Hot and Fun! June 1-15, 2026

June is here and so is the heat but so is the hot fishing.  It's been a fun two weeks to kick off June with calm mornings, plenty of silver tails and lots of options.  The last two weeks have been solid for early morning fishing for bonefish and permit making it exciting and a bit easier to target these elusive gamefish.  Fishing for juvenile tarpon has also been pretty good as we throw lures or flies at them as they roll in the early morning.  For easier fishing we have been finding sharks of all sizes on the flats and the size would depend on who's catching them with smaller kids targeting smaller sharks and adults being able to hook up to the bigger lemon and bull sharks int eh 100-200 pound range.  There have also been yellow jacks in the channels and still some ladyfish hanging around.  With the warmer water temperatures the larger snapper are off the reef but there are still a few mutton snappers prowling the channels.  Stay cool 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

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

It's Spring! March 1-15, 2026

This first half of March has been very interesting and just as expected in some ways. March is typically a windy month and that has been the case so far with two exceptions. We have been averaging winds between 15 to 20 miles an hour and although that sounds like pretty tough fishing, it’s actually been very manageable and we’ve been doing well on a number of species in spite of the wind. 

The tarpon fishing out of Key Biscayne should be pretty solid right now but only a few resident fish have been around with none of the big migratory fish 100 pounds plus making an appearance yet. I am hoping this is just a short term issue and the second half of March starts to give us many more opportunities at them. However, taking the place of these tarpon have been bonefish and permit, and those are two species I cannot complain about. In addition to really good bonefishing, pompano are starting to show up and we have done pretty well catching a number of different species for clients that wanted to just catch a lot of fish such as lady fish, barracudas, snappers and yellow jacks. We had two really calm days on Friday and Saturday and we were able to capitalize on them. On Friday Manuel made a pinpoint cast at a tailing permit early morning in really calm conditions and the permit seeing his favorite food flutter in front of his face couldn’t help but swallow the live blue crab.  Manuel was able to land a 20 pound greedy permit and it was amazing! His buddy Jimmy also ended up landing a really nice bonefish before it was time to head back to the marina. On Saturday clients Ernie, Miguel and Frandy jumped on the boat and almost immediately upon arriving at our first spot there were tails everywhere, and the guys proceeded to land four bonefish in the first hour and a half of the trip. Pretty amazing fishing and pretty amazing start to a great day.  

I'm starting to see the first wave of migrating mullet and the large mullet muds they create.  This is a great sign as the fishing around these giant schools of mullet can be super fun and it'll just get better as March continues.  That's what's been happening in Miami's inshore and flats fishing and make sure to check back in at the end of the month for the end of month report.  See ya!

Capt. Mo Estevez 

786-853-1409

www.MiamiBonefishing.com

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

More Dad/Son Fun December 19, 2022

Matt and Ryan fished with me for the first time about 8 years ago under terrible conditions and Ryan caught a shark.  Since then, Matt and I have fished a few time which included him sight casting a solid permit some years ago.  Today they were both back in the skiff for bonefish then a fresh fish dinner.  The bonefishing was a little off today but Ryan caught his first bonefish early on.  After that, we took off in search of bait, pilchards to be exact, but they were MIA, no pelicans diving on bait, not large schools, nothing.  We searched high and low and still nothing.  I let the guys know that without pilchards we were just going to catch small fish so we decided to bonefish some more.  That was the ticket!  We missed a few bites towards the end of the trip until Matt hooked up to a solid fish and after a number of big runs, the big bone was at the side of the boat.  Ryan on the other hand never did get his bonefish on fly.  We'll hit it again Ryan! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

What a way to break him in December 11, 2022

Ok, I realize the title sounds bad but read on.  

Mike emailed me at the last minute asking if I was available Sunday afternoon.  Ouch, that is the worst time to fish in Miami due to the heavy boat traffic and the water being pounded all day by boaters and fishermen alike but I said yes.  We met up in Homestead after his meeting and we were idling out of the channel by 1:20pm.  This was a fly fishing trip so we talked about it and decided to target easier species first in order to get him acclimated to strip striking and saltwater fly fishing generally as this was his first time in the salt.  Incredibly, not only did we have perfect weather that kept getting better as the trip progressed but there were hardly any boats out.  I took him to a wreck where he caught yellow jacks, blue runners and trigger fish on fly and practiced his double haul and strip striking.  Once he had some practice and with an hour and change left in the trip we turned our attention to bone fishing.  It didn't take long until he got his first take but the fish didn't get the hook.  But the second fish, oh the second fish crushed the fly as we watched him wake behind the fly, create a swirl as he at the fly and made a blistering run around some obstruction in the water that almost broke us off.  After a few minutes Mike's bonefish was in the landing net for a photo op and we ran back with big smiles.  Wow, congrats Mike! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Insanity December 7, 2022

Jake, oh Jake!  He couldn't have had a better day and he couldn't be a nicer guy.  Jake booked me at the last minute for today and wanted to fish for bonefish.  Well, we did but I started off with "It's been really good but not great yesterday.".  Then, Biscayne Bay made me eat my words by providing Jake with 13 bonefish landed and 15 hooked in total!  Crazy for a half day!  It started off slow, or at least I thought because I wanted quick redemption, but it really didn't.  Within the first half hour Jake landed his first bonefish and then kept coming in the boat until the tide slackened.  Once the tide picked up again Jake was hooking up on almost every cast!  We literally left fish biting as I asked if he wanted to make a few more casts but he had to go.  Wow! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

The Roller Coaster December 6, 2022

Great one day, OK the next, that's how it's been the week.  Today I had Peter for a 6 hour trip for an all around mixed bag of fishing.  We started off bone fishing and after much work we landed one and missed a couple of bites.  This wasn't great based on how it's been it was slow however, any time you catch a bone fish it's a great day.  Anyway, we tried snook fishing but the water level was really high and they were tucked deep into the mangroves.  Moving off to find bait I located a huge school of pilchards and quickly loaded up the live well.  Fishing two wrecks and a channel proved slow so I took one more awing at it in a channel that I hadn't fished in a while and there we landed three nice yellow jacks, a small black grouper and lost a big grouper to the rocks.  The trip wrapped up with a little more bone fishing where we drew a blank.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

First time is the perfect time. November 23, 2022

The first time Ralph fished with me earlier this year we didn't catch bonefish on fly but caught a nice shark instead.  Today he brought his son Alex and the goal was to get him on his first bonefish on fly while Ralph would fish spin gear.  Same as yesterday, not long into the trip Alex got his first take from a bonefish but the bone didn't stick.  No worries, a bit later he was on and this time the end result was what we all wanted, Alex's first bonefish on fly.  Along the way Ralph had quite a few bonefish eats but they weren't playing nice and wouldn't get hooked.  Meanwhile Alex had another fish on and it came off right at the side of the boat and I seem to have taken in harder than he did as I held my head in my hands and said "Oh no, what the hell?" and his response was "No worries, I'm having a great time, this is fun."  Thank you Alex!  Not long after Ralph was on and landed a nice bonefish to brake the spin curse of the morning.  The run back to the marina was nice with some fish under our belts and smiles all over.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Birthday Bonefish October 10, 2022

Jim and his son in law Arturo were scheduled to fish with me yesterday but we had some nasty weather all day yesterday so we rescheduled for today.  That was a smart move as the day was gorgeous today.  The fishing, well that was a different story.  We started off fishing for snook, a slight detour from the intended target of bonefish, since it was tough to pass up snook crushing schools of mullet all around us.  We threw lures and live mullet and couldn't buy a bite.  Many times with so much bait around it's tough to have locate your one offering in the middle of thousands of other baits.  Ok, no worries we move on to bonefish where it was also pretty slow but eventually we found some fish and Jim hooked up only to lose the bonefish at the boat.  A while later Arturo also hooks up and the fish also comes off near the boat.  This is getting frustrating!  Ok, new spot and we draw a zero.  Last spot and Arturo quickly hooks two fish and they both come off next to the boat plus he got a couple of bites that never got hooked.  Dang it!  Well, with minutes left before we head in Jim hooks up and lands his first bonefish for his birthday.  Whew!  A bit later we called it a day going 1 for 5 on bonefish.  It was a tough day but I'm not complaining! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Permit will be Permit September 25, 2022

John fished with me last year and wanted to catch his first permit but bonefish as a back up, we caught bonefish.  Today the mission remained the same and under perfect conditions feeling more like fall each day we found a ton of permit.  Big permit, medium permit, small permit, permit everywhere.  There was one problem, they were being permit and extra picky today.  We lost count of the schools of permit of all sizes we saw and John made some very good casts where the crab would land in front of the school, they would swirl all around it but not eat.  So frustrating!  As the tide slowed so did the fishing so I took him to another spot.  Here the tide was "running late" but we still had good current.  I told John we had the perfect amount of water for permit at this spot but there would be more bonefish than permit, I was hoping the fish wouldn't let me down.  About 15 minutes into fishing this spot John hooks a freight train and a long fight later requiring I chase the fish, John had his bucket list fish at the side of the boat, a big permit.  Yes!!!!!   We fished the same spot for the balance of the trip and he proceeded to land three bonefish.  What a way to end the trip and be part of John catching one of the last remaining fish on his bucket list.  Way to go John! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

What a day! May 28/29, 2022

Scott fly down from north Florida for two days of bonefish and permit fishing.  The boat traffic at the marina was insane being Memorial Day weekend but once on the water it was surprisingly quiet as we focused on bonefish and permit.  Day one was insane with Scott going 7 for 9 on bonefish before taking a break and encouraging me to make a few casts which I did and quickly landed a bonefish as well.  Day two we focused on permit and while it started quite the permit finally woke up at the end of the incoming tide and Scott had a ton of shots before the breeze kicked up and ended that fishing.  We went back to bonefishing which we did about 15 minutes worth before having to high tail it back to the marina before a significant storm got the best of us.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Man on Fire May 25, 2022

