Went out past Stiltsville a bit ago and caught a whole bunch of fish. So many different species.. Alot of ballyhoo right at the chumbag... Fishing died down on slack tide so we did alittle snorkeling and hanging at the sandbar... Alot of small lobsters out there too!!! When the current picked back up we got a few big hits that broke us off and a few nice snappers... One got hit and we brought up just a huge head! Heres a video of my bro getting a grouper.. Tight Lines!
A lot of people hear about this invasive snakehead fish in the lakes and canals in South Florida but don't know that much about it.. Yes it is an invasive species originated in Asia. It is called the Bullseye Snakehead. It is located in North Broward County which includes Coral Springs, Margate and Pompano Beach areas. It is somewhat confined to this area due to the canal systems and levies that block it to the south and the cold weather to the north. It does not survive in temps colder than 50*F. The Snakehead is an air-breathing fish and can stay alive out of water for a long time. It is a long torpedo shaped fish with a flat head and a lot of teeth like razor blades. It is an ambush predator that feeds mostly on small fish and crayfish but is an opportunistic eater and will attack frogs, snakes, turtles , lizards and even baby ducks. It is an excellent fish to eat with very nice white meat. There is no size or catch limit so the more you catch and eat, the better! It is an invasive species after all and are suppose to kill it if you catch it. So might as well fry it up and have a good dinner!!
Now to the good part.... Fishing for them! This fish is said to be the most explosive freshwater fish with a very powerful punch. With its long tail, it can swim very fast and bust out of the water and attack a top water lure. When caught, at first it will swim down and away from the bank making a very good fight. Then when it's by the boat, or shore, it will start doing alligator rolls. The lure of choice for most fishermen is the frog.
Cast a frog near the shore, the closer the better, and start reeling it in fast keeping it afloat but not so fast that it is skipping. The snakehead will blow it up making alot of commotion and suck it right down. Give it a second or 2 and set the hook really good. It has a hard jaw and upper mouth so you need to give it a good set. Hang on for the fight!! I have some videos of this and will be posting soon! Keep an eye out for them or subscribe and check out my youtube channel at www.youtube.com/miamifishn
The snapper bite is crazy in Key West! Did some kayak fishing and found a nice little snapper hole. I was anchored up in a channel and my girl wanted to stop at a little island beach, so I tried to pull the anchor up and it was stuck. So I put on my mask and jumped in. And man was I glad I had got my anchor stuck!!! Just a little bit from where I was there was a ton of fish!! Mangrove snappers were everywhere.... mixed in with barracudas, groupers and all the tropical fish. We stayed there for a bit and caught our limit.... Got some pretty cool videos too.... Here's one and there's more to come!!!
I recently went out on my kayak to do some fishing and had a great day!! Launched from Morningside Park in Miami, without stopping at the bait store for bait. Just a totally free trip besides a few bottles of water from the house and gas to get there.
Started out by trolling and casting artificial lures. The trout were hitting left and right but alot of undersized ones. Still fun to catch but I wanted some dinner!!
I ended up catching one keeper trout right in slot!! I was happy I got one in the cooler!!
Paddled around and stopped at one of the islands to try to get some live bait. Brought out the cast net and started blind throwing because the water was a little murky and could not see any bait. One of my first casts I catch a big ol puffer fish. It started puffing up right in my net. After a few casts I only caught a few baits but kept trying. Ended up with about a dozen. Fished the flats and the channel for a while but not much going on. Took a little break and sat back for a sec and took in the scenery. The birds were soaring high above bird island. The wind was blowing and the sun was out. Perfect for a picture to send all the guys up north! Kayaking in December!!
So after my little break I decided to head to my honey hole!! I still had a few live bait in the bucket. Got to my spot, anchored up, and Bam!!! First cast and I'm hooked up with a snapper. Mangrove snapper in my area have to be 10 inches to keep and my first one was at 11 inches. Another fish for the cooler!! Every cast in I was getting a bite. Caught a couple more keepers all about 10 1/2 -11 inches. Lost a couple good ones and a couple big ones cut my line off and took my hook and everything.... My last bait I cast in and literally counted to 10 and Wam!! Like I knew it was going to happen!! Skills!! LoL Catch the biggest one at 15 inches and I got it on video!! Not only was it my last bait, it was also my limit on Mangrove snapper. 5 bag limit. So I was pretty damn happy and it was a good time to call it a day.
Check out the video!!! If you like my videos and posts please subscribe and give them thumbs up!!
For those that do not have a boat, kayak or don't want to spend an arm and a leg for a charter, Euro Jacks Reef is accessible right from the beach!!!! The reef is a quick swim out and great for beginners. The very beginning of the reef is sometimes at only 6 feet deep, then the further you go out the deeper and bigger the reef gets. It is great for snorkeling!! It is made up of big concrete "Jacks", like the kids game. The Jacks head east and end at the ledge. There are tons of tropical fish and the occasional nurse shark. I have even seen some huge lobster!
There are usually people out there already, especially on the weekends so you'll be able to find it very easy. Just look for the other dive flags about 500 yards north of the Dania Beach pier. Park by the pier and don't forget to pay the meter. Then walk north into John Lloyd State Park and when you see a wooden post that says JAX on it that is where you go out. Straight out from there. There use to be some jacks up in the sand on the beach to mark the spot but last time I went they were either buried or removed.
Spear fishing******* Remember John Lloyd is a state park and NO SPEAR GUNS ALLOWED!!! You CAN NOT walk down the beach to the Jacks with your spear gun. If you do you can get fined and they will take all of your equipment away. If you are going to spearfish... launch north of the pier before the John Lloyd fence line and swim. Remember the spearfishing rules....
Check out a video of Euro Jacks Reef on Youtube!! If you like it please hit the like and subscribe to see more videos!!!
I go out fishing a lot with friends and family and I always find myself spending a lot of time tying and rigging other peoples lines. Most of the time I don't have a problem with it but when I have to do it multiple times for the same person then it becomes a problem. This knot is so easy to do it takes literally less than 15 seconds to tie. The improved clinch knot is also known as the improved fishermens knot. It is a really strong knot and I use it for tying up everything, from hooks to lures to swivels. I taught my girl over the weekend on a trip to the Florida Keys. We went bridge fishing and you know you get rocked on the bottom every once in a while so I figured let me teach her how to tie it so she knows how to tie it up instead of waiting on me. So I instructed her on how to tie it and she pretty much got it on the first try. I made this video when we got back to the house to show and let others know how easy it is. ( Especially my friends!) So the more people that know, the better it is and more fishing can be done. Tight Lines!! Don't forget to send it to those friends that always bother you!!!
I went out kayak fishing yesterday out of Morningside park. It is about a 25 minute ride from my house (Broward county) and got there when the sun was coming up. I prepped all my gear and headed to the water. I know that the Spanish Mackerel have been running in this time of year, especially because there is a little cold front going through. So I paddle out to the south where I know there is an artificial reef and it gets up to 30 feet deep. I anchor up and get my rods ready.
I put one line down on the bottom with a one ounce weight and a 3 foot fluorocarbon leader and another line with a small jig-head hook and fluoro leader, using live shrimp on both. I'm working the jighead, just free lining with the current, and within 2 minutes I catch a small jack. It was a lively little guy and gave a pretty good fight. I rig the bait back up and throw it out. I lost a couple baits from the smaller fish thieves and then finally I hear the line start screaming. I reach back to the flush mount rod holder and grab the pole, it was in live bait mode on the real so it is still letting out.. zinging! I set the hook and start the fight. As I reel it in closer I see that it is what i set out to catch... the spanish mack!! I flip it on board between my feet on the kayak. It was a 20 inch beauty. Straight to the cooler!!
The next spot I paddle to is in the flats on the other side of Morningside Picnic Island. I use the live shrimp on a bobber and the other pole I'm casting out a grub-tail Tons of small bites and I land a few under size sea trout. I drift closer to the main channel and that's where I caught some bigger ones. I dropped the anchor and it was about 3-5 feet. I landed a few slot speckled sea trout at about 17 inches. The bite was on and I figured out they were in a little bit deeper water near the channel. I was still using the bobber and they were killing up the shrimp. One after another... After a little bit I ran out of live bait. I was kicking myself that I didn't get another dozen at the bait shop.
Start to paddle around the islands casting lures but nothing really exciting, a few lizard fish and big pin fish. I was taking a little break before the paddle back to the launch area and a manatee came out of nowhere and bumped my kayak. I looked down and here this thing is right below and next to me the size of my boat! It was eating some weeds that had got stuck on the yak from when I was in the flats. Pretty awesome day out on the kayak if you ask me...
