Recent inshore fishing reports from the south region.
Biscayne Nights, Everglades Days
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
At our first spot we caught and released a bunch of small trout and other species. We then moved a bit offshore while waiting for the tide to get right where the redfish were. After finding quite a few pods of permit finning out at the surface that wouldn’t eat anything we tried, we gave up on them and headed back inshore. We found a big school of large black drum that looked to be 15 to 20 pounds, but spooked them before we could make a cast. After they settled down a bit we worked back in front of them and young Drew scored with a spinning rod and a small lure. Just nothing like tossing a lure into a big school of fish that were right at the surface pushing along and Drew was hooked up solid. Fifteen minutes later he had his first drum to the skiff. It weighed 14 pounds on the Boga Grip and was a real handful for a young angler.
Results of Years Passed
Florida Sportsman member: ole_florida_mike
We’re having 30-40 snook days. It has been the strongest showing of snook I’ve ever seen this time of year. Based on the average size of these fish I believe we can attribute this insanity to an awesome spawn two or so years ago. We’re finding these fish deep in the backcountry along treelines and on the points. They’re eating baitfish patterns enthusiastically, especially the #2 grey/orange Brushy Baitfish. Since the most recent cold front the mud flats in the back have presented incredible sight fishing opportunities. With high skies and lots of sunshine, the middle of the day warms these flats and provides a comfortable environment for these fish to hang out in. I like EP minnows and crabby flies on the mud as snook will take them and you’re prepared for a redfish encounter. We’ve also been finding lots of baby tarpon way way back in the backcountry, in deep ponds. Areas we’ve never seen them before. String together a good stretch of warm days and the next report may very well be about the grown poons.
Flamingo Snook and Grouper
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
On Sunday it was a repeat of Saturday with small snook hitting both topwater lures and leadheads with Gulp tails. After a bit of tarpon fishing, where small fish just ignored our offerings, we made a run to a nearby river where we found some big slot snook that just attacked any lure worked by them. There was lots of bait everywhere along the coast.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Everglades Backcountry
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
My anglers caught and released snook, redfish, snapper, sharks, and a variety of other species. Almost all were on the small side and were caught using lead heads with Gulp tails. The highlight of the day was a few tripletail. The biggest weighed in right at 10 pounds, an outstanding catch using the lightest rod on the skiff.
Click here to see the full forum report.
Biscayne Bones
Florida Sportsman member: Wild Bill
We decided to head west to the shoreline northwest of Mangrove Point. There we found the motherlode. Large singles were tailing in <6″ of water, chasing small shrimp. At one point, they were even busting the surface. With only 30 minutes left of daylight, we made the best of the evening, landing two nice bonefish. The fights were incredible and they most certainly lived up to the rumors. Click here to see the full forum report.
Beach Snook Fishing
Florida Sportsman member: AlexNiles
The snook bite is absolutely on fire right now. I fished the sunset from around 7:00 to 8:15, on the bottom of an outgoing tide. I stuck to throwing small bucktails and DOA shrimp. The entire time I was there, cast after cast I had a fish on. The snook were so thick, you could walk on them. I had six in the slot, four snooklets in the 22-26ish range, and a fat 36.5″ snook to wrap up the night. Unbeatable action on ten pound power pro and a light inshore rod.
Everglades Backcountry
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
On Friday we fished out of Flamingo with visiting angler Enrique Torres and his son Eugenio, from Mexico. After a long run across the interior, we got down to business along the gulf coast near the Shark River, where it was big jacks, speckled trout and one small snook. All firsts for young Eugenio.
Fort Lauderdale Mangrove Monster
Florida Sportsman: Regina Gallant
We made a pass near structure in about 14-17 feet of water and unbuttoned on a snook. Regina asked to do one more pass and she hooked this fish. The fish came up on top, head out of the water right next to the skiff with it’s mouth wide open like a bucket and I grabbed it by the lower jaw. Everything happened so fast. The monster measured 49-inches! This fish was caught while trolling the Intracoastal canals of Fort Lauderdale. It was the bottom of outgoing tide at dusk when the fish ate a Rapala CD 14.
South Florida Variety
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
The only good news is that snook, redfish, and speckled trout were everywhere we fished when the weather co-operated. We were able to fish from Flamingo, over to Everglades City, and even as far west as Port of the Islands
Everglades Inshore Slam
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
That day we were working mostly small artificials on light spinning gear. Out near the coast, Randy tossed a 1/8 oz lure up against a downed tree and we were off to the races with a nice slot snook that fought all the way until I was able to grab it for a quick photo. It measured right at 30″ and was Randy’s first snook ever.
Targeting Cobia from a Bird’s-Eye View
Florida Sportsman member: miami mutton
Forum member miami mutton and his son went with some friends to target cobia and were joined by a great movie maker from @westwardmedia. They show us how drones are meant to be used… to look for fish of course!
Family Freshwater Fishing
Florida Sportsman member: T – L U V
We haven’t been able to get out much offshore, which doesn’t mean we haven’t been keeping the lines tight. My son and I have been hitting the sunrise canals around the house for bass and snakeheads and also a couple docklight snook in Fort Lauderdale at the end of the season.
Biscayne nights, Everglades days
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
Most of the snook and reds we found were pretty sharp and were seeing us just about when we saw them. That meant lots of missed opportunities up really shallow, but we did find a bunch of trout in a bit deeper water. We caught and released most of them, keeping three for the table. When we shifted to shorelines with a bit deeper water, both Larry and Sean hooked up with a couple of nice snook in the 22 to 24 inch range.
Flamingo Backcountry Mixed Bag
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
Winter species, mackerel, speckled trout, and gag grouper are moving inshore daily, reds and snook are moving back up inside and tarpon are here one day then gone the next. Each day now is pretty much a mixed bag. This is Riley Pevec with her first pompano, caught in Whitewater Bay on a small jig.
Delray Beach Bass: Lake Ida
Florida Sportsman member: 23T
I launched the skiff today with my dad on Lake Ida and had some nice action on the bass using live shiners. Here’s the biggest of the day.
Success in the Everglades
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
As we poled along we began seeing a few reds and snook along a very shallow shoreline – Eric pitched his jig ahead of us and hooked up a big redfish and we were off to the races. It took us almost 15 minutes to beat the fish to where I could get a Boga Grip on it.
Stiltsville Flats Fishing
Florida Sportsman member: Gary M
A fishing trip with Capt.Carl Ball with AWOL Fishing Charters was won in a raffle, so Saturday was the day! Tom and his 15 year old son Thomas met Capt. Ball at the ramp at Crandon Marina.
Flamingo Action
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
I was fishing with Hector Silvera and his partner Luis on Hector’s boat to show them a few spots and get them started fishing the backcountry. At dawn we made the long run across to the coast and found a few fish here and there on small lead heads with Gulp tails, catching and releasing speckled trout, ladyfish, jacks and snappers.
Road Trip to the Glades
Florida Sportsman member: SLW Urocane
We used a combo of live shrimp under a cork, topwater, Gulp! swim baits and chunks of ladyfish. Caught 10 species throughout the weekend, including snook, redfish, trout, tarpon (small), bonnethead and blacktip sharks, ladyfish, jacks, tones of small mangos, catfish (surprise!), and sheepshead.
Early Summer Action
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
From there we worked our way to the north towards the Harney, Broad and Rogers rivers, hoping to take advantage of the falling tide in that area. We spotted a few tripletail right at the surface but had to work to catch our first one.
Glades Backcountry
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
Now for the good news, they called me late yesterday to report that the big tarpon had showed up in good numbers. They also found big trout and snook up to 36 inches while also jumping off a tarpon well over 100 pounds, so maybe my coaching wasn’t for nothing. I also got a second call yesterday that the big fish were in the center of Whitewater from another angler who battled one for 20 minutes on a lure, so it looks like we’re in business finally.
Flamingo Variety
Florida Sportsman member: miami mutton
We had a great advantage with the GPS trolling motor we held over the spot without anchoring, my favorite way of fishing. After setting up, we started catching our intended target, some nice sheephead.
Flamingo Backcountry
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
On Friday in overcast conditions we did pretty well in Whitewater Bay (mostly) with good numbers of speckled trout, redfish, and one nice snook, all on very light spinning gear.
Florida Bay Fishing
Florida Sportsman member: miami mutton
Went to Flamingo with a couple of friends, I didn’t think the cobia were still around after this cold front recently and I was right, I went looking to a few wrecks and none there. I had a back up plan though, which worked out well.
South Florida Inshore
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
Down in the ‘Glades we’ve been finding lots of small speckled trout that eat everything tossed their way each day. My last day there, last Wednesday, I quit counting when we’d caught and released over twenty at just one spot in less than 30 minutes on lures.
Everglades Report
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
There were so many tripletail at this spot that a half dozen at a time would come up after any jig we tossed at them. My two anglers that day limited on a pair each for the table, while releasing a half dozen more on the same small lures.
Fishing Flamingo
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
There were so many tripletail at this spot that a half dozen at a time would come up after any jig we tossed at them. My two anglers that day limited on a pair each for the table, while releasing a half dozen more on the same small lures.
