Miami Multi-species Madness

[Johnsfolly]

Congrats @Ham to you and @FishnDave. Still more time for a another shot at tarpon. Looking forward to seeing and hearing more from the trip.

[Ham]

Well, Day Three was amazing as well. Highs and Lows for sure.

im too beat and too much happened to put in a thread like this. 

I got four Lifers and a Flyfer. I saw some mystery fish that I don’t know what they were.

My Tenkara pole was some how broken in the car. It’s my fault. I should have secured it better every time I used it. I will try to repair it at home.

I’m now 0-5 on tarpon hooked and a bunch more missed hooksets. The ones I am hooking are way too big to do much with. They are tiny little spots and I’m shore bound. Earlier today I lost a real nice one one a Zoom Super Fluke. I survived 3 or 4 jumps, but he was very green when he came off. The second one tonight was on a black gurgler I tied. Great eat, Good Strip set. Multiple strip sets. I let him run. I gave him line when he jumped. I kept pressure on him. BIG jumps. Fast runs. I kept the pressure on him and he was tiring I had him swimming by about 10 feet off the rod tip when my Lamson Liquid broke. The spool fell out of the reel. I was trying to deal with that and he got slack and was Gone. I had him on for minutes. Dave had time to finish landing another Florida Gar and come to me to cheer me on. 
Dave is killing it. He is catching so many fish and so many Flyfers, but I refuse to steal his thunder. 
Long hard day. Up at 6 (<6 hrs of sleep). Hot/Humid. We quit fishing at 8:23. Hit back to room after 9PM. Late supper again. Unwinding and prepping mentally for tomorrow 

 

[Quillback]

That's pretty neat to hook tarpon from the bank.  How big are they?

 

[Ham]

Too Big. They had a fish kill and I think a lot of the little ones died. 

[Quillback]

Hey, catch a Bruins/Panthers game while you are down there.  

[Ham]

12 hours ago, Quillback said:

Hey, catch a Bruins/Panthers game while you are down there.  

Lolz, this is a FISHING trip. 

[Ham]

Our day started at 0602. On the road by 0645. 3 1/2 hour trip north to Osceola Outback Adventures.

Michael and Christine were out guides and they were very friendly and very helpful. 
The fish were a little slow today. We paid our dues at Pond One and Pond Two. Lots of fish flashing our flies, but not taking. A few nips at the fly, but not serious eats. About a 1/2 hour in, I got the first one. It was my biggest one ; about 7 lbs. I got another nice one at Pond Two.then we’re went to Pond Three and had fun. I switched over to Peacock Bass for the final 30 minutes and got one. I hope to get more tomorrow, but I love a bird in hand. I had a Great time and would love to go back. I fully recommend it. 
Thus ends the first half of our day. The second have will wait until tomorrow. 

 

[Ham]

So, while getting our knots tested at the Barra place, I casually brought up that we were gonna north to try for Redbreast Sunfish and asked if Michael if he knew of any closer. He gave us the juice on a local spot. The rub is that it was the opposite direction from Orlando stuff so likely we could not do both. #choosewisely

We opted for Michael’s spot. It was the right call, but like so many side stories of the trip things got weird. There was a family broken down on the side of the road at our pull over. We spent a little time helping them get a cell phone some juice and gave them some cold waters and encouragement. The Dad came and watched us fish some. I interacted with them more than Dave cos someone has to. 
But, we get to the spot and split up a little bit each taking different areas to try first. This is a Team effort so we are working together to catch all the species we can. I was busy catching a Redearand a Golden Shiner. No pic when I hear Dave’s Happy Shouts! He had his Flyfer Redbreast. I moved down closer to him and I was catching mostly Spotted Sunfish. After Dave caught another Redbreast, I borrowed/commandeered his flyrod set up and caught my Flyfer Redbreast. I caught several on his gear and my gear. bigger ones on spinningWe finally had enough of the heat, biting flies, and limited access and quit early to get additional rest. I’m usually not that smart, but I have Dave to help me. another Sunkist Success moment for Lifers and Flyfers 

[BilletHead]

9 hours ago, Ham said:

Lolz, this is a FISHING trip. 

                  I knew that @Quillback and his statement would go over like a lead balloon. Although I think MythBusters did get one to float in an episode. 

[BilletHead]

           You boys are rocking it! Tell Davey boy to start showing his catches also. By the time he gets home, and I try to see his fishes it will clog up this computer!