Miami Fishing Blog

May Fishing Report

Capt. Wayne Conn — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:27:49 +0000

The past few weeks has given us some great fishing! Sailfishing, which in my opinion was the worst season we’ve had in many years, has been AWESOME, with many trips seeing several caught. Live Herring and Pilchards have worked the best, but we’ve caught quite a few on dead baits as well.
May 1st was opening day for grouper. We had horrible weather that day, but we did run several “Super Grouper” trips on the Reward Won out of Bayside Marketplace within the next few days. On these trips we only used vertical jigs, no bait allowed. Even so, we did catch grouper each trip. Most notable was an 18 lb Snow Grouper caught by young Paul Weber out of nearly 400 feet of water! A 10 lb Golden Tilefish that was caught near another wreck in 510 feet of water by Adam Summers was an outstanding catch as well. Amazing to see how effective these vertical jigs are from top to bottom. We also got beat up daily by plenty of big Amberjacks! Since opening day we have caught about a dozen gag and black groupers. Not too shabby!
Big kings are also around, with some reaching over 30 lbs. Check out Reward Fishing Fleet on Facebook for some great photos. These fish are hitting ballyhoo on a three hook rig, fished with a wide variety of weights, depending on current.
This past week the big BF Tunas have shown up as well, with some to over 30 lbs being caught daily.
That same current that has helped day fishing has hurt us at night. The strong currents keep us from anchoring as deep as we’d like to. No worries though, we’ve still had nice catches of yellowtail, mutton, and mangrove snappers, with the big mangrove run right around the corner. It’s time to get on the night boat and enjoy this annual event!
Check out our web site www.fishingmiami.com and Facebook page Reward Fishing Fleet for upcoming special trips and events. We also are hosting a daily Summer Camp out of Miami Beach Marina, and a 5 day educational summer fishing camp out of Bayside Marketplace as well. Sign up your kids now!

“Super Grouper” Jigging Trips Recap

GregS — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:47:29 +0000

The ‘Super Grouper’ vertical jigging trips were a success. Hard working Captains Wayne and Chris and dedicated jig fisherman turned what was a slow weekend for many Miami anglers into productive days on the water. Four 10-hour days aboard the Reward Won produced a mixed bag with several species of grouper (snowy, scamp, gag, red), mutton snapper, golden tilefish, almaco and amberjacks (to 42lbs), blackfin tuna, bonitos included, all on jigs. Experienced jig fisherman from New York and Oklahoma City joined the local “Miami Wrecking Crew” hitting spots from 100’ to 490’ . Fun was had by all, aided by Capt. Wayne’s contribution of a keg of Presidente.

Some higlights include:

Day 1: 4 snowy groupers of 8, 10, 13 and 18lbs!
Day 2: 5 scamp groupers, 1 snowy, 3 ‘keepers’ and Jomal’s 42lb AJ
Day 3: 10lb Golden tile, Gag grouper, multiple 35-42lb Amberjacks
Day 4: 13lb Red Grouper, multiple Jacks

Please call the office to learn more about future jigging trips.

Here are some pictures. (Photo credits to Raymond Yong and Evan Gluck.)

April Report

Capt. Wayne Conn — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:51:22 +0000

This past month or so we’ve had unusually warm weather, which I’m sure has contributed to the inconsistent fishing. There are however, some good things happening as we speak.

The full moon period of April can produce great fishing for South Florida. This past week has shown signs of big kingfish around, with several over 20 lbs caught. Hopefully this will precede a full blown run of big fish soon. Historically this is a late spring event.

Sailfishing this week has finally peaked as well. This has been the slowest sailfish winter we’ve had in many years, so their daily appearance has been a welcome one.