September in the Glades
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
Our last great catch that day was farther north where we went hunting tripletail in some pretty shallow waters. Josh got his first one and it was a dandy, weighing in at eight pounds.
South Florida Inshore
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
Daytimes are for the Everglades either out of Flamingo or Everglades City. Our most recent trip there was over on the Flamingo side for two days and the fish were biting…. I had Steve Benson, his 13 year old son Kobe, and Kobe’s friend Luke aboard. These two young men are already accomplished anglers, ready to go heads up with anything we found for them.
First Time to Flamingo
Florida Sportsman member: duke6543
Within minutes of dropping the anchor it was one after another. Gulp shrimp was a good producer for trout and mangrove snapper and when the lady fish showed up and sacrificed themselves to allow us to use fresh dead bait the fishing took a turn for raising the excitement level.
Triple the Fun in Flamingo
Florida Sportsman member: flatsstalker
I got out with my friend Alex gonzalez for some triple tail action out of Flamingo and boy did we find them. Caught a nice 12 pounder, with other keepers as well.
South Inshore Bite
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
Closer to home in Biscayne Bay the night scene has been going strong with baby tarpon. Some nights we laugh since along with the babies, we’ve been hooking and losing much, much bigger fish. These fish are willing to eat any artificial shrimp that crosses their path while they’re at the surface in the shadows under one bridge or another.
Catching Fish, Day and Night
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
An hour later we were after big tarpon in a small river. The following pictures 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.
Fun in Flamingo
Florida Sportsman member: Manbeast
Saturday was extremely windy, cloudy, and a lot of the water was blown off the flats so we didn’t spend any time searching for the reds in the shallows. After having some trouble locating good water, we found a 31 inch snook and a 26 inch red to follow shortly after.
Backcountry Success
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymimami
The last big fish that day was a solid 80 pound tarpon that picked up a bait meant for redfish in right around two feet of muddy water, gave us a few explosive jumps in a tiny creek near Lostman’s river then shook the hook.
October in the ‘Glades
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymimami
Redfishing has been good most days and we usually find them with small snook. The big surprise has been the number of sawfish we’ve encountered while working bait for those reds.
Flamingo Fun
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymimami
Out of Flamingo things are getting more and more active with schools of bait all along the Gulf coast that seem to be getting larger day by day. We’re finding tarpon, snook, reds, trout actively feeding each day.
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymimami
At night locally the snook and small tarpon are hungry wherever you find them. We managed to jump tarpon on both fly and spinning gear at more than one spot the one night we went after them. We also released three small snook up to almost slot size that were hanging around dock lights on the same flies and lures.
Hot Bite in the Bay
Florida Sportsman member: Tidesright
We had to force my buddy John on the bow as he is always quick to jump on the poling platform. He got a shot and the line started to peel off the reel as the fish screamed across the flat. A couple tense moments later and Permit was in the boat!
Summertime Flats Fishing
Florida Sportsman member: Tidesright
Onto the bonefish and permit, what many don’t know is that this time of year can be epic! Early fall brings good tides and hungry fish multiple permit days are not out of the question and bonefish can be found and caught in the mix as well.
Biscayne Reds and More
Florida Sportsman member: flatstalker
Fished the afternoon with my dad and nephew and found massive schools of snappers, snook and sheepshead. Mixed in were plenty of small tarpon which my dad jumped one on a live target sardine.
First Time in the Glades
Florida Sportsman member: Tidesright
The best part of the day was watching Nina cast to tailing Redfish and successfully catch her first Redfish all on her own! It was truly a special moment for her and of course her grandfather was even more excited!
Everglades Backcountry Fun
Florida Sportsman member: Lemaymiami
The fish ranged from 30 to about 80 pounds and, of course, using the lightest rod on my skiff the young man tossed a small jig, allowed it to sink, then hooked up solid on a 40 pound fish. For the next 20 minutes that young man fought that tarpon around and around with the fish doing its best to get free.
Bones in Biscayne Bay
Florida Sportsman member: Tidesright
After some frustration with Permit and Tarpon we went off in search of Bonefish again. Missed a shot and right before we pole off three fish pop up, unable to refuse a well placed crab I was tight and the fish was off the the races. Fish was landed and released to fight another day!
Fun in Flamingo
Florida Sportsman member: Tidesright
Sunday was a friend and couple of his friends who once again never caught a redfish. Right out the gate we were casting at redfish that were pushing and tailing. Both of my buddies friends caught their first couple redfish each even doubling up at times. My buddy also got a good one on fly as well.
Taming Tarpon in Flamingo
Florida Sportsman member: lemaymiami
These past ten days the stars in the backcountry have been tarpon of every size from 20 to…
