# Miami on the Fly in October - "To Go or Not to Go..."



## saltyhackle (Jun 28, 2020)

I finally have the opportunity to (potentially) visit Miami for a full week in October. Tampa is my home water, I fish primarily for reds and snook and would like to chase some new species. My mind is set on bonefish and/or tarpon.*

While I fly fish for reds and snook regularly here, I've never fished for bonefish and I can't afford Bahamas/Mexio etc right now.** Is Biscayne Bay a tough place for your first time bonefishing?

I know the tarpon migration is pretty much over, but I'd be happy as a clam targeting juvies on docklights or even the Tamami trail. Are they holding in either of these areas in October?

My main question: Would it be worth the time and money to target either of these species in the month of October?

*Yes we do have tarpon but here, but it's tough fishing and numbers aren't super great (especially after the horrific "red-tide" we just had).

**I would be looking to hire a guide for a day, not DIY.


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## cjp (Aug 18, 2020)

If you had a good guide taking you out for juvenile tarpon or fish around lights and bridges your chances of at least jumping a fish are very, very high. 

For Tamiami trail you could DIY but I’ve never been a fan of dealing with the traffic and the noise. If you haven’t caught one yet you could probably manage a peacock bass on the eastern portion of the trail. 

I’ve been focusing on figuring out bonefish in Biscayne bay for the past two years and it’s tough. The fish I do see are often big, but they are few and far between. I’ve only landed one and I’m still riding that high. Of course a guide will know the spots and the tides. A skunk is a distinct possibility on the bay, but It’s beautiful out there so you can’t go wrong.


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## SS06 (Apr 6, 2021)

I would call Bob Lemay...he is on this forum...great guide


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I haven’t guided for bonefish in at least ten years now… The Bay does have some big bonefish- but not the numbers we had years ago. Your best bet for bones is one of a half dozen guides that fish them every day. I’ll
let others make recommendations…

Tarpon are another matter entirely and October can be good to outstanding then when conditions are right. The night scene between Miami and Miami Beach can be great on a falling tide for fish in dock lights and in the shadows under all of the bridges between Miami and the Beach… Fish average 20 to 40 lbs - and you’re looking at every one you’re fishing. An 8 or 9wt with a floating line is all we
use - but once again you’re going to need a guide or someone with a boat… The local night scene is the only Biscayne Bay fishing I still do (and we expect snook in dock lights as well…).

What’s not well known is that we also get a strong “second season” for the big tarpon in October in the Everglades out of Flamingo and other gulfside areas… These are fish feeding hard until that fist cold night drives them offshore back out into the Gulf ( usually about one week before Halloween). When it’s on there are big fish in rivers large and small as well as around river mouths and up and down the coast… It’s one of my favorite times but it’s also the height of hurricane season so Mother Nature can shut it all down some years (if you even say the word hurricane the Park will start readying to close its gates and lock us out..).

October is hard to beat, down here in paradise… An email request to [email protected] will get you a brochure…


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## mwolaver (Feb 6, 2014)

The Trail is mostly a winter event (for me). Higher pressure and lower tides mean everything comes back into those canals, and the bugs aren't as bad.


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## Str8-Six (Jul 6, 2015)

I consider October a transition month. As Capt Lemay stated the tarpon bite at night can be great that time of year. The fishing during the day can still be great for bones also. I typically fish the late afternoons and fish for bones/permit during last few hours of light and switch to tarpon at night. I’d say do it


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## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

Go. Give a call to Capt Martin Carranza......good dude!


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## saltyhackle (Jun 28, 2020)

cjp said:


> If you had a good guide taking you out for juvenile tarpon or fish around lights and bridges your chances of at least jumping a fish are very, very high.
> 
> For Tamiami trail you could DIY but I’ve never been a fan of dealing with the traffic and the noise. If you haven’t caught one yet you could probably manage a peacock bass on the eastern portion of the trail.
> 
> I’ve been focusing on figuring out bonefish in Biscayne bay for the past two years and it’s tough. The fish I do see are often big, but they are few and far between. I’ve only landed one and I’m still riding that high. Of course a guide will know the spots and the tides. A skunk is a distinct possibility on the bay, but It’s beautiful out there so you can’t go wrong.


How far west would I need to go to get into the higher salinity waters where tarpon would hold?