Amberjacks have shown up on many of our offshore wrecks in better numbers than I’ve seen in recent years. In my opinion, over 10 years ago the commercial fishing pressure on these fish contributed to their near disappearance. I hope that it doesn’t happen again! Amberjacks are one of the best fish for our customers to experience. And, it’s not necessary to kill them all, as it doesn’t take many of them to provide fresh fish for your anglers. Some of the jacks we’ve caught and released were in the 50 to 60 lb range! Many of these were caught on live pinfish and heavy tackle, others with vertical jigs and braided line on some really cool rods and reels. These new generation outfits can catch a big jack just as fast as the old school heavy bottom rods, and give an incredible fight in the process! Check out the You Tube videos on our Face Book page” Reward Fishing Fleet”.

May 1^st was the opening day of vermillion snapper season. We have been able to catch some, but prevailing strong north currents are making it hard to fish for them in the deeper water that they are in. We hope they move back into shallow water soon!

April 1^st is opening day of grouper season, a much awaited day! We have caught and released many nice black and gag groupers, with two warsaws as well. Undoubtedly the closure is working. Success stories in fishery management need to be recognized, and the efforts applauded! The Reward Won has scheduled 3 “Super Grouper” trips in the first week. These trips may be full by the time you read this. Call the Reward office for possible cancellations.

The night fishing is also improving, with many nights producing near limits of yellow tail snappers, and some big muttons to boot! Bring a 20 lb spinning rod, and a30 lb conventional rod to cover the options.

We at the Reward Fishing Fleet are proud to announce that we are partnering with the Fishing And Conservation Trust and Sea Grant to offer a 5 day educational fishing camp out of Bayside Marina on the 56 foot “Reward Won”. Our goal is to teach the kids proper techniques and and ethical angling concepts, enough so that they will want to fish, and enjoy fishing with friends and family in the future. See our ad on this page, and get your kids signed up early for a discount!

Captain Wayne Conn

www.fishingmiami.com

Facebook: Reward Fishing Fleet

Vertical Jigging Update, Future Trips

GregS — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 22:08:08 +0000

1) Vertical Jigging Trip Recap 3/24/2012

We had a great day. No bait on board, only jigging. Highlights:
-~25# Warsaw Grouper
-5 gag groupers between 8-20#
-5.5# mutton snapper
-blackfin
-bonitos
-AJs and Amberjacks were thick! We had 5 guys hook up at once and all 5 got wrecked. These were 40-60#+ class fish. landed 15-35# class jacks.
-5 of 8 guys hooked up at same time. 7 of 8 another.
-All 6 grouper were released in good condition using the Seaqualizer. We kept one aj, one almaco, one blackfin, one mutton, and a bonito for bait, all other fish were released.
-We lost upwards of 20 fish to pop offs and wrecks. Most larger jacks we couldn’t even stop on 80lb/pe6/350gr outfits.

Check out the video here:

2) “Super Grouper” Vertical Jigging Trips – May 1st, May 5th, May 6th

Grouper season opens May 1st. We have put together Super Grouper jig trip May 1st, and opening weekend jig trips Sat/Sun May 5th & 6th. Back-to-back 10 hour jigging trips targeting grouper. $130 per angler, per day, includes tip. 6:30am – 4:30pm trip off Miami, south toward Key Largo. We will be hitting wrecks and rock piles in 150′-400′+, just jigging aboard the Reward Won. The trip is limited to 12 fisherman.

We already have reservations from experienced jig fisherman coming down from New York/New Jersey and Mass. to join us for this intense jigging experience. This is a great opportunity to learn from the best.

A deposit of $50 is required to reserve your spot(s). Please call 305-372-9470 and let them know you’d ‘like to make a reservation for the ‘super grouper weekend jig trip’. The remaining $80 is due in cash the day of the trip.

3) Jig Trip Saturday April 7th, 2012

6:30am – 1:30pm (or later depending on afternoon booking) $100 (includes tip) per angler

Trip is limited to 12 jig fisherman, so please make your reservation now to ensure a spot. The bite has really picked up and the big jacks are hungry! Like to jig? We’d love to have you! Call the office for more details.

