A few Surprises. July 1-15, 2026

I hope all of you had a great Fourth of July and stayed safe and cool because it's hot! I always complain about the heat but as I fish with clients from all over the country the common theme is that "it's just as hot or hotter back home",  I guess we're not alone in South Florida dealing with heat.  So far this summer we have been dealing with a drought which means the absence of the afternoon thunder storms that usually pushes everyone off the water and back to the marina.  The lack of afternoon rain storms has allowed us to fish more of the afternoon for those that have been wanting to fish deeper into the day.  As for the fishing, it's been good and there have been a few surprises to keep us excited.  Around Homestead the fishing for bonefish and permit early morning has been solid as we enjoy the slightly cooler and windless mornings.  There have been plenty of tailing bonefish and permit as well as schools of juvenile tarpon patrolling shorelines ready to take lures and flies.  These juvenile tarpon are averaging 10-30 pounds making them perfect for light bonefish rods or 8wt fly rods.  On the oceanside flats the shark fishing has been very good for lemon sharks ranging from 80 pounds to 200 pounds and I've even seen a few black tip sharks mixed in as well.  On these same flats there have been big barracudas ranging between 15-25 pounds.  These barracudas are a ton of fun as they sizzle across the flats when hooked and make unexpectedly big jumps trying their best to imitate tarpon.  Speaking of tarpon, around Key Biscayne there have been the resident tarpon active in the early morning.  While these are not the 120 plus pound springtime fish, they are 40-80 pounds making them fun but not exhausting to fight during the summer time.  Wen targeting these redident tarpon this month we have been hooking at least one per trip in the early morning and the bait of choice has been a live blue crab.  For those that don't care to spend the entire morning chasing tarpon, Key Biscayne has had plenty of other smaller, faster paced options.  One of the species we have been catching in the first half of July that has been a surprise have been pompano.  These are really cool fish that fight hard on light tackle and are a smaller cousin of the permit.  Spring time is the time of year when I tend to catch pompano so it has been a surprise to catch these in July but heck I'll take it.  Also on the list of what we have been catching has been:

Jack crevales

Horse eye jacks

Yellow jacks

Bonefish

Snappers 

Lady fish

Oh, there have also been a few hammer head sharks about 6 feet long prowling our fishing areas and several times we have fed them a bait and gotten bites but they have come off.  I'm itching to land one of these hammer head sharks as they are not common inshore in Miami. Well, that's what I have so far this month, enjoy the pics below and I'll be back at the end of the month. 

Capt. Mo Estevez 

786-853-1409

www.MiamiBonefishing.com (16' Flats Boat)

www.MiamiBayFishingCharters.com (22' Bay Boat)

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing @MiamiBayFishingCharters

Hot in a number of ways May 16-31, 2026 Report

Welcome back everyone, it's the end of May and everything is as it should be now.  The strange 20 MPH winds we had the fist half of the month are gone and they have ben replaced by the typical calm mornings and increasing heat that make May the kick off to summer in Miami. The second half of this month has been solid with weather but more importantly, fishing!  Boy is the bay going off right now with bonefish, tarpon and permit active and eating.  I ended the month with Nate and 16 year old Kit celebrating Kit's birthday bonefishing.  Oh was it a celebration! Literally, 20 minutes into our morning trip Kit had his fist bonefish in the boat. WOW!  The rest of the morning was spent taking shots at bonefish and some permit and so it has been the last two weeks and a half, it's been solid! For easier targets, there have been yellow jacks, snappers and jack crevalles filling in some time.  There have also been some big bull and lemon sharks on the prowl.  Yes it's hot but ignore that as you cast to the third school of bonefish coming at you in the last 20 minutes.  I love it! 

Capt. Mo Estevez 

786-853-1409

www.MiamiBonefishing.com (16' Flats Boat)

www.MiamiBayFishingCharters.com (22' Bay Boat)

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing @MiamiBayFishingCharters

Check out our new 22' Pathfinder addition!

 

Capt. Mo Estevez 

786-853-1409

www.MiamiBonefishing.com (16' Flats Boat)

www.MiamiBayFishingCharters.com (22' Bay Boat)

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing @MiamiBayFishingCharters

The slick has started! May 1-15, 2026

It's May, it's hot and it's slick!  I mean it is slick clam, no wind in the mornings and tails everywhere.  May is the month when we start our summer pattern of windless mornings, warming water and lots of bonefish, permit and tarpon early morning.  This has been the case the first couple of weeks this month, as it should be.  Here's the run down.  

There have been plenty of juvenile tarpon working the shorelines that will take popper flies or top water lures.  These juvenile tarpon have taken the place of the big migratory tarpon around Key Biscayne that sued to be the main stay of our tarpon season.  

