We got out on the water today after being on vacation then off the last several days. The wind was kickin’ a bit this morning out of the north and was a little chilly so wasn’t sure how great tarpon fishing would be. Anyways we caught bait easily it was nice to see so many mullet around that were very easy to catch. We found some tarpon in the first channel we stopped in and caught a shark and then a tarpon soon after! Though they quit biting after that we caught several more sharks. I had gotten a new bottom machine installed on my boat while away on vacation so was neat to play with that – the side scan sonar is very cool and useful we were marking tarpon with it in the channel. Anyways after that we took a ride and looked up the beach to see if we saw any tarpon busting or jumping. Didn’t see a whole lot, tried a couple areas and only more sharks bit. We casted artificials for a little bit and caught a snook and missed another one, then saw a tarpon jump a ways away. I used the new sonar when we ran nearby to the jump and were able to locate tarpon swimming around and set up. We ended up catching a couple more tarpon and jumped one more! Nice to have some new toys come in to be useful, we may have caught those fish without it but it definitely gave me some confidence to see them swimming by on the screen when we put our baits out. The winds had kicked up even more for the ride home out of the east and we had a bit of a rough ride for a while, but once we got in the shallows it wasn’t bad. Anyways a great day overall. I’m fishing Sunday and then don’t have much until next weekend if anyone wants to go fishing. 3 for 4
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8/25/16 August Islamorada Tarpon Fishing in the Everglades
Had Roger and Susan out fishing for tarpon today they were down from the Treasure Coast of South Florida. The weather slowed us down a little this morning there was a big cell over the bay so we had to wait a little bit and run the long way around it but still got back in the backcountry fairly early. Bait was easy we loaded up on mullet in once toss of the cast net. We fished around Flamingo first and caught the last couple hours of the incoming tide. A few fish in one of the channels to start however they were only rolling for a little bit and we never had any bites but did catch a few different sharks including a lemon and spinners. After that we went to another close by channel and had a tarpon free jump practically right between our baits, I would of swore he was hooked but no drag ever pulled. Anyways no more bites and we ran back to the channel where we had caught fish the last couple days. We found a few tarpon after moving around a little but they had ‘lock jaw’ and didn’t want to play. We landed a few more sharks and then as we were running to check another channel I saw one free jump in the open bay just outside the channel. We stopped and saw some more roll and a few bust, so we set up to give it a little longer. Eventually we got one to bite and Roger landed his first tarpon, a nice 50 lber. After that we decided to catch some small stuff and got into some trout and a few ladyfish. Was glad to get another tarpon, very surprising how tough they have been to get to bite, but that’s not been uncommon this year! Fun fishing tomorrow and then suppose to go out of town if this storm doesn’t change our plans. So may not have any reports for a while.
September we can still catch some tarpon, barring a hurricane the conditions are usually fairly good. There aren’t always tons of fish around but you can definitely find some of the residents. October is usually even a little better too! If you are interested in going don’t hesitate, drop me a line! 1 for 1
8/24/16 Islamorada Tarpon Fishing Report Late August
Got out today with Jim and his son James. Weather looked a little nasty we had some lightning and rain pass over when I got to the dock. We were able to get out though just took our time waiting for it to move through ahead of us. Mullet were easy to catch and we set up in the channels where we had seen fish yesterday. The tarpon were there though again were very finicky. We moved around several times and had only shark bites, even with tarpon rolling almost on top of our baits! Eventually the tide changed and we were able to hook into a nice 90 lb tarpon that James landed. We didn’t get him up for good pictures as another patch of rain was coming towards us so we got the leader release and he popped off. Anyways we fished some different channels for a while but made our way back there in the last part of the day. However no more tarpon bites but the sharks kept us busy. Was glad to get one today! 1 for 1