March Report

Capt. Wayne Conn — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:11:43 +0000

Are we still waiting for winter? Give it up. Ain’t going to happen.
The winter fishery wasn’t as strong as we would have liked, that’s for sure.
Sailfishing is just now getting good. This week we’ve seen them every trip. We hope that they keep coming!
Kingfish made “fake” runs, with a few trips in a row being strong, but fading quickly. The good news is that Captain Chris caught a few large ones this week, maybe signaling the start of the spring run. Historically these fish bite better in the afternoon. Spanish mackerel were up to par from about October through December. Most of these fish were caught in 15 to 30 feet of water by trolling small feathers or plugs, or on live pilchards.
Amberjacks, Almaco jacks and groupers have made a better than average showing. The jacks were on all the local wrecks from 160 to 450 feet of water. Live pinfish as well as vertical jigs on braided line worked awesome! The full moon of this month should signal the beginning of the real jack season. Hopefully we will be able to catch them (and release many) at will. These fish are great fighters, and deserve to be released to fight another day. The groupers are closed until May 1. We will be running some “Super Grouper” trips at that time to target them. Call the office at 305 3729470 for info and to reserve.
Night fishing has also had it’s ups and downs, but consistently provided ample action with yellowtails, small bluefish,muttons and blue runners.
As always, when the wind was blowing we caught nice sized dolphin. This should pick up this month, as well as the Black fin Tuna. We’ve had several the past two weeks up to about 30 pounds. The smaller black fins from 2 to 8 pounds have been hit or miss, with small pilchards as well as vertical jigging working well.
The Reward Fleet is offering it’s first Summer Camp. Working with the Fish and Conservation Trust as well as FWC and our local Sea Grant office, we will have 9 weeks of camp for kids 8 to 13 years of age. The hours will be 8:30am to 4pm, Monday through Friday. Educational topics will be boating safety, FWC rules and regulations, ethical angling concepts as well as different fishing techniques each day previous to the daily fishing trip. Catch and release is the theme, with limited take allowed.
Be sure to get your kids signed up early! Call the office for more details and to reserve your spots
Hope to see you soon, lets go fishing!
Captain Wayne

February Report

Capt. Wayne Conn — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:01:55 +0000

A week or so ago we had a great time with kingfish for several trips. The fish were caught in 80 to 100 feet of water off Government Cut, Miami Beach. The standard kingfish rig with a whole sardine or ballyhoo worked well, with a variety of weights. Depending on wind and curent conditions we use from “no weight” to 4 ounces of lead in front of the rig. Also effective are bucktail or nylon jigs with two additional hooks added on to accommodate the whole baitfish. Butterfly jigs work wonders as well on these toothy critters! Be prepared to lose some iron. By the way, we’ve had great luck with putting a piece of #6 wire in front of the jig, thereby minimizing cut offs.
An added bonus while fishing in such shallow water is catching nice yellowtails and occasional mutton along with the kings. Although they are caught on the same rig, it’s somewhat better to fish a single hook, usually a 3/0 to 5/0 circle hook on a 10 foot leader, with a 2 to 4 ounce lead to take it down.
A memorable catch last week was made by Captains Ryan and Chris. They ran into hungry muttons a bit south of the inlet, catching about a dozen up to 12 pounds! Great catch.
Last Monday, Captain Chris and I ran a charter on the Reward Won out of Bayside Marketplace for John and Mary Jane from Boston. They are best friends with Bruce Berman, longtime Reward customer. John was hoping for his first sailfsh, and to show Mary Jane a good time. The sail never showed up, but in only three drifts with live baits out on two kites as well as flat lines they caught 7 gaffer sized dolphin to 14 pounds, and a 30 pound Blackfin Tuna! First one of the season for us of that size.
Night fishing has been consistently decent for yellowtails, small bluefish, and an occasional mutton or mangrove snapper.
This Saturday, February 18th, we have our vertical jigging loyalists taking the Reward Won at 6:30am. This trip is full at this time, with 12 customers pre booking. We are attempting to hold this trip to 12 fishermen to reduce tangling and crowding. If you have an interest, call the office in case there was a cancellation.
We are also starting an all day trip on Sundays from Bayside Marketplace on the Reward Won as well. The hours are 7am to 3 pm. Parking is no more than $5 if you get in the parking garage early, and usually it’s free! We plan on fishing near Fowey Light( Elliot Key ) . Vertical jigging customers as well as bait fishermen are welcome. The plan is to use our standard driftfishing techniques, usually staying on a drift for 10 to 15 minutes. Wreck fishing, jigging, kite fishing,trolling or anchoring are all possibilities. The cost is $80 per person, tip not included. We will run the trip with 10 booked customers, maxing out at 20.
Our goal is to have these trips each and every weekend. and throw in a 12 hour trip monthly, as well as an overnight Key Largo trip.
I’ll keep you posted on this site for these trips, but please call the office to book in advance! These trips will sell out.
In case of bad weather, I’ll cancel, no charge, and either refund the deposit or put in on another trip to hold your spot.
Check back in Sunday, we’ll post the results from our jigging trip.
Hope to see you all soon!
Captain Wayne

Winter Jigging

GregS — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:30:53 +0000

Grouper season has closed, and we have shifted focus from working the bottom to jigging the entire water column. This requires lightening up on the gear to be able jig longer, with less effort.

Trolling small feathers and finding birds working in 400-500’ of water is a good way to locate black fin tuna, especially on overcast days. The black fin can be targeted with much lighter jigging outfits working 100 gram jigs rapidly through the top 100-200’ feet of the water column. Black fin routinely hit the jig on the drop. Wahoo are always a possibility when fishing these depths. We are working to establish a pattern to be able to successfully target wahoo, as opposed to just being a phenomenal incidental catch. We have been sharing wire and cable rigging techniques for use with the jigs.

: Capt. Wayne and Sehoon’s Wahoo

Jacks are another target; both almaco and amber. A common scenario is to find these fish hanging 200-250’ down over structure in 320’ or more of water. This is where color coded metered braid comes in handy. 200-250 gram jigs are commonly used in this scenario, but if conditions allow to go lighter, do it. Almacos and AJs seem to respond well to the long slim style of jigs worked quickly and rhythmically through the ‘zone’.

Kingfish, found shallower, can provide hot action but are notorious jig stealers. King cut offs frequently occur on drop, with the kingfish striking the leader just above the jig as it descends. Wire can help alleviate the problem, don’t forget wire assist hooks as well. A hot king bite is a great time to break out the old beat up jigs from your bag, or those collecting dust. Fish hooked on the upstroke have a much better chance of being landed.

A variety of other species are also commonly encountered this time of year.

Modifying strategies to fish around the grouper closure provides a great opportunity to keep jigging fresh, and target different species.

Interested in our Vertical Jigging Specialty Trip? Call the office to learn more, and make your reservation on the next scheduled trip.

Written by GregS aka SeaGreen

Headboat Habits

Capt. Wayne Conn — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:36:34 +0000

Cool weather has finally come to town, at least for a while anyway. Fishing in general has been erratic at best. We had a few nice trips catching kingfish, only to have them disappear. Normally kings are a staple for us as well as other coastal fishermen in South Florida. It’s fairly easy to predict that they will show up in force any day now.

December usually brings herds of sailfish our way as well, but haven’t been easy to find up until the last few days. Sunday, January 16, the North wind and north current running under the wind created the “rip” and sailfish tailing conditions. Many sails were hooked and released. Standard sailfishing techniques such as kite fishing or flat line fishing with live bait were used. More effective was to see the tailers and pitch a live bait to them. Small fast boats with towers make this fishing exciting! Tailers don’t always “tail” but appear usually on the southern face of a wave, riding it southward. Frequently they are in small groups.

