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Fort Lauderdale / North Miami Beach Report
Inshore / Offshore
January 2006
Fort Lauderdale/ North Miami Beach Report
Inshore/ Offshore
Tackle a tarpon, dance with a sail or better yet, both!
Inshore
January really starts the season for most charter captains, then it’s full on till the end of May. A couple months of freezing temperatures up north and the snow birds are on there way. I’d be on my way to, if I couldn’t use my boat for 4- 6 month’s out of the year. With the abundant supply of shrimp. The tarpon will be hanging out for the next 5 months. If you’ve always wanted to try to land one of those monster tarpon. I would book a trip soon. The average fish over the next 5 months will weigh close to 90lbs. Out of the 74 trips we targeted tarpon, only 6 times did we not land at least 1. 53 of the tarpon caught last year were anglers first tarpon ever. So you don’t need to be a pro, you just have to get out there and do it.
Offshore
January is a great month for sailfishing. I like to get out after coldfronts pass through, but anytime the seas allow. There’s where you’ll find me. I like to fish a very basic set up. Because I fish out of a smaller boat, I like to keep things simple.
I typically put out 1 kite with 2 live baits. Either threadfins or pilchards. Off the other side of the boat I’ll have 2 flat lines with live bait and 2 lines with a couple ounces of lead to a small piece of wire. The key for me is cast netting extra bait to live chum with. Live chumming is not allowed in tournaments for a reason. However, it is a great way to make something happen in a short period of time on a charter.
I’ve recently been trying out a couple new products for a company called justcastnets.com. They send me a really nice 12 foot net that’s enabaling me to catch bait in some deeper water. I’ve also been using a power braid they sell. It’s called dyneema and works as well or better than any other braid on the market. Recently I’ve been using it while wreck fishing and have been totally impressed with the sensitivity at some of the depths I’ve been fishing. They’ve also got some really nice topwater plugs the snook have been tearing up. Check them out at
justcastnets.com.
February 2006
Fort Lauderdale/ North Miami Beach Report
Inshore/ Offshore
Inshore
It’s really been nice having this bigger boat. December and January are typically my toughest month’s to fish inshore. So I find myself fishing offshore more than inshore for those 2 months. Lot’s of rapid changes in water temps can lead to tough fishing. You also won’t always find the fish in there usual hang outs. However, the next 3 months are some of my favorite to fish in the bay. I love the fact that the wind can be blowing 20 plus mph out of any direction and you can still catch a ton of fish in north biscayne bay. The most likely suspects willbe seatrout, jack crevalles, and snook. I’ll catch more trout over 20 inches in the next 3 months, than I will the rest of the year. Even though seatrout are in season, if you catch a fish that is obviously full of eggs. Please use discretion when keeping these fish. For some reason they have the season closed when they are not spawning, and open when they are. Tarpon season is in full swing. Book an evening after work and go have a blast.
Offshore
The spanish mackeral fishing should remain solid. The sailfishing on days of good current, has been arguably the best it’s ever been. Some of the tournaments boats are putting up outrageous catches, sometimes over 30 sailfish a day. On almost all my recent trips we’ve had enough dolphin to make a couple nice meals. Also for all you offshore guy’s. The Miami boat show is this month and Chaos rods will be there with a ton of rods and lures. If your in the market for a swordfish set up, or deep drop. Whatever your looking for I’m sure they will have it. Also justcastnets.com will be there giving cast net throwing lessons. It’s typically a busy week for me, but stop by the shearwater both and ask for me.
March 2006
Fort Lauderdale/ North Miami Beach Report
Inshore/ Offshore
Take a kid fishing
Inshore
March is a great month to take a kid fishing. With Spring break right around the corner. Now is the time to take that day and get those kids out on the water. For the kids 10 and under there is lots of rod bending action to be had. In North biscayne bay in’s not uncommon to catch up to 40 fish in a half day and mix in about 6 different species. For those teenagers looking to flex there muscles for mom and dad. The average tarpon in March is going to run 75 pounds and on my full days we’ll be targeting sharks in that same size range. As of right now, I have openings the 16th through the 22nd . I also have some ½ day mornings and night tarpon trips open in the early part of the month. April is another great month to get out there and that’s pretty wide open. Air and water temps are typically ideal for both, fisherman and fish the next 2 months. My approach to fishing the next couple of month’s is very simple. Whether you’re novice or pro, young or old. There will something for everybody.
