Incredible two trips today January 30, 2021

 Two trips today with completely different goals which illustrates the need to stay flexible and ready as a guide in Miami.  My morning trip was with Eric and his father in law Jim and Eric wanted to try bonefishing.  Jim on the other hand wanted to relax and hang out plus of course catch a fish.  With the wind building as the minutes went by I took them to a spot where the tide was perfect and got to work.  Ha, it didn't take long as Eric hooks up and the fish is running so hard and fast into the wind I had to crank up the motor and follow it.  When the fight was over a 12lb bonefish was in the landing net recovering before we took pictures of this beautiful fish.  Wow, what a start!   After release Eric tells Jim "your turn next." and it wasn't long until indeed Jim was on to another solid fish!  This time I didn't have to give chase but it smoked the drag and then a 10lb bonefish was safely in the landing net.  Geeze!  We wrapped it up and fished other spots to get away from the increasing wind.  

My afternoon trip was with regular client David and Nicole from N.Y.  I had plans for snook and general crazy fish catching action but David wanted sharks.  No problem, we caught bait and hit the flats.  We saw one shark, a massive lemon that came by the boat, turned on the scent and ate one of the baits and the craziness was on!  A long tough fight later the 200lb lemon was next to the boat and released.  We hooked another big lemon but it broke off and finished the day hooking a massive nurse shark that spit the hook.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

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These are the best trips January 29, 2021

 Father son trips are the best, especially when they are out to have a good time.  Juan and his 15 year old son Juan are from Argentina and really great people.  Juan wanted to make sure his son caught "something" and have some fun.  Well, I idled close to the marina and baited them up.  They cast, the rods bent and it was like that for four hours!  Along the way they caught a ton of ladyfish, jacks, blue runners and we had some shots at tarpon.  They both decided to rest sore arms a few times so we kicked back and had good conversations.  When we were done I idled back to the marina and called it a day.  What a cool trip!

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

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First timers get it done! January 28, 2021

 Very cool trip today with Dylan and his dad Dan who were down from Wisconsin on a guys only trip to Miami.  Dylan booked me at the last minute and the weather was awesome!  All we did was fish one spot and never left.  The guys caught snook, grouper, jacks, snapper and a few other species I can't recall (am I getting old?).  The largest snook of the morning was in the landing net and then made one last run and the hook came free.  As we fished I noticed some tarpon rolling so we spent the last 20 minutes tarpon fishing but didn't hook one.  I had scanned them on my Raymarine side scanner and had them dialed in but they were being tarpon and ignored crabs and big live shrimp.  In the end, the guys killed it! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

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So many missed opportunities January 26, 2021

 My charter for today had to reschedule and Kivi had been texting me about going out so I let him know I became available and he was at the boat ramp within the hour.  We tried bonefishing for less than an hour but that didn't work out so them we focused on catching fish.  Kivi caught fish, plenty of them but we lost all the big ones.  Using lures and live shrimp we lost big mutton snappers, grouper, big mystery snappers, big yellow jacks and a number of other heart breaks.  It was nice day that could have been spectacular if we could keep one of the big fish on.  Yes, I checked all the hooks and they were fine.  Geez! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

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The trio was on! January 25, 2021

 I had Dovi and his two boys today to bend some rods and get some fishing in before they headed back to N.Y.  I took them to a spot that has been producing and that was slow so we fished the finger channels where the guys caught plenty of fish and Ravael proved to be the hero of the day at 12 years old.  They caught a bunch of species and wore through my 150 baits just in time to call it a day.  They caught a bunch of edible species using shrimp and jigs but we released them all.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

I've experienced loss!!! January 24, 2021

 OUCH!  I had Tim and his friend on board today from TN and they wanted to go bonefishing.  Well, conditions couldn't get any better so off we went to the west side of the bay and fish the mangroves for cruising schools of bonefish.  School after school swam through and finally Tim hooks up and the reel starts to scream as the big bonefish screamed away from us.  A long run in the rod snaps back and the fish was off.  NO!!!!  Turns out the hook pulled and the shrimp was intact.  HUH?  A few more schools later Tim hooks up again and this time the hook pulled almost immediately.  WHAT?  I checked the hook aad everything was fine, except for my ego.  Eventually they wanted to catch dinner and off we went to do that.  Notice how I won't even mention how the fishing was as they kept a few fish, because I am still in shock over losing those two big bones this morning.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

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This was fun! January 23, 2021

 Today I had Amy and her husband on board for a quick 2 hour trip.  Man, were they a blast!  We laugh hard and often as they killed it keeping the rods bent and drags screaming on yellow jacks, snapper, jack crevalles, horse eye jacks, and more.  The two hours went by quick as they competed against each other with Amy definitely having the hot hand.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

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I was waiting for this. January 22, 2021

