The big close out. January 31, 2023

After yesterday's bonefish insanity I was holding my breath hoping it would continue for first time client, Robert.  We were working with fly gear again today and the first flat was slow with one subtle take and a miss, the second flat was dead and the third...is all it took.  Robert did a great job of shaking off the rust and was making some really solid casts that were rewarded with all big fish, I mean big bonefish.  The total tally for the day was 8 bonefish hooked and 4 landed but three of the four landed were in the 8-9lb range.  There were two that spit the hook and two cut offs on coral heads but there was one that was definitely double digit getting him deep into the backing before the he broke us off.  Wow, what a morning and what a way to close out the month!

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

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Living in a dream! January 30, 2023

Um, yeah I don't know what to say right now.  I had Ted back on the skiff this morning and thought the pattern of slow fishing in the AM and then a big push of fish the afternoon would repeat itself.  I was wrong, I like being wrong sometimes.  We had a different pattern today and it went like this, 12 bonefish hooked on fly and 10 landed an hour and a half into our trip.  Wow, it felt there was was smoke coming off his Sage fly reel.  It was insane!  Once it slowed down we went to some other flats where Ted had a shot at a permit and then crickets for a few hours.  Hmmm, well this is not cool.  Once the tide turned we hit another flat and well, it was on fire for bonefish again with Ted hooking a few more fish and landing another 5 and losing an additional three to four fish.  Dang!  The total for today was 18 bonefish hooked on fly and 15 landed.  Insane!  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

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Holy Smokes!!! January 27, 2023

The last time Ted and I fished (for the first time) it was an absolute grind and we managed one snook on top water.  Today as he jumped aboard my skiff that was a topic of conversation and the trip started off pretty rough again.  The first few spots had zero life, no bonefish so far.  Dang!  OK, we moved on to look for snook and again the first few spots were slow but finally we fished a creek mouth and we watch as a snook crushes his subsurface lure and makes a few nice jumps before the pic and release.  This sure looks familiar, please God don't let it be a repeat of our first trip!  Ok, we fish a couple of more spots and zero life.  We start bonefishing again and we hook two nice bones that broke us off.  Hmmm, OK there's life out here.  At this point I tell Ted "Alright, we are committing to bonefish for the balance of the trip no matter what."  Ha, it's funny I said that because we worked another flat and it was, well, hmmm, incredible!  On this one flat Ted got two bonefish on spin tackle and then one on fly.  With the spin tackle stowed we focused on fly and it was the best bonefish on fly trip I have had.  At one point it was bonefish hooked or at least have an eat on almost every cast as the schools just kept swarming by us.  WOW!  The final tally, as best as we can recall since we were laughing and not keeping track was about 20 bonefish hooked and 12 landed, 2 on spin and 10 on fly.  All we could do was scream, laugh and enjoy the bonefish insanity.  If only every trip was half this good! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

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My how things have changed! January 25, 2023

It's incredible to me how the inshore fishery in Biscayne Bay has changed.  In past January's I'd be cast netting bait and primarily fishing for mackerel, bluefish, mutton snappers, grouper, tarpon and other species with a high degree of confidence that it would all work out while bonefishing was towards the bottom of the list due to how difficult they are to catch.  Last year and this year it has completely flipped.  As you read my last report, bait is scare and the fishing in general so far this month hasn't been great, except for bonefish.  What?!  Yup, bonefishing has remained excellent and therefore that it was I did today with Joel and Dean.  We started at noon in close to 20 MPH winds and went bonefishing.  It started off slow but eventually Dean hooked up and landed his first bonefish after a bit of drama with the fish wrapping itself around the back of the boat.  A long spell later Joel hooked a monster but it came off before we could see it but it sire fought like a 9-10lb bonefish.  Wait, there's more.  A bit later we fished another flat and Joel scored three back to back bonefish including an 8-9lber, his biggest to date.  Then Dean got another one and on one of the last shots Joel got another one for a total of 7 bonefish hooked and six landed.  Nice!  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Up and Down January 23, 2023

