Flamingo & Everglades National Park
Capt. Benny Blanco
January 5, 2008
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Flamingo offers the best of both worlds...
Many Flamingo regulars are caught often trying to decide between the "Inside" and the "Outside"... in other words, whether they should fish in Whitewater Bay (Inside) or Florida Bay (Outside) from Flamingo. Most of the time, I am not given much of a choice as usually the number of people in the charter dictate what boat I'll run and therefore which direction I go... but these days, you can't go wrong in either direction. Since the regulation changes and the efforts of many Sportsman switching to catch and release, the Snook, Redfish and Trout stocks have bounced back with a vengeance... and this only translates to more fish catching for everyone.
During my most recent Whitewater Bay trip, I found large Snook and Redfish from the Gulf coastline all the way up into the Cane Patch. They were staging on the outer points and eating during tidal flow... and they were sunning in the black (brackish) water in Tarpon Bay. I had the pleasure of fishing with Joe Losa, Jr. and Pete Fonseca of Miami, who caught all their fish on artificial lures... mainly gulp shrimp and jerk shads rigged either on a jig head or weed less depending on the area we fished. We stuck with the jig heads in deeper water or over oyster bars and switched to weed less when casting at mangrove shorelines or areas with underwater structure.
Here are a couple of pictures from last week:
During my most recent Florida Bay trip, I found tailing Redfish within visible distance of the Flamingo Marina. Their heads were so far down in the grass, often times I could position the boat within a few feet without spooking them. As the sun rose over the horizon the tails popped up... one after another were caught on an assortment of flies and bass assassin paddle tails. Every fish was upper slot and each one fought like much bigger fish... it couldn't have been better. Later that day, we sight-fished many slot Snook in gin-clear water surrounding the small keys South of Flamingo. My client, Bill Glockman, found himself switching between fly and spin all day... he couldn't find a presentation they wouldn't eat.
I, like many of my clients and friends, am honored to have the opportunity to fish in Everglades National Park. It truly is a treasure we should cherish and protect.
Best wishes for the new year,
Capt. Benny
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