Miami Multi-species Madness

[Johnsfolly]

45 minutes ago, FishnDave said:

We've noticed that its often a real struggle to catch your first fish of a new species.  But once you finally catch one, you start to catch more, whether you want to or not. 

And a Crested Goby.  Flyfer #8!

 

 

The catching the first them have to fight of others happens to us a lot. This crested goby is a really cool fish. I only really started seeing people catching these guys about a year ago. Definitely a bucket list fish along with a whole bunch of sleepers.

[Johnsfolly]

9 minutes ago, FishnDave said:

Day 4

Barramundi Day.  We had like 3 hours to fish, and I didn't catch any for the first 1.75 hours.  Ugh.  I was getting nervous.  But I finally caught one, and then the floodgates opened.  I ended up catching 11, with nearly half on TOPWATER, which was HUGELY fun!  These fish are incredibly strong  AND acrobatic!  Our guide/host tied 50 lb bite tippet on our rods for us, and each fish just SHREDDED IT!!

Barramundi.  Flyfer #11!  My biggest was 5.5 lb to 6 lb range.

 

Australian bass on steroids 😁! Looks like a ton of fun.

[FishnDave]

Now, our guide liked me OK at first.  He was very helpful with keeping my chewed up bite tippet fresh, landing my fish, etc.  Until I made one comment that I thought was HILARIOUS.  He didn't really talk to me after that, and he left me alone and became Hamilton's best buddy instead.  His wife had sort of been helping Hamilton.  She was fishing with spinning gear with frog patterns trying to get the Barramundi fired up.  She has lots of skills, including bowfishing, target shooting, flyfishing, etc.  He was patting himself on the back about some things, which was totally fine.  At one point he said something like, "My clients know who ties the best knots and who puts them on big fish."  And I said, "Yeah, and they know her husband, too!"  And that ended our blossoming friendship. 😅

I also caught a few Florida Largemouth Bass there.

We had a longshot opportunity for Redbreast Sunfish.  High on my wishlist, but low on my expectations for this trip.  But the tip Hamilton got from our guide was rock solid, and after weeding through numerous Spotted Sunfish, I finally caught a half dozen or so BEAUTIFUL Redbreast Sunfish!  Flyfer #12!

Spotted Sunfish:

Warmouth

 

[FishnDave]

Day 5

We were targeting Bullseye Snakeheads.  We saw some, I had at least one follow, maybe 2, but overall they were not interested in playing along.

Instead, I caught some sizable Mayans.  Mayans can definitely be a nuisance, but I think their numbers are down after this winter's cold snap.  They are a very pretty fish, very strong, and the DIRTIEST dang fighters I think I've ever seen.  They will charge full speed into ANYTHING that will give them a chance to tangle your line or cut it.  Dirty fighters!!!!  But really fun!

 

[FishnDave]

I also caught my first Peacock Bass of the trip.  Not a Flyfer.  But I think its a new PB for me.  AND, I caught it on a topwater!!  If they show even the slightest interest in a fly, just keep casting it beyond them and work it past.  They will chase, bump, charge....and (hopefully) eventually CRUSH the fly!

 

[FishnDave]

Also at this spot, I landed another Plecostomus, 17", foul-hooked.

At a different location, I worked a long time on a Tilapia.  Then I switched fly color and immediately got an eat!  Spotted Tilapia, 12", not a Flyfer, but maybe a new PB.

 

[FishnDave]

Day 6 is "saltwater fishing day" down in the Keys.

I caught 3 Flyfers at the first spot, and added 6 more Flyfers at the 2nd spot.  Not easy fishing.  Big flies got nothing at all for me.  Microjigs and egg patterns took nearly all my fish.

So, 9 more Flyfers brings me to 21 Flyfers for the trip!

This was all new stuff for me.  I had a lot of help from @Johnsfolly and @Ham in identifying these fish.  Thanks fellas!! 👍

French Grunt

Sailors Choice

Bluestriped Grunt

[FishnDave]

Houndfish

I had a stingray on the line, and it made a straight beeline down the shoreline and eventually cut the line on coral.

I caught a bunch of these White Grunts.  Which, as it turns out, are not white.

The inside of their mouth is often very red, however.

I caught a couple Bermuda Chubs

 

[FishnDave]

a Porkfish. They really do make an "oink" sound, like a pig!

Yellowtail Snappers

And a Tomtate:

 

[FishnDave]

Day 7 was squeezing in some last minute fishing spots to eke out what we still could before heading for the airport.

We visited quite a few spots, and they did not give us any love.  On the bright side, it rained and the mosquitoes came out in force!

The last spot we fished is where I caught my first 2 fish of the trip...hoping we could get Hamilton a Jaguar Guapote.  We each caught one fish there, I think, but not what we were hoping for.  I did see a HUGE Snook, almost glad I didn't hook it.

My last fish of the trip was a Peacock Bass.  I worked it into a frenzy until it just HAD to kill the fly!:

Here's a Basilisk in a tree:

Also, in a humorous moment of the trip, we watched in awe as a Peacock crossed a huge busy intersection USING THE CROSSWALK!  Nobody batted an eye...