April 3, 2016 AM & PM Reports (Tarpon )

AM Report Today was the second consecutive day with two charters per day and once again we started off before daybreak with Jake, Jared and Jake from New Hampshire and Boston aboard before they hopped on their cruise to the Bahamas. Spot number one resulted in zero Tarpon activity although I was marking them on the Raymarine. We switched it up and caught some sea trout before changing spots. The last part of the day they ended up catching a few more fish and losing a big spinner shark at the very end. PM Report My afternoon trip was with Scott from Maryland. Last year Scott had booked me for a half day in the afternoon on Sunday and a full day on Tuesday and it was pure tarpon fishing the e tire time so now becoming a tarpon junkie that was the primary goal for Scott. We hit one tarpon  spot and that's the only one we needed to fish because at that spot Scott hooked, fought and landed a 130 pound tarpon to replicate what transpired last year. Scott did a great job fighting this fish bowing to the fish every time it jumped and after an almost hour-long fight we got it to the boat for some nice pictures and a sweet goodbye.

April 2, 2016 AM & PM Reports

AM Report Dan is from Wisconsin and had booked me about a month ago for our trip today. Being a fly fisherman but not having to learn the double haul back home, he certainly practiced and after a number of cast he was definitely on point with his fly casting. Once again we started off in the dark before first light in search of Tarpon on fly. Getting to a Tarpon spot he started to blind cast in a specific area and before long a big Tarpon came up and crushed is fly, the rod doubled over but unfortunately came off right away. What the wind increasing we decided to stay close by and look for shelter from the wind and that resulted in a number of sea trout caught on fly. Towards the end of the trip Dan had definitely become a good double hauler!. Congrats Dan!

PM Report My afternoon trip was with Alaskan native Chris who just recently moved down to Miami. The wind had now increased significantly from my morning Charter so it was a game of hide-and-seek. Hide from the wind and seek fish. Fishing definitely slowed down in the afternoon although we did catch some trout but some of the spots I wanted to fish were full of muddy water and the others were blown out from the wind. In any event Chris caught fish and we had a great time so much so that I lost track of time and we ended up getting back to the marina late.

March 31, 2016 Report

This morning Bill jumped on the boat and the target was Bonefish & Tarpon. We fished last year and it was too windy to fly fish at the time but today the winds were more manageable. We started off at First Light fishing some Tarpon spots close by the marina and were able to hook a nice 80 plus pound Tarpon right off the bat. Three or four jumps later the fish came off and the bite shut down after that. We hit the flats for the rest of the full day Charter and it was very slow. We did find a few Bonefish and a couple of permit but the flats were definitely slow today.

March 29, 2016 Report (Video!)

Two years ago Jim and his two boys fished with me and had a banner day with tarpon, permit and big spinner sharks and this year the goal was tarpon, fresh fish dinner and sharks. Three tarpon spots later and none to be found we fished a spot that has been producing for me and while the silver goliaths were around in good numbers it was impossible to get them to eat. With this painful rejection we turned our attention to dinner and sharks. The team had a different look from two years ago though as this year older son Tommy was replaced by granpa Storm. Sixteen year old Matt still remembered his older brother landing a big shark while his broke off and redemption was also on the agenda. Keeping hogfish, lane snapper, mutton snapper and mangrove snapper we used 3lb live baits for the sharks that I was marking on my Raymarine. Eventually, the rod doubled over, the reel started screaming and Matt was on to the fight of his life. Fifty minutes later we land a 200lb bull shark, way to go Matt! The day ended fishing for trout where Jim hooked a spinner shark, Matt caught a few and Storm absolutely killed them on our last spot catching the biggest and most trout. What a trip!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409 Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing

March 28, 2016 Report

Fresh out of the Orvis fly fishing school at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo came Brian ready for a full day of fly fishing Biscayne Bay. The day was spent practicing and reinforcing the techniques he learned while catching a few fish on fly to boot. Concluding the day by putting the fly rod down and using spinning rods Brian caught a nice 7 pound mutton snapper and a host of other fish in the last hour and a half of the trip. What a great guy and he really started to figure out the mechanics of saltwater fly fishing, he impressed me and is off to a great start. Congrats Brian!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409 Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing

March 26, 2016 Report

This trip will hold a very special place in my heart for years to come. Andy and Andy jr. fished with me last year and this year we were able to fish again. Andy jr is now 9 years old and had a shell in his pocket all trip long asking me for a piece of fishing line which I told him I would give him when we got back to the marina. In the meantime, the tarpon bite was slow but they aught a number snappers and jacks and we ended the day targeting and hooking a big spinner shark over 100lbs that jumped and spun 3 times before breaking off. But on to more important things. When I pulled up the anchor little Andy asked me again for fishing line and I cut him a piece. He then hands me the shell and asks me to make a necklace because he picked the shell for me and wanted to give me a shell necklace. My heart just melted, what an amazing little boy! I wore Andy’s shell necklace the rest of the trip and all the way home. I’ll keep that for a long time!

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409 Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing

March 25, 2016 Report

Cec used to live in Miami but now lives in Montana and was down visiting family. Six am was our meeting time but a lighting storm over the marina kept us confined to fishing an area close by that held some tarpon but not in the feeding mood. As soon as we got some current they started to feed but within minutes they disappeared. With the storm clearing we tarpon fished for a while without a bite so we targeted sea trout on fly and caught some on fly and on spinning tackle.

Capt. Mo Estevez www.MiamiBoneFishing.com 786-853-1409 Follow me on Instagram @MiamiBoneFishing