Post by lemaymiami on Oct 6, 2024 16:48:26 GMT -5
Had a short notice booking yesterday for Flamingo with visiting anglers Bill and Gage... With all the bad weather we've had I had no idea what to expect but it turned out to be a great day (except for the pre-dawn crowd at the boat ramp...). We caught a few fish in Whitewater ( trout and snook) - but all were small and we scooted out to the coast looking for better action using small lures with spinning gear. Our first spot at a river mouth the snook were turned on - and it was fish after fish (biggest were under-slot at about 25") on lead heads with plastic tails.. We may have released a dozen all told.
Wanting a shot at a bigger snook I set out one live bait while we were tossing lures and it was quickly picked up - but by a six to seven foot lemon shark - and we were off to the races... Not using a wire leader I was hoping the fish would quickly cut the leader - but as usual a circle hook picked up by a shark tends to stay with them in the corner of their mouths - so we fought it to the skiff for a leader touch and sent it on its way... At that point the tide we were fishing shut down and it was time to move... By the way - even with hot and heavy snook action - not one shark came after our hooked fish... (except for the one that picked up that live bait..).
We changed targets and made a move to where a few grouper waited - and it was game on in a nearby river...
Our first hook-ups - we got taken to school in a big way, the fish were holding near bottom structure and just out fought us... Finally Bill hooked up on a solid one and really hammered down on it.. Here's the pic - a 25lb goliath grouper that fought all the way to my skiff..
After that some weather came in on us and it was time to re-locate... Back in Whitewater Bay - it was grouper time again... This fish was hooked the first time on a DOA Baitbuster, worked slowly along the bottom - and of course just broke us off... After two more hooked fish that pulled or broke free, our last encounter worked in our favor -and another 25lb grouper came in for a quick photo and release... We knew it was that first fish since it still had the Baitbuster in its jaw...
Just nothing like the 'glades - even on bad weather days... I was set to fish out of Chokoloskee today - but we cancelled, sometimes the weather is just too bad...
"Be a hero... take a kid fishing"
Tight lines
Bob LeMay
Wanting a shot at a bigger snook I set out one live bait while we were tossing lures and it was quickly picked up - but by a six to seven foot lemon shark - and we were off to the races... Not using a wire leader I was hoping the fish would quickly cut the leader - but as usual a circle hook picked up by a shark tends to stay with them in the corner of their mouths - so we fought it to the skiff for a leader touch and sent it on its way... At that point the tide we were fishing shut down and it was time to move... By the way - even with hot and heavy snook action - not one shark came after our hooked fish... (except for the one that picked up that live bait..).
We changed targets and made a move to where a few grouper waited - and it was game on in a nearby river...
Our first hook-ups - we got taken to school in a big way, the fish were holding near bottom structure and just out fought us... Finally Bill hooked up on a solid one and really hammered down on it.. Here's the pic - a 25lb goliath grouper that fought all the way to my skiff..
After that some weather came in on us and it was time to re-locate... Back in Whitewater Bay - it was grouper time again... This fish was hooked the first time on a DOA Baitbuster, worked slowly along the bottom - and of course just broke us off... After two more hooked fish that pulled or broke free, our last encounter worked in our favor -and another 25lb grouper came in for a quick photo and release... We knew it was that first fish since it still had the Baitbuster in its jaw...
Just nothing like the 'glades - even on bad weather days... I was set to fish out of Chokoloskee today - but we cancelled, sometimes the weather is just too bad...
"Be a hero... take a kid fishing"
Tight lines
Bob LeMay
