Its Tarpon Time!

The year seems to have flown by, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. There has been allot of great days and very few not so good. This is my 25th year of guiding and I still love waking up at 4 a.m. and driving almost 2 hours to Flamingo. I enjoy it just like every other fishing guide I know.

This last weekend I fish with Joe Garcia, his wife Naomi and their friends Mo and Tom, It was a day everyone felt the same way. Joe did some guiding years ago and got exited on every fish he and the others caught. This makes the day go by very quick because there is plenty of good conversation along with a good bite.

We only fished 5 hours, but we caught Snook, Trout, Goliath, Jacks, Snapper and allot of Ladyfish. We found some small Tarpon which we couldn’t get a Weedless NLBN to. Great day with great guest makes my day!

On the way in I noticed some free jumping Tarpon which I fished the following day. It looks like an early Tarpon season If we don’t get a big cold front and moves them out. I’m ready hope my readers are as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have plenty of openings, take advantage of the Christmas drop in prices. I also offer gift certificates for later in the year. If you would like to a have a great day at Flamingo in Everglades National Park, Key Largo or Biscayne Bay give me a call at 305 333 8149 for the Discounted Price!

The weather is getting nice. Water and air temp are dropping a few degrees every day. Caught Lookin Charters is a family friendly charter, if interested in anything above give me a call at 305 333 8149.

Let’s Go Catch’em,

Capt. JIm Hobales,

Instagram @ caught lookin charters

Companies I use and appreciate!

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod,

#Penn Reels,

#Purefishing.

#NLBN

Catching is good at Flamingo!

October fishing report!

10-11-25

This past week the fishing was good, I fished the FNLGA tournament out of Flamingo with my son James and friend Mike. We had a good start with 7 Redfish up to 24 1/2 inches. It took a while to get the rest of the species even though they weren’t giants. The numbers were good with a bunch of Snook, several Tarpon, Trout and a couple Sharks. All in all, it was a busy day. Mike won the biggest Redfish.

10-12-25

I am fishing Flamingo today; I met Andrew and his son Keller at the dock at 630 am. We had a great day, Keller caught a couple nice snook before the sun ever came up while Andrew was busy jumping Tarpon! We had a busy morning jumping more than 20 Tarpon. We made a move, and we found a bunch of Snook schooled up.

They caught 14 in a row, that’s when it got fun. We had a couple small Redfish and a bunch of Trout. I had kept a 13-inch Snapper and a 1 Lb Jack for a Goliath Grouper. It didn’t take long and a big Goliath ate the Jack. Keller set the hook, and we pulled it off the shoreline. That’s when the Goliat got mad and tried to get back into his hole. We kept him out and landed it. I wish we had better close ups because this fish was thick. We took a few pictures and released it. Now it was Andrews turn, I ran to a different hole and we put the Snapper out. Andrew cast it and a 25 Lb Goliat ate it. This was a shorter fight landed it and took some more pictures and let it go.

11-14-25

I’m out early again today with Darren and Brenda in the backcountry for a 5-hour trip. The fish weren’t up yet when we arrived. It took a half hour, and then they started rolling and blasting baits. I had them casting 3-inch NLBN paddle tails in Hot Butter White and the new Purple Haze. Darren got on the board pretty quick with a couple Snook, he was pumped because he hadn’t fished in a while. They were casting and jumping Tarpon but never landed one. We ran around Whitewater Bay fishing about everything back there. Darren had a 20-inch Trout which I have seen in a while back there. Brenda had some Jacks eating her NLBN paddle tail. Brenda got the hot hand catching a Redfish, Goliath Grouper and a Snook in a 15-minute period. This and the other trips these last 4 days have been really good. The weather is good for the next week or so it should remain good.




10-17-25

I’m fishing the Flamingo backcountry again today, mostly because it is blowing 20 mph. I have Shawn, JD and John. It didn’t take long, and we had a nice Snook bite going. We were using live Shrimp on popping corks. They work good as long as they aren’t up in a tree. When the Tarpon turned on it was 3 at a time. We hooked more than 30 Tarpon and 20 Snook. We also had 4 Redfish, 1 Trout, a bunch of Jacks and Snappers.

Any time you catch a SLAM and or a GRAND SLAM it’s a good day spectacular for half day trip. 5 Grand Slams this week, fishing is good!



The weather is getting nice. Water and air temp are dropping a few degrees everyday. Caught Lookin Charters is a family friendly charter, If interested in anything above give me a call at 305 333 8149.

Let’s Go Catch’em,

Capt. JIm Hobales,

Instagram @ caught lookin charters

Companies I use and appreciate!

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod,

#Penn Reels,

#Purefishing.

#NLBN

#florida #fishing#floridaeverglades#biscaynebay#keylargo#flamingofishing#flamingonationalpark#nationalparks#nationalpark#floridafishing#charterfishing#fishingscharters#backcountryfishing #inshorefishing#bayfishing#fishinglife#fishinglifestyle#fishinglove#saltlife #travel#tarpon #redfish#snook #bonefish#permit #snapper#skeeterboats#yamahamarine#biscaynerod






Vacations over, fish are biting

August/September are slow business months, so I get to do lots of family and friends fishing. Having the Key Largo weekend home lets me get my fill of offshore action and dinner.

I actually didn’t fish Flamingo for over a month; this has never happened in my 40 years of fishing there.

There were a few things that made me not want to go floating grass and Sharks. The summer months are great for fishing within minutes of marina but that’s where the Sharks and grass were bad. Don’t get me wrong the fishing was great but it gets old watching 8 and 9 ft Sharks eat you Snook, Tarpon and Redfish.

I love the Keys and the assorted fishing but after 5 weeks of no Flamingo I was missing it. September/October have some tournaments that I fish my son and friends. I have been fishing these backcountry tournaments since I’ve been guiding, this year is 25th.

So, getting to the fishing in the backcountry its pretty good, considering 90-degree water temps. Tarpon are biting, we had 15 hook ups a week ago in several different spots with biggest well over 100lbs.

The goal in backcountry is a Grand Slam, that is Tarpon, Snook Redfish and Trout. Sometimes we settle for a Slam which is only 3 of the 4 species. It still an accomplishment. The last few trips have been that way only 3 of 4, if we get a Tarpon, we don t get a Redfish.

There are plenty of fun fish for action and pure power. The Sharks and Goliath Groupers are very dependable; both like to eat.

This week I get back to being busy, and I will be using some of the new colors from NLBN. I am fortunate enough to be representing their product., Their product really works give it a try.

The weather is getting nice. Water and air temp are dropping a few degrees everyday. Caught Lookin Charters is a family friendly charter, If interested in anything above give me a call at 305 333 8149.

Let’s Go Catch’em,

Capt. JIm Hobales,

Instagram @ caught lookin charters

Companies I use and appreciate!

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod,

#Penn Reels,

#Purefishing.

#NLBN

#florida #fishing#floridaeverglades#biscaynebay#keylargo#flamingofishing#flamingonationalpark#nationalparks#nationalpark#floridafishing#charterfishing#fishingscharters#backcountryfishing #inshorefishing#bayfishing#fishinglife#fishinglifestyle#fishinglove#saltlife #travel#tarpon #redfish#snook #bonefish#permit #snapper#skeeterboats#yamahamarine#biscaynerod

July was busy and fish were eating!

July was my busiest month of the year; the great part is most species were eating. The first 2 weeks the big Snook were on fire. There were Redfish, Trout and a few Tarpon on every trip.

The fishing has been incredible. It’s hot and buggy but that’s when the fishing in the Everglades is good!

If you're interested in any of the fishing I’ve described give me a call at 305 333 8149. Caught Lookin Charters is a family friendly charter.

Let’s Go Catch’em,

Capt. JIm Hobales,

Instagram @ caught lookin charters

Companies I use and appreciate!

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod,

#Penn Reels,

#Purefishing.

#NLBN

Everglades Fish Co. 1st Annual Tourn.

06-09-25

Great day with the Roskos boys, starting out jumping a bunch and landing 5 Tarpon. The rest of the day they caught Snook, Goliath Groupers, Trout, Jacks, Ladyfish and a allot of Snappers. John had the hot hand late in the day landing 2 out of 3 big Snook. John also had the big Goliath @ 70 lbs. Tom, and their dad Rudy also caught a bunch of quality fish. All fish were caught on NLBN 3- and 5-inch swim baits in assorted colors.

06-15-25

A great Father’s Day for Mike Martin and me. Tarpon , Snook , Redfish, Trout, lots of Goliath Grouper and Snappers. All fish caught on assorted colors of NLBN 3 inch paddle tail.

I told him we aren’t going to fish none of my spots because they have been beat up for the last month. He doesn’t care as long as he gets to fish! The wind was blowing 20 mph as usual but that actually helps our cause. We fished windy points with fall downs in the water; we stuck to this pattern all day.

062025

Everglades Fish Co. 1st Annual Tourn

I was asked by NLBN if I could put together a team for Everglades Fish Co. 1st Annual Tourn., It was out of Everglades City. I love fishing over there it’s Just short of Marco Island. I had my nephew Capt. Andrew Hobales and PJ Abolafia a future Capt. I have been fishing with both of them since they could walk and now, they are incredible anglers. I trust both of their instincts.

Great captains meeting Friday night at Everglades Fishing Co. Capt. Jimmy and Chance made it easy for us anglers. He also had food trucks which were free for the anglers. It was nice saw some old friends and met some new ones. I was representing the NLBN which is a tremendously HOT product. It was crazy how many people were asking or telling me how great the product is because it works. I didn’t have to sell the idea of using NLBN they already own and use them. The part they all like is that they catch quality fish.

We had to be at the headquarters by 6 am to pick up our measuring device and we could head out and fish. We got our first spot at 6:30, and the Snook were busting baits. On my 2nd cast I threw a Pink Head with a 3.75 Hell Yeah Butter and got thumped. The big old Female came to the surface, and we already had our big Snook. it was 630! PJ and Andrew caught were wearing out the fish Snook, Trout, Pompano, Ladyfish, and a Goliath Grouper. I did lose a second monster which wanted to live in that tree,. By 7 am we only needed a Redfish to finish of the Slam! We fished to 3:15 and never got one.

We didn’t win but we didn’t embarrass ourselves



The fishing has been incredible. It’s hot and buggy but that’s when the fishing in the Everglades is good!

If you're interested in any of the fishing I’ve described give me a call at 305 333 8149. Caught Lookin Charters is a family friendly charter.

Let’s Go Catch’em,

Capt. JIm Hobales,

Instagram @ caught lookin charters

Companies I use and appreciate!

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod,

#Penn Reels,

#Purefishing.

#NLBN

NLBN Team fishes Flamingo!

NLBN Crew filming at Flamingo

05-15-25 thru 05-25-25

The last 10 days has been fun; I have fished Key Largo and Flamingo. I have been using the NLBN products for the last year and a half. In that time, I have rigged with NLBN 3 inch for all artificial fishing. I have along with anyone who fished on my boat has used their products. There not really any secret way to use them or at least that’s what I thought. I have been trying to get the owners out fishing my favorite place, Flamingo!

This past week I fished with Brandon he’s the designer of the lures, and Andrew who runs the warehouse. They brought their video/camera man Trevor to get content for their U tube channel.

We launched in the backcountry and headed out. It didn’t take long, and Brandon had a slot Snook. The Idea was to work our way towards the coast and catch the tide falling out there. I hit all my favorite spots on the way. we got into some 10lb Jacks waking in 1 foot of water which was cool. Brandon led one with his 3-inch paddle tail and the jack killed it. we played with them a little bit, but Snook was on the menu.

I stopped in an area where I get some Goliaths. The didn’t play on the first spot but he did hook a Tarpon.

The Tarpon spit the hook, so we went to the next Goliath spot. As we approached on trolling motor, we spooked a bunch of Tarpon laid up on the bank. Brandon’s 5inch paddle tail got slammed a couple of times, his rod was doubled over and hooked up and then it was gone. On to next spot nothing giant but a couple Trout and a small Goliath. On to next spot This is my best hole and it didn’t take long!

Brandon dropped the lure and set the hook and muscled the fish up from a 8 ft hole. The fish was a giant but was biggest enough. He landed the fish and after a picture he cast in there again. This time the fish was a little bigger. We landed it and more pictures and released. Brandon was getting ready to catch number 3 but Andrew was casting into a different spot and hooked a nice 15 lb. Goliath on really light tackle.

I had told them how great Tarpon Bay could be if conditions were right. It’s been a long time since it’s been right, but I made the long run back there. The salinity level was high, the Trout, Jack and Ladyfish were back there. That wasn’t what we were looking for, so we ran to the coast. Andrew caught a Snook and a Redfish and all we needed was a Tarpon.

I was just hitting all my spots and then it happened after catching a few smaller Snook, Brndon’s rod bent over, we knew it was big. I was grabbing my net, this was a giant backcountry Snook. The fish was using the current to stay away from getting netted, but we got it,

It was getting late, and I said we need a Tarpon for a Grand Slam. They agreed so we made a long run and Andrew got one. It was a fun day with plenty of fish all caught on NLBN lures. The colors used were the Greenback, Pink, Mud Minnow and a few top secret ones.

Incredible day, lots of laughs and watching Brandon cast his bait caster was fun. It’s a fun group of really good anglers running a fantastic company of a product that catches fish!

I have also been fishing in Key Largo; the Mahi have been as close as 120 feet off of Molasses. There have been some small Tunas and Bonita’s chasing the flying fish and eat weedless lures.


I had a great day with my nephew Andrew and his girlfriend Courtney. We started out on Tarpon, caught some Snook, Goliath, and Trout were stacked up. We were back to the ramp by 12.


s the busy time of year and just glad to be busy. If you would like to fish Flamingo, Key Largo or Biscayne Bay give me a call. If you have kids that like to fish, bring them. Fishing is only going to get better in next couple months, give me a call at 305 333 8149

Let’s Go Catch’em,

Capt. JIm Hobales,

Instagram @ caught lookin charters

Companies I use and appreciate!

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod,

#Penn Reels,

#Purefishing.

#NLBN

Warmer, Windy and Hungry Fish!

I’m sorry the report is a little bit late for the last month; I was catching fish! I know I have said it was windy in a few reports, but it just has not slowed down. It has been common to fish in 15-25 mph. I’m lucky to fish out of Flamingo where we have hundreds of miles of shoreline in the backcountry. The winds aren’t completely bad! They create a little extra current on the islands point which in turn makes it an ambush spot for Snook. This is a great way to spend the day instead of cancelling trips like other areas do.

The Goliath really comes into play in the backcountry. We are fishing the Mangrove islands for Snook and Redfish but the Goliath Grouper also lives there. They are fun and pull allot harder than anything else.

If you go fishing for fun that is one fish, you will enjoy!





Its the busy time of year and just glad to be busy. If you would like to fish Flamingo, Key Largo or Biscayne Bay give me a call. If you have kids that like to fish, bring them. Fishing is only going to get better in next couple months, give me a call at 305 333 8149

Let’s Go Catch’em,

Capt. JIm Hobales,

Instagram @ caught lookin charters

Companies I use and appreciate!

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod,

#Penn Reels,

#Purefishing.

#NLBN










Warm water and high winds, caught em good!

The last couple weeks have been busy, I’m really thankful the fish bit most of the trips. It was mostly family trips, some of the other trips didn’t send me pics. I fished Flamingo, which is inside of Everglades National Park the last 2 weeks. The wind really beat us up on most of the trips but look at pictures below. You can see we caught fish every day, somedays it was work and others it just fun. The wind kind of dictated where we fished, only fished out front in Fl. Bay once since last report! It really doesn’t make a difference to customers they just want to catch fish.

The next 2 months are some of the best times to fish Flamingo. Tarpon and Snook should be out in the Gulf of America as well as the flats out front of Flamingo. The Redfish bite has been really good in the backcountry as well as the Goliath Groupers. The number of species being caught every day is awesome with a total of 15 species in a 2-day trip.

One of these days the winds will calm down and we will have some awesome fishing without fighting the wind. The fish ate and assortment of NLBN lures Rapala “Twitch n Rap” and Live Shrimp.

Its the busy time of year and just glad to be busy. If you would like to fish Flamingo, Key Largo or Biscayne Bay give me a call. If you have kids that like to fish, bring them. Fishing is only going to get better in next couple months, give me a call at 305 333 8149

Let’s Go Catch’em,

Capt. JIm Hobales,

Instagram @ caught lookin charters

Companies I use and appreciate

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod,

#Penn Reels,

#Purefishing.

#NLBN

Grandmother Kathy and Granddaughter Paige had an incredible day!

Father Jonh and son Greg from Boston, took turns on this Tarpon on a 2-day trip!

Pedro, his son Marco and his son Armondo.

It's still cool, fish are killing it!

cool story here

Ross hooked and lost a snook and the orange lure, He cast the topwater and caught the Snook which had his lure in its mouth. Very Rare to happen!

03-26--25

Flamingo /Key Largo area

If you notice in my pictures guys are still wearing jackets and sweatshirts in the mornings. It’s cool, then warms up to 80, the snowbirds love it! The fish also respond pretty good to it, Trout fishing is great in the channels and deeper flats. On last Sunday Kevin Lance and his son Dillon caught 70 trout in 1 1/2 hours in a Key Largo Trip, Dillon also had 5 Barracudas up to 10 lbs. Dillon had never caught a fish before and was very excited.

I also fished with 3 other teenagers on Wednesday part of a 2-boat trip. Jacob, Chase and Dawson. 2 of the 3 had fished before and Dawson had not ever fished. It started with casting lessons once we got thru that, the fish started to get caught. Chase had the hot hand all day, he caught Snook, Trout, Redfish, Tripletail, Jacks and Ladyfish. The other 2 caught plenty of fish also, but Chase was hot!

I fished with long time customer Mike and his wife Martha out at Holiday Park. Mike always tells me if it gets hot let me know because he lives close. I let him know and we met out there at 1,30 pm. They started catching fish right away and that lasted until 6 PM. They caught way over 100 Bass, no big ones but it was a day of catching!

I’ve done a little of everything, including a couple days offshore the past week in Key Largo.

Its the busy time of year and just glad to be busy. If you would like to fish Flamingo, Key Largo or Biscayne Bay give me a call. If you have kids that like to fish, bring them. Fishing is only going to get better in next couple months, give me a call at 305 333 8149

Let’s Go Catch’em,

Capt. JIm Hobales,

Instagram @ caught lookin charters

Companies I use and appreciate

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod,

#Penn Reels,

#Purefishing.

#NLBN

Cool and Breezy, fish are biting!

This past weekend windy and nasty! I fished Saturday and Sunday with my son and friend Mike. It was nice Saturday we only saw 5 boats all day. We started out Trout fishing, we were casting NLBN 3 inch paddle tails in assorted colors. The tide was as low as I’ve ever saw it. We had to turn around because I Couldn’t get in. We just fish muds and creeks which were loaded with Trout Ladyfish and Jacks. We made the best out of cold nasty day, well over 100 fish and capped it off with a nice Snook on a NLBN 3’ Greenback paddle tail. It was late and we were hungry time to go.



On Sunday we went offshore looking for dinner. It wasn’t calm but My Skeeter 230 handles sloppy weather pretty good. We set out to catch some Cero Mackerel, it didn’t take long. My son had a small one and then another and then Mike got slammed and got a nice one. A 8lb.Cero steaks will fed a few people and it did. The Barracudas interrupted our fishing but 8-12 lb. Cudas are fun fish.



I will back to backcountry fishing for Tarpon this week, hopefully! If anything above interest you, give me a call at 305 333 8149

Capt Jim Hobales

Let’s go catch’ em

Instagram @ caught lookin charters

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod,

#Penn Reels,

#Purefishing.

#NLBN

This past week the Miami Boat show was in town, every year myself and Capt. Alan Sherman get to fish with different employees from Yamaha Marine. Its always fun because these guys don’t fish much and anything that pulls drag is fun. We met them at Pelican Harbor on 79th. I had Shinoki and Yuki and it didn’t take long. I spotted some fish (Tapon) rolling and got in range to cast a live bait. We got the bait out in front of them and almost a instant bite. The big Tarpon ran 20 yards, shook its head and was gone. We caught a handful of small Barracudas, and I decided we needed some more action and moved on. The next spot was loaded with Trout. Shinoki had the hot hand and kept pulling in Trout and Jacks. Yuki finally got the hang of it and started landing a few of his own. On our last stop we started chumming with live pilchards and turned on the fish. Lots of 5-8 lb. Jacks, we did have a couple snook bites but we lost them. It was only a half day and we put allot of fish in the boat.

I have also done a couple Tarpon Trips the last few weeks in the Flamingo backcountry, been fun jumping some nice Tarpon.

I’ve been fishing out of Key Largo as well. We have been doing some offshore trips for mostly Cero Mackerels, Barracudas, Yellowtails, and some other species.

February, should be good!

Flamingo

January for us is our peak of winter, air and water get cool to cold. We wait for the 10 day stretch of warmer weather and everything turns on. Our water temps has been is the 60’s for a couple weeks. It good for some species and others slow down until it warms. Live Shimp can really change your chances on the coldest days and when it warms up, I’ll use the NLBN swim baits. The Snook and Redfish and many other species will also eat our lures.

As of this date 01/29/30 It’s warming up and the next week or so should be productive. February is a big Tarpon month, I mean BIG! The water will hit the 72 to 76 range and schools of giant Tarpon will move into the back country. These fish will stay in there as long as the water to get below 70 on the weaker fronts. These giants eat Flies, assorted lures, and of course live and dead bait. These fish attract anglers from all over the country, it really cool.

Biscayne Bay

This past week there was a fantastic Trout bite in Biscayne Bay. I was part of a 3-boat trip, we started out by catching Trout. I had 2 anglers throwing NLBN Green back swim baits, it was nonstop for over and hour. They caught s over 50 fish and the other 2 boats did about the same each. The temperature was in the 50’s. It was foggy, misty and cold and Just Incredible.

Once we had our fill of Trout we headed to Government Cut. The waves were pounding the jetties with big waves, I love these conditions. The waves come over the rocks and the fish sit there waiting for food. Its a little bumpy but we caught Snook, Snapper, Yellowjack, Grunts. We had enough of the getting pounded, we headed back into the bay and finished up. We caught another 20 Trout at another spot. trout fishing is red hot right now.

Key Largo

I also do Backcountry and Reef Fishing trips out of Key Largo. Fish for Snook, Yellowtail, assorted Snappers, and there’s always a chance at a Sailfish.

If any of these of make you want to hop in the boat and go give me a call at 305 333 8149.

Let’s go Catch’ em,

Capt. Jim Hobales,

www.caughtlookincharters.com

follow on Instagram @ caught lookin charters

Happy New Year 2025!

Flamingo / Key Largo

I would like to wish a Happy New Year to everyone. As most people in the fishing business will tell you 2024 was a tough year, we are hoping for 2025 to improve. It was a shame because fishing was spectacular from May thru our first cold front. It was nothing to catch a 100 Snook every day, then throw in some Tarpon, Redfish and other species. I fished allot of friends and family trips because it was so good. The trips I did had my customers leaving with smiles and that’s what it’s all about!

The fishing has been good since Thanksgiving along with the business, hoping this carries on into 2025.

If you notice I haven’t complained about the strong winds that we had from August thru November. They have settled down which gives us more opportunity to fish Fla. Bay, when the wind blows, I fish the backcountry which really produced during those windy months. Fla. Bay has produced some pretty good catches lately. Snook, Redfish, Black Drum, and tons of keeper Trout have been a daily catch.

There are plenty of lures out there, I choose the NLBN ‘s because they get eaten by everything! I have tried every combination of colors and they all work. One of the tricks to lure fishing is confidence, once you have it you will catch plenty of fish.

If you have teenage kids, they are probably using NLBN lures. They are popular, get some!

Don’t forget your eyes, not only will Bajio Sunglasses help you see fish they will protect your eyes against the Ultraviolet rays

If any of the above fishing gets your blood boiling, give me a call at 305 333 8149. Caught Lookin Charters is a family friendly charter so give me a call.

Lets go catch’ em.!

Capt Jim Hobales,

Instagram @ caught lookin charters

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod,

#Penn Reels,

#Purefishing.



Still Blowing getting cool for Thanksgiving!

I’ve been fishing out of Key Largo and Flamingo

If you read below, It seemed like we might get some day with less wind. If it was calm, I wasn’t fishing! The benefit of wind is it makes stronger current along the Mangrove points in the back country. There is a very good Snook bite in all of Whitewater Bay, not giants but real good numbers. As of 11-16-24 the water temps were at 76 degrees, we are expecting our first real cold front on 11-20-24. We will be in a wintertime pattern before too long.

I’m ready for days with less than 30 mph winds and schooling fish.

The snook population is in great condition, the bigger Trout are starting to show up with the water cooling down some, Redfish are where they are supposed to be, and Tarpon are around the bait schools. It’s just good fun fishing with big numbers.

I have a couple days available open during Thanksgiving week, give me a call at 305 333 8149

The water and air temps a slowly getting lower the fishing like and will school up, making it easier to catch more. The mosquitos aren’t gone but they aren’t bad so you can bring the wife and kids. If this gets your blood boiling give me a call at 305 333 8149 and I’ll get you on the fish.

#Biscayne Rod

#NLBN

#Pure Fishing

#BAJIO Sunglasses

Lets go Cacth’ em

Capt jim Hobales

www.caughtloookincharters.com

Stormy couple weeks!

It’s been a while since I updated my report page. Fishing has been good even though we have had a couple serious hurricanes skirt Miami and the Keys. I fished the Take stock in children and the FNLGA tour the first week in October. The water in Fl. Bay had a pretty bad Algae Bloom that along with some serious storms made it interesting. There was a god bite but you had to run around and find clean water. I did on Saturday and my anglers did great, Top angler and second. I also had the top guide. We actually fished these 2 tournaments simultaneously which cost us time having to go to a awards that we won. It hurt us because of the rainstorms on Sunday. It was a fun weekend with the Biscayne Rod and NLBN team.

This week Hurricane Milton’s outer bands kept the wind up to 60 mph in South Florida, that and some rain kept us off the water until yesterday. I couldn’t take it anymore and went out into everglades Bass fishing with my son. The rain found us again but we caught Bass, Peacocks and Gar.

I will be back on the water this week and hopefully find some of the fish we were on 2 weeks ago. I’m open for business if you have the need to fish give me a call at 305 333 8149. Biscayne Bay, Flamingo or Key Largo i fish them all. Caught Lookin Charters is a family friendly charter.

I couldn’t do allot of what I do without the help of

#Biscayne Rod,

#Bahio Sunglases,

#NLBN,

#Pure Fishing

Let’s go catch’em,

Capt. Jim Hobales

Bite is still Hot!

The fishing is really good considering the heat index is 110 every day and the business side is slow.

Flamingo Snook bite continues to be fun! Hurricane Debbie blew really hard just off the S.W. coast but the watercolor was really clean for last weekend FFT tournament. Plenty of Snook, Tarpon and Redfish were caught, the Trout were tough to find keeper size. Great tournament put on by Damian of Jigalode. Get out early and you can find plenty of Tarpon/Snook before it gets really hot.

The offshore side has been decent out of Ket Largo for me. The week before the Hurricane, big weed lines held lots a Mahi’s and some early morning Blackfin Tuna’s. We aIso did some Yellowtail fishing on the reef. I don’t really charter for the Mahi fishing, but I enjoy it and its close to home in Key Largo. We did some afternoon Snook fishing and caught a few in I high 90”s. I had a few nice days with my family because it was definitely sandbar weather.

I’m available the next few weeks and I will be starting to do some Mutton Snapper fishing in Biscayne Bay as well as Tarpon/Snook at Flamingo!

If any of the above fishing gets your blood boiling, give me a call at 305 333 8149. Caught Lookin Charters is a family friendly charter so give me a call.

Lets go catch’ em.

Capt Jim Hobales

Instagram @ caught lookin charters

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod

#Penn Reels

#Purefishing

Hot Bite in July!

Tarpon hooked by James Kang on NLBN “SHEESH'“!

The fishing is very dependable right now. I’m finding small Tarpon and lots of Snook to start my mornings. There’s an active Tarpon bite for the first couple hours and then we have to work them once the sun comes up. The Snook bite is all day for the most part, some days better than others.

This past 10 days the “NOLIVEBAITNEEDED'‘ Sheesh color 3 inch paddle tail worked great. Tarpon to 50 Lbs. Hundreds of Snook and plenty of Trout and a few Redfish. The lure worked in dark stained tannic water and also in green clean Gulf of Mexico. That wasn’t the only NLBN color that worked, the Green back is incredible also.

It’s been a very good month weather wise and had some of my favorite customers. I’m glad the fish played when they all showed up

I also fished the Key Largo Classic that benefits the Sheridan House. Great party and dinner the night before great time to catch up with other guides you don’t see every day. Brett, Alex and his son Jayden did pretty good tying for 1st.

I fished with Ross and Mindy a couple days while they are down and 2 days of killing it. I really don’t know how many fish they caught but they did catch a couple Grand Slams.

I fished with James Kang a really good fly angler. It was fun to watch and to talk fishing all day. He had some Tarpon and Snook bites early on using a fly tied by my buddy Ashley of Don’s bait and tackle. We also got into a school of Snook that were feeding on small fry, we had to catch 30 Snook in 30 minutes. The school would follow the hooked Snook to the boat, it seemed like hundreds of Snook. We covered a lot of water and caught Tarpon, Snook, Trout, Jacks, Ladyfish and Snappers.

Can’t catch the fish without these products,

# Bajio sunglasses,

#Biscayne Rod

#Penn Reels

#Purefishing


The Tarpon/Snook action will remain good thru September at Flamingo in Everglades National Park. There are plenty of other options in Biscayne Bay and Key Largo. Caught Lookin Charters is a family friendly charter company. If you would like to have a great day on the water and catch some fish give me a call at 305 333 8149.

Let’s go Catch’em

Capt. Jim Hobales

Instagram @ caught lookin Charters

Killing it with #NLBN!

This is the 3rd week of June 2024. The rain we had for the last 2 weeks has the Snook bite on fire. This happens every June, we get tons of water pushing out to Fl. Bay and the Snook love it. They are also in the backcountry, when it is blowing 15-20mph or more it’s a good back up plan. The fish are on the edges and points, so you just have to go fishing. I use the wind as well as the tide on the points. 7 out of 10 spots hold some kind of fish and we bend rods. We are always looking for the glamour species, but the Goliath Groupers have made a huge comeback, they will test your skills

This week we started out on some small Tarpon and Snook to warm up. Jeff and Sarah hooked and caught a bunch of Tarpon and Snook on first stop. On our second spot we had a big Snook come loose but did catch a small one and a Redfish. Jeff finished up his Grand Slam with a Trout, Redfish Tarpon and Snook and Sarah got a Slam no Redfish. We had big numbers today!

I am with Greg his son Luke and friend Jack. We started out with Jack getting hooked up with a Tarpon on first cast. There was action for over 2 hours, hard to keep up with how many fish we caught. There was consistently a fish in the air whether a Snook or Tarpon. The kids were throwing NLBN lures, that’s all they use. We are a great match because for the last year that’s my lure of choice, you have to try it to believe it.

We caught well over a 100 fish including Tarpon, Snook, Trout, Redfish, Goliath Grouper, Jacks, Snappers, Ladyfish and Sharks.

There are plenty of lures out there, I choose the NLBN ‘s because they get eaten by everything! I have tried every combination of colors and they all work. One of the tricks to lure fishing is confidence, once you have it you will catch plenty of fish.

If you have teenage kids, they are probably using NLBN lures. They are popular, get some!

Don’t forget your eyes, not only will Bajio Sunglasses help you see fish they will protect your eyes against the Ultraviolet rays

The fishing is good and will stay that way all summer. The fish mind the hot weather less than people do when they are hungry. If you would like to try anything I have described give me a call at 305 333 8149. Caught Lookin Charters is a family friendly charter company.

Let go Catch’em,

Capt. Jim Hobales

Instagram @ caughtlookincharters

Very active Back country!

There are a few things going on going on that’s sends me into the back country. The first one is the pea green water in Fl. Bay the second is there has been a great bite in Whitewater Bay. and then a S.W. wind. Pea green water out front sometimes turns into no fish. The backcountry has had a solid bite of Snook, Trout, Goliaths, and a few small Tarpon. There’s also Jacks, Ladyfish and plenty of Snappers.

I would like to Thank the companies that help me catch client’s fish. Biscayne rods, Pure fishing (Penn, Berkeley) Bajio, got to be able to see and No Live Bait Needed. If you add them all up, they lead to great days on the water. It’s fun working with these companies, giving them your opinions and teaching clients about their products.

I fished with Andrew who works over at No Live Baits Needed and Mike my buddy a great mechanic.

We started in the backcountry and got on some small Tarpon and Snook on the NLBN 3’ paddle tails at first light. We were only throwing NLBN products today and killed it. I had not been to the Tarpon Bay area in a long time and had guys that didn’t mind the long ride, It was hard getting there because we caught fish everywhere we stopped in big numbers. The Snook, Trout and Goliaths are really on fire back there.



Eventually we headed to Tarpon Bay big, where we managed some Snook including a 32-inch Snook caught by Andrew. The bite was tough, so we headed to the coast. We caught more Snook on No Live bait Needed lures. It’s almost too easy throwing the 3-inch baits. It was a great day lots of fish.





Today I am with John and his brother Fred at Flamingo. We started out in Whitewater Bay. Today was very similar to the other trip above. We fished No Live Bait Needed and had “incredible day”. The total numbers were 50 Trout, 30 snook and 20 Goliaths plus a bunch of Mangrove Snappers and Ladyfish. We used an assortment of colors and they all worked.

As u can see, I am excited about representing the “No Live Bait Needed”. It easy to use and it produces. The young kids know all about it and I enjoy discussing it with them. I met this kid (Dillon) today while fishing a spillway, He noticed my lure and asked Is that a NLBN, I said yes. He was all in and had 2 boxes full of their product. I gave him Andrew’s info and told him to give him a call.


If you would like a trip like this, give me a call at 305 333 8149. The next few months get hot and steamy and so does the fishing. Caught lookin charters is a family friendly charter. Bring the wife or kids and have a great day catching fish and sightseeing Everglades National Park. I also fish Biscayne Bay and Key Largo areas.

Let go catch ‘em

Capt. Jim Hobales

Instagram @ caught lookin charters.

Key Largo assorted fishing!

I’ve been fishing the Key Largo area the last few weeks targeting Mahi and Yellowtails along with fishing some really cool reefs in 15-25ft.

The common way of catching Yellowtails is to chum in 50 to 90 ft. It’s very productive for the Yellowtails but there’s plenty of by catch to keep busy.

I fished with my nephew Andrew on the holiday, after catching a few Mahi’s we went into the 15 -25 reef and caught Groupers, Mangrove Snappers, Schoolmaster Snappers, 20lb. Cuda’s, Yellowjacks, Barjacks, and plenty of Grunts to keep kids busy. All of these fish we caught on “NO LIVE BAIT NEEDED” 3' in assorted colors.

We did get Mahi’s a couple days some in 106 ft and others while chumming in 79 ft., which was really cool.

The rest if the summer I will be between Flamingo and Key Largo. There are so many fish in those 2 spots all you have to is go.

Flamingo gets really good when its hot, if it 7 am and you are soaking wet from sweating, you are probably catching a bunch of fish.

If any thing I have written in this report gets your blood boiling give me a call at 305 333 8149.

Caught Lookin Charters is a family friendly charter.

Let’s go Cathem’

, Capt jim Hobales

The Best in KEY LARGO & Everglades FISHING Charters