Finishing Strong February 28, 2022

February has been a crazy month with few days off right before Valentine's Day.  I wrapped up my month fishing with Ward out of the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo.  I picked him up and he wanted to try fly fishing for bonefish and tarpon plus catch something to eat.  Tarpon was the first on the list in south Biscayne Bay but the areas I checked had non in them.  Off to bonefishing.  Spot one was beautiful with good current and in the lee of the wind but it was dead.  Hmm, ok spot two was in the wind but I put Ward at a good angle so he can throw his flyrod with the least amount of wind resistance and it work as he laid out some really nice casts.  Using a mix of spin and fly, I was able to get him his first bonefish using the trusty spin rod and shrimp combo.  We continued to try for bones on fly without success so we went meat fishing for dinner but everything we caught was too small to keep.  I think he'll forgive me not catching him dinner after getting him his first bonefish.  Great job Ward!

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Two great and crazy guys hit the flats February 27, 2022

No two trips a dat today as I had a full day with Chris and Albert from Oregon.  They wanted to try a mix of spin and fly fishing and catch whatever species they could.  I had a blast with these two crazies and man Albert was on fire.  We started early and went straight to bonefishing before the Sunday boat traffic got too crazy and within minutes Albert was on to the first bonefish of the day.  Dang!  It took a bit more time but eventually Chris got his personal best bonefish with a solid 8 pounder.  From there we hit a wreck but nothing would eat our flies, lures or live shrimp.  Ok fine fish you want to be that way?! 

On to another spot which is a channel I've mentioned before that has been good.  Here the guys had a blast with fish on almost every cast until we were running low on shrimp and I wanted to save at least 6-8 for bonefish in case we needed them.  These guys went through 8 dozen shrimp in short order.  

Moving back to the flats for shark fishing I started pole them around for bonefish catching the end of the tide, my favorite time on this flat.  Just like clock work the bonefish were there and mudding.  Albert was on the bow and didn't see the muds but 5 minutes later another group of bonefish come off the channel mudding on the flats and he makes a perfect cast and drops the fly where I told him.  Strip, strip, "I'm on!".  A long run later the bone broke us off.  The day ended hooking a few sharks before heading back.  What a great day and great guys!  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Saturday Double February 26, 2022

Man it's been non stop and here it is Saturday and I have another double.  This is fun, and exhausting!  In the morning I had Emmet from Georgia with flyrod in hand.  It was definitely blowing this morning so the goal was to hit some spots where he can throw the fly with reasonable chance of success yet stay out of the wind as much as possible.  Bonefish spot was was a dud.  Snook spot one was slow but we did get a snook to blow up on a fly but not get hooked.  Snook spot two was a dud and we wrapped it up trying for more bonefish but those were duds as well.  It was definitely tough on the fly today.  

Thankfully I had the afternoon trip with good client David and his dad Michael.  We went staring to shark fishing where we chummed some in and Michael got one with help from David.  They wanted a change of pace so I took them to a channel that was been good lately and they killed it tossing jig and shrimp catching yellow jacks, mangrove snappers, school master snappers and more.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

A Tale of Two Trips February 25, 2022

It's always interesting to me how each trip differs from the next even on the same day.  My morning trip was fly fishing with Juan and his buddy Juan from Argentina.  We found tarpon and they threw at them for quite some time but never hooked up.  Part of the issue is that the tarpon were moving around a lot so we would get a couple of casts in before they moved and we had to locate them again and reposition.  Usually you want them hanging out the in the same area that hints at them feeling comfortable and relaxed and hence in a better mood to eat.  We them switched to bonefishing where they had a couple of shots and as time ran out we hit some jacks but they were nowhere to be found.  

My afternoon trip was a two boat trip and I had Keith and Chad onboard.  Chad wanted to target bonefish and Keith just wanted to catch fish.  Hmm, OK let's try something.  A couple of the bonefish spots already had a boat on them so I took them back to where there were no jacks 45 minutes before with Juan and Juan.  Ha, this time it was fish on every cast including jacks, mangrove snapper, small mutton snappers and a few really nice fish that broke us off.  With boats cleared off the flats I went back and after more time than I would have liked Chad hooked up and got his first bonefish, a nice one that gave him a bunch of awesome runs.  Congrats Chad! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

7 Year old girl just outfished you! February 24, 2022

Tom is a trout guide near Boston, MA and came down on a family vacation with wife Tanya and seven year old talkative cutie Makenzie.  I have to tell you, Tom is raising her right because the girl can fish.  She was casting on her own and working the rod on her own and not only did she catch a bunch of fish but she caught a permit on her own.  Wow!  That was the fish of the day for sure.  We moved on and fished another spot where Tom landed a monster mangrove snapper in the 7lb range.  Dang Tom!  That fish came home with me and I just had it for dinner.  Delicious!  

