DFoster 0 Report post Posted May 6 19 hours ago, caloosa bug said: With snook season now closed, I had to dust off the 3wt. Had a blast this morning tossing bugs to bedding gills. Brought home 17 bluegills and released about 5 Mayans to every 1 gill. Tugged on fish for 3 hours and headed in with a smile. That's a great day! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DFoster 0 Report post Posted May 6 My wife went to Disney with our daughters and Grandkids and left me all alone- What to do? These bows were stocked over a month ago and the river was really pressured for about 2 weeks. The crowds have gone so I decided it would be a good time to go. I had the place to myself on Saturday afternoon. #1 on a Stewarts Black Spider, #2 on a bead head CDC nymph and #2 on a Stone Fly. Sunday it was time to go out for some wild fish. I went for Brook trout but ended up catching land locked salmon par. Small, but they are super aggressive, fight really hard for their size and are great fun on light tackle. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DFoster 0 Report post Posted May 10 Yesterday after work. Recent thunderstorms had this river high, fast and broken so I was forced to use two weighted nymphs and a split shot. I wasn't expecting the river to be as high as it was and bringing my 7' 6" -3 wt bamboo which doesn't like weight very much was a mistake. My 9'- 5 Weight would have been a better choice given the conditions. I had to deal with several nasty leader tangles but with some careful casting I made it work. These two were taken on a #14 Holy Grail and a #14 GRHE. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt Bob LeMay 0 Report post Posted May 11 Going full tilt now before the wet season arrives and my bookings fall off (not many want to fish the 'glades in mosquito season...). Feels like I'm on the water more than off of it so here's a few random pics of what my anglers are up to... a popping bug and an 8wt had this nice speckled trout posing before the release... a night later in Biscayne Bay the same angler - Kevin Kwan our of Vancouver, B.C. with a nice small tarpon (about 20lbs), carefully released (and I'm hoping for the video... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DFoster 0 Report post Posted May 13 On 5/11/2024 at 6:42 AM, Capt Bob LeMay said: Feels like I'm on the water more than off - That's a great problem to have! Nice fish! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt Bob LeMay 0 Report post Posted May 13 This morning it was a freshwater trip - peacocks, oscars, Mayan cichlids, and largemouth bass on small clousers (small for me... ) and popping bugs... Will be back on freshwater again tomorrow - then a few days off... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DFoster 0 Report post Posted May 14 16 hours ago, Capt Bob LeMay said: This morning it was a freshwater trip - peacocks, oscars, Mayan cichlids, and largemouth bass on small clousers (small for me... ) and popping bugs... Will be back on freshwater again tomorrow - then a few days off... My last outing was Sunday. Beautiful weather, beautiful Trout stream. After landing 2 I lost the next 6 off barbless flies and a couple of them were really nice fish. One might have been a personal best Brown Trout. Not my day. I went home cracked a beer and pondered why I put myself through this. Then I realized that I can't wait to get out again. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt Bob LeMay 0 Report post Posted May 17 Here's a pic or two from the three days we spent on the local freshwater canals.... with a father and son from California... this small largemouth ate one of my SpeedBugs.... most of the largemouths we encountered (all on the small side....) ate poppers with abandon - all day long each day (along with good sized oscars, mayan cichlids, even small bluegills and black crappie....) lots of small peacock bass as well (they ate everything we used -this one ate a bright colored clouser variation...). Note the pronounced bump on its head - males show this during their spawning season... All in all a great few days.... I'll be back down to Flamingo on Sunday for a return to the brackish and salty backcountry.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DFoster 0 Report post Posted May 21 It poured buckets for hours here on Saturday. My local rivers are blown out and tough to fish. I was fortunate to land these two. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt Bob LeMay 0 Report post Posted Saturday at 04:23 PM Yesterday I was out of Chokoloskee with a father and son team... We caught and released a few fish here and there (the night before the full moon allowed every fish to feed all night long...). Here's a pic or two.... a great catch on an 8wt rod, this goliath grouper measured 11 lbs on the Boga Grip before being carefully released. The fish hit a pink and white clouser variation in about 20 inches of water... in an interior bay with heavy mangrove cover. Here's Josh Rubinton with a nice snook caught and released on light spinning gear nearby.. also carefully released to fight another day.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
caloosa bug 0 Report post Posted 4 hours ago Man, that little goliath was probably a handful on a 8wt. I had a blast sight casting to bedding bluegill this weekend. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