Bonefishing has been excellent, especially early mornings as we take advantage of the calm mornings making it easier to spot their tails and dorsal fins as they move along the shallow flats.  

Permit are a steady target for those wanting the ultimate challenge.  Permit have been on both sides of the bay, the mainland shoreline and the ocean side flats.  

I haven't been snook fishing since the three mentioned above have taken up most of my time but early mornings are the best times to target them along creeks and shorelines.  

We have been catching pompano pretty regularly mixed in with small permit, jacks, snappers and lady fish.  The lady fish have been a blast on a fly rod as they crush flies and make their big jumps.  

The fishing for barracuda has been good with plenty of big ones in the 20 pound range being caught on live jacks and we have been seeing plenty of sharks but especially hammerhead and bull sharks in the channels and black tips, lemon and nurse sharks on the flats.  

That's he run down of the last two weeks.  Stay tuned for another report at the end of the month.  

Capt. Mo Estevez 

786-853-1409

www.MiamiBonefishing.com (16' Flats Boat)

www.MiamiBayFishingCharters.com (22' Bay Boat)

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing @MiamiBayFishingCharters

Out with March with a bang! March 16-31, 2026

As we end the month of March we had a cold front to deal with, high winds, no wind, cold and heat, what a crazy month!  Thankfully, fish still have to eat so it has been a good month with a few ups and downs towards the end.  Bonefishing has generally been good, tarpon not so good, permit have been around, shark fishing has been solid and the finger channels kept the clients and me busy.  

On one trip recently with regular client Jake and his two friends Antonio and Nil we started slow and ended on fire.  We were looking for tarpon and there were none to be found, a sadly recurring theme this month as tarpon have been inconsistent, but we ended the trip with the guys releasing 10 bonefish.  Insane!  The last trip of the month I had Jesse and 14 year old Miles who wanted tarpon.  Ha, Miles hooked three monster tarpon but all three came off for different reasons.  A heartbreaker yes but man was it exciting!  

In the finger channels we've been catching tons of look downs (weird but super cool fish), snappers, jacks and barracudas.  The sharks on the flats have been on a tear and showing up in big numbers and along shorelines and small back bays the ladyfish have been super fun on lures and especially on flies.  

April will be another solid month so stick around and watch for mid April's report in a few weeks.  

Capt. Mo Estevez 

786-853-1409

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Four Incredible Days October 24-27, 2022

Look, I'm a fishing guide and we are know to stretch the truth at times, or a lot but this report is no exaggeration.  Chris fished with me last year and he brought his son Brian this year for four days of fishing.  The goal was for them to catch barracudas on lures and mix in some other stuff.  Well, we had high water the whole week thanks to a combination of spring tides and king tides so that made the snook fishing slow and limited us on some barracuda spots.  BUT, no problem.  Over the four days we fished we spent most of our time looking for barracuda and caught plenty with a few really nice ones mixed in which were the size we were looking for.  Again, BUT we would sneak off and do something else for a couple of hours each day and it paid off.  Most of the time we bonefished and it was incredible.  We spent approximately 4-5 hours bonefishing over the course of four days and landed 27 bonefish.  We got 1 on the first day, 15 on the second day and 11 on the third day.  WOW!  We also mixed in fishing mullet muds where we hooked and lost two tarpon and landed jacks through the four days.  As for me, highlight number one was spending time with these guys and a very closed second, or 1b was 27 bonefish.  Nice!  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

He just catches studs! December 20, 2021

Can you believe we are only 5 days away from Christmas?  Anyway, Eric has fished with me plenty of times before and on his first trip last year he wanted to try bonefishing.  So, he proceeds to land a 12 pounder and his father in law a 10 pounder, dang!  Well today he brought his friend Cosmo who doesn't fish so I kept it simple with snappers and blue runners and they had a blast.  I then took them to shark fish on the edge of a flat and after a while Cosmo hooks up to a nice lemon shark and proceeds to break him off deep into the long blistering run.  As I set up again I look back and there's a school of mudding bonefish a decent cast off our stern!!!!  I rigged a shrimp but when I cast they were moving away.  Hmm, there should be another school.  Yes, there was indeed another school and this time Eric scored!  The initial run had the water was rooster tailing off the line and I could tell this was a big fish.  Well, several solid runs later Eric had a slob bonefish at the side of the boat.  Dang, Eric just catches stub bonefish!  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

The Golden Slob November 11, 2021

 Mike was back at it again but this time we had less than ideal conditions so I decided to fish out of Key Biscayne where we would have some cover from the unusually high winds.  Sticking to fly fishing we were limited in where we could fish and the first spot didn't produce any snook, jacks or snappers.  We were fishing a floating line and I decided to switch reels and use a sinking line.  Well, that didn't last long.  Just a few casts in with the expensive sinking line a black tip shark exploded on a school of mullet and ate Mike's fly.  Cool right? No, not cool because in seconds the shark turned around and bit off the fly line taking with him the crucial sinking tip part of the fly line.  Dang, there went $75.00!  Back to using a floating line but now with a heavier fly.  We bounced around to different spots where Mike caught his first mackerel (several of them) and then jacks, blue runners and then it happened.  At our last stop I had this nagging feeling something was going to happen and after putting a few jacks in the boat, something devoured his fly and make a long run.  Mike tells me "yeah, I'm over my head with this one", hilarious!  Mike did a great job of fighting what would end of being his first snook and a slob at that.  Wow Mike!  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Some guys score on the first try February 24, 2021

Today was a fun trip with Rick from Homestead where I live, Sean from Texas  and Scotty from Arkansas. The guys just wanted to catch anything and have a good time so we started off at a shallow shipwreck where they caught a bunch of snappers. Once the tide was right we went over to a bone fish flat where Sean got his 1st bone fish and Rick got a shark. We wrapped up the half day trip on another flat shark fishing where Scotty got a big barracuda and the other two guys got some more sharks. These guys were a ton of fun to fish with and absolutely hilarious!

Capt. Mo Estevez 

www.miamiboneFishing.com

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing

It's been on FIRE! February 15, 2021

 Another two trips today, that has become a recurring theme as I have been swamped with work.  My morning trip was with regular local client Guillermo and his wife Vivi.  Guillermo has been working on his fly fishing and that is what he wanted to do, just catch anything on fly.  With Vivi using spinning rods and shrimp and Guillermo on the fly they caught snappers, lady fish, jacks and runners. 

My afternoon trip was with Jay and his wife Holly and his bucket list fish was bonefish.  Ha, great!  With the tide perfect we fished an area that's been consistent for bonefish and they each caught their bonefish.  To add to the trip, it was Jay's birthday so he got his birthday.  Congrats Jay! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

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

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Post Christmas Snook Fest! December 26, 2020

 After two days off I was back to work with David and his friend Brian on a chilly 47 degree morning.  Although they were up for anything I wanted to focus on creeks and snook.  Using lures Brian quickly hooked and lost a big snook on his first cast.  Then, it was all craziness from then on.  The total tally was a dozen snook released, lost a few and missed quite a few bites in between.  Afterwards we missed the bite on a bonefish and called it a day.  This was a good day! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

This Never Gets Old! December 21, 2020

 I had a full crew today with Alan, his son and his friend Andre.  I can tell you the days have been spectacular and today was no exception.  We fished a couple of spots using lures and shrimp on jigs but things were slow as I worked my way south.  Once I got to a channel that has been producing lately it was fishing at break neck speed.  First, Alan got a barracuda and then working the drop off of a flat scored on a nice bonefish.  YES!  Then it was game on with the other guys as well as they caught mackerel, porgies, snapper, yellow jacks and more, a total of 8 species in one spot with non stop action.  Once they were worn out I took them to a cool spot for some r and r and headed back reliving a great day. 

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

My Oh My, She's spoiled now! November 24, 2020

Ken loves to fish and we've been fishing for years together.  The last time he brought his 6 year old little girl Gianna and she was back, 2 years later, much bigger and ready to fish.  Ken really wanted her to catch her first bonefish and with 20 MPH winds it would be a challenge.  Other than the visibility being perfect, just about all the other variables were not to my liking but I had a mission before me.  Working hard and putting in the time, Gianna behaved really well and not long into the trip she was on her first bonefish, a 9lber!  Wow, what a way to get started!  Some time later another bonefish is one and this one is about 5 lbs.  Then a third one, this one giving us a long blistering run.  Several really long runs later we had about an 11lb bonefish in the boat.  Wow, what a way to get Gianna her first bonefish, and second and third!  Congrats girl, you rock! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing

Family Time November 14, 2020

George from the U.K. was back but this time he was with daughter and wife.  He booked a full day and wanted to keep the girls busy with different species and a boat tour as well so we did just that.  We caught bait and then we were off.  We hit a few spots and caught fish including some nice mutton snappers, mangrove snappers and more while showing the ladies around the bay and all the interesting and historical areas.  This was a very cool trip and it was great seeing George again and his family.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing

And the wind continues.... November 5, 2020

 Kent and the gang were on for a second day and today we changed it up.  It was blowing 30 MPH today and we decided to stay close to the marina and in the lee of the wind as much as possible  Things worked out with the guys catching a bunch of mangrove snappers, jacks and we hooked a few bull sharks.  Nick was on the big bull shark and and hooked a nice 250 to 300lber.  The fight lasted 55 minutes and then the hook pulled.  Ouch! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing