# Everglades days, Biscayne nights, 2 April



## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

These past two weeks have seen tarpon of every size taking center stage - both biting, day and night. First the action in the 'Glades out of Flamingo where we've been finding snook, redfish, speckled trout and big tarpon most days. Here's a pic of local angler Charlie Shenker with a nice redfish from Whitewater Bay...

A day or two later with visiting angler Randy Hansen he caught and released his first snook, also in Whitewater. 


An hour later we were after big tarpon in a small river... The following pics tell the story after we found a few big fish holding up inside a river, quietly poled near them and eased a live ladyfish over the side and allowed it to swim where they were holding...



That big fish took more than 30 minutes to subdue on 20lb line, then was very carefully revived and released in good condition. Not bad for a first visit to the Everglades.... I estimated the fish at right around 100lbs and think Randy will be back for more!

A day or two later I was lucky to be able to fish a young angler who had just turned eight years old... Conditions were poor that day in Biscayne Bay but we made the best of it. This was a great trout for a young angler.... At 21" and four pounds this great trout was released to fight another day with only a photo for his parents to mark the occasion.


Now for the news from the night scene. Tarpon have loaded up under one bridge or other for about four weeks now. Every night on a falling tide you can see them holding right at the surface looking for shrimp... 
Our first night we got taken to school by much bigger fish than usual - losing a 70lb fish to a crab trap float just before midnight. An hour later at another bridge there were the usual 20 to 40lb fish but along with them were a few giants that were so big they looked like alligators laying in the current... I estimated them in the 100 to 130lb range and we were seriously under-gunned. We finally managed to hook one but it was like hooking a passing bus and it didn't take long for the fish to teach us a lesson....

A few nights later we turned it around with visiting angler Mark Follett using a fly rod. That night he did everything right and we hooked four fish - releasing three of them at the boat. Here's a few pics of the action...


Standard gear for the night scene is an 8 or 9wt rod with a floating line, lots of fun on a falling tide. The night scene will last through this entire month then taper off. It will start up again in June and go all summer long with fish that average 20 to 40lb night after night.

In coming weeks the larger snook will begin to show in numbers, the tarpon action will actually get better (if that's possible), and the speckled trout will show up in great numbers - all of them fat for spawning...

Be a hero... take a kid fishing!


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## Semper Fly (Jun 11, 2011)

Great report and excellent photos Capt Bob. I am sure your young angler will not soon forget his adventure.


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## floridascuba (Mar 15, 2012)

nice. After fishing Choko quite a bit, I am going to try Flamingo tomorrow. Not expecting much with the moon phase, but weather should be outstanding


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## lewis_walker (May 22, 2012)

Great report Bob nice to see some youngblood having fun.
LCW


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Today we jumped five fish in the same river that the photos in the above report show.... After losing a heartbreaker (100lb fish on 15lb line - fought to a stanstill... the fish had just enough go left to find a submerged branch along a shoreline and cut us off after a 25 minute fight) our last two fish were a double header (one 60lbs the other 70) hooked up by a father and son team. We actually leadered both fish (and I got my hook back from each one....).

Tomorrow the tarpon should be going strong again near the coast and actually in at least one of the coastal bays...


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## pipo (Jul 18, 2013)

Thats great to hear. My father and I are exited to get down there and fish with you in a few weeks.


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## iMacattack (Dec 11, 2006)

Great report. 

Cheers!


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## redjim (Oct 16, 2012)

Wow, three for four!!

That's a great day Capt. Bob!


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

The very next day we struck out... Today we redeemed our selves putting 7 fish in the air in two rivers. We got bites on bait, lures, and flies. The fish were as small as fifty pounds and as big as 100+... 

Big fish in small rivers are a blast - but I did lose another fly line to a really big fish that just had to run around and under every branch hanging down into the water. We successfully cleared the first snag, the second cost a line with around a hundred feet of backing...

I have one more day with this group of anglers... We're running back to those rivers for one more shot.


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