Fishing in Miami has been heating up to start the year. We have been enjoying a mixed bag of sailfish, kingfish, and Mahi offshore and snapper, jacks, and sharks inshore.

Now that the holidays and new year have come and gone it is time to focus on the fishing again. Even though it’s been a while since I posted a fishing report, we’ve been catching quite a few fish. Our catches have included: sailfish, mahi, kingfish, mutton snapper, and grouper just to name a few. Inshore the tarpon fishing has been on the slow side around the inlets so I haven’t really been pushing these trips right now. On the bright side, there have been a few snook around both in the evening and daytime hours. Offshore the sailfish action has been a bit sporadic but we have been getting at least a shot or two on most trips. The main culprit to the inconsistent sail sailfishing has been the lack of blue water and strong north current. On some days the blue water edge has been out pretty deep forcing us to choose between catching a couple of sails on the edge or catching a variety of fish in shallower waters. Hopefully, the conditions will continue to improve as the water temperatures continue to dip. Another real pleasant surprise has been the amount of mahi. It seems like every time you think they're gone they reappear. Most of the mahi we are catching these days are falling for live baits dangling off kites and intended for sailfish. We have also caught many of them on flat lines during calmer conditions. One thing that I noticed on a recent trip was how the dolphin seemed to have a preference for the larger baits, especially goggle eyes. On a recent trip we caught at lease ten really nice dolphin along with a few sharks. Speaking of sharks, we have been catching sharks on almost every trip. Most of the sharks have been small but we have caught some larger hammerheads as well as a large silky shark that we estimated at about 200 lbs. We have also been loosing fish to sharks on the bottom rod as well as getting cut off by them on a regular basis. I could only imagine what would happen if we actually targeted them. Kingfish action has been a bit disappointing so far this winter. Although we've caught several nice ones, it seems like the numbers are now what they should be. I’m hoping that with the present cooler weather and dipping temperatures this will change. The same cooler weather and strong cold fronts should also push more sailfish down our way. Finally, if you’re new to tarpon fishing or would like to learn more about it. I’ll be conducting a seminar at Bass Pro Shops in Miami (Dolphin Mall) on Saturday, February 27th. More information will be available on my Facebook page as it becomes available. Even though the topic is tarpon, I’ll be happy to answer any other questions you may have. Hope to see everyone there. SPONSORS AND FRIENDS: Mercury Marine, Bass Pro Shops, Orca Coolers, SeaDek, Costa Del Mar, Yo-Zuri and Costa Oil. Tight Lines, Capt. Orlando Muniz Nomad Fishing Charters

My last fishing report was titled “May Fishing Ready to Peak” and boy was that right. The month of May saw some of the best action of the year. Variety was the name of the game but the best action definitely came in the form of blackfin tuna. After arriving a bit late, they finally made it in and with a vengeance. Besides the tunas we also caught several sailfish, dolphin, mutton snapper, kingfish, and an assortment of jacks. Most of the blackfins have been caught in the late afternoon and evening using live herring. Although a lot of them have been caught off the kite, we’ve also caught our fair share on flat lines and deep lines. On our best day we hooked a total of five tunas and landed three. Unfortunately, two fish fell prey to a hammerhead shark and a large barracuda. The shark was so impressive that my anglers booked a trip the following week to target them (more on that trip later). Although we caught several sailfish in May the action seemed to be a little slower than last may. I was surprised not to se more sails since we enjoyed clean water and north current on most trips. Hopefully, we’ll get another push of sails before the water warms up and they begin to scatter offshore. May also saw several large kingfish up to about 30 pounds. The largest king ate a goggle eye fished under a kite. Other big kings were caught on flat lines and deep baits. We are still catching kings but I haven't seen any smokers in the last couple of weeks. I think we might see a couple more large fish before it’s too warm. If bottom fishing is your game, now is as good a time as any to wet a line. We have been catching some really large amberjack over the deeper wrecks with some fish close to 40 pounds. Also, hanging out around the bottom have been good numbers of mutton snapper. Muttons have been falling for both live and fresh dead bait. The mutton bite should remain strong for at least another month or month and a half. Offshore, the dolphin bite has been pretty consistent even though there has been a lot of small peanut dolphin mixed in with the keepers. Normally, these smaller fish don’t show up until later on in the summer. Either way the fish have been around in decent numbers and we have been catching them regularly while fishing the edge. I have some dolphin trips coming up here in the next couple of days and I’ll be sure to report on those as we get them in. Before I wrap things up I’d like to say that I am pretty disappointed in what is happening with our bait. The loss of Bug Light hit our fishing community very hard but as if that wasn’t enough the dredging in Government Cut has just added to the frustration. Over the last year this project has disturbed several miles of sensitive habitat that is essential for our bait fish to survive. Every time I run through the cut I see milky water spewing in every direction. I also see barges loaded with this muck towed and dumped relatively close to shore. Nobody knows how this will impact things in the future but only time will tell. Hopefully this project will end soon and things can begin to heal. Tight Lines, Capt. Orlando Muniz