This was a great family and they rocked it today.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

On the fly today February 23, 2022

Tarpon, that was on my mind today and thankfully David was thinking the same thing.  After the last few days I nailed down the tarpon pattern and we hit it straightaway.  Armed with a 10wt fly rod in hand and a black fly I located the tarpon right away and we went for it.  Setting up on the schools David made some solid casts into the schools and was quickly rewarded with a hook up on a solid 60 lber that gave us a big jump before spitting the fly.  Ok, lick our wounds and get back to work.  A few schools later David hooks a solid fish that didn't jump but made a long run to open water. Ah, open water, time to relax.  Oh wait, the fish is rushing the boat.  David did a great job of keeping the light tight and the tarpon ran straight for a dock and broke us off.  NO!!!!  Well, that was the last hook up and we ended the day taking a few shots at some bonefish.  I want revenge on these tarpon! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

High Country Man on the flats February 22, 2022

Gregg and I were scheduled to start at 7a, but at 5:30am when I woke up I had a message from him asking to cancel because of stomach issues.  Well, we cancelled.  Then at 8am he texted me that he was better and could fish so off we went at 9am.  We decided to stay close to the marina in case he didn't feel well and made the best of it.  The best of it was focusing on bonefish and snook.  In the process Gregg caught a few jacks and then hooked a big bonefish.  After a solid run and a deep bend in the rod the fish came off.  What a heart break.  We had tough conditions with lots of windy and dirty water so this would've been a real accomplishment under the circumstances.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Afternoon rod bending trip February 21, 2022

President's Day wasn't as crazy on the water as I had thought so it was nice to get on the water with Mike and Marianne to catch different species and help them relax while on Mike's company trip.  I took them to a spot where there have been lots of jacks, snapper and other surprise species such as bonefish and grouper and they put a hurting on the jacks.  Once that slowed down towards the end of the trip we changed it up.  I wanted to try and get them a bonefish but President's Day reared it's ugly head and all the bonefish spots had boats partying on them.  The last spot we fished had a wake board boat come right up to us as we made our first cast and started wake boarding right next to us.  Dang!  That's Key Biscayne on a busy long weekend for you.  After that it was time to head in.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Another Daily Double February 20, 2022

 Another two trip day with the morning trip having Brandon and his 11 year old son.  The goal was to keep his little boy busy and that we did with constant action on jacks and a nice barracuda that gave him a run for his money.  

The afternoon trip was with David and Kevin and the focus was tarpon.  Well, I finally found some good number of resident tarpon and we fished them pretty hard.  I would mark them on the Raymarine screen and see them roll, set up on them and fish them hard and them we got a bite, and no jumps and it was a big bonnet head shark.  WHAT???  Come one!  Ok, we repeated the process and the rod doubled over, the drag sand and there were no jumps.  Another giant bonnet head shark.  Really???  What's going on here?  We wrapped up the tarpon fishing and headed back in to conclude the trip.  I WANT TARPON!!!!

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Two days with great guys February 18, 2022

For two days I had the pleasure of fishing with brother Tim and Terry and the second day their other brother Mike joined them.  It was fly fishing for Tim and spin fishing for Terry.  Well, day one was awesome with tons of shoats at permit and bonefish in ultra calm conditions.  In spite of our best efforts these fish were being extra picky with them tracking the fly them spooking next to the boat.  I expect permit to do that often but bonefish?  Hmm.  Anyway, we changed it up on both days where they caught a number of different species on fly and bait although the second day was tough with the fishing slowing down.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

The double charter and first snook February 17, 2022

Two new clients today in Ralph and Trent.  My morning trip was with Ralph and his son Bernie.  Again, we started looking for tarpon but they were MIA, geeze they should be all over the bay by now!  Anyway, we went off and kept the rinds bent with jacks and snappers but when the tide was right I took them to a snook spot where Bernie scored a couple of snook.  

In the afternoon trip it was Trent and his wife where they jut wanted any kind of saltwater fish and well they got their full with jacks galore and then they decided dinner awaited them so they called it a day a bit early.  

By the way, my iPhone got water in the lens, not sure how, and the pics came out terrible so Bernie's pic with the snook was the best one of the lot.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Just staying busy February 15, 2022

I had repeat client Chris and he was ready for some fishing action.  We looked for tarpon and then switched off to just catching fish.  I tried for snook and Chris caught a jack instead and well, it was game on with an assortment of species including jack crevalles, yellow jacks, mangrove snappers and small grouper.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Father T and the bonefish February 11, 2022

