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Everglades National Park - Flamingo
Capt. Bob LeMay
May 9, 2004
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
It's been a while since my last report. The few days off in the last three weeks have been hard running, fix what's broken, and get ready for the next long sequence of bookings. Enough excuses. Now that I have a breather it will be paperwork, fishing reports, and lots of fly-tying and lure making when I'm not working on my skiff... In a day or so it will be back to Flamingo.
This winter/spring tarpon season has been challenging to say the least. Many days the fish just weren't on, if you could even find the big ones. With one days' lack of success at Flamingo and two days more my anglers were still hoping for tarpon on fly. We fell back to a great alternative, making the second day a night session back in the urban areas of Biscayne Bay. What a difference a change of venue and focus made. That night we lost count after jumping more than eight fish on fly, from 20 to about 50lbs. Nasty weather and muddy water at Flamingo were replaced by night-time sightfishing on a moving tide within sight of downtown Miami... Using 8wt rods and small flies we were in hot action for almost five hours. Although both of my anglers from Memphis were disappointed by the big tarpon the Flamingo days weren't a total loss. Barry May of Memphis caught and released the biggest snook we've taken this year. It weighed an even 20lbs on the Boga-grip and was caught on spinning gear at a Gulf coast river mouth. His partner, Dale Cooley, finally hooked up on a good tarpon on fly one day later. The fish estimated at 80lbs swam right at the boat after eating the fly allowing Dale to have the leader all the way onto the rod before the real fight got started... Needless to say the fish then went on to show us a few new tricks before finally slipping the hook. Later that week Reuben Garcia, a local angler fishing with his son, caught another outstanding snook on a lure with 10# line. The fish weighed 16lbs and was caught and released in Whitewater Bay.
After a few slow days, action again picked up at Flamingo. Jaime Rivero and his nephew Bernardo from Mexico City each caught and released big tarpon. The biggest was an outstanding catch, a tarpon that we estimated at 120lbs in a river less than 100 feet wide on only 15# line. It was Bernardo's first tarpon so it was briefly boated for photos and then revived at boatside before the release. The next two days (the 2nd and 3rd of May) Andy and Kristen Avery of Houston were aboard, fishing an auctioned trip that I donated to CCA- Texas. Like many local guides I make a point of supporting CCA ! The first day started off with a nice 60lb tarpon that stayed on for a few jumps before doing its own releasing. The rest of the day we caught a fish here and there but were struggling. Finally just before the end of the trip Andy caught and released a nice snook on a jig along a Gulf shoreline with lots of downed trees. Moments later Kristen hooked up on a jig with another nice fish that immediately burned away from shore like a really big snook. The fish, instead of reversing course and streaking back to the shoreline and safety, just kept on going with us poling after. After another few minutes I began to guess that a big jack was the screamer. When we finally got a good look at the fish it was a permit! Kristen fought that fish with skill on only 10# line. At the boat the fish weighed 22lbs on the Boga, an outstanding catch. After a photo and careful release we realized the catch was all the sweeter since she caught him on her favorite spinning rod brought from Texas... The next day Andy caught and released a tarpon that weighed about 75lbs for his first one that was boated for a photo. Later that day as conditions worsened we visited a small creek, hoping to catch a few redfish. In two hours we caught and released six small sawfish from 4 to around 6.5 feet long. All were a handfull at the boat, but were carefully untangled and sent away in good condition. I'm beginning to believe that there are a lot more of this rare species around than marine biologists are aware of.... We finished off this week with another trip for tarpon yesterday. We jumped 4 and boated one of around 90lbs on spinning gear. During the day we also caught and released grouper, pompano, speckled trout, and a variety of other fish.
During this past few weeks we had an opportunity to help two anglers that were broken down almost 25 miles from Flamingo. Fortunately all they needed was a hot battery to get started and headed home. For anyone that fishes the backcountry this is important...... Never pass another angler without looking to see if they're in trouble. If you're broke down raise both hands over your head repeatedly. If you're in a canoe or kayak wave your paddle. A few minutes of helping out another boater might make all the difference since we're all a long way from help when we run the "back". I've always believed that someday it will be me who needs that help.... Enough said
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