Pacemaker Fishing Forum

Joe Shallcross and I met up with Capt. Mark Hall at Antonio Maceo Park in Miami at 0600 for a 1/2 day of lagoon and canal fishing. The weather was calm and clear but hot and humid...typical South Florida weather.

Our 1st target was tarpon in Blue Lagoon. We saw them rolling but we never were able to hook up. I had four hits and had one briefly pull my 4" fluke but they just were not going to let us catch 'em.

So we moved on in to the canals and started searching for Peacock Bass (PB). I was using a Tiny Torpedo on a baitcaster and Joe was throwing a crank on his really nice TFO spincaster. I took the skunk off the boat with a juvenile PB.

A little later, I saw a PB flash from underneath a piece of plywood (this is real urban fishing) so I kept taunting him until he finally hit.....a nice 2+ pound fish!

Things were not very active so Capt. Mark decided to make a move. The canal system in Miami is really cool, you have to pass underneath pipes and roads to get to the next section. Sometimes, you literally have 1-2" of clearance as you go under.

The move paid off! We started seeing PB. I started throwing a fly on my 7wt and it paid off with a nice PB and a chunky Mayan Cyclid (MC). They are both fighters! The PB is a strong fish that immediately goes for cover when caught. The MC is like a Blue Gill on steroids!

We were also dragging a minnow off the back which produced a very nice PB which I got to bring in. Nice.....but I prefer them on the fly! You have to make accurate cats but not long casts.

Joe then started catching a few of both species and the game was on. I actually lost count of how many we caught because the fight is so great, especially on a fly. I suspect that we caught 8-9 MC in total and 8-9 PB each! It was a very good day!

We did get to see a snook that was cruising but he was not interested in what we were throwing. We also saw a couple of giant Grass Carp but we left them alone as they spooked as soon as they saw us. Interestingly, we also saw several LMB but had no takers.They need to be chased after early in the AM or late in the PM. The PB are different, your best success is when you can see them and they can see you.....really cool.

Around noon, it was getting hot and I had to remind Capt. Mark that we were on a 1/2 day charter. He never looks at his watch, he just fishes. He is one of the best guides that I fish with, I think this was my 5th time with him....

On our drive back to Joe's house we were giggling like little kids. We caught more fish than we had anticipated....great time!

Pictures will be up next week!