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Everglades National Park - Flamingo
Capt. Bob LeMay
October 10, 2001
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Last week the fishing at Flamingo was again very good. On Wednesday we had trouble finding a keeper sized redfish along the Gulf coast. They were all too large.... The biggest was about 13lbs, the smallest was just under 27". We caught snook up to 10lbs and lots of ladyfish, jacks, speckled trout, and other species. The pattern hasn't changed. Find the bait and the fish will be with them. Still great quantities of freshwater in the interior areas. I didn't find a trace of salt in the water until the west side of Oyster Bay...
On Friday it was even better with three lady anglers aboard from Sarasota. One was Aledia Tush the owner of Mr. CB's Tackle shop on Siesta Key and all were accomplished anglers. The only change from Wednesday's action was the addition of schools of mullet and giant tarpon with them. Once again it was redfish, trout, and snook up to 10lbs. The high point of the day was a pair of 100lb tarpon on 15# line hooked and brought to boat at a river mouth. Other guides at the ramp reported that the giant tarpon were in every river mouth that they fished.... On the way back across Whitewater in the afternoon we did a bit of prospecting in the Bay with surprising results. We found 18 to 19" redfish and small snook at every spot we checked. Fall fishing is in full swing.
On Sunday it was more of the same without as many of the tarpon in evidence. An interesting addition were numbers of spanish mackerel in the rivers and even in evidence in Oyster Bay, skyrocketing the bait. All of our bites from mackerel were cutoffs, unfortunately. One throw of the net filled my well to overflowing with white baits. The interesting thing was that most of the bait in my cast net was spanish sardines up to about 4" long. They make great baits, staying lively in the well all day long.
The last few days the wind has been howling and should blow until the weekend. The good news is that most of the areas along the Gulf coast out of Flamingo are on the lee side of the wind and should be fishable (if you can get there, Whitewater is probably ugly...). When the wind lays down the great fishing should resume. If you come upon mackerel skyrocketing the bait try the fly rod. You may be surprised how often a small popping bug will get targeted. Be prepared to lose a few to cutoffs, though....
Tight Lines
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