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Everglades National Park - Flamingo
Capt. Bob LeMay
August 3, 2005
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
This past week I've fished both night and day charters. During one weekend night we fished with Dr. Nate Mayl, a prominent local plastic surgeon. The baby tarpon were hot and eating flies with every opportunity. Using an 8wt rod, we found fish at almost every stop under bridges and around fender lights. Nate stuck 10 fish in five hours (I think the total numbers were actually a bit higher...) at close range. Actually some of the 15 to 30lb fish were a bit too close. One or two almost ate the tip of the rod when they grabbed the fly... One fish almost took me out of the action. Over the years I've seen baby tarpon jump in the boat, over the boat, and just in general have you ducking in one direction or another. This small tarpon rocketed straight at me, catching me with a hard strike to the knee and almost taking me out of the game. Although my knee was sore for a few days after, I'll be remembering that fish for a while... I don't want to hear any stories about fish aiming for the angler. These small tarpon are just wild and frantic. Any that jump in the boat usually break rods and cause havoc. They're just doing what tarpon do. That night most of the fish released themselves after a few spectacular jumps. We had tarpon that ran under the boat on the strike, fish around pilings, fish that went through the pilings then around corners... It was a blast and we hardly saw another boat all night. Tarpon heaven.
My next booking was a day trip out of Flamingo with local attorney Greg Lewin and his young son Justin. The trip was for Justin's 10th birthday. It was their first trip inshore and neither had ever fished out of a small skiff where you cast at fish that you can see... We caught a variety of fish on light spinning gear with the emphasis on action. Within the first hour Justin had caught his first trout, ladyfish, snapper, and a lemon shark of around 60lbs that ate right at the boat. While I held the shark by its pectoral fin the young angler got to touch the shark's back and feel its skin... I'm betting he'll remember that fish. Later that day Justin caught his first snook while adding other species to his score including a nice sized spanish mackeral. On the way he learned to cast a light spinning rod by himself and began to catch fish on a jig. During the day his dad also caught a variety of fish, including two goliath grouper (most of us still call them jewfish) which were carefully released after a photo. At the end of the day young Justin managed to hook and fight a larger shark to the boat. We estimated it at 100lbs at boatside and added another photo to the ones taken that day.
For anyone taking kids fishing (particularly the first time) try to make the day a fun, learning experience with lots of action. You may end up with a fishing partner for life... If you leave the live well hatch open most kids will spend every spare moment watching and touching the small fish that are right there closer than any aquarium... That might be the best part of the trip.
Tight Lines
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