MIAMI LUNKER REPORT

BISCAYNE BAY - Miami has stolen the crown back late after coming through with one of the best Tarpon seasons in years. If you have been following this blog you know that the big tarpon are back, and they are eating everything. Crabs, Shrimp. Pinfish, Pilchard and even Ballyhoo. All the local captains are living high on the hog and you can see the results if you visit any of the good blogs pr forums. Everybody is booked solid through May, so if you haven't reserved a charter or booked a guide this season do yourself a big favor and mark the calendar for next year. APRIL - MIAMI. You can scroll done and see the multiple hundred pounders that were caught and these are just a small sample of the fish that were caught. Taking a quality photograph of a 150lb tarpon aint exactly paramount on the mind when you are dealing with a fish like that on the end of a line.

Tarponator

PARTS UNKNOWN - Jose aka Tarponator is one of the guys that gets trophy tarpon every season. He's spreading the word that hes been using Blue Runners for bait, and that would be pretty funny, if you only really knew.

FS FORUMS

Tarpon

Go Ahead and guess the weight?

Multiple Big Tarpon Caught

MIAMI - Tarpon time. Reports are coming in quietly that Captain Jeff's clients have been catching and releasing as many as 6 of the monster Tarpon on the late afternoon trips. The wind has been blowing steady 20 mph and even a cold front could not slow down the eating habits of these big tarpon.

HT: Captain Jeff

TARPON FISHING IS ON FIRE

Fort Lauderdale - Miami | Reports are coming in just about everynight on big tarpon being caught from North Fort Lauderdale (which means around the Sunrise Blvd, Bridge) all the way down to Key Biscayne. Captain Jeff's clients leadered about 20 this week alone. Most of the fish are between 80 and 100lbs and some of the bigger tarpon are 150lbs and up. Its tricky bouncing back and forth betwen Fort Lauderdale and Miami cause they are two totally different bodies of water which means you have got to be versatile with your presentation as well as having a wide variety of baits.

BIG TARPON ARE MOVING FURTHER SOUTH

BISCAYNE BAY - The photo might be a little weird but thats a decent sized tarpon, and they are all down south. At least the photo protects the spot. The guy that posted this on the Florida Sportsmen Forums is currently under attack for posting a snap shot like this on the message forums. Whatever. All Im interested in is the fish and the bait, and I about half believe that the dude caught him on a dead pilchard. But he could have. When these things eat they eat. You could throw out a dirty diaper filled with fish hooks and probably hook a tarpon, but getting it to the boat is another thing.

How Do You Say Snook in French?

SOUTH FLORIDA - I don't know if its the economy or something else that has caused the Shrimp Wars to escalate but its gotten worse. Bait shops are redefining the meaning of dozens, while families that used to fish live dozens together are being forced to fish with cut bait. In other words, its never been better to break out the hogleg mullet! No more bubblers and bait pails, its the return of the five gallon bucket.

Gil came all the way from Paris, France to catch a Tarpon and was surprised to learn that we use bait the size of baguettes. Thats how we roll. Get it? Well Gil got it good, he cause a tarpon just under the 100lb mark, and lost another one well over 120lbs after about a 30 minute tussle on 20lb gear. The night wasn't over yet. after moving spots to avoid the miserable shrimpers Gil got this bonus snook. All in all a remarkable trip for a guy that flew all the way to Miami from Paris to fish with Captain Jeff.



Certified Viral Video - Lunkerdog Monster Seawall Snook

BIG TARPON ARE DOWN SOUTH - MIAMI

MIAMI - Break out those whooping sticks and get your best knots tied tight cause the big tarpon are here, and when I say big I'm talking monster tarpon well over 100lbs. Last week we went 8 for about 30 on big tarpon and this included several fish between the 125lb to 150lb range. I'm not gonna give the particular tide that these fish are chosing to eat, but I will say that you have to fight it out with the shrimpers for the best spots and that can get hairy. Thats the only clue Im gonna give you on what bait to use.


Speaking of bait, we had a piss poor experience with a local bait shop dicking us around on our shrimp. We called around the shops asking if we any of them could sell us (5) Dozen "good shrimp." Most of the shops were upfront and honest and told us what they had and what the condition of the shrimp were. So we took a car ride to pick up the dozens and were lied to and shorted on our dozens. And to make it worse, the shop owner tried to lecture us on how we cant hand-pick select shrimp out of the tamk. Thats fine, I spared the energy on lecturing him on how to count to a dozen.