The past few weeks we have also caught quite a few large amberjacks and Almaco jacks. I’m cautiously optomistic that this is a sign that we may have a strong jack season this spring. It really has been several years since they’ve been present in good numbers. Live pinfish on a heavy bottom fishing rig is standard and vertical jigs work amazing at times. Nothing is quite like a 30 pound Almaco hitting on a flat run with braided line! We try to release nearly all of these wonderful fish, but will keep a nice one to divide up for our fishermen.

The best consistent fishing this past month has been at night. Captain Avery Waterman has proven to be a great night captain, catching plenty of yellowtails, mangrove and mutton snappers for his customers on the night trips. We use 12 to 20 pound tackle, and small barbless circle hooks.

I’m happy to announce that the Reward Fishing Fleet has had its web and Facebook sites renovated by the expertise of Rudy Gomez at Cyberangler with consultation from Greg of SeaGreenMarketing.com. These guys are awesome at what they do. The website is www.fishingmiami.com, Facebook page is Reward Fishing Fleet at Facebook. We also have videos that are amazing. Check them out, as well as posted fishing reports, info and tips on an upcoming blog. We also will be posting a schedule of specialty trips such as vertical jigging, 10 to 12 hour “Ironman” trips, and overnight trips starting in the Spring.

Tight lines!

Captain Wayne

New Year’s Report

Capt. Wayne Conn — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:50:26 +0000

Headboat Habits

Hey fishermen! I hope everybody has had a good fall, and ready for the winter blast, not only of cold weather, but of great fishing to come.

Hopefully, our weather patterns may have finally changed somewhat. I don’t know about you, but we on the Reward Fleet are tired of several things that come with those Nor’ Easters that seem to appear on weekends.

Some recently heard comments by our anglers:

Is this 70 foot boat considered a “Small Craft”?
Why is it so bouncy out here but calm at the dock?
It isn’t safe out here…..take me home NOW ( I’ll pay extra)
PLEASE CALL THE COAST GUARD TO COME GET ME
(barf)……!
MAN…this is fun! Do you always catch 10 to 30 pound Dolphin off Miami Beach?
Why are all those people complaining about the rough weather? Fishing has been AWESOME!

Actually folks, our biggest challenge are to convince our anglers that no one has died of being sea sick, and that in some cases just calming down will make the trip manageable. Of course, catching a big fish is an instant cure!

How has the fishing been? Glad you want to know. Spanish Mackerel are biting about as good as they can get, especially on the outgoing tide. Trolling small feathers and spoons will get you on the fish, and casting jigs, plugs or flies will keep them coming.

Mutton snappers as well as nice Gag and Black groupers are being caught. Dropping live baits such as pinfish on heavy tackle on any of our wrecks may result in a crushing strike! Muttons prefer the areas around the wrecks, and can be caught on fresh chunks of bait(Spanish Mackerel are one of the best) left lying quietly on the bottom. Use a lighter leader for the Muttons, no more than 30-40 lb test. We’ve caught them up to 18 lbs this week, and they don’t get that big being stupid and eating heavy leaders!

Sailfish are crankin’ as well. We have caught them on nearly every trip using kite baits as well as float baits or flat lines. Threadfin herring are primo, large pilchards adequate, Goggle-Eyes…royalty!

Our night trips are solid with small bluefish, that eat ANYTHING. Yellowtails are still our staple catch-of-the-night.

Our vertical jigging trip on the Reward Won out of Bayside Marina this past Saturday was SUPER. Ten anglers jigging their butts off had a banner trip.

15 Almaco jacks, 3 to 18 pounds. (6 released)
One 10 to 12 pound Mutton snapper
One 18 to 20 pound Gag grouper
5 nice amberjacks, 15 to 30 pounds(3 released, two didn’t revive)
8 Black fin tunas, 3 to 8 pounds
3 bonitas, 6 to 12 pounds

Check out Reward Fishing Fleet on Facebook for photos and videos! We do vertical jigging trips routinely, just call the office and leave us your contact info, we’ll let you know when we are doing the next one.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday, and the best New Year to boot!

Captain Wayne Conn

Reward Fishing Fleet