Offshore
Spring time king fishing get’s the call. This is an excellent time to catch your limit of kings while waiting on your sailfish bites. On a recent trip we had a fish or lost a fish on every bait for 5 and a half hours straight. All these fish were between 8 and 15 lbs and caught on 10 lb spinning outfits. The first few runs of a king caught on light tackle are phenomenal. You’ll find most the bites coming in 80 to 130 feet of water. If I’m targeting kings I’ll use 10 to 15 lb. Test line. A 12 inch piece of #3 wire to a 4x treble hook. If you want the baits to dive down. Hook them from underneath the throat. Or, to keep them more towards the surface. You can hook them through the bridge of the nose. Watch out for the birds!
Products
This section of my report is going be dedicated to products I use on the daily basis, that I’ve found to work. When you clean your boat over 200 times a year like I do. You start to look for things to make your life easier. I recently hooked up with Starbrite products. I actually got a crash course in cleaning products and learned a lot of the stuff I was using, was causing more harm than good. For instance, that dish soap we’ve all used a time or two. Instantly takes the wax off your gelcoat. Just like it removes grease from your dishes, it’s doing the same to the wax on your boat. Now I’m using strictly Starbrite orange boatwash for my daily cleaning. When the dirt get’s a little built up on the non-skid, I’m using starbrite non-skid deck cleaner. This product cuts the time I clean my boat by 50%. Nothing makes me happier, then when I use a product and it doe’s what it’s supposed to. I can truly say Starbrite Products do just that. You can find them in any marine supply store.
April 2006 Fort Lauderdale/ North Miami Beach Report
Inshore/ Offshore
Inshore
I’m looking at my log book from last April and I definitely had some of my best inshore fishing of the year. The tarpon, snook, and trout fishing was phenomenal last April, and no sign of it being any different this year. Something to look for in April are the big schools of 12 to 20 pound jack crevalles cruising north biscayne bay. A live pilchard or a top water plug fished fast and erratic will not go unnoticed. Pound for pound one of the toughest fish you’ll ever do battle with. These jacks are always on the move. If you get a sense for which direction their heading, get out in front of them. Get ready to cast and as soon as you see them break the surface. Put a cast anywhere near them with the afore mentioned baits and hook up will be instant. Keep an eye out for the birds, they’ll put you on the fish.
Offshore
There’s been lot’s of schoolie dolphin around, with a few nicer fish mixed in. Most these fish have been in shallow between 200 and 400 feet of water. Not a fish I would set out to target in April, but there’s been enough around to spend a little time on it. There should be some nice grouper on area wrecks. Be prepared to weed through some huge amberjacks to get to those tasty groupers. Sorry for the short report, but I’ve been going day and night for about 6 weeks. Bottom line is April is a great month to get out there and create some memories.
May 2006 Fort Lauderdale/ North Miami Beach Report
Inshore/ Offshore
Don’t let the summer time blues catch you!
Inshore
With summer rapidly approaching. The mid day heat will start to take it’s toll on the bay fishing. The best way to counter punch the heat is by, fishing early and fishing late. Fishing the low light conditions will really increase your chances with most of north biscayne bays inshore species. Slick calm mornings can be a great time to work top water plugs like the yo-zuri banana boat over grass flats in the 3-5 foot depths. Another great artificial to use is a gambler twitch’in shad, rigged on a gamakatsu 4/0 wide gap hook. The most likely suspects will be seatrout in the 12 to 20in. range. But, don’t be surprised if a snook or jack crevalle jumps on it. The same thing go’s for the evening bite. After those thunderstorms blow through in the afternoon. It can cool the water temps a little and get those fish chewing before the sun goes down.
Offshore
On the offshore scene. Look for lots of dolphin being found under birds and floating debris. I like to fish over the reef for kingfish, sailfish and bonita first thing in the morning. After the sun gets up a little bit, it makes it a little easier to locate the birds, or find any floating debris. Fishing offshore can get tough in the middle of the day as well. A good way to draw a strike during that middle of the day lull. Try trolling a bait on a down rigger. Getting that bait down deep can make the difference in the summertime conditions.
June 2006 Fort Lauderdale/ North Miami Beach Report
Inshore/ Offshore
Inshore
Summer is right around the corner, and so are the afternoon thunder storms. June can still be a great month to fish the bay. June is usually the last month of tarpon season for me. There have been plenty of big tarpon around and look for them to stick around until the end of the month. These fish will be heading north up the beaches from Miami through all of dade and broward counties , right up the coast to the Carolinas. Live baits pitched in front of the lead fish should do the trick. Baits of choice would be mullet, pilchards, thread fin herring, shrimp, or crabs. Most fish will average about 80 lbs. So, have a 20 pound spin outfit, with 60 pound leader, and a 7/0 gamakatsu circle hook, and you should be in business. Trout fishing will be good until they start dumping fresh water in the bay.
Offshore
Dolphin fishing has already been excellent this year. Things should only in improve in June. I’m not going to into specifics on what to look for and techniques. This information will be much more detailed in almost every publication this month. What I will tell you is to give Lester’s live bait a call. He will give you the best deal on live pilchards and give you a idea where the fish had been biting. I know most people like to troll for dolphin, but if could see how much better the fish respond to livies you’d be convinced. Once you meet Lester, you’ll never want buy pilchards anywhere else. His number is 954-557-8501.
Products
Most of you that fish the north Miami beach area, remember tarpon tackle. Well they’ve been closed for about a year. Since they
closed, I’ve been looking for a place to fill the void left when they closed. It’s been hard to find a place that opens early, stays open late, and always has live shrimp. I’ve been going to Anglers bait and tackle on Dania beach blvd. Not once this year have they not had, what I needed. They also carry fresh
ballyhoo, now that dolphin season has arrived. All and all, a bunch of good guy’s that provide a good service. The best part is there is plenty of parking and he has surveillance cameras set up for the parking lot. I’m always by myself, so it’s nice to keep an eye on my livelihood from inside the shop. He’s also got a lot of all around tackle. If you were to forget something important, chances are he sells it at a very reasonable price. They are located just east of US 1 and
Dania Beach blvd. # is 954-925-9995.
July 2006 Fort Lauderdale/ North Miami Beach Report
Inshore/ Offshore
Inshore
It’s amazing how things vary from year to year. I keep a daily log of fishing trips and catches, as most guides do. The first thing that stands out, is that I caught tarpon a full month later than last year. As I write this, we’re still catching tarpon in places where they should be half way up to South Carolina. I’m also just starting to find pilchards in the same place I found them in June of 05. A full 5 weeks behind schedule. One thing I would attribute this too, June was much drier month than normal and July has been a much wetter month than normal. How doe’s this affect the inshore fishing? When we get ton’s of rain in June, water management opens the spill ways and dumps fresh water into the bay. I little freshwater is fine, but when they keep them open for a few day’s. The fish will go find new places to hind from all the fresh water. So, a lot of the places you crushed the Trout in April. You’ll be lucky to catch a pinfish. I try to work the center part of the bay away from the spillways. Try to find the cleaner greenish colored water and avoid the brown.
I know the spillways themselves, can be excellent places to fish for snook and tarpon. I’m talking about the overall picture for north biscayne bay.
Offshore
The fishing has been excellent! Live chumming in 120 to 90 feet of water has been very productive. Lot’s of bonitas, some nice kingfish, and an occasional gaffer dolphin. This year I’ve caught lot’s of dolphin in shallow. Some as shallow as 60 feet. Most of the dolphin offshore have been found under birds. With the tropics staying quiet, thank god. There haven’t been many storms sending debris are way.
Products
On the last day of a 3 day trip out of Key Largo. I dinged and spun my prop pretty good. I had to get it fixed asap, because I had an evening trip when I got back. I stopped in to see Kenny at Mrs. G
Propellor in Hollywood. He had me in and out of there in about 10 minutes and the price was 70% less then it would have been in the Keys. This wasn’t the first time he bailed me out of a tight jam.If you need a new prop or rework your old one. I would highly recommend them. Any size boat or yacht they can get it done. Mrs. G
Propellor and Diving 5911 Rodman st. Hollywood 954-894-8089.
August 2006 Fort Lauderdale/ North Miami Beach Report
Inshore/ Offshore
Inshore
It’s amazing how things vary from year to year. I keep a daily log of fishing trips and catches, as most guides do. The first thing that stands out, is that I caught tarpon a full month later than last year. As I write this, we’re still catching tarpon in places where they should be half way up to South Carolina. I’m also just starting to find pilchards in the same place I found them in June of 05. A full 5 weeks behind schedule. One thing I would attribute this too, June was much drier month than normal and July has been a much wetter month than normal. How doe’s this affect the inshore fishing? When we get ton’s of rain in June, water management opens the spill ways and dumps fresh water into the bay. I little freshwater is fine, but when they keep them open for a few day’s. The fish will go find new places to hind from all the fresh water. So, a lot of the places you crushed the Trout in April. You’ll be lucky to catch a pinfish. I try to work the center part of the bay away from the spillways. Try to find the cleaner greenish colored water and avoid the brown.
I know the spillways themselves, can be excellent places to fish for snook and tarpon. I’m talking about the overall picture for north biscayne bay.
Offshore
The fishing has been excellent! Live chumming in 120 to 90 feet of water has been very productive. Lot’s of bonitas, some nice kingfish, and an occasional gaffer dolphin. This year I’ve caught lot’s of dolphin in shallow. Some as shallow as 60 feet. Most of the dolphin offshore have been found under birds. With the tropics staying quiet, thank god. There haven’t been many storms sending debris are way.
Products
On the last day of a 3 day trip out of Key Largo. I dinged and spun my prop pretty good. I had to get it fixed asap, because I had an evening trip when I got back. I stopped in to see Kenny at Mrs. G propellor in Hollywood. He had me in and out of there in about 10 minutes and the price was 70% less then it would have been in the Keys. This wasn’t the first time he bailed me out of a tight jam.If you need a new prop or rework your old one. I would highly recommend them. Any size boat or yacht they can get it done. Mrs. G propellor and Diving 5911 Rodman st. Hollywood 954-894-8089.
September 2006 Fort Lauderdale/ North Miami Beach Report
Inshore/ Offshore
Inshore
Typically August isn’t a very busy month for me. So I try to get the family out and have some fun. On one such day the wife and kids really impressed me. With both my kids proving that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. It started out as a snorkel trip on the first reef, and turned into a snook and tarpon slay fest. I netted a few hundred pilchards just to have in case we saw anything while diving. While I was dumping the bait in the well, a tarpon swam up. My son Brenden who is 7, got this 60 pound tarpon to the boat after 25 minutes on 8 pound test. Then, we went snorkeling out on the reef. The reef was alive with all kinds of snapper and tropicals. I had to drag the kids out of the water, because I had much bigger plans for them. Next up was my daughter Brookie, who is 5. We hooked her up with a tarpon that was bigger than her. With a little help she managed her first tarpon. Finally, I wanted my wife to get a taste of what I’m out doing everyday and the joy and satisfaction people get from it. She saw a snook cruising and pitched a bait to it. After an epic battle my wife Felecia, who is 21 or so, was victorious. We ended up with several others but those were the most memorable.
I consider myself to be one of the top family fishing guides in south Florida.. I have no problem taking kids of all ages with little or no experience and catching them a fish of a life time. Almost all the people I fish, have little or no saltwater fishing experience. That’s what separates the top guides. It’s the guy’s that can take kids and novices out, and consistently catch fish. In any condition and any time of the year.
