Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Mooning Permit Over Miami

August 20, 2009
Miami Flats Fishing Guide makes client happy!

Clark Howell a top sales rep for Cepheid joined me for what would turn out to be a great day. At Clark’s request, we did not hit the water until 8:00am and man did he hit it perfectly! The winds were out of the southeast at 3-5mph and the waters were calm and slicked out. We ran to an area I like to fish and shut down the motor and drifted in to about 3 feet of water.

It was not long after I got on the pole that we saw what we were looking for and I knew the day was going to be a good one. Permit here and Permit there and Permit over there and a school of 80 mooning at port side. They were everywhere! Clark was just amazed at the action and we approached out target: a massive school "mooning" or as I call it "bobbing" Permit.

These fish were happy and they were actually coming out of the water just as Tarpon do when they gulp air. Almost the entire head was coming out of the water and you could see those huge eyes. I am not sure how they did not see us because I was giving them eye contact. I had to get off the platform and go to the bow of the boat with Clark and instruct him to get down as low as possible before they spot us...

He tossed the crab out in front of the school and they exploded towards the crab. I always like when they are schooled up like this because I notice their aggression to beat their buddy to the crab. The fast man eats crab and the slow guys drink water. Clark landed two Permit in an hour and poof... the fish were gone.

Off to another flat where we would chum in 80lb Lemon Sharks in 3 feet of water over a nice white sandy bottom. You can see these guys coming from 100 yards out and believe it or not, they can be more finicky than Bonefish and Permit. It is not as simple as chumming with a Barracuda and tossing your bait in front of the Lemon Shark. Good news is we were able to fool a few 60-90lb Lemon’s on 12-20lb class rods with Power Pro. These sharks go ballistic when hooked and without the ability to go down, their only option is to go straight away. I like to think of them as a Bonefish on Steroids.

The trip concluded and Clark is ready to head out on Saturday. Stay tuned...

Captain Tom Weber
(954) 536-6646
Email
tom.weber@floridanativecharters.com
http://www.floridanativecharters.com/

No comments: