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Everglades National Park - Flamingo
Capt. Bob LeMay
August 3, 2004
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
This report will cover the last three weeks when we fished a variety of areas out of Flamingo, from Florida Bay all the way up the Gulf coast nearly to Lostman's River. We also included the interior areas working Whitewater and Oyster Bays. This is the time of year when white baits along the Gulf coast are still just a bit on the small side. Fortunately the baits on the outside are just the right size. A chum bag on the edge of a grass flat in Florida Bay is sure to draw clouds of bait now. Most days when chumming up large pilchards and nice sized pinfish the biggest hassle is the very hungry lemon sharks that are drawn directly to the chum bag. We've now lost four chum bags to sharks in the last few weeks. Fortunately the bait stays around for a few minutes after the chum line abruptly stops...
Even with a well full of bait early in the morning top water action on plugs and soft plastic jerk baits has been the best bet, either outside or inside with large and hungry speckled trout and snook the prime targets. This is the time of year when some unusual catches are always a possibility. One morning we had a top water Mirrolure destroyed in Whitewater by a large bluefish ( at almost 4lbs it was quite large for this area). We've also encountered more than a few large mangrove snappers in the interior bays that attack popping bugs on sight, even late in the day. There have also been a few large spanish mackeral on the edges of Oyster Bay. The first sign that they're around is when you lose a plug or jig on the strike. The leader is usually cut cleanly by the fast moving macks.
The best fishing we've encountered these past few weeks has been evenly divided between snook and tarpon. The snook have been primarily located around river mouths on moving water. On the right tide you can pole up on groups of them working shallow edges, particularly where there's both bait and the downed trees that snook like along heavy mangrove shorelines. The tarpon have been both inside in small bays and around the same river mouths that snook frequent. We've had fair success on them while actually working a shoreline for snook. The schooled tarpon at river mouths are small fish up to about 30 or 40lbs and are usually 50 to 100 feet away from the shore in the areas we're fishing. It's a simple matter to cast on the other side of the skiff whenever they're within range. In the past week we've finally begun seeing some of the bigger fish showing. The big fish should make a stronger appearance as the month progresses. Some of the most fun tarpon fishing of all now are the true baby tarpon that are present every day in interior bays near the east side of Whitewater Bay. These fish are 3 to about 10lbs and are usually found in small schools near mangrove shorelines. For fly fishing a small maribou fly on a #2 or #1 hook is about right. You don't need heavy rods, a 7 or 6wt rod is all that's needed. In some bays manatees will be foraging right near them. In fact so close that occasionally you'll have to cast quickly so the tarpon will see the fly before the manatee spooks them...
Although we've had our share of bad weather the past two weeks the fishing each day has been solid. The one trick that works well no matter how badly the weather behaves is to fish the areas that are really fishable and avoid areas that are all muddied up. A hungry fish will usually move to areas where they can find forage and successfully feed. That generally translates to where the water is clear enough and has a bit of current. Find those conditions and you should find the fish. On days when a west wind has muddied up the Gulf coast, look a short way up the many creeks and rivers to find conditions that are more favorable. You might even find a new hot spot
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