Check Out CLASSIC TARPON VIDEOS

FISHING FORUM REPORT

SPORTFISHERMEN.COM - Everybody really liked the Bill Dance Episode on his Outdoor Channel Saltwater Show. The forums are all a fire about how bad Mr. Dance got schooled by the tarpon and that he wasn't so adept at using a circle hook. Whatver, Im not gonna hate-on Bill Dance for not having the sharpest Tarpon skills as I have seen enough anglers humbled by the Silver Dinosaur to know better than to think anybody should be downgrading anybody elses Tarpon skills cause we have all had our asses kicked and we are just lucky there weren't cameras rolling. In the end Mr. Dance ended up with a big tarpon, we are all real proud of him. Post your tarpon pics. Links.

SNOOK ARE BACK

PARTS UNKNOWN - DELAYED REPORT The non stop cold fronts have pushed the Snook down south. We have been playing with tarpon for the past month but there have been some snook caught in the mix. From the looks of those hides they arent residents, they look they have been in the ocean for a while. Is anybody buying any of this? I didn't think so. But the snook are here, so check back often cause we will be photographing some lunkers. As always.

COLD FRONT + BLOWED OUT = PLUG DISCUSSION

FORT LAUDERDALE - Its cold here. Its friggen 40! I know we arent gonna get much sympathy from the rest of y'all out there that have been freezing for weeks now, but this is about as bad it can get here. Worst off all these cold fronts are hell on the inshore fishing, and its killing the manatees. About the only thing to do is head offshore to play with macks and sailfish, and since I don't really feel like getting under 4 layers of clothes, its looks like that is not about to happen.

Thankfully last week was one of the best small tarpon bites we have had in quite some time. We went about 12 for 20 during a two day stretch and then it tailed off a bit as these fronts started slowing these fish down. It was alot of fun, and we should really use the time to inspect the gear and change the line on all our light tackle gear. This crap gear these companies sell now don't last but for a few tarpon catches until you have to replace drags or washers. Here is a little highlight film showing Dave having a blast playing with some little tarpon, and finally getting a decent sized tarpon to the boat. Also Jeff is begging for Facebook friends. Jeff promisses me that he will be far more forthcoming with info as far as bait and locations on Facebook than he is on the blog or in the forum reports. Roll tape!



SIDEBAR NOTE!!!
We were sitting around yesterday talking about plug casting. I know there are alot of you out there that throw plugs, lures, and jerk baits for tarpon during the winter. I've never done it. Thats why I have put up the new poll over on the sidebar. What are you guys throwing, or better yet what plugs have you been using to get tarpon strikes? If you are hella ambitious go ahead and leave comments on your favorite plugs and whatever tales of success you can share.

Lunker Report | Small Tarpon Everywhere I tell ya

Fort Lauderdale FL  -  Bowl season is over. Congrats to the Gators.  The tourists are still here so we decided to go way off the beaten path and fish a place we don't really get to fish that often. There was far less boat traffic and we actually saw a few manatees. There were small tarpon everywhere. We had fun catching (6) of these little tarpon, and a couple of a hungry jacks that beat the tarpon to out baits. 12lb test is always a fun setup to go out fishing with live bait. 

BIG TARPON ARE IN TOWN

SOUTH FLORIDA - Finally the big tarpon have shown up in the ICW. Whats it been 2 years since the monsters have shown up? Bill caught this fish with Captain Jeff. They won't talk but I hear the bait used was crab who knows. All that really matters is these big fish are back. At least they were.

VIDEO HAPPY BAIT 2008

HAPPY BAIT EVERYBODY!

CAUGHT - TARPON

SOUTH FLORIDA - Delayed reports. Happy Baiters have been owning the tarpon. Word on the streets is they are thick. We are all super proud of Website Mike and his brother for keeping it bling.

CAUGHT - 5 for 20 TARPON/MULLET RUN REPORT

NBB - Website Mike is on fire. He in the thick of the fall mullet run and he's producing some serious results. He's generous with the Tarpon photos which leads me to believe he's holding back on the lunker snook photos for a few week. Sadly in this economy, most middle class families can't afford a quality tarpon set-up, that doesn't seem to be a problem for Website Mike.

CAUGHT - TARPON

HAULOVER - Brad has been on fire, last week he tore up the lunker snooks, this week he's whoopin' 100lb tarpon. No mention of the spot or the bait, and thats a good thing.

CLASSIC LUNKER VIDEO - 100lb TARPON

VIDEO - Classic Big Tarpon on light tackle. Captain Jeff whooped this hundred pound tarpon on 12lb test. This fish was made for the camera.

VIDEO - HOGLEGGIN PART 3

FORT LAUDERDALE FL - Its tough out there, this is day 3 or 4 who can keep track when these fish are kicking your ass like this. Anyway, Captain Jeff takes out Captain Dave McKenzie to catch a 100lb tarpon on Hogleg bait in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Just trying to get by, just trying to catch some big fish.

CAUGHT - TARPON (KAYAK)

TAMPA BAY FLORIDA - SlikNik goes after Tarpon on his kayak, and he gets em. Here is another big tarpon video from him and Limecider.