
Had an itch to fish!
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By Jim Hobales
103112 It's been a week of 30-50 plus winds from hurricane Sandy so I was itching to get out, I woke up today and checked out the cams on the beach. I saw the swell was down enough to run the beach so I hooked up my boat and headed down to Haulover marina. We are on a full moon plus we have big tides this month so water was all the way into the parking lot. I got out and the mullet weren't everywhere inside the bay. I found a bunch of finger mullet and threw the net once and was on my way, I was surprised I didn't see any Pilchards. I ran out along the beach and found Tarpon right away sitting just outside a school of mullet. I worked them hard and never got a look, I used mullet, pinfish and assorted lures. I finally gave up and ran south looking for mullet schools, I found a couple which had no predators. If the Tarpon are in them they flash while in the middle of the mullet schools. I caught a few big Bluefish and Jacks but moved on for something better. I eventually got down to Government Cut where I put out a couple mullet, right before the hurricane developed the Tarpon were stacked up on South Beach. The water was really clear to the north but dirty down here . I was drifting the jetty when I got slammed by something that would not stop and a pretty big boat wake at the same time. It was a great bite, it felt like a big Jack or maybe a Snook. It ran thru the rocks and cut me off, leaving me guessing. I got another bait out and had 3 Snook bites as the mullet schools passed around the rocks. I ran back to the north looking for the mullet schools again. I found a giant school which I could reach sometimes they move up on the shore, inside the swim buoys. I was throwing a Halco Chugger all day which produced a lot of fish. I made 1 cast into this school and had a big Lemon Shark eat it , what a cool bite. He cut me off quickly, most importantly I got my lure back. I had enough so headed home!