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Everglades National Park - Flamingo
Capt. Bob LeMay
February 23, 2002
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
This past week at Flamingo was a bit difficult with weather conditions that included winds that were howling at times. Fishing behind islands and in sheltered coves produced a few good catches.
Dr. Meyer Heyman from Baltimore caught his first snook on fly on Monday. It weighed 8lbs on the Boga-grip and was released after a few photos. The best snook of the week was taken by Rich Centrella on Tuesday. It was 15lbs and almost 38", clearly over the slot. It was taken on spinning gear along with four small bull sharks up to about 85lbs and a variety of other species.
Wednesday and Thursday we were fly-fishing the sheltered coves in Whitewater. Water temps were still a bit on the cool side but we found both snook and redfish in shallow water conditions. The first day the fish were quite spooky and difficult. The next day it warmed up enough that we went tarpon hunting.
In one bay we found the big fish had returned and they stayed just out of reach, leaving both guide and angler thoroughly frustrated. Finally we found the right spot and got a solid take from a good fish in close quarters.
Barry May from Memphis fought the fish to the boat in about 20 minutes. It was his first tarpon taken with a fly rod. The fish, estimated at over 100lbs was photographed and released.
For anyone that wants to try the big fish on fly, try this: take a heavy fly rod , tie the line to a fence post and pull as hard as you can for at least 20 minutes without any letup..... Seriously, the big fish are the highlight of my day and I hope that they'll always be around and folks will want to chase them!
This weekend we'll have another cold front that will probably chase the tarpon back out into the Gulf. Until it arrives there should be fish available. A few warm days after the front and they'll flood back into the interior.
Tight Lines
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