September is the start of snook season and boy am I looking forward it. For the last few weeks we’ve been releasing lots of top of the slot fish and many over slot fish. This should continue right on through September. We’ve been catching most the snook on live pilchards and a few on live shrimp. There have been quite a few smaller tarpon around north biscayne bay lately. On almost every trip we’ve caught both snook and tarpon. It’s been really hot, so get out early or late. The mid day bite has been pretty slow. The seatrout have been plentiful in numbers, but have been on the small side. My bigger trout have been caught on topwater plugs right as the suns rising. I like to use a red and white topdog jr.
Offshore
The dolphin bite has slowed of late. Most of the fish will be found much deeper than last month. I’ve running out about 12 miles to find them lately. Later in the month things should begin to improve and hopefully the fish will push in a little closer. Kingfishing has been good if you can get your bait past the bonito’s. There should be a handful of sailfish around as well. Keep your ears open for any reports of the fall bait migration. Usually happens towards the end of the month into October.
Products
This month I’m going to address some skin cancer issues on my face. I going to take a week off to do some preventative maintenance on my skin. I’m a relatively young guy, however spending my whole life down here fishing, diving, or surfing. I’ve had extreme amounts of exposure to the sun. Fortunately, I met an awesome dermatologist a few years ago. She has taken great care of me since, but now it is time to address all the damage from the past. If you’re an avid outdoors man you should definitely get checked out. If you’re a blue or green eyed caucasian like me, you may want to get checked sooner then later. The key to skin cancer is early detection and a skin protection program that you stick to. If you don’t have a dermatologist. You will not be disappointed in mine. She has a state of the art facility, excellent reputation as one of the top dermatologist in the country, and she fishes. You can’t go wrong. On a serious note she takes a lot of the fear and anxiety out of going to the doctor. Her name is Dr. Janet Allenby , phone # 561-499-0299 or
www.allenbydermatology.com
. Her office is in Delray and well worth the drive.
October 2006 Fort Lauderdale/ Miami Fishing Report
Inshore/ Offshore
Inshore
October is a very exciting month to fish in north biscayne bay. The fall bait migration should be in full swing and all the predator fish should be there for the party. The jacks and trout will be the first guests to arrive. For lots of action, look for the schools bait fish in the bay. Anywhere from Haulover to government cut in the intracoastal, look for pelicans and turns. Pelicans especially love a good party. Look below dipping and diving birds for what looks like rain drops hitting the water. Cast your favorite top water or bait fish imitation lure, fish it fast and erratic and hold on. The early morning snook and tarpon bite will be excellent on falling tides at daybreak. I like to start my trips a little earlier in October. The sunrise will be at it’s latest times of the year. I like to fish the bridges and dock lights before the sun comes up. If your on the water before 6, you’ll have at least an hour of total darkness. Watch out for the huge high tides at Haulover boat ramp. You’ll have to sink your trailer pretty deep to get it off on the high tide. Plan on getting your feet wet, because half the parking lot will be flooded on the October high tides.
Offshore
Fishing on the shallow reefs can be really productive the next couple of months. We had a 10 specie day, just a couple of days ago. One of my favorites, spanish mackeral should start to show up in good numbers towards the latter part of the month. Small pichards and spanish sardines are like candy to these fish. Go with a piece of 40 pound mono leader, to a 2/0 long shank hook, or a piece of #3 wire. That will help with cut offs. Live mullet, slow trolled along the 90 foot depths won’t go unnoticed for very long. Keep an eye out for frigate birds working schools of sardines out beyond the reef. Don’t be surprised to see sailfish out to 800 feet of water. You may pull up on some birds expecting to find schoolie dolphin and get annihilated by a sailfish.
For all of you local’s out there that have been thinking about booking a trip. October is a great month to fish, and I’m typically pretty open. My bodies been refueled and I’m ready to fish hard.
November 2006 Fort Lauderdale/ Miami Fishing Report
Inshore/ Offshore
Inshore
The mullet run is in full swing as I’m writing this. That means things are running a little behind schedule. Which is good news for me, because I’m typically booked more in November than October. So I’ll get to put some clients on some serious action. Tarpon and snook will be crashing these schools of mullet as they work there way down the beach from north to south. Look for pelicans bombing from above to locate the schools. Once you’ve found them, you could throw any size cast net on them. Get yourself a few, get ahead of the school, pitch a weighted or free lined mullet out. Wait to feel that unmistakable THUMP, set the hook and hang on. If you don’t have any success on the beaches. Check the inlets out! Even if you don’t catch fish, if you could even just witness, as the mullet run the gauntlet. That’s how I describe the mullet trying to make it from the ocean to the bay. You want to talk about survival of the fittest. The slow fish are the first to go. Try to keep your mullet from the middle of the school. Keep him in front, the side, below or behind. Just don’t put them in the middle.
Offshore
Pilchards have still been pretty easy to find. Which has made live chumming on the reef much more productive. We’ve been catching all three mackeral species on just about every trip. Spanish, cero’s, and kings have all been very cooperative on the shallow reefs. Some nice snapper have also been biting as well. Nice yellow tails and quite a few keeper muttons lately. As I live chum it’s always a good idea to chop up some fresh bait, to go along with your chum slick. Sailfish season is right around the corner and just a couple of colds fronts away. The swordfishing has been excellent by all accounts. Hopefully the November moon will be as productive as October.
I have a couple of special thanks I like to send out. I was recently heading down to the boat ramp for an evening tarpon trip. I stopped at anglers bait and tackle for a few shrimp and some ice. While I was in the shop, 3 scum bags stole 2 custom rods from the center console of my boat. I noticed they were missing right away. Went back inside and checked the surveillance tape and sure enough saw them. Like most criminals, they weren’t the brightest bulbs in the chandelier. They went right down to dania pier about 1 mile away. Broward sheriffs were on the scene in less then 5 minutes. 3 latin males were all handcuffed and taken away to jail. Their vehicle was towed away, charged with open containers, and 1 confessed to felony grand theft with his buddies agreeing to testify against him. Welcome to America, the one charged had only been here for 6 months from Cuba. The most sickening part about this, was the guy’s were in there 30's, nice truck, no records. I know we’ve all done stupid things, but come on. Thanks to BSO, Mike and Rick at anglers and my client for being patient while I got everything situated. We did go 3-5 on tarpon that night with a nice
snook.
December 2006 Fort Lauderdale/ Miami Fishing Report
Inshore/ Offshore
Inshore
The bait has moved into biscayne bay in good numbers. Mullet, pichards, and spanish sardines have been very plentiful. Once you have a well full of livie’s, your options are endless. December can be a tough month to find fish in north biscayne bay. When it’s warm, look for fish in there usual spots. Up on the flats in 3 to 5 feet of water, from 79th st. south to government cut. When it’s cold, it will be a little more difficult. Fish the edges of the flats in 6 to 9 feet of water. Bounce a jig/shrimp or jig/grub combo slowly along the bottom. The colder the water the slower the retrieve. Spanish mackeral will be invading these same areas. Live bait or anything fast and flashy. Tarpon season is only a month away, if you want to catch a tarpon over a hundred pounds. Book an evening trip soon, it’s already shaping up to be a busy season.
OffShore
Last December had some excellent sailfish action, and I’m hoping for more of the same this year. As of now, there have only been a few day’s when they were caught in good numbers. As cold fronts continue to enter our region, the sail fishing will only get better. We’ve been catching some really nice kings mixed with spanish mackeral on the natural reefs inside of 70 feet. Look for bait showers this month. Some days the bait will come real shallow and so will the predators. Not a great month to target dolphin, but there should be enough around to keep things interesting while sail fishing.
Capt. Gavet Tuttle is a full-time licensed and insured U.S coast guard captain. Specializing in light tackle fishing in the North Miami Beach area. Offering inshore, offshore, and freshwater fishing charters aboard 24 foot Shearwater bay boat. He also proudly represents Chaos rods, Shimano reels, Gambler worms, Spro, and yo-zuri hybrid line. To reach him, you can call him at 954-448-1211 or 954- 964-9131
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