept it in the low 60's most of the morning and a steady 20 MPH wind had us limited where we could fish. In spite of that we found fish at almost every spot although it was slower than I would have liked. Andres lost what was probably a nice snook to some pilings and the tarpon that were around would cooperate. Even still, the kids caught fish, had a great time and were able to catch some fish they hadn't experienced before.

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

December 12, 2014 Report

Good friends Jason and Brian were on a brief vacation before they headed to opposite ends of the country and wanted to get some fishing in. Under another day of clear skies, light breeze and early morning temperatures in the 50's, today was certainly more productive than yesterday. Peeling drag consistently, we went through over 50 baits in about an hour and a half. The action was non-stop with snappers, small amberjacks, big blue runners, yellow jacks a few mackerel cut offs, trout and a few mystery fish we couldn't keep away from structure. We caught fish on baits, soft plastics and lures. What a blast to see rods bent every few seconds, this is what winter in Miami is all about!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com

December 11, 2014 Report

Regular client Steve hopped aboard today and this is the first trip we've had together where it wasn't blowing 30 MPH and stormy. Clear skies, a light breeze and 43 degree temperatures awaited us as we idled out of the marina. Steve is a solid fly fisherman and so we would be fly fishing today. We started fished hard and 2nd spot of the morning we see bait getting busted and jumping out of the water. No bites. Huh? We scaled down leader and changed the color of the fly and next cast Steve lands a nice bluefish. Several mackerels would either track the fly all the way to the boat or take a short swipe at the fly. Later on we found tarpon but they were not taking flies in spite of watching a few of them bust on bait. We ended the day on a wreck catching a few more fish before calling it a day.

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

December 9, 2014 Report

Fishing during a cold front always presents some interesting situations and today was one of those occasions. Bob and Tom were part of a 5 boat trip out of Key Largo and there was a pool of cash and bragging rights at stake for biggest fish. With cloudy skies, a cold 20 MPH wind and dirty water we headed out to have a good time, catch some fish and hopefully get them the pool of cash up for grabs. Fishing a creek I like produced just a few fish and a few lost fish to the bottom. A tarpon rolled about 100' away never to be seen again. We moved and staked out at the edge of a flat and targeted big mutton snappers. We caught several muttons, hogfish, and a small shark but no big muttons. Towards the end of the trip we staked out on a favorite flat of mine and began to shark fish. We had a few hits but no sharks. At the end of the trip, 4th quarter and 2 minutes left, one of the rods goes off, Bob grabs it and something jumps clear out of the water. With drag screaming and rod bent, Bob brings to the boat a big barracuda. A few pictures later we release it and head in. Later on Bob send sends me a text letting me know they won bragging rights and the pool of cash with the largest fish. Congrats Bob and Tom!

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

December 6, 2014 Report

Regular client David brought his buddy David aboard today and the weather was just gorgeous. We had another day of clear skies, cool breeze and nice action. Starting on the calm side of a key, I cast netted all the live bait we would need on our half day trip and sped off to an area David and I fished the last time he was in town. Anchoring up we dropped back some baits and caught mutton snappers, BIG mangrove snapper, grouper and we lost a few other fish. Fishing another area we caught a few more fish and then moved off to the flats in order to try and get David his first big shark on the flats. We had only 45 minutes to accomplish our mission and a nice 6' shark moves in and hangs around but refuses to eat any of our baits. As we pull up the push pole and start to drift off the flat a big 7' shark comes in fast and pushing tons of water. I cast a bait in front of it and he eats it right away. I hand the bent rod to David and the drag starts to scream in short bursts but 30 seconds later the hook pulls free and the big shark that didn't know was hooked swims away. Dangit!

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

November 17, 2014 (Bad News)

This is what bad news looks like to a fishing guide. Right as season begins, I get a text from my boat dealers service department with the attached picture and a simple comment "we have bad news". Turns out I had several holes in my crank case and some of the saltwater used to cool the motor was spraying inside the cowling spraying saltwater on everything in and around the power head. Thank God the guys at Bob Hewes Boats always take care of me and ordered the parts right away and rebuilt my motor within the week. I'm back on the water now with a practically new engine and ready for a full schedule of charters.

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

November 15, 2014 Report

Our gorgeous fall weather continues with low humidity, clear skies and temperatures in the high 70's and Nick, Mike and Justin wanted to take advantage of the fishing and weather on their way to the NASCAR race in Homestead. Nick had the flyrod in hand all day while Mike and Justin armed themselves with spinning rods. With a bit of careful coordination all were able to fish without incident. Loading up with bait at a nearby flat, we fished a small wreck and waited 45 seconds for the fish bite. The action was non stop with big blue runners, mackerel, amberjacks, snappers and a few mystery fish that hit and freight trained into the wreck without hopes of stopping them. The coolest thing was live chumming with the live baits and watching the fish explode on them moments after they landed on the water. Very cool for us, not so cool for the bait. Moving off we looked for tarpon at a few spots but only one held tarpon. Nick made some great casts at the rolling and cruising fish but the tarpon weren't interested in flies today. Justin did hook a nice 70-80lb tarpon 10' from the boat as we reeled in one of the live baits to check up on it. The tarpon hits and jumps once 10' from the boat then jumps 5' behind the boat and one the 3rd jump he spits the hook. Talk about close quarter combat! The day ended with trout fishing and a nice run back to the ramp with dinner in the cooler.

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

November 14, AM & PM Report

AM Report Today my morning started with Don and his son James and the goal was to get on fish and have some fun. The winds were lighter than expected and with almost glass calm conditions and a gorgeous clear crisp fall morning I was excited. The first stop was a grass flat that has been holding tons of bait. A few minutes of effort yielded a live well full of pilchards, all the bait we would need. Off we went to fish a small wreck and the bite was on fire! James caught a number of fish on my flyrod while Don put a hurting on the fish with spinning gear. We then fished a few other areas and ended the morning with screaming drags and bent rods.

PM Report My afternoon trip was with a group of guys down for the UM vs FSU game. Go Canes! Steve, Russel and Jason experienced a continuation of the morning trip with fast fishing, screaming drags and not much time to do much else. Moving off to fish a few others areas yielded slow fishing but we ended the day with another burst of fast fishing including mackerel and amberjacks.

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

November 11, 2014 Report

Local angler Richard wanted to bend some rods and catch some fish on his fly rod. We were limited with the areas we could fish courtesy of a 20MPH NW wind but there is always some place to fish in Biscayne Bay. There were tons of pilchards on the grass flats and a few throws of the cast net and we had all the bait we needed. Fishing an area that I like during this time of year we live baited and caught an assortment of fish including small amberjacks, always a treat inshore. Some of the highlights was Richard catching a number of fish on bait and on fly including his fish amberjack ever, first snappers on fly and big mangrove snappers. All in all Richard caught about 8 different species, all while hiding from the wind. Not a bad day!

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

November 4, 2014 Report

Dane and his friend took a few hours off from meetings and boarded in over 20 MPH winds. We ducked from the wind all morning and caught some mackerel, lady fish, bluefish, and briefly hooked a tarpon. By the time we got back to the dock the wind was increasing so it turns out we timed the trip perfectly. Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409

October 30, 2014 AM & PM Reports

AM Report Alain and his two sons were aboard again for a 3/4 day of shark fishing. The morning started off with a bang with them catching a number of large ladyfish, jacks, bluefish and barracuda, some of which I kept alive for shark bait. Zipping down to the flats we staked out and see a big shark in 3' of water with fins exposed cruising for an early morning meal. We staked out, butterflied the ladyfish and used the barracuda for bait. Not long after one of the rods goes off and a big shark is on! About 80 yards or more into the initial run the hook comes free and he is off. The rest of the trip found us trying to feed sharks but they refused every bait we pitched them. As we worked off the flat we found a school of about 10 3' lemon sharks and no matter what bait we tossed them they would either spook or ignore. Geeze!