Joe has fished with me before and today he came with his 80 year old priest "Father T".  Man I want to be like T at 80 years old with high energy, strong and full of life!  They didn't really care what they caught but with good conditions for bonefish we tried that first where T missed two bonefish takes but I couldn't blame him for it, one spit the hook upon the initial take and the second was a hook up and then it was off just as fast.  After this I took them to bend the rods at a few shipwrecks but there were only small fish around.  Hmmm, it's funny how things work.  I was going to take them way south to another wreck and something told me to take them to a nearby channel that has produced for mne as of late.  I power poled down and had T cast jig and shrimp.  Ha, it was fish on every cast including big mangrove snappers, yellow jacks and then the prize.  T hooked a nice bonefish that was working the channel edge and after a long fight cut him off on the rocky edge.  Dang!  I owe you a bonefish T! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

This is what I was waiting for February 5, 2022

When I got to the marina this morning before Grant and his friend jumped aboard I launched the skiff, turned on my Raymarine and saw the water temps at 72 degrees.  Yes!  Armed with flyrods we fished one spot on our 4 hour trip and that's all we needed.  The bonefish woke up and were all over the place.  They were acting extra spooky but the guys had tons of shots and had a number of them track the fly and not eat, even after changing flies a few times.  That's how it goes sometimes but the guys had a great time and at least the fish are back.  Here are a couple of pics of bonefish waking right at us in slick clam conditions.  It was like this the whole trip! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

A not so good day February 3, 2022

Urgh, that is how I would describe my day with Maria today.  The water temps were about the same so I expected the fish to have acclimated but that was not the case.  It was a dead zone everywhere we fished.  I decided to end the trip early and call it day. Maria was in agreement and now I head home with my head hanging low.  This sucked! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Bend the long rod January 31, 2022

I had Maria onboard today and she is always awesome to fish with and a really good fly fisher woman. The plan today was really just to catch whatever species would eat a fly but I was concerned with the low water temps in the mid 60's.  Well, my concern was erased when I took her to the second spot of the trip and there were a bunch of jacks around but the fishing was not on fire as it should've been for this time of year, again, because of the water temps.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

It almost didn't happen January 28, 2022

It's funny how things work out sometimes.  I had two trips scheduled for tomorrow Saturday but Joe, my morning trip, called and asked if we could fish Friday, today, instead.  I guess he saw the weather forecast of temperatures in the 30's and winds upwards of 30 MPH.  So off we went on Friday morning with his friend Vinnie.  The water temps were back at 70 and the morning was extremely foggy to the point we were limited on where we could go so we stayed close to the marina and went bonefishing.  This is where Vinnie when bonefishing for the first time and he got his first bonefish.  Yes!!!!  The rare fog usually burns off in the first hour but not today, it actually got thicker throughout at the morning at times.  During my trip with Joe and Vinnie, Jon calls me asking what time to meet today.  "Huh, I can today but we're scheduled for tomorrow."  Turns out he had his dates mixed up and the trip was supposed to be today.  No problem.  I wrapped up my trip with Joe and Vinnie catching snappers, although small, on every cast.  

As soon as I dropped off Joe and Vinnie, Jon and Stefan jump aboard and we're off with the fog now cleared but the skies overcast.  Jon was on spin and Stefan on fly and we struck out on bonefish but then they told me they would be happy catching anything.  Cool!  I took them to a wreck, set up and watched Jon catch yellow jacks, big blue runners, snappers and a few big mystery fish while the fish ignored Stefan's fly, they don't usually.  Once Stefan picked up a spinning rod it was on as all fish were caught on lures and they took home plenty to eat.  

By the evening and the following day the weather was horrible so the schedule change worked out.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

It's cold! January 25, 2022

Man it's been cold with the latest cold front being unusually cold and driving down the water temps to the low 60's, not good!  Along for the ride today was Steve and his son.  They wanted to try for bonefish so I took them to a shallow point I like and try to work the deeper edge where there should be slightly warmer water but I warned them it would be tough.  Well, they went 0-2 on bonefish during our morning trip and landed a bonnet head shark.  It wasn't what I would have liked but at least they hooked two nice bones in spite of the blistering cold water temps.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

This has been tough! January 24, 2022

Wow, this is incredible!  In January I am usually swamped with work and very few days off but not January 2022.  Between the surging Omicron virus and the flight cancelations due to the virus travel has come to a stand still and I was off for about two weeks, just crazy.  Well, today I was back to work with Ruven who has fished with me before.  He usually likes to throw lures only and we do well.  The same today but the start was slow as I took him to a few different places that have worked for me recently.  At one spot there were a bunch of snook but with lower than normal water temps they were not willing to play as they focused on warming up.  Towards the end of the trip we decided to use the live shrimp I had in the live well and things got good with non stop action on mahogany snapper, yellow jacks and more.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

January 10, 2022

 Today I fished with Ethan again and he brought his friend Nathan.  We started off looking for snook but they were MIA and then we switched to fishing to make sure Nathan caught some fish, and he did!  The guys ended up having a nice trip with a bunch of varieties and plenty of action catching snappers, yellow jacks, big blue runners, shark and more.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing