THE FISHING LINE | Archives

August 26, 2007

As the rest of the country is trying to stay cool, the fishing in the Keys is heating up. Oftentimes during the summer months, the best fishing can be had as the sun goes down. The water temperature has been in the mid 80's, and when we get some decent current, the bonefish can get active. I went fishing with Capt. Jon Milchman last night to take advantage of these conditions and we had a blast casting to tailing bonefish and waking permit. The fishing was good but not outstanding for what we thought it should have been, given the conditions we had. We left the dock around 3:00 and at the end of the day, caught 5 bonefish on fly and lost one or two more from pulled hooks. None were bigger than about 5 pounds, but it was just a great night to be fishing in the Keys regardless of whether we caught fish or not. The tides are getting better and this was a good sign that the permit fishing should get really good as the current flows harder and the wind kicks up a notch. Tight lines.

Capt. Steve

August 16, 2007

I took a busman’s holiday in between charters yesterday due to a bad case of permit-fever. I grabbed two of my favorite fly rods with my Hatch fly reels and a couple of my fishing buddies, Capt. Carter Bates, owner of Coconut Palmas Marina on Grassy Key, FL. and Capt. Doug Mayer, a pharmacist at Mariner’s Hospital in Tavernier, FL. Key West was our destination. The tide would be rising all morning which would allow the permit to gain access to the shallow flats. I was a bit bummed to see cloud cover increase as we got further west and hoped that the rising sun would burn off some clouds and let some sun shine though for some visibility. The winds were down and the cloud cover kept the temperature at a comfortable range. After searching a few flats and cursing at the clouds, we made a plan to put the boat back on the trailer to go up the road towards Marathon where we heard the light was better.

When drove back to Coconut Palmas where Carter had his skiff ready to go in the water, and after we transferred the fly rods and some water to his boat, we were off to find some fish. It wasn’t long before we had a shot at a cruising permit that didn’t seem to see the fly. We had several more shots at some tailing permit on the falling tide on some hard bottom strip banks. The light started to fade in and out when Doug was on the casting platform. We both spotted a nice group of bonefish moving towards us and he put the cast in a perfect spot where one darted towards the fly but decided to keep moving off the flat bringing the others closely behind. Doug suggested that Carter get another fly rod out and ready with a bonefish fly in case more bones showed up. Sure enough, three big bones cruised up on the edge of the flat. Carter quickly picked up the bonefish rod, and from the middle of the boat, put a cast about 5 to ten feet up-current from the trio and the lead charged it like it was the first morsel of food it had seen in days. Game on. A short fight and some drag screaming and we had the 7 pounder to the boat and took some great photos of Carter’s prize.

The light got worse and we made a few more moves and had some more great shots and even better refusals. But as the evening started to fade in, I was back on the casting platform and got my shots at some tailing bonefish. By now the tide was getting to its low point. Doug’s little toad fly did the trick and I was hooked up to a strong 6 pound bonefish. So now it was up to Doug to complete the day with everyone slimed up with bonefish, but they just didn’t want to cooperate. He had some amazingly great shots at some tailers but they wouldn’t eat his fly. But a day that could’ve been a lesson in frustration, was salvaged with a decision to move to a totally different area. In the end, it was another great day of fishing in the Florida Keys.

August 2, 2007

I woke up to another Islamorada Chamber of Commerce day today. The water was calm, hot and flat and I had lots of options. I had the good fortune to have three folks from the Tampa area want to go to the backcountry to bend a rod. Julie Stroebel, her daughter, Jessie and Trevor Thompson put a spanking on the reds, snooks, mangrove snappers, sharks and even a few jacks. Check out the photos to see a redfish Trevor caught that proves how tough these fish can be. This one had its gills exposed on one side from a long ago battle and was still fighting hard after eating a jig and a Gulp! shrimp. Once the bite slowed after the tide got going, we decided to attempt to complete the backcountry slam of a redfish, snook and spotted sea trout all in one day. But the specs didn’t want anything to do with us that day. Just blame the guide.

Capt. Steve

August 1, 2007

The annual RedGhost Stalk fishing tournament took place on Monday, July 30 for junior anglers (ages 9-16) and young adults (ages 17-29). Some of the best young anglers from south Florida compete every year to target bonefish and redfish.

Thirty-six anglers on 35 boats competed this year and caught and released a whopping total of 23 bonefish and 115 redfish all of which were over 20” to count on the score card. Each redfish were wroth 100 points if caught on bait or artificial and were worth more than that if caught with a fly rod. Bonefish counted 300 points if caught with bait or artificial.

My angler was Robbie Ames, 14, who fished like a champ. This was the third year that we’ve fishing this tournament together and we’ve improved each year. Even though Robbie does all the fishing, it’s definitely a team effort. Robbie did a great job this year by catching 7 redfish and 2 bonefish. And I have to mention that the bonefish were the first ones he’s ever caught. We tagged both bonefish to benefit research for the Bonefish Tarpon Unlimited organization. To find out more about BTU and to see some of their findings, go to www.bonefishresearch.com

After all of the results were in, Robbie won first runner-up with his 2100 points and won the conservation award by tagging and releasing two bonefish. Congratulations Robbie on a great day of fishing!

Capt. Steve

September 30 , 2007

Summer still rolls on in the Keys. We are getting some frequent passing showers that have cooled the water temperatures to the low 80’s. This can be some ideal conditions for bonefish on fly. Cloudy skies and cooler waters bring the bonefish up to the flats to feed and tail into the falling currents. I had the opportunity to take advantage of these premium conditions with a legendary guide, Capt. Eddie Wightman. We headed into the backcountry to look for some tailing bonefish that might take the fly. Capt. Eddie has guided in the Florida Keys for over 35 years and knows a thing or two about the “Grey Ghost” of the flats. His clients have held numerous world records and have won many of the most prestigious bonefish tournaments in the Keys. It is always a thrill and an honor to have him on board and to watch him cast the fly. We both hooked and landed several bonefish that night and Capt. Eddie showed me that he still has fun chasing bonefish after all this time. Check out these photos I took of one of the bonefish we landed and tagged for research for Bonefish Tarpon Unlimited. As the cold fronts start to approach, we can expect the bonefish activity to continue to thrive. The snook and redfish bite will also be red hot because of finger mullet and pilchards invading the flats and backcountry of Florida Bay. Tight lines, everyone.

Capt. Steve

October/November

We are just beginning to feels the effects of winter patterns coming across the Keys. The water temperatures are in the lower 70’s while the air temperatures are at a comfortable level hanging around the mid 70’s and reaching about 80 degrees. With the winter weather patterns settling in, the fishing tactics change with the cooler weather. Fish tend to find deeper holes or edges around the flats and mangrove shorelines. I like to use big flies that move some water and have some floatation allowing the fly to sink slowly yet stay under the overhanging mangroves. I also like to use soft plastic baits with worm hooks, Texas rigged, to allow the angler to avoid less snags on logs and overhangs. Redfish, snook, tarpon, snappers, grouper and many more species will be cruising the shorelines, lurking in potholes or stationing around deep edges.

Bonefish and permit are now moving along the oceanside flats. Once the waters have warmed up on the flats, you’ll find them happily tailing away up on the crowns of the warming flats looking for various crustaceans and other tasty morsels. The winter season is also the time when the largest bonefish of the year are caught around Islamorada. Just check the IGFA record book and you’ll see that many of the records were caught in the winter months. But you’ve got to practice your cast. The winds tend to pick up a bit and the fish don’t always show up down wind. Right now, the snook bite and the redfish catches are on fire. The spotted seatrout are starting to fill up the mud flats around the Florida Bay, and the Spanish mackerel are starting to show up in the Gulf.

Capt. Steve

December

Just as I had mentioned that the winter winds of change were coming into the Keys, a cold front stalled north of us which brought calm, warm days farther to the south. We enjoyed the 80 degree weather and the mid 70 degree water temperature for the last two weeks. This isn’t necessarily unusual for this time of year, but I sure was glad to see it. I think the bonefish were as well. Instead of staying off into the deeper edges of the flats, the bonefish were happily tailing away on the crowns of the flats. The most unusual thing about the fish that I’m catching is that they’ve been on the smaller side ranging from 2 pounds to about 7 pounds. I’ve seen the big ones around, but it seems like the little ones are jumping on the bait first. I’ve been catching them on live shrimp, crabs and flies tied with chartreuse and tan craft fur that I call the Swashbuckler.

The other stars have been showing up too. Snook, redfish, barracuda, sharks and trout are being caught on a daily basis in the bay. I went fishing a few miles into the Gulf of Mexico on a calm day last week looking for Spanish Mackerel. Along with the macks, we caught more than a dozen different species of fish in one spot. We had sharks, lane snapper, mangrove snapper, remoras, jack crevalle, speckled sea trout and more. A great way to keep the rod bent all day. The mackerel bite was a bit slow, but we need that colder weather to settle in before the bite gets insane.

This month should trigger a great bite offshore of sailfish which is also an indicator that the snook will move from the outside shorelines up into the bays and channels around Flamingo. Along with the snook bite, we can expect redfish and black drum to be right along with them. I can’t wait to get back into the canoe and fish some no-motor zones to sight fish for laid up snook and tarpon and maybe some tailing redfish. So stay tuned for some great winter time action in the Keys.

Capt. Steve