John is from D.C. and likes to use artificials so that was the plan but we would be limited in the relentless 20 MPH wind.  Right when we got onto a flat there were snook busting mullet and we invested about an hour throwing all manner of lures at these 30" snook that kept flying out of the water chasing bait but to no avail.  We moved on to the next spot for bonefish and it was game on for the next four hours with John going 6 for 7 on bonefish including a solid 10 pounder plus a few jacks and missing a few bites that I'm sure were smaller, harder to hook bonefish.  The trip ended in the mangroves throwing lures for snook but John caught two barracudas instead.  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

4th Quarter, 2 minutes left May 12, 2022

 John jumps in the boat and tells me he has tried to catch bonefish for years but caught tarpon and bonefish instead.  Ha, poor guy!  Anyway, off to go bonefishing we went.  Spot one produced one bite that didn't get hooked and it slowed down.  Spot two produced another bite but it was a swing and a miss.  Then......it died off.  No fish anywhere as I sweat the prospect of John not getting any bonefish with me.  That was until the tide turned.  With just a few minutes left in the trip the tide, which was running late, finally turned and man it was on!  In just a few minutes John got his first bonefish, lost another and got his second.  Whew that was close! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Sometimes I myself wonder May 10, 2022

After a day off, a cancellation and a couple of rod bending trips I had John on board for a full day of fly fishing.  The day definitely did not have the typical calm wind May conditions.  From the moment we boarded the skiff it was already blowing 10-12 MPH.  Spot one was slow so off to spot two.  Spot two produced yesterday when I had a cancellation and a buddy of mine and I fun fished for a few hours but the bones were picky yesterday.  I needed to figure this out.  With the wind increasing I set John up with a good angle to take shots at passing schools and they came, from all different directions!  Dang man they don't cooperate sometimes.  Anyway, John got a number of bonefish to turn on his fly but not eat at the last minute, had one eat his fly but missed the strip set and got two on spin gear and shrimp before it all slowed down and the wind increased to about 20MPH.  Last stop was the lee of an island where he had some shots at big snook and even had a bonefish try to eat his baitfish pattern a few feet from the boat.  So cool! 

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

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

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

First trip of the year January 6, 2022

This is really crazy, we're already in 2022 and it feels like we skipped over 2020.  Any way, happy new year everyone!  Business and the fishing was on fire but as soon as the new year hit with the huge spikes in Covid infections and flight cancellations things got quite quick but not for regular client Alex, his dad Bert and their friend Karim.  I was looking for a good day today with Alex and it was good from the first cast.  I took them to a spot where there have been plenty of species within 50' of each other and they warmed up on jacks, small grouper, snappers and look downs.  As the spot started to sputter I took them to the finger channels where we caught the last of the tide and they caught plenty of yellow jack and snapper dinner.  Once the tide stopped and the fishing slowed I took them tarpon fishing but they were MIA so off we went to bonefish.  Dang, it started tough as we missed two solid bites and then lost two hooked fish.  However, towards the end Bert hooks up and caught his first bonefish in decades.  Awesome!  

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Max the fishing machine December 29, 2021

Richie is a boater while his 14 year old son is a hard core fisherman from AL (spoiled in the college football world!) so this trip was for Max and Max wanted bonefish.  I took them to a flat that has been producing and we got to work.  It started ugly with Max going 0 for 2 before Richie got his first bonefish.  Oh, oh.  After me feeling some stress because I really want Max to land one, losing one 2 feet from the boat doesn't count, I see Max set up and the reel sing.  Yes, wait, no yes, let's wait until he lands it.  Max did a great job fighting his fish and listening to me suggestions and then the silver bullet we all love slipped into the landing net.  YES!  Wanting to try something different I took them to a spot where they caught 5lb jacks on every cast and the bass fisherman in Max came out with the hook sets.  Congrats Max! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing

Redemption! December 13, 2021

 After a slow week last week that I could hardly stomach I had the weekend off and patiently waited for my Monday trip with Jim in order to see if fishing had improved and find some kind of redemption.  So, Jim jumps in the boat and off we go.  Jim wanted to fly fish but with steady 20 MPH winds that would be difficult so Jim was smart enough to decide to pick up a spinning rod at the beginning of the trip and we targeted bonefish.  Well, it didn't take long for Jim to tie in to a nice bonefish and enjoy the blazing fast runs.  After a release he was at it again and not 10 minutes later he was on again!  Another release and he was ready for something else.  I took him to a tarpon spot that was void of tarpon so off to a snook spot that had no snook but had tarpon, go figure.  He tossed flies at the 3-40lb rolling tarpon but after a period of no bites we wrapped up the trip catching jacks on fly and he had a blast.  It's tough not enjoying jacks on fly.  Whew, I can sleep better tonight! 

Capt. Mo Estevez

http://www.miamibonefishing.com/

786-853-1409

Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBonefishing