By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com I can’t think of too many outings more fun in winter than going patch fishing off Islamorada. While you are almost certain …
New Flights to Bimini Launching Soon
3 Aug 20119:30 PM
By HANNAH SAMPSON | Miami Herald
Published: August 2, 2011
Bimini will be a little easier to reach after IBC Travel expands its flight schedule to inlcude flights from both Miami International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Flights to South Bimini International Airport in the Bahamas will be available daily from at least one of the two airports starting Aug. 15th. Fort Lauderdale had service previously, but no flights had departed from Miami.
From Miami, flights will leave on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Flights from Fort Lauderdale will depart on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
The 30-minute flight on a 30-seat plane will cost $289 per person round-trip. One-way flights are $169, and kids under 2 fly for $100 round-trip or $50 one way.
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![](mailto:?subject=Follow the Yellow Brick Road&body=<img class=" size-medium wp-image-3226 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/p1010298.jpg?w=225" alt="P1010298" width="225" height="300" />By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
I can't think of too many outings more fun in winter than going patch fishing off Islamorada.
While you are almost certain to catch big numbers of yellowtail snapper, plenty of other species either hang out or pass through these miniature ecosystems at the same time.
On a late December outing with captain Greg Eklund and mate Cory Nelson on the charterboat Cloud Nine out of Bud n' Mary's Marina, our group of four anglers boated nearly 40 yellowtail and gray snapper, a handful of cero mackerel, and the broad head of a big red grouper that got cut in half by a suspected shark. We also released about dozen and half undersized mutton snapper. We couldn't lower our baits into the current without getting a hit.
"Yellowtail is one of the most important species we have," said Eklund, a 21-year veteran captain. "They're delicious. abundant, and fun to catch."
Check, check and check.
The fishing grounds Eklund chose was a sandy plain in the ocean off Islamorada about 20 feet deep with scattered patches of coral reefs to the north and south. He dropped the Cloud Nine's anchor in the sand up-current of the live bottom.
"You don't want to damage the reef by anchoring on it," Eklund explained. "You don't want to damage your tackle on the bottom and lose fish on the reef. You bring the fish to you."
Nelson deployed a chum bag on the transom and prepared a bucket full of raw oats mixed with the oily fish parts. For bait, Cloud Nine had brought live shrimp threaded on 1/4-ounce knock-off Hook Up jigs.
"Live shrimp is a very effective bait in wintertime because a lot of shrimp are going under the bridges," Eklund said, referring to the spans dotting U.S. 1 that separate the ocean from shallow Florida Bay waters.
The captain said fishing for yellowtail with live shrimp on the main reef tract further offshore doesn't work as well as it does on the patches because the fish aren't used to seeing them in wintertime. Most of those migrating crustaceans get picked off by predators long before they make it to the open ocean. Live pilchards, he said, are the preferred bait in deeper waters.
The captain tossed out a cloud of oats and chum from the stern of the boat, waited a few beats, then sent out another one. Within a few minutes, he pronounced, " I can see them; they're swarming."
Flashes of dingy yellow appeared in the green chum slick as Eklund baited my jig with a live shrimp. I lowered it into the water, watching for the line to start zipping through the rod guides. It didn't take long.
"You're on," Eklund said.
I slammed the bail of the reel closed, and came up tight on a feisty fish. It even made the drag sing a little. Within a minute or two, I swung a 14-inch yellowtail over the transom.
My fishing companions--Bud n' Mary's owner captain Richard Stanczyk, tackle shop manager Stephen Byrd, and North Carolina charterboat captain Dave Peck--all joined the action, which was constant and frenzied for several hours. Mixed in with the tails was a handful of mangrove snapper; quite a few muttons too small to keep; and several ceros. A heavy bottom outfit yielded the partial grouper.
The weather was bumpy the day we fished, so we pretty much had the area to ourselves. No commercial boats plied the area for yellowtail because NOAA Fisheries had closed that fishery Oct. 31, projecting that the total annual catch limit of about 1.6 million pounds would be reached. Commercial fishing re-opened on Jan. 1.
Yellowtail is considered a success story by both fishers and fisheries managers. Unlike some grouper/snapper species, the stock is not in trouble from overfishing.
Eklund said part of the reason is all the chumming that goes on in the area.
"It's like a small farm," he said. "[Yellowtail] will gorge themselves on chum, then go to the rocks and regurgitate and it feeds other fish."
We scored a cooler full before noon, and I went home with plenty of five-star entree fare to serve at holiday feasts.
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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.
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Share your photos, videos and experiences with Guy Harvey Outpost by hash tagging #OutpostAttitude to all of your social media posts. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/follow-the-yellow-brick-road/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Bimini Beach Bash, Bonfire Tournament Results&body=
Bouncer's Dusky Takes Top Honors at the Bonfire Tournament
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/dsc1953-team-bouncer-horiz.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2087" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/dsc1953-team-bouncer-horiz.jpg?w=300" alt="Bouncer's Dusky Takes Top Honors at the Bonfire Tournament! (Click image to enlarge.)" /></a>L-R: Ned Stone (Outpost), Rick Benitez, Capt. Bouncer Smith, Victor Escobar, Billy Springer (Click image to enlarge.)Bimini Beach Bash, Bonfire & Tournament Results
Bonfire Tournament Winner: Bouncer’s Dusky
Bonfire Runner-Up: White Pearl
Bonfire 3rd Place: Pisces
Top Angler, Victor Escobar, Bouncer’s Dusky
2nd Place Angler William Senne, White Pearl
3rd Place Angler, Chad Conner, White Pearl
Top Lady Angler, Irynne Mackay, Pisces
2nd Place Lady Angler, Margie McGough, Pisces
3rd Place Lady Angler, Danielle Keyser, White Pearl
Top Junior Angler (11-16) Devin Dellacava, Offshore Express
Top Small Fry Angler (10 and under) Bryanna Dellacava, Offshore Express
Top Reef Team: Bouncer’s Dusky
Top Offshore Team: Bouncer’s Dusky
Top Billfish Team: Tiboron
Largest Mackerel (Wahoo, Kingfish, etc): Brown’s Dusky
Largest Dolphin: White Pearl
Largest Tuna: Tito’s Vodka
Top Captain: Bouncer Smith
Bent Shaft Award (Hard Luck Trophy): White Pearl for a broken rod and lost fish that could have moved them within striking distance of Bouncer’s Dusky.
Most Unusual Catch: Bobby Little, Burning Marlin!
Sportsmanship Award: Pilot Rob Lowe
For more details about the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/newsletter/beach-bash-bonfire-tournament/index.html">Bimini Beach Bash, Bonfire & Tournament</a>
For more information about the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/bimini-bahamas.html">Bimini Sands Resort & Marina</a>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/GuyHarveyOutpost">To follow Guy Harvey Outpost on Facebook</a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/bimini-beach-bash-bonfire-tournament-results/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Win a LunkerDog Charter from Guy Harvey Outpost&body=Guy Harvey Outpost is giving away a day's fishing charter with Captain Jeff on the <a href="http://www.lunkerdog.com/">LunkerDog</a>. To kick things off <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/">Guy Harvey Outpost </a>is sponsoring this Friday's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1450883485177344/1458800584385634/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity">Happy Bait 2014 LIVE </a>from the <a href="http://piraterepublicbar.com/">Pirate Republic Bar & Grill</a>. Join us 6pm this Friday, August 29th for fun with Reel Guys: Peter Miller (<a href="http://bass2billfish.com/">Bass 2 Bills</a>), <a href="http://rickydfishing.com/tag/ricky-deboliac/">Ricky Beboliac</a>, Ben Begovic, Lil G, Mitchel Vitale, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGzo5m4bOH8">Cris Bait Em Up</a>, Certified Lunker, Cliff Jensen and much more. Plus goodies from Guy Harvey Outpost.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/2014hb4-lunkerdog-event.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2196 size-large" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/2014hb4-lunkerdog-event.jpg?w=660" alt="Run That Dog!" width="660" height="880" /></a>
Who knows maybe Capt. Jeff will give away some secret Tarpon tips. So Run That Dog down to the Pirate Republic Bar & Grill. Bring your gear and get Certified too.
The Charter is a full day charter with Capt. Jeff on board the Zinn Dog, his custom built sportfish boat. Fishing will take place from Ft Lauderdale. Full Day 8 hour offshore trip on the ZINN DOG 6 person max. Winter trip for sailfish, Spring and Summer dolphin, tuna or swordfish.
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/win-a-lunkerdog-charter-from-guy-harvey-outpost/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Name That Boat & Win a 3-day Dive Vacation with Dive Bimini!&body=<a href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/boat_name_contest.html"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-75" title="Name That Boat!" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/boat-banner1.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="107" /></a>
What’s in a boat name? Hemmingway tackled giant blue marlin on his “Pilar”. Quint pitted his “ Orca” against the legendary great white shark, JAWS, and Columbus had three - the “Nina” the “Pinta” and the “Santa Maria”. By the way, a little known fact is the “Pinta” was the fastest of his three.
It is a serious task, for sure, to name a boat - as it tells of her spirit, and sometimes even her destiny. It’s an even harder job to come up with something unique as there surely are many boat names as there are fish in the ocean. But we have a new 60 foot dive boat, and we have a job to do!
<a href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/boat_name_contest.html"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-89" title="Click Here to Name That Boat!" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/diveboat1.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="226" /></a>
<a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey</a> and <a title="Neal Watson's web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/boat_name_contest.html" target="_blank">Neal Watson</a>, who have teamed to form <a title="Dive Bimini Press Release" href="http://guyharveyoutpostnews.com/2010/08/21/guy-harvey-and-neal-watson-join-forces-with-dive-bimini/" target="_blank">Dive Bimini</a> at the <a title="BBGC web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/index.htm" target="_blank">Bimini Big Game Club</a>, want your help. They’re looking for a boat name - a name that divers from around the world will immediately recognize and come to symbolize the most famed dive boat in all of the Bahamas.
So true to the <a title="Guy Harvey Outpost info" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/aboutus.htm" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost</a> sporting nature, we’re putting a little competition together to come up with the name of the new boat. It’s a two-part challenge:
First, send us your suggested names by filling out the form at the link below. Send as many as you can think of. There are no rules on the name you wish to submit, although we’re going to favor ones that are clever, entertaining, easy to pronounce and not too long. The others? We’ll toss them out...but, of course, we’re expecting yours will be in the “keeper file” pile!
Then a group of us at Guy Harvey Outpost, including Guy and Neal, will rally up and review the “keepers”, from which we’ll create a shortlist of four names. These four names will then be posted to our <a title="Guy Harvey Page on Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/DrGuyHarvey" target="_blank">Guy Harvey</a> and <a title="Guy Harvey Outpost Page on Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Bimini-Big-Game-Club/127094040665962?ref=ts" target="_blank">Outpost</a> Facebook pages and be put to a vote by our fans.
The name with the most votes wins and becomes the new name of our dive boat. And if it’s the name you submitted, not only will you get a personal “high five” letter of thanks from Guy and Neal, we’re going to give you a complimentary 2 night stay at the resort and include a two tank dive on “your” dive boat. Sure, there’s some fine print, but nothing that should stand in the way of entering and having some fun - remember, this is how a legend begins!
<a href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/boat_name_contest.html"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-78" title="Name That Boat!" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/boat-banner2.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="107" /></a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/name-that-boat-win-a-3-day-dive-vacation-at-dive-bimini/){kind=link}
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