The Shrimp Run is here and in full effect! This is one of my favorite times of the year, the Shrimp Run! Cold weather kicks off this huge flow of shrimp and the Tarpon can’t get enough! Fishing the Shrimp Run for Tarpon in Miami is one of the most exciting times of the year! Drifting by the boat by the thousands these shrimp shine like diamonds at night. Their eyes glow in the dimmest of ambient light from bridges, docks and buildings and the tarpon glide sideways just below the surface scooping as many as they can. This time of year brings out some of the biggest Tarpon, this past week we’ve hooked into some fish pushing 150LBS!! And all caught on light tackle with just a shrimp and a circle hook!! Between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale finding the bait is key. A few nights we fished downtown Miami on the incoming tide, cruised around until we started seeing the shrimp on the surface in big numbers then started drifting our baits. When the shrimp are that thick it doesn’t take long for the tarpon to show up. I’ll fish 3 lines at a time, one on a float, one on a flat line and one with a small splitshot this way we cover most of the water column on our drift. Fishing for tarpon with live shrimp can be tricky as sometimes the bite will feel like a grunt just picked you up and sometimes the fish will damn near knock the rod out of your hand. We fish open bail and when you feel a strike no matter how big or small you feed the bait to the fish for a few seconds then close the bail and hang on!! We also put in some time at Haulover, fishing close to the bridge near the slack tides when the tarpon start to roll around. That inlet has a crazy current so the bridge only has a short window where you can get a clean presentation for these big fish. Anchoring way up ahead of the bridge and drifting baits back in the current works best for me. Here in Ft Lauderdale the shrimp are just starting to show up in small numbers and the incoming tide at night has proven successful. Drifting the inlet close to the jetty is one of the most effective ways to find big fish when conditions allow. It takes some time and patience to get a clean spread out there when drifting shrimp with a few lines and as the tide and current change almost each drift is different. Take your time, get those lines out there and wait out these big fish. When the bite really turns on you can start throwing artificials out at these fish and they’ll bite. I like using the large profile shrimp lures in a white color at night. Less is more when using these lures, a slow retrieve with just a little bit of action gets the job done. It’s only gonna get better in Ft Lauderdale for tarpon fishing as the season goes on. Soon the fish will stack the bridges and the inlet and will form a consistent pattern as the shrimp start to fill in here. If you are in the Ft. Lauderdale/ Miami area and are looking for an inshore fishing charter give me a shout! This is one of the best times of the year for BIG Tarpon!!

Crazy hot weather past few weeks and the water temp inshore is 90 degrees, but that hasn’t shut off the bite for the juvenile tarpon. This week we’ve had multiple double ups, hour long sessions of topwater action on tarpon from 20 lbs to 50lbs. From Port Everglades inlet all the way to the pier and inside from 17th st to sunrise bridge, finding them at almost any tide as long as there is current the little tarpon are eating. Ive been fishing mostly at night and late afternoon even finding a few fish this week in the middle of the day when temps are the highest. Using mostly pilchards and small artificial, anything close to that profile will do the trick. When the tarpon are eating on top there isn’t much they won’t hit. Inshore fishing in Fort Lauderdale can be tough during the summer months but the past 2 weeks were definitely the exception to that rule. Night time brings the snook bite and as soon as the tide starts pushing hard the bite turns on at the bridges. Fishing flair hawks on the bottom on a straight retrieve with no action gets that big THUMP you are looking for. Step up the leader size find the right weight for the jig, sweep the bottom and hold on!! Drifting live baits back in the current will pick up tarpon hanging close to the pilings up on top. The inlet has been hit or miss this week but always worth it putting some time in to find the bigger fish. Outgoing tide has been most productive at the inlet and down the shoreline to the north. Looking forward to the next few weeks when the bait starts to really thicken up and get these fish going crazy. The mullet run is right around the corner and Ill be posting updates on instagram as well as here on my site. Don’t let the hot weather keep you from getting out there!! If you are in Fort Lauderdale and looking for an inshore trip give me a call Captain Dennis **hidden content** or find me on instagram @flatbottomcharters and book your trip today! **hidden content**

Fort Lauderdale Inshore Fishing Report Late June. Summertime in Ft. Lauderdale is here and so are the big fish, small baits, hot temps, rainstorms and SHARKS!! This past week has been challenging with the weather and the sharks both popping up out of nowhere but thankfully only sticking around for a short while. Sea conditions on the other hand have been exceptionally calm, the inlet has been slicked out almost every night for the past week making spotting the rolling fish much easier. The schools of tarpon have been rolling thru on the outgoing tide spotting them out in the middle of the inlet but most feeding closer to the jetties in Port Everglades. Fishing with big live mullet always brings action but you have to be willing to sacrifice half those baits to all the lemon sharks around. A few fish were brought up this week on live pilchards, drifting em back on floats and flatline, even hooking a few on topwater at sunset. Fishing for tarpon in the summertime can be tough but if you put in the time it pays off. Most of the fish we brought up this week have all been over 60 lbs. some pushing 150!! Those big Tarpon are out there!! The bait I’ve been using is Mullet and Pilchard. Most of the mullet in Ft. Lauderdale right now are big, over 12 inches. The pilchards in the port are a bit small now but the bigger ones will be coming down the beach soon. Wait for the end of the outgoing tide when the schools of bait start flushing out of the inlet and and these fish turn on like a light. If you are in Fort Lauderdale and looking for an Inshore Fishing trip give me a call Captain Dennis