They keep me on my toes February 11, 2023

Fish, they keep me up at night and constantly trying to figure them out.  My morning trip was with Nikko again and his brother Anthony as he wanted to catch his first bonefish.  The trip was fun but fishing was slow until towards the end when Anthony landed a nice 9lb bonefish.  What a way to get broken in to bonefishing!  Something was not quite right today with the fish but I couldn't put my finger on it.  Well, I have an afternoon trip so let's see how that works out.  

My afternoon trip was with Doug and his wife and these were great people.  Well, the wind picked up, not a big deal but something still didn't feel right.  Doug wanted to catch anything on fly so we fished a shallow shipwreck and caught a bunch of small snappers and jacks.  Having bent the fly rod it was time to target bonefish and this is when it all went south.  There were zero bonefish around even in areas that are extremely reliable.  Wow, this was tough!  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

The final trip February 10, 2023

This was the final fishing trip for Brian and Rick as they wrapped up their Florida fishing tour.  They let me know the fishing in Tampa was slow and the bass fishing the day prior to our trip was dead so they were bummed.  HMMM, I want to change their fortune but they wanted bonefish so that is always a tall order.  Let's see what happens.  

Just a few minutes into the trip Rick hooks up to a thick bonefish only for it to come off as it was close to the boat and we could clearly see it.  Urgh, don't tell me this is how today will go!  OK, a while later Rick hooks up again and this time we land the first bonefish of the trip with a solid 9lb fish.  Whew, OK that's better.  Then it was a ghost town with zero fish moving through and nothing to be found.  But, with bonefishing you always have to be hunting so hunting we did.  

Working another flat and staying longer than I would have liked, I went with my gut instinct and worked it more thoroughly than usual and it paid off with the guys being treated to a flurry of activity in short order.  First Rick hooks up again and lands a solid bone, then Brian hooks up and losses one, then another school moves through, the guys cast and they both hook up.  Yes!  Brian's fish was a freight train and Rick's fish landed much more quickly at around 7 lbs.  But, there was a problem, a big problem!  As Brian is on his first few moments of the fight, the reel handle breaks off, completely off with a 12 lb bonefish burning up the drag.  NO!!!!

While i tried to remedy the situation, Brian had to fight the big bonefish and turn the reel's rotor by hand in order to take up line.  I tried putting on another reel handle but it wouldn't fit and then Rick realized if Brian would push the handle against the reel it would work. Well, the handle fell off a few times but Brian did a great job and landed his massive bonefish in spite of all the drama.  In the end we hooked 7 bonefish and landed four.  Wow, what a day, what drama and what an unforgettable series of events to land Brian's first bonefish, a true slob! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Back to hunting silver February 9, 2023

Alec was back on board today for a full day trip and he is always the most laid back guy and just told me "let's bonefish".  Nice!  So we did and we fished for bonefish.  Early on he lost a BIG bonefish and then was redeemed by releasing a solid 10lb bone not long after.  Then, oh then it happened.  Alec hooked up again and this thing was smoking the drag on my Quantum Smokes, how appropriate!  A long fight later Alec released a 12 lb bonefish, wow!  We tried snook fishing but that was dead so we went back to bonefishing and he released some more for a final tally of 11 bonefish hooked and 9 landed.  Dang, what a day! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Back to the basics February 8, 2023

Arman was back in the skiff today with his brother Aria and the goal was to just catch fish for dinner.  This is a change of pace for me since I have been booked for bonefish almost everyday so it was cool to just catch fish.  It was a bot breezy as has been the case lately but not too bad so we used jig and shrimp and went at it working the finger channels.  The guys kept a nice yellow jack, a big mangrove snapper and porgies for dinner while releasing a bunch of other mangroves, jacks and smaller mutton snappers.  The four hours flew by and it was cool to spend the morning laughing with these guys.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Tag teaming the bones February 7, 2023

The last time Al and his little boy Bryson fished with me it was windy and cold and the fishing was tough.  Today, it was just windy but Al's friend Dan joined in on the fun.  With the wind being nasty enough to limit where we would fish I told them bonefish would be our best bet and Al told me that is what he really wanted to try and catch.  Great!  The first spot was slow and I kind of knew it since I had a gut feeling we needed to be somewhere else so not long after, we moved.  At the second spot I decided to over ride me desire to leave and we gave it extra time and my gut feeling proved correct with Dan hooking a stub bonefish that we lost next to the boat, about a 9 pounder.  Ouch!  Not long after Dan hooked up again and this time we scored a release and he got his first bonefish, about a 9 pounder again.  After not seeing fish for a while we moved to the last spot and this is where Al got three nice bonefish and Bryson helped him as well and the ten year old fought the bonefish like a pro.  Great job guys! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Bi-polar Sunday February 5, 2023

What a great morning and frustrating afternoon.  I had two trips today.  My morning trip was with repeat client Rick and he brought his co-worker Dan along.  The weather was horrible with high winds and almost constant rain.  We fished for 10 minutes and had to head in to the marina for cover.  The radar looked terrible and the wind wouldn't lay down but Dan said "I say we go, we're already wet."  O.K., so off we went back out.  The bonefish were on a tear in spite of the conditions.  Fishing in the rain and almost constant rain bands Dan got 4 bonefish and Rick got his biggest to date as well.  Towards the end of the trip the weather cleared and so I was still on for the afternoon trip.

As Jim and his from jumped aboard at noon I had high hopes for the trip.  The wind was still pretty high but the weather cleared and it wasn't bad at all.  The first hour was bearable with the guys missing a few bonefish takes.  The balance of the trip was absolutely dead.  Where did this come from?  I really wanted these guys to have a nice trip but sometimes the fish out smart me and everyone else.  Urgh! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

The fly keeps getting eaten February 3, 2023

I had Fax on board today and he brought his friend along, oh and his fly rod too.  He kept mixing it up between fly and spin but I have to admit, something odd happened today.  For some bizzare reason the bones today much preferred flies to shrimp.  What?  How weird was that?  I say this because Fax got his first bonefish on fly and three more to boot while his friend fishing shrimp on spin got one.  The total tally was 5 fished hooked and 4 landed, 3 on fly.  Very nice morning and I am reliving the takes Fax had on fly, they were so cool!  We wrapped up the day fishing the finger channels for dinner and the guys landed some nice fish including some nice yellow jacks.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Silver on the fly February 2, 2023

We were fly fishing for bonefish today with Robert from California but originally from Mississippi.  Being from an SEC state we talked college football and all the associated football drama for men and it was fun.  But back to business as Robert brushed off some rust from his fly casting in spite of a stiff breeze making it imperative we have the right angles to the fish.  Long story short, Robert hooked some freight trains on that 8 weight fly rod he brought and got to work out his drag.  The total tally was 8 bonefish hooked and four landed, all big fish in the 7-9lb range.  He lost two fish in particular that were absolute studs but broke him off on bottom structure.  What a shame, I bet these fish were in the 10lb range! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

First time is all it took. February 1, 2023

Yep, it just took Nikko one trip to get his first bonefish and then a few more.  He is such a cool guy and really loved fishing the flats.  When we started I fished a spot I usually have good success this time of year but no bonefish around but they yielded two sharks and a stingray for Nikko.  He admitted the stingray kicked his butt, they are tough!  The second spot was the key and we finished off the 4 hour trip with Nikko releasing his first two bonefish and he is hooked, we're scheduled for another trip in a couple of weeks!  LOL

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing