Everglades, Flamingo report, 1 October
Capt. Bob LeMay
October 1, 2019
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Back out on the water this past weekend after a lot of re-fitting (new motor, and lots of extras as well) and found the usual end of September scene out of Flamingo (down in the Everglades for those of you not familiar with south Florida...). The Gulf coast of the 'glades, and back inside the rivers that drain into the 'glades are just full of bait - everywhere you go. Finger mullet, pilchards, bay anchovies and others are just thick along every shoreline - and every hungry fish is taking advantage... Just one throw of a castnet and you might have to open a panel or two just to be able to lift the net with all the bait.... it's that time of year... This will go on for the entire month of October and only begin to taper off towards the end of November when falling water temperatures will send the mature bait fish offshore a bit...
The weather recently has been beginning to ease off of late summer's high temps and thunderstorms as well so we're finally getting a hint of the fall... On both Saturday and Sunday I had visiting angler Joe Huggard aboard and we were chasing tarpon with a fly rod - and no bait aboard... We found lots of fish - but most of the tarpon were very tough (I suspect they've been feeding all night long for days now...)... we did get a few strikes - but no hookups... Still plenty of snook, redfish, speckled trout and others any time we slacked off and used a lighter rod but the tarpon sent us home without... Joe did make one nice catch - an 8lb tripletail on fly (at over 21" it was well within the new size limits here in Florida but was carefully released - local anglers would have taken this prize table fish home.... ). Here's a pic...
[img]https://i.imgur.com/lJvjOW3.jpg[/img]
Lots of these around now sliding in from offshore following the baitfish schools right at the surface, perfect for an angler with a fly rod or light spinning gear...
[img]https://i.imgur.com/H3zPgtx.jpg[/img]
Here's a favorite fly I always have ready during this time of year - it's a perfect match for much of the baitfish along the coast... It's called a Silhouette - and it's one of my original patterns... We usually do them up on stout 1/0 hooks in white with fl. green thread...
We've taken just about every fish around that's actively feeding on whitebait with this fly...
The fall season is underway now and it couldn't come soon enough for me...
Be a hero... take a kid fishing.....
Tight lines,
Bob LeMay
(954) 435-5666
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