PM Report Picking up Jack for an afternoon trip we worked several different areas before settling into a tarpon spot I have been fishing lately. We immediately see a few tarpon roll and we pitch live baits to them. Five minutes later we see one flash behind the boat and Jacks rod doubles over, a tarpon jumps and we are off to the races. Fourty five minutes into the fight we almost have him beat on 10lb class tackle but he makes a mad dash for the nearby bridge. In spite of our best efforts he wraps us in a piling and we fear the worst. Deciding to break him off I move the boat to the opposite piling and he comes off and swims into open water! Sigh! Not knowing what condition the braided line and leader is in we play him gently and finally get him to the boat. A miraculous ending to an exiting afternoon trip for both Jack and I! Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com

October 29, 2014 Report

Paul and his friend Bob were aboard today enjoying another breathtakingly gorgeous fall day. The morning started with them catching ladyfish, bluefish and jacks on light outfits. Moving on to trout we caught a few and then moved off to the flats. Staking out we waited for bonefish to move in with the incoming tide and had a few move in but they would spook before we could get off a cast. We finished the day shark fishing and having several big sharks come in to our slick but wanted nothing to do with our baits including one lemon shark in the 300lb range that swam 50' from the skiff, into our chum, swam over our baits and kept on swimming. Rather odd shark behavior! Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com

October 28, 2014 Report

David was back again and we started early fishing before sun up. Going back to the same area where I have been finding snook, we found tons of bait but the snook were scattered and not as aggressive as the previous trips. Not wanting to waste the live bait we had, the finger channels were next and there David caught, mutton snapper, BIG yellowtail snapper, grouper and one fish we couldn't get to the boat as it spit the hook after a 5 minute drag scorching fight. We ended the day shark fishing but we saw only one.

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com

October 27, 2014 Report

Today from France came Alain and his two boys to fish Biscayne Bay after 10 years of not visiting our waters. We spent the day fishing a variety of areas using different techniques and caught high flying lady fish, trout, snapper, and bluefish. Tarpon fishing was slow and we had 6 big sharks move in close to the boat but stayed too far from the boat for a cast.

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com

October 26, 2014 Report

N.E. fishing guide Jason climbed aboard and we spent the day looking for bonefish, permit and tarpon. Today was certainly a very slow day. Although we worked hard the entire trip, bonefishing was slow. Poling some bonefish flats we found tarpon that are usually around this time of year and had numerous shots at them on fly. We had two eat the fly but they spit the fly before Jason could strip strike them. One of the takes was awesome and classic tarpon. Jason cast the fly about 6' in front of the lead fish, let the fly sink and then gave it a long steady strip just a few feet from the tarpon. The fish immediately zeroed in on the fly, swam over and inhaled in just 20' from the boat in 2' of clear water. Just awesome!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com

October 25, 2014 Report

Regular client David and his friend Matt were aboard this morning for a short morning trip. We started off looking for tarpon but didn't find any. However, Matt did catch a big flounder on a live mullet. That is a rare occurrence for us since we don't have many flounders in Miami. Today however was an odd day. Staking out on one of my favorite flats, we deployed our baits and waited. Not long after three big sharks move in and circle the area where are baits were. This goes on for a couple of minutes and they move off! Huh? Ok, deep breath. Another shark moves in, lazily swims around our scent trail and moves off. I move off to another flat and one shark moves in and does the same. Unbelievable, did they forget they are sharks?! We ended the day fishing for trout. Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com

October 22, 2014 Report

TJ was aboard today as he was staying at a hotel down the street from the marina and we spent the trip catching an assortment of species while keeping an eye on the deteriorating weather. On the run back from the flats we had a water spout (marine tornado) just a few safe miles from us whirling away!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com