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## saltyhackle (Jun 28, 2020)

lemaymiami said:


> I haven’t guided for bonefish in at least ten years now… The Bay does have some big bonefish- but not the numbers we had years ago. Your best bet for bones is one of a half dozen guides that fish them every day. I’ll
> let others make recommendations…
> 
> Tarpon are another matter entirely and October can be good to outstanding then when conditions are right. The night scene between Miami and Miami Beach can be great on a falling tide for fish in dock lights and in the shadows under all of the bridges between Miami and the Beach… Fish average 20 to 40 lbs - and you’re looking at every one you’re fishing. An 8 or 9wt with a floating line is all we
> ...


OK good to know! I would be bringing my paddleboard to fish the docklights.

And just for clarification, what did you mean when you said "and you’re looking at every one you’re fishing"?


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## saltyhackle (Jun 28, 2020)

Str8-Six said:


> I consider October a transition month. As Capt Lemay stated the tarpon bite at night can be great that time of year. The fishing during the day can still be great for bones also. I typically fish the late afternoons and fish for bones/permit during last few hours of light and switch to tarpon at night. I’d say do it


Definitely not trying to spot burn, but are they general areas where tarpon will hold on the lights at night? Like here in Tampa, there's a noticeable difference in species that show up on the lights in the bay vs. the coast... So where you fish location wise is often determined by what you want to target. Someone else here mentioned the docks between downtown and the beaches...


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## Str8-Six (Jul 6, 2015)

saltyhackle said:


> Definitely not trying to spot burn, but are they general areas where tarpon will hold on the lights at night? Like here in Tampa, there's a noticeable difference in species that show up on the lights in the bay vs. the coast... So where you fish location wise is often determined by what you want to target. Someone else here mentioned the docks between downtown and the beaches...


I fish bridges. All of the bridges that connect Miami to Miami Beach hold fish at certain times and there will be current. It may be tough to fish Miami from a paddle board if that’s your plan. Best bet is probably to hire a guide for Miami at night and paddle the west side of the bay during the day.


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## saltyhackle (Jun 28, 2020)

Str8-Six said:


> I fish bridges. All of the bridges that connect Miami to Miami Beach hold fish at certain times and there will be current. It may be tough to fish Miami from a paddle board if that’s your plan. Best bet is probably to hire a guide for Miami at night and paddle the west side of the bay during the day.


Ah ok, gotcha. Good to know. What's the biggest challenge with paddle boarding in your opinion?


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## Ken Diaz (Oct 26, 2015)

October in Miami is a great month for bonefish, permit, and some juvenile tarpon still hanging around.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

I've been running Biscayne Bay at night for many years (first trip in someone else's rig - 1972... in my own small craft from 1974 onwards... ). Anyone foolish enough to try paddle boarding in the Bay itself at night is risking life and limb - literally...

Big bay, lots of less than considerate folks in boats - and to put it mildly - you're just plain invisible until you're way way too close... Now using a paddleboard up a canal at night - when any boater is required to be at idle only...that might be do-able... 

Seriously, between jetskis out after dark (when they're supposed to be off the water), idiots who pack six or more on a 12 to 14 foot skiff and fish around bridges at night without the slightest light showing (and of course maybe one PFD on board for all six of them), running at night when you know what you're doing... can be difficult. 

I work out of a 17' skiff day or night with anglers aboard. We've actually been hit on one occasion by a go-fast (about a 26 footer with a fancy paint job, two fine looking ladies in bikinis and a drunken operator)... Thank heavens he was only at idle speed and I was able to high speed reverse to lessen the impact (yep, ,even had water coming in over my transom.... to try to keep from being over-run). On another occasion my skiff was swamped with an angler aboard at around 10pm at night - and I was actually blown off the bow of my boat... We were setting up under a bridge next to the Coast Station (CG-Miami) for some tarpon fishing - and very carefully not in the channel... when a sport fisher (estimated at about forty feet long...) stood up on its stern as it powered up just under the bridge - one piling away from us... All I saw was a twenty foot wall of water and barely had time to push away from the piling I was holding onto before disaster struck.... When I crawled back onto my skiff my angler was standing in about six inches of water - thank heavens I have two 1100 gph pumps on my skiff... We were able to pump dry in about five minutes...All I ever saw was the bottom of the boat the idiot was running that night...

Every night on the water around the big city is an adventure... I consider it my job to make sure the adventure doesn't get out of hand... Fishing from a paddle board at night in Biscayne Bay... I don't recommend it at all.... The night we got swamped? I had a visitor from London as my angler - he's very reserved and only asked very quietly.. "is it always like this?" Believe it or not it's actually much better than it was years ago (the Miami Vice years...), but enough war stories...


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## saltyhackle (Jun 28, 2020)

@lemaymiami Wow..... you aren't kidding, that sounds like a wild west show out there! Definitely going to stay away from paddleboarding then. You saved me from making a potentially dangerous decision, thanks for sharing!!


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## SS06 (Apr 6, 2021)

Watch the "you-tube" boat ramp videos from Miami....all u need to know is right there. South Florida boating is a shit-show for sure. I applaud those who live down there and deal with that shit on a daily basis


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## saltyhackle (Jun 28, 2020)

@SS06 😂 I've seen those videos.. Great entertainment for sure lol


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## OldGuy (May 28, 2020)

You might already know this, but you can get to tarpon here in the Tampa/ St Pete area right now (I live in Tampa and when not paying a guide also fish off of my DragonFly paddleboard or my kayak). I was out on Tuesday evening with Capt Dave Dant and was able to jump one juvenile and had shots at several - all in lights under docks. Also caught a few nice redfish, some average snook, and got cut off by several monster snook. Was also able to get a couple of smallish trout to complete the slam. 

Red Tide seems to have reduced the number of medium and small fish, and has decimated the trout population, but there are a pretty good number of large fish still hanging around.

I am heading south in October to fish the Ten Thousand Islands out of Everglades City and then head over to the Jupiter/Riviera Beach area to do some blue-water fly fishing with Capt Scott Hamilton. I know it is not Biscayne Bay, but if you decide to look at other spots those are a possibility. The blue water trip is always a crap shoot in October, but I’ve never had a bad trip in the Ten Thousand Islands.


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## saltyhackle (Jun 28, 2020)

@OldGuy Yea I'm well acquainted with the poons here haha they can exhilarating as they are frustrating. In most of my encounters with them here they have NOT been in the mood.. Just looking to fish somewhere the numbers are a little better.


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## OldGuy (May 28, 2020)

saltyhackle said:


> @OldGuy Yea I'm well acquainted with the poons here haha they can exhilarating as they are frustrating. In most of my encounters with them here they have NOT been in the mood.. Just looking to fish somewhere the numbers are a little better.



Yep - frustrating is a good term for those beach bastards. I’ve actually had good luck on dock lights - although tough to land them in those tight quarters. Have a great trip!!!!!


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## saltyhackle (Jun 28, 2020)

@OldGuy Same, beach fish and updowners in the back bays are super tough but I've had good results on the lights.


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

saltyhackle said:


> I finally have the opportunity to (potentially) visit Miami for a full week in October. Tampa is my home water, I fish primarily for reds and snook and would like to chase some new species. My mind is set on bonefish and/or tarpon.*
> 
> While I fly fish for reds and snook regularly here, I've never fished for bonefish and I can't afford Bahamas/Mexio etc right now.** Is Biscayne Bay a tough place for your first time bonefishing?
> 
> ...


In addition to Bob LeMay (for nighttime tarpon fishing), here are a few guides I heartily recommend for fishing Biscayne Bay for bonefish, permit and tarpon:


Captain Joe Gonzalez, Funny Bone Charters. 305.798.0841
Captain Carl Ball, AWOL Fishing. 954.383.0145
Captain Alonzo Sotillo, Tidesright Charters. 954.684.2705
Captain Benny Blanco, Fishing Flamingo. 305.431.9915
Good luck and don't forget to post a report or two!


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

October for bonefish in the bay can be good! If you decide to book a trip to try to get some bonefish give me a shout!


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## BM_Barrelcooker (May 4, 2011)

There’s always peacocks in the Canals.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Something I forgot to mention… Most of the developments down here in paradise… have small ponds and lakes (where they were dredged out to get the land fill needed for housing pads all those years ago. In short some of those lakes have really good peacock bass populations in places where you can’t launch a boat at all… Ideal places for an enterprising angler with a paddle board…

Other than an occasional alligator (or irate property owner… you might find some great peacock action…


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## saltyhackle (Jun 28, 2020)

@lemaymiami Thanks for the tip! I know i'll have an off day somewhere that I'll be looking to fill... would be nice to get in on some peacock action for sure!


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