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Flamingo - Everglades National Park
Capt. Ariel Cabrera
May 28, 2003
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Summer Rolls In
My days on the water have been truly blessed since fish have been coming aboard every trip and to say that I have had angels looking over me is an understatement. This is definitely good because the worst is yet to come, we are far from it. A serious word of caution: Beware the rain and lightning storms! We have had to beach the boat and wait out several electrical rainstorms to stay safe. Get an early start, keep channel 1on your VHF, and if you get caught by a storm before getting back to the marina stop at a chickee or low lying solid ground area.
John Parisi and Skip Johnson joined me at Flamingo for trout, snapper, and big jack crevalle action. We sighted as many as 15 snook on the flats but were unable to get a hookup. Dr. Mike Fleming and Melita caught several three-pound largemouth and a variety of other species. Rick, my special regular, was taught by his daughter Jessica how to catch fish on almost every cast. Josh Friedman and Iliana sighted and caught over a dozen peacock bass including a 21” female.
Back at Flamingo with the Dennison’s one more time. The day began by heading south for some snapper fishing when Bill’s wife decided she needed a potty break. This turned out to be a good idea because Bill shortly hooked and landed a tarpon in the fifteen pound range. We would later travel north for some serious snook action. The first snook was caught, I thought! It tangled itself to a trim tab and I took a lunge with the net that sent me straight for the water. That wasn’t so bad it was actually refreshing! Another snook battle came 30 minutes later along with some mackerel and trout.
The next day out with the Dennison’s was even more productive. A 22” trout and a total of five, a seven pound snook we sight cast to, 6 big Spanish, and more. It was non-stop action all day with other species too!
A last minute cancellation and an even quicker re-booking with longtime client Jim Engskow. Jim brought daughter, Elizabeth, for a day at Flamingo. It was slow! We caught some dinky trout and lost two possible keepers at boatside. At the end of the day and on Liz’s last cast came the fish of the day. A SIXTEEN pound snook! WOW!
A day off found my wife and I bonefishing. She would hook two gray ghosts and bring the latter to the boat for a release. These were large fish and a lot of fun. We also encountered tarpon but unable to get those to bite! That’s Biscayne Bay for you.
Finally I met up with Hector, Brett, and Blake for one more challenging day at Flamingo. All three found trout and snapper. Brett was the youngest with the largest trout. The most exciting part of the day was stalking a trio of smalltooth sawfish. These were babies between 2 ½ and 4 feet long. As aggressive as these species typically are they would not take. This was frustrating seeing them for one hour and not taking a variety of baits offered. I do know that this will keep me up trying to figure them out for next time.
Capt. Ariel Cabrera
(305) 552-9788
www.captainariel.com
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