Alex and his brother Bombino booked me again today for some food fishing.  Step one was to look for schools of pilchards (bait) that I could cast net and then hit some spots for snappers, grouper and other tasty species.  But, the first step proved to be harder then it needed to be.  After searching high and low for bait and even asking a couple of guide buddies if they had found bait the resounding answer was "NO".  Anyway, off we went using live shrimp and the first four spots were dead.  Now I'm getting frustrated with this and hit another spot where we finally scored yellow jacks, trigger fish and smaller snappers.  The guys were able to take home some fresh fillets but it wasn't easy.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

It's getting better January 21, 2023

Today I had repeat client Dave and he is usually up for anything, especially bonefish.  Once again, we had perfect conditions with clear skies and zero wind allowing us to take a few shots at bonefish that were cruising around.  The schools all seemed to be further out than we can reach them with a long cast but we did get a few shots.  It was slower than I had expected but once the tide turned and started to go out the fishing turned on and during the last our of the trip Dave hooked three bonefish and landed two.  Nice way to end the day.  By the way, the marinas were crazy busy even at 7AM when I launched but thankfully very few flats anglers on the water.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Incredible Eat January 20, 2023

I was looking forward to fishing with long time client Maria and throwing a fly with her.  We started off focusing on bonefish and 5 minutes into the trip she hooked and landed a tiny 10" bonefish, so cute and a great sign of the health of our bonefishery.  OK, cool start but let's get an upgrade.  Ha, we had to work for that upgrade!  Finally the tide turned and under perfect conditions I set up on a spot I like but hadn't fished in a while.  I had a good feeling about this spot and it lived up to its history.  School after school of bonefish started to move through and Maria kept getting solid shots.  After too many shots and casts that should've rewarded her, it finally happened.  

A school cam in perfectly at her 11 o'clock. I point them out and tell her to cast at 11 o'clock.  She makes a good cast but it was off by a few feet and by this time the school pushes towards her 12 o'clock and moving straight at us.  I tell her to pick up the fly and just roll cast at her 12.  She did just that and dropped that fly right in the face of one of the fish in the school.  I thought they would blow out but they didn't and as Maria stripped the fly we watched the big bonefish chase down the fly and eat it a few feet from the boat!  What???!!!  Awesome!  Oh, and the big bone starts to smoke the fly reel and got deep into the backing twice causing me to have to pole after it to recover some line.  After an awesome fight Maria released her biggest bonefish to date, a solid 10-11 pounder.  Wow!   The rest of the trip was pretty and slow but the fish of the day was taken care of and anything after would have been icing.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Dealing with Cold January 11-18, 2023

Boy oh boy did I get my wish.  Over the summer I wanted a nice cold winter, well I got it!  We got a second cold front that dropped the air temperature into the high 30's to the point where one morning on my way to work we had frost on the roof, in South Florida!  The water temps were 60 degrees by the marina and a few degrees warmer on the oceanside of the bay.  This cold air has sat over us for a few night keeping the water temps low and the fishing tough but the day before the cold front I fished with Kivi and Charlie and nailed it with nice yellow jacks and snappers the guys wanted for dinner.  After the cold front everything changed as expected.  The first trip was with long time clients Joe and Kim and it was desolation even during the warmer incoming tide that raised the water temps a few degrees.  The following trip was with Arman, Jonah and Daniel and we had a good trip with several snook landed plus snappers and other species for dinner.  By this time the water temps were a bit better and I was looking forward to better fishing with Todd from Boston but boy was I wrong.  Even though we had better water temps and perfect conditions fishing was tough.  I found just a few tarpon in the early morning and then some in the afternoon but smaller fish and just a few here and there.  We worked hard and fished all over creation for all kinds of species but nothing to get excited about.  No snook, no bonefish but Todd did hook a really nice mystery fish on lures in the early morning but it broke us off.  I can't wait for this to turn around, I'm sure it will in the next day or so, it always does! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Grinding today January 10, 2023

Joe and I hadn't fished in a few years but we did today along with his friend Milan.  Milan is a hardcore fisherman willing to wet a line in a street puddle and Joe is much more laid back and just likes to hook up and relax.  These guys are great but we had a hard north wind that kept us in close to shore and avoid getting beat up and wet.  I have to admit, the fishing was slow with some small blue runners and barracudas to show for it.  However, I wanted then to catch bonefish but that wore on them for a while so we mixed it up.  Eventually we gave it another shot and Milan finally hooked up and landed a nice bonefish.  He was amazed at the speed and power of these fish and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief.  It was good to fish with these guys again and get Milan his first bonefish.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

The Shark Wrestler January 7, 2023

It's been a while since I had a father/son trip for bending rods and shark fishing and that's what Eric wanted to do with his son Nick.  So, in order to hide from the wind we ran south towards the south end of Elliott Key and fished the edge of a flat.  Here they had a blast casting jig and shrimp and catching jacks on almost every cast plus look downs and small mutton snappers.  Once that cooled off we hit the flats nearby for sharks.  This particular flat usually holds 40-60lb sharks perfect for Nick.  Oh, not today.  All the sharks we hooked (about 6 of them) were in the 100-150lb range.  Not an easy task on medium tackle.  But, Nick and Eric had a blast sight fishing these lemon sharks and ended up releasing two nice ones.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

It was good today! January 5, 2023

I had Paul today and he wanted to hunt for bonefish.  He typically fishes in the keys but wanted to check out Biscayne Bay.  We started off fishing the west side of the bay but it was pretty slow.  Finally he hooked up and landed the first bonefish of the day.  Once the tide was right we headed to the oceanside flats and that proved to be the right move as the only three flats we fished held fish.  On the first flat I saw three bonefish cruising and told him where to cast.  Paul didn't see them but made a perfect cast and a few moments later he was on releasing his second bonefish of the day a few long runs later.  The second flat had some bones tailing in a bit deeper water and he got a bite but missed it.  The last flat had some big fish mudding and tailing in super shallow water.  Once again he made a precision cast and was rewarded with a nice big fish.  Wow, what a day!  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

It's finally back on track!!!! January 3, 2023

Fishing was on fire until the big cold front we had on 12/24 and ever since it's been relatively slow.  Oh but today!  Today was different, with seemingly identical conditions to yesterday and the day before it finally popped and the fish were everywhere!  Ira and his son in law David booked me for bonefishing and I have to tell you, I was holding my breath, especially after there was no activity for the first hour.  Ira let me know his freshwater guide a few miles north of us told him just the day before they were struggling to catch fish as well.  Hmmm.  Well, after a while Ira's rod doubles over and he is on to the first bonefish of the day, a solid 8lb fish.  Later David landed his fish at about 9 lbs and then three more come to the boat for a total of 6 fish hooked and 5 landed.  Wow, that felt great.  They're back!!!!

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Happy New Year's Report January 2, 2023

Happy New Year everyone!  After taking the 1st off I was back to work with long time client Bob and Anna.  We met up at the dock and headed on looking for bonefish where once again they proved to be elusive on fly and spin but we did miss to hook ups on fly.  Dang it!  We moved off to look for live bait (pilchards) but no success.  Well, we hit a few spots to bend the rod and all the fish were small but at least we got something in the boat.  Towards the end of the trip and the outgoing tide we fished for bonefish one more time and boy did we work.  Bob later confessed he said to himself "O.K. last cast." when his shrimp got whacked, the rod got a deep bend and the drag smoked.  Finally, a bonefish!  It was solid 9lber to end the day.  Whew, that was close!

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

New Year's Eve Report December 31, 2022

I had a full day with great long time and local client Chris with his grand daughter Nicole and her boyfriend Carlos.  These are such great people and I was looking forward to fishing with them.  We started off with zero wind and lots of shots at permit on the surface.  It was a crazy start to the morning seeing so many permit and getting so many shots at them.  Since the forecast called for 15-20 MPH winds I didn't buy live crabs but we threw big live shrimp at them only to have them reject Chris' pin point casts.  How frustrating, we should have hooked a few fish even with big live shrimp but it wasn't to be.  After that cooled off we looked for bonefish but it was slow so we moved on to look for live bait and live chum for muttons and groupers.  Well, no live bait to be found, no pilchards and no pelicans diving on schools of pilchards.  Wow!  Off to the wrecks where ti was also pretty slow but we did land a bunch of blue runners and Carlos caught a big trigger fish that was the highlight of his day.  We ended the day bonefishing where it proved to be just as slow.  This was a shock since we had perfect conditions otherwise.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing