10-06-2001, 10:07 AM
Capt. Barry Hoffman's fishing report <br>for the Upper Keys and Florida Bay flats and backcountry. <br>October 1st, 2001<br><br> Our week started out with a nasty stalled low that sat over the Keys. We had a few bad squalls, then the wind came howling from the Northwest. Needless to say, fishing was a bit tough. When the sun cooperated, there were plenty of bonefish to be found. A nearly full moon brought big tides and permit to the flats. Redfishing is still pretty tough. The water in the backcountry is very high, and you've got to do a bit of searching to find the shallow water. Large amounts of fresh water are being released into the bay, pushing out many gamefish in the process. It's a common occurrence with the heavy rains we've had the past week. We're also seeing a few large tarpon. They seem to have followed the masses of finger mullet down the coast. Every year we see a small Fall migration from the tarpon about this time. I lost a few charters this week due to the events in New York, but here goes. Thursday I fished with Jack McCoy. We tried to find a few redfish, but they decided to lay low. We were only able to spot them when they pushed away from the boat. No tailers and no actively feeding fish made for a tough day. Jack only caught one. On the way home we found several very large schools of Black Drum. Jack caught four up to ten pounds. On Friday I fished a half day with Randy Jenkins and his son, Scott. We started out on the bonefish, breaking off a few but catching one. We then proceeded into the park to catch a few seatrout, some reaching four pounds. It was an overall uneventful weather day until a strong front began to surround us. We tried to outrun it and got nailed in the process. Back at the dock by 11:30. Monday found Bill Uggen and his son Chris, fishing with me. Fishing the back end of a strong front, we found ourselves out in heavy cloud cover and 18 to 20 mph winds. We did a bit of bonefishing early on. The guys hooked three but caught one. We then ran out into the backcountry and tried to fish the mudding rays for redfish. We hooked three, but again, landed only one. It was a very tough day. The weather seems to be settling a bit for next week, hopefully the fish will cooperate a bit more. That's it! Good Luck to you. Practice your casting at every opportunity, and you'll be a much luckier fisherman. <br><br>For more information please contact Capt. Barry Hoffman at: <br>www.flatsguide.com / guide@flatsguide.com <br>home 305-852-6918 cell 305-664-6460 <br><br>