Get Your WAHOO On! — Capt. Ned Stone Late Fall through early spring mean Wahoo season in the Bahamas. The steep drop-offs and underwater humps of the Bahamas offer some of the most consistent …
Four New IGFA Records Set in Bimini
22 Nov 20103:06 PM
Bimini continues to live up to it’s reputation a the “Sport Fishing Capital of the World”. The IGFA recently announced FOUR new world records were landed in Bimini waters – all caught by the same husband/wife team during a 2-day fishing trip with Capt. Bouncer Smith! Angler Roberta Arostegui set three new women’s records – a 3 lb., 8 oz Black Grouper on 20#, a 2 lb., 12 oz Lane Snapper and a 3 lb., 8 oz Lane Snapper – and husband Martin Arostegui set a new 8# Tippet World Record for Amaco Jack! These are not the first records the Arosteguis have caught. In fact, they have caught a number of other records in Bimini. Just goes to show – good thing happen when you go where the fish are!
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![](mailto:?subject=Four New IGFA Records Set in Bimini&body=<a href="http://www.captbouncer.com/"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-287" title="Capt. Bouncer Smith on a recent charter to Bimini" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/bouncers_dusky_evinrude.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="158" /></a>
<a title="Bimini web site" href="http://www.bahamas.com/out-islands/bimini" target="_blank">Bimini</a> continues to live up to it's reputation a the "Sport Fishing Capital of the World". The <a title="IGFA web site" href="http://www.igfa.org/" target="_blank">IGFA</a> recently announced FOUR new <a title="IGFA World Records Database" href="http://www.igfa.org/Records/Default.aspx" target="_blank">world records</a> were landed in Bimini waters - all caught by the same husband/wife team during a 2-day fishing trip with <a title="Web site for Capt. Bouncer Smith " href="http://www.captbouncer.com/" target="_blank">Capt. Bouncer Smith</a>! Angler Roberta Arostegui set three new women's records - a 3 lb., 8 oz Black Grouper on 20#, a 2 lb., 12 oz Lane Snapper and a 3 lb., 8 oz Lane Snapper - and husband Martin Arostegui set a new 8# Tippet World Record for Amaco Jack! These are not the first records the Arosteguis have caught. In fact, they have caught a number of other records in Bimini. Just goes to show - good thing happen when you go where the fish are! https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/four-new-igfa-records-set-in-bimini/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Big Bahamas WAHOO Season in Full Swing!&body=Get Your WAHOO On! -- Capt. Ned StoneLate Fall through early spring mean Wahoo season in the Bahamas. The steep drop-offs and underwater humps of the Bahamas offer some of the most consistent and predictable wahoo fishing in the world. Five current IGFA World Records were caught in Bahamian waters. The largest tipping in at 155.5 pounds. In recent seasons there have been 100+ pound fish caught just off <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/west-end-grand-bahama-island.html">Old Bahama Bay</a> and off shore of the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/green-turtle-cay-abacos/overview.html">Green Turtle Club</a>. These oceanic speedsters can top 60 miles per hour on drag busting runs. The bonus is that these fish taste great just about any way they are prepared. From sushi (Ono) to the grill, wahoo are a keeper. The one trick is to make sure not to over cook them. My favorite is cut into 2 inch thick chunks, rolled in sesame seeds and seared in a hot skillet. <a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/big-wahoo.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image" id="i-1699" alt="Image" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/big-wahoo.jpg?w=650" /></a>Photo of this 120-pounder courtesy of AFTCO Pro Ryan Griffin.<br /><br /> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/big-bahamas-wahoo-season-in-full-swing/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Fishing The Wild West in Florida's Ten Thousand Islands&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/eveg.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2943 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/eveg.jpg?w=300" alt="Eveg" width="300" height="225" /></a>By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
[Everglades City, FL--] Yes, the weather may still be hot, muggy, and buggy in southwest Florida's Ten Thousand Islands, but the fishing is what is truly smokin'.
Pending the onset of late fall/winter cold fronts, this remote region of jagged oyster bars, mangrove-fringed mud flats, and offshore wrecks and artificial reefs can be unmatched for rod-bending action and bountiful table fare.
Consider: on calm-weather days, anglers are free to motor 30 miles west of Everglades City into the open Gulf of Mexico to catch a limit of snapper, grouper, and whatever else deigns to stop by on rock piles, artificial reefs, and shipwrecks.
Or, those who prefer near-shore sight-fishing can battle big snook along the shorelines of most of those Ten Thousand Islands, especially the natural moats surrounding the mangroves and in the sloughs that ring the outside sand bars on lower tide stages. Redfish also are plentiful along those sand bars, as well as oyster bars and island moats. Large numbers of spotted sea trout patrol the sloughs and channels on higher tides and can also be found --(surprise!)-- on live, rocky bottom 10-12 feet deep several miles offshore. There's also a good chance of locating resident tarpon around island points and river mouths.
Fall is a great time of year to hunt for tasty tripletail, a mysterious fish found throughout Florida from near shore waters a few feet deep to miles out in the Atlantic Gulf Stream. But here in the Ten Thousand Islands, the search area is narrowed to crab trap lines strung a few miles offshore in the Gulf and dead tree stumps that have washed up in the shallows.
And there are several more species to be found cruising the region this time of year, including cobia, sheepshead, pompano, black drum, and Spanish mackerel. And don't forget sharks; they're pretty much everywhere and very satisfying to catch and release on all ranges of tackle. Lucky anglers might even catch sight of an endangered sawfish-- a very distinctive-looking member of the stingray family-- plying the flats or the sloughs, but they are closed to all harvest.
While it is possible to catch many of the region's fish on fly rod and on artificial lures such as plugs, jigs, and soft plastics, using live bait is far and away the best bet for closing the deal. Securing enough bait for a day's fishing is rarely a problem around the Ten Thousand Islands at this time of year.
Check out dimples on the surface revealing the presence of threadfin herring and pilchards. In open water, diving pelicans are very helpful guides. Mullet can be found schooling on the flats, especially in coves and creeks; single fish will be seen flipping for no apparent reason or else leaping en masse when chased by predators. Bait hunters finding no joy on the flats may find it necessary to head offshore to live-bottom areas to get what they need. Being able to throw a large cast net is a necessary skill. Caution: using live shrimp for bait will probably draw all kinds of unwanted interlopers such as ladyfish, blue runners, catfish, and who knows what.
Anglers not inclined to get wet and dirty throwing a cast net will probably do just fine purchasing live or fresh-frozen bait in Everglades City. A couple weeks before the Oct. 8 recreational red grouper closure, part-time Everglades City resident Lou Volpe and a companion caught their limit of four (and released 30 that were undersized), plus a dozen lane and gray snapper and a limit of eight sea trout using mostly dead finger mullet and pilchards on 'knocker rigs' where the egg sinker is next to the hook. The pair had a well full of just-caught pilchards, mullet, and pinfish netted by Volpe on his 22-foot bay boat, but they didn't really need all that live ammo. And despite fishing on a sunny, calm Sunday, they encountered perhaps four other boats the entire day.
Despite its proximity to Naples (45 minutes) and urban Southeast Florida ( 1 1/2 hours), the Everglades City-Chokoloskee region still has the feel of a fishing frontier.
Saddle up and check it out.
*****
Sue Cocking chronicles the Guy Harvey Outpost travel and adventure experience in regular blog posts on GuyHarveyOutpostNews.com/. For 21 years, Cocking covered the full spectrum of outdoors adventure opportunities in South Florida and beyond for the Miami Herald, including fishing, diving, hunting, paddling, camping, sailing, and powerboat racing. She is a certified scuba diver and holder of an IGFA women's world fly fishing record for a 29-pound permit. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/fishing-the-wild-west-in-floridas-ten-thousand-islands/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Guy Harvey Outpost Outfitter, Ray Rosher, Teaches Kite Fishing at the IGFA&body=Learn from the master, <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/ray-rosher.html">Capt. Ray Rosher</a>. Kite Fishing Techniques is part of the <a href="http://igfa.org/Educate/School-of-Sportfishing.aspx">IGFA's School of Sportfishing </a>series, Tuesday, December 2nd, 7-10pm. Kite Fishing is particularly effective for targeting Sailfish. Ray runs the Miss Britt charter boats out of Monty's Marina in Coconut Grove, Miami FL. He and the Miss Britt team are winners of over 50 billfish tournaments. We are proud that Ray is also one of <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/adventures/fishing.html">Guy Harvey Outpost's Fishing Outfitters</a>.
While kite fishing is famous for catching sailfish it can be used to catch other billfish, tuna, dolphin, kingfish and sharks. The kite adds to the excitement by keeping the bait near the surface where anglers and crew can often see the bite. Kingfish and Spanish mackerel often skyrocket on the bait from below launching like missiles. Hammerheads can be brought close to the boat for a photograph. With practice the kite can be used to bring sailfish within casting distance with a fly rod.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/key-west-winners-2014.png"><img class="wp-image-2415 size-full" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/key-west-winners-2014.png" alt="Key West Winners 2014" width="600" height="400" /></a>Ray Rosher, Miss Britt Key West Winners 2014
The class takes place at the <a href="http://igfa.org/">International Game Fish Association's </a> Headquaters in Dania Beach, FL. Cost per class is $100 USD for IGFA members and $150 USD for non IGFA members. The fee covers the cost of the class, course materials, and tackle used for activities during each class. For more details call Anthony Vedral at 954-924-4254 or e-mail <a href="mailto:avedral@igfa.org?subject=IGFA%20School%20of%20Sportfishing">avedral@igfa.org</a>
For Fishing with Guy Harvey Outpost: <a href="http://www.ghofish.com/" target="_parent">www.ghofish.com</a>
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![](mailto:?subject=Prime Time for an Inshore Super Grand Slam in Islamorada&body=From late summer into early autumn, the flats of the Florida Keys are prime territory for scoring an inshore super grand slam of bonefish, tarpon, permit and snook-- all caught in one day. And as if that's not enough, anglers and guides routinely pile on with sea trout, redfish, tripletail, and others.
"Everything is available fish species-wise," said noted South Florida light-tackle guide captain Andy Thompson. "The options are pretty endless. You can sight-fish on the flats. You can fish the island moats, the channels, spin fishing or fly rod."
Thompson, who runs a 17-foot Hells Bay Biscayne skiff, fishes the entire region from Biscayne Bay south to the Lower Keys, including Flamingo and Chokoloskee in Everglades National Park. He's especially fond of September-October because water and air temperatures grow cooler, tides are higher and the flats are not crowded with other guides and anglers.
"The permit fishing in September/October is really good," Thompson said. "With bigger tides, the back country banks behind Islamorada get a lot more water in the fall and that allows those fish to feed."
The best bait is a live crab (or a crab imitation if you insist on fly fishing) cast to fish feeding on the edges of channels and along narrow, rocky strip banks on the ocean side and bayside of the Keys where currents are strong. Permit also can be found around shallow wrecks and the U.S. 1 bridges.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Andytarpon.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-4218" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Andytarpon-1024x768.jpg" alt="Andytarpon" width="1024" height="768" /></a>
Continuing the inshore superfecta with tarpon may also be easier in fall than during the peak of the summer spawn. Thompson says plenty of juvenile tarpon can be found along the ocean side islands of the Upper Keys and in Florida Bay near Flamingo. In October, he often finds a resident population of 100-pounders that are "laid up" and easy to cast to with a live mullet or Deceiver-pattern fly. But some of the easiest fish to target are the ones following the fall mullet run all along the southwest Florida coast.
The seasonal bait frenzy also occurs on the ocean side of the Keys where huge schools of pilchards can be seen swirling and flashing. Just about anything can be found harassing these forage fish -- tarpon, sharks, snook, and jacks, among others. Snook are also plentiful on the crowns of the Florida Bay flats on an incoming tide, and often accompanied by redfish. Thompson goes after them using primarily pearl-colored soft plastic jerkbaits such as the D.O.A. C.A.L., but topwater plugs also can be effective if there's not too much floating grass.
Catching and releasing a bonefish is not as tough in Florida Bay as in recent years, according to Thompson. While their numbers are down considerably from the 1980s, Thompson says the torpedo-shaped silver speedsters are starting to recover.
"There's a lot of little fish in Florida Bay," he said. "The 2010 freeze put a hurtin' on them. But just this year, I started to see good numbers of them again around Rabbit Key and the Arsenicker Keys. There's a whole new class of fish showing up. It's encouraging."
The guide and his customers target them with live shrimp, small crabs, small skimmer jigs or shrimp-patterned flies.
To book a fishing trip with Thompson, go <a href="http://www.saltairoutfitters.com" target="_blank">HERE</a>. To book your stay at the Islander, a Guy Harvey Outpost in Islamorada, visit the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost web site</a>.
<a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/dive-packages/"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-4200 size-full" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ad.jpg" alt="ad" width="737" height="301" /></a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/prime-time-for-an-inshore-super-grand-slam-in-islamorada/){kind=link}
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