 Guess who was back on board today?  Yes, Jerry!  This time Maggie couldn't join us but off we went lamenting her trip back to the ice and snow.  I've been wanting Jerry to catch snook and we missed on the last trip but today was another opportunity to accomplish that goal.  I took him to the "snook spot" and after a few misc fish he landed his first snook and later upgraded on the size.  Way to go Jerry!  We wrapped up the trip with catching dinner so he could use his fillet knife again.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

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Thursday double and it was great! January 21, 2021

 Work keeps rolling along with two trips today.  My morning trip was with Timothy and his 12 year old Timmy.  These guys fish back home in Michigan but salt water is always different and they had their fill.  Bouncing jigs in the finger channels the guys smoked through bait and caught a ton of fish.  Timmy kept saying this is the most fish he has ever caught, awesome!  When we were done they were worn out and Timmy's hands hurt.  Yes! 

My afternoon trip was with Jerry again with his grand daughter Maggie.  The winds were calm and we were able to fish the tarpon holding off the beach.  That was good!  But, the water was so clear they saw us coming from the marina and we could not buy a bite.  We moved on to the finger channels and they were great with Jerry and Maggie hooking fish on almost every catch.  The bonus?  Jerry was able to break in his new fillet knife he bought knowing he would be able to use it after our trip.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

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Monday Double January 18, 2021

 Work has been crazy busy with today being a perfect example.  After the weekend craziness I had two trips today.  The morning trip was with locals Ray and Manny with the goal to get out on the water and have 12 year old Manny catch fish.  I have to tell you, it was slow.  Manny caught fish, snappers and jacks but most of the spots I fished were slow.  We fished a deeper wreck inside the bay that had a cloud of thousands of snappers on it but they were all small.  We tried for snook in the creeks but that was also slow.  In the end the had a great time and they can't wait to go out again.

In the afternoon, I had John, Johnny and Gianna.  Johnny is a teenager and Gianna is 12 years old and a bit scared of boats and water.  But, we fished a few spots that kept them busy and we kept a few fish for shark bait.  We hit the flats for sharks and the sharks were rolling in but a few at a time and not very aggressive.  The problem?  The tide was super slow and would not move.  This means there is very little to no current and there is no water flow to disperse scent.  Anyway, the tide finally moved a little bit and Johnny finally got his shark.  Now, they're looking at some dates in March to do it again.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Keeping the rods bent January 17, 2021

 My trip today was in the afternoon with Anthony and his teenage boys.  What a blast with these guys, Anthony has a bigger then life personality that kept us laughing and having a great time.  They wanted to keep the rods bent so I took them to a channel that has been producing for me and they certainly kept busy with yellow jacks, barracuda, horse eye jacks, jack crevalles, snappers and porgies.  There were a few black tip sharks around but they were being jerks and never hit the perfect bait we had out for them.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

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The girls tore it up! January 16, 2021

 Elisa and Maria were aboard again ready to give it a shot out of Homestead this time.  They are great to fish with and they wanted dinner.  I had about 150 baits in the live well and thought that would be enough.  Well, we fished one spot and one spot only, a shallow wreck in 8 feet of water.  IT WAS ON FIRE!  The ladies caught fish or at least had a bite on every cast for three hours!  In the process they kept enough fish to last them a few weeks.  Maria kept talking about the snook shae caught last time we fished so when we ran out of bait we hit the creeks for snook.  They were there, we saw them, they swam passed us, they said hi but refused to eat.  Urgh, that's snook for you! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

This was a surprise January 12, 2021

Jerry was back in the boat after 5 years.  He is always a blast to fish with and used to catch tarpon with me during tarpon season.  Being January, that's a little harder to do but we gave it a shot and found a few tarpon but we mixed it up throughout the day.  The fish of the day was a huge sheeps head he caught.  That was very cool!  Jerry also caught yellow jacks, snappers, horse eye jacks and more.  I tried to get him his first snook but they were MIA. 

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

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College Football Championship Charter January 11, 2021

 I had the pleasure of fishing with Scott and his two boys, Elliott and Ames today for a half day in the morning who were in town from Alabama to attend the championship game.  I launched out of Homestead and ran to Key Biscayne to pick them up and on the way my heart sank.  We have 7 houses left in the famous area of Stiltsville and one of them was on fire.  As soon as I got out of the channel in Homestead 20 plus miles south I could see the smoke billowing and hoped for the best.  As I got closer and ran past the house it was confirmed, we lost another one.  

But, on to a more upbeat report.  Scott and the boys were great, smoked through 10 dozen baits and Elliott got his first snook.  They also caught jack crevalles, mangrove snapper, mutton snapper, hors eye jacks and of course the snook.  Way to go guys and good tluck tonight! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

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It was cold today! January 10, 2021

 Boy was it cold today, 45 degrees when I left the house to meet Austin at the marina.  But, more importantly was the water temperature.  The water temps were in the 64-65 degree range, cold by our standards.  Under the same conditions I had fished on December 26 with David and Brian for snook and tore it up so I did the same with Austin.  The difference today?  The snook were MIA.  I decided to look for bonefish but on the oceanside flats that would have the warmest water in the bay and even here it only inched up 1 degree.  Even still we had a few bonefish eat but missed the take each time.  With Austin having to be back right at 11am we had to wrap it up and fly back to the marina.  Oh, I want another shot at this!  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

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Oh it was on today! January 8, 2021

It's Alec's birthday tomorrow and what a better way to spend the day than fishing with him.  Every time we fish we have a blast and the laugh are in steady supply.  We had a west wind and that caused the west side of the bay outside of the marina in Homestead to be super calm.  As we fished for snook, the first spot was slow.  I took him to another spot down the shoreline and it was on with tailing tarpon and big bonefish.  After numerous shot at a tarpon and not hooking up we turned our attention bonefish and quickly got a nice 9 lber to the boat.  The snook fishing was slow and we wrapped it up breaking in his new plug rod but there were no big fish around, probably due to the approaching cold front.  Happy birthday Alec! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

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Rod Bending Day January 6, 2021

 I had Andy this morning as a last minute charter.  He called me at night and asked about fishing the following morning, so of course I said yes and here we were looking for snook.  The snook spots were desolate so we moved on but that second spot was slow, in large part due to the slack tide.  I stuck it out and when the tide turned and we got some current it was on!  There were tons of jacks, black tip sharks and snappers keeping Andy busy.  So busy in fact we had a system going where I would bait a rod, take his rod that had landed fish on it hand him the baited rod and by the time the fish was off the hook, he was on again.  It was a blast and it was on fire! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

It was an honor today January 5, 2020

 There are times when you meet someone that is a little different than most and that can be good or bad, HAHA.  But, today I met Jan and spent 6 hours fishing with him and can tell you it was an honor fishing with him.  See, Jan is a retired breast cancer surgeon who I suspect has saved the lives of many women through his gift and passion for his craft.  Also, he is an IGFA representative who has travelled the world fishing and promoting conservation for the betterment of fish stocks and the local populace.  And there is more as he is the holder of 90 current IGFA world records!  Of course he is as humble as they come and I didn't know about this until more than half way through our trip.  But he had one goal and that was to bonefish but it wouldn't be easy since we had a strong cold front pass through the night before dropping the air temperatures.  Well, long story short, Jan caught a nice fat bonefish in the 9 lb range and had shots at many more on spin and fly as we did our best to hide from the wind and look for the warmest water possible.  And there is one more thing to this trip but I won't ruin the surprise until we get confirmation in about 3 months.  Be sure to stick around.....

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Fun Double Today January 3, 2020

 Boy have I been busy and today was another day where I had two trips.  My morning trip was with brothers and long time clients Gonzalve and Guillaume.  Guillaume hadn't fished with me in years so I was glad to see him again.  The theme for each spot today was good fishing, then it slowed down and then it would just die.  But, we worked and got Guillaume a snook, and the guys had a blast catching a bunch of species and generally making fun of Gonzalve as Guillaume was out fishing him.  

My afternoon trip was with first time clients, Bob, Oliver and Andrew and we had a blast!  Bob made two casts, caught two fish and handed the rod over to his son Oliver and told him "I'm done, beat that!".  Well, Oliver did a great job but poor Andrew lost a lot of fish and of course was the butt of jokes for the trip.  These guys were great, took home fresh fish dinner and caught so many fish they went through over 100 baits in the process.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Jake Vs. Bonefish January 2, 2021

 OK, I caught myself still using 2020 but hey we're only two days in.  After a day off for New Years day I was back to work with Doug and his son Jake.  Once again, the wind would make fly fishing for bones impossible so we used spinning gear and made a long run down to to some protected flats.  The bones were there for sure as we kept seeing them coming in.  Finally we got one to eat only for the hook to come out.  Geeze!  About an hour later we got another eat and this time Jake was on and the bone made a blistering run.  Several minutes later I had a fat bonefish in the landing net.  Yes!  Congrats Jake!  Moving on we fished a few finger channels that proved slow so we called it a day early.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

The wind almost won today December 31, 2020

 Wow, that wind was brutal today as I fished with Martin, Eric and Javier from Nevada.  The plan was to chase bonefish on fly but with 25-30 MPH winds we would need to scratch that.  Instead, we focused on keeping the rods bent and the guys had a great time.  The one snook spot I was able to fish in the wind was good to us except we ended up missing some bites but still caught mutton snappers and jacks that would give the guys a workout.  The half day went quick so we wrapped it up at another spot where they caught ladyfish and some more species.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing