Flamingo interior scouting report, 13 October 2022
Capt. Bob LeMay
October 13, 2022
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
We ran out of Flamingo yesterday - more scouting than fishing but can confirm a few things... Not the slightest sign of any damage along the roadway down to Flamngo - all 38 miles of it. You can see at the ramp and on top of the dock remnants of the gray mud that comes with flooding there -- but other than the missing Porta-Potties at the inside ramp nothing else has changed... I'll be glad when they finally complete the renovation of the restrooms there... The water in the interior from the boat ramp all the way out across Oyster Bay is at least one foot or more higher than normal - but all of it is the usual clean dark waters... Thinking about it, I'm guessing that it will be a while before the tremendous flooding to the north of the Park, makes it's way down into Florida Bay or out of the Gulf side rivers... The rainfall alone from hurricane Ian was just massive... The 'glades are in the process of a big time flushing out... In years past that meant some really good fishing a year or two down the road... Along with that, though, I'm expecting a bumper crop of mosquitoes for the near future until drought conditions cut them back this winter.
All of the few markers in the interior are right where they should be and we saw scant evidence of any hurricane at all in the interior. Once we entered the "rivers" (the tributaries of the Little Shark River) things began to change, with a tiny bit of mangrove damage here or there - and the waters began to lose their clarity as well.. Out on the coast you'll find an occasional downed tree in places where you didn't expect them so I'd advise caution when running (and that includes staying a bit farther off the beach when running north or south. We did bump what I believe was a tree in one of the mouths of the Harney river.... We were in eight feet of water at the time and just idling - if it was a tree - it was a big one... At that same river mouth a big old mangrove tree that we've been catching fish around for years... is just gone now...
Lastly it's definitely the beginning of fall fishing conditions - the mullet run along the coast is in full swing now... Just nothing like the 'glades... I'll be back there as soon as possible..
"Be a hero... take a kid fishing"
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