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Everglades National Park - Flamingo
Capt. Bob LeMay
January 4, 2005
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Made it out on the water two days this week, on Thursday and Sunday. Conditions at Flamingo are warming nicely and appear to be fairly stable for the next five days. Speckled trout and ladyfish are in good number on the west side of Whitewater now. Find a feeding lane (corners of islands with noticeable current flow in 3 to 6 feet of water) and it will be a fish almost every cast. That's what we did both days using tipped jigs and soft plastics. We left them still biting... Warm up spots continue to be the best bet inside for nice sized snook and redfish. We were able go find good sight fishing conditions in shallow coves with soft mud bottoms that were at least partially protected from the wind. We caught and released snook up to 27" and redfish (on Thursday) that were almost as large. As one angler remarked, "every fish in the neighborhood is in this spot...". We've been working these areas quietly with only a pushpole, casting skimmer jigs (think bonefish jigs) tipped with shrimp or soft plastic jerk baits at fish in less than 2' of water. The fish are spooky but a careful cast will draw a strike since the fish are there to feed as well as warm up. These conditions are also perfect for fly casters since a well presented fly almost never spooks them now.
During the past few days we've seen a few big tarpon in Whitewater. I'm expecting to see more of them as the week ends if the weather stays warm. Whitewater is, hands down, the best spot for big tarpon in shallow water during winter here in Florida. All we need is a moderate warming trend without a cold front changing things and the fish will appear in the center of the big bay as though by magic.... It should happen off and on for the next eight weeks. Tarpon heaven!
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