 |
Fishing report, Everglades backcountry, 5- 20 April
Capt. Bob LeMay
April 20, 2008
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Now for a long overdue fishing report... It covers the period from 5 April to 19 April.
The first half of this two week period could be summarized by saying tarpon, tarpon, tarpon.... This time of year the tarpon fishing is either red hot or non-existent depending on the weather - more particularly the water temperatures. Our first big fish was on the 5th after a slow period when the big fish were just absent. A few days later after a minor cold front, we only found one or two big fish, a day later it was as good as it gets in April. Steve Dreyfus and Mike Lofton were aboard that week for four days. The first day was very slow, the second day was just as good as it gets for the big fish. I lost count of the bites, but every bait we had was jumped on by fish that ranged from as small as 50lbs to as big as 120 and better. Our first bite that day was a double header of fish from 60 to 80 lbs in a small river. Tarpon Heaven! The fish were just off of the coast, up nearby rivers, and wherever we found them they were hungry. The best part is that no one else appeared to be fishing them. After a break on Wednesday, we got back after them on Thursday and Friday. We had dramatic bites on live bait, lures, and anything else that was in front of them. Many jumped off but with more than 10 fish on a day, we just looked for the next one. Most of the fish we brought to the boat were out in open waters along the coast. Big fish in small snag filled rivers have all the advantages and usually released themselves at the first submerged tree they came to. The tarpon fishing was so good we never even thought about chasing any other fish...
Last Saturday and Sunday (12 & 13 April) I had Joe Huggard and Tony Whitehouse from Luxembourg and Martinique fly fishing the big fish. The great days of red hot action continued with at least 10 or more bites a day from big fish. Because of the wind we were confined to fishing only up inside small rivers that seemed to be filled with tarpon. Our bites came from every direction, right on the bottom in deep water, along river banks, next to shallow mud bars, and from under submerged trees. It's hard to describe how exciting it is to see a 100lb fish miss the fly, coming up, then dive to reverse and make another pass before getting hooked. In a few cases fish actually chased the fly all the way to the boat to attack it... Tony and Joe each hooked their share of fish. We averaged five or six solid hookups a day but the fish had all the advantages. One of the results of hurricane Wilma two years ago is that many of my best inside spots are also now filled with submerged trees, branches and things that make landing a big fish in a small river tough. Although they never managed to bring one to the boat in two days, both anglers said it was great fishing (both have previously landed fish over 100lbs in those same areas on other trips...). They'll be back.
A day or two later (last Monday to be specific) it all ended when a late season cold front chased off every one of the tarpon we had come to expect. As of Friday, water temps were just getting back to where they were at the beginning of the great tarpon fishing earlier... With cold temperatures we were back to fishing winter patterns up inside Whitewater Bay. Donte Quinine, a skilled fly angler from Washington state, was able to make his first trip to the Everglades a good one. That day we fished with just one pattern, a Blacklight Special (a black maribou baitfish pattern on a #1 hook), and did well with snook up to 8lbs, speckled trout, and a variety of other species. The bigger snook were located in less than two feet of water and just inhaled a correctly presented fly in crystal clear water after a careful approach. The next two days Bill Russ and Rich Anderson were able to land backcountry slams in those same areas. We ended their stay with some solid action with gag grouper and baby jewfish on live bait. Bill's best fish, a 20lb jewfish (goliath grouper for the politically correct...), gave him a really tough fight on 15lb line. Two or three times we had to wait him out after he went to cover during the fight....
All indications are that we'll have warm weather for the next week so I'm predicting another hot tarpon bite. I'll know for sure in a day or two.
Tight lines
Bob LeMay
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
