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Everglades National Park - Flamingo
Capt. Bob LeMay
March 1, 2006
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Last week's warming trend finally did the trick. The interior of Flamingo is loaded with big tarpon. We found them in Whitewater and Oyster Bays and even a few in the rivers that drain into the Gulf. It's definitely that time of year again when the 'Glades seem to have all he big fish in Florida well before any other area...
We chased them with fly fishing gear on Friday and found lots of fish, but the conditions were just a little off. The water was just a bit murky still. Perfect conditions for lures or live bait, less perfect for flies. We checked out a lot of spots before running to a nearby small river where the water temps were barely 70 degrees. My angler's first cast resulted in an immediate hookup with a fish in the 80lb size range on a big black fly. The fish stayed on just long enough to make three nice jumps at close quarters before jumping off. We then ran back into Whitewater where there were tarpon rolling and occasionally feeding everywhere we looked, but widely scattered with no particular movement that we could take advantage of. Although we managed to get a few short nips and some follows, fly fishing was just tough. At the end of the day we added a spinning rod to even the odds a bit. Tom DeQuatro then caught and released a nice 70lb fish on a lure with only 12# line. After that we called it a day. When the water clears just a bit fly fishing the big fish should come into its own. The next two months the tarpon fishing in the interior will just get better and better. For our next tarpon charter we'd be back in Biscayne Bay for the night scene....
Saturday night we again went after tarpon with flies and found fish under every bridge we checked in Biscayne Bay. Although the fish were just a bit smaller than fish in the 'Glades the light gear (8 and 9wt rods) made it a challenge. For most of the five hour night trip all we got was frustration. Lots of fish but few willing to eat a fly in places where we could see them feeding... The fish would occasionally follow, but rarely make a pass at anything we were tossing at them. It looked like the night would have me talking to myself on the drive home until right at the end of the evening. Just before midnight the fish just turned on and began feeding on everything that came by including our flies. Tom DeQuatro again hooked up, this time on a small white fly. He did everthing right and finally landed a solid 60lb fish that was a lot bigger at the boat than it had looked when we saw it bite. We went on to get another four bites that either jumped or broke off for his partner Jason, a visitor from Rhode Island. Like the fish in the 'Glades the night tarpon in Biscayne Bay will only get better in the next two months. In both locations the fish will eat all the way to the boat or not at all, depending on the day. Unpredictable, at times difficult, they're still the greatest inshore gamefish that swims.
The best part is that on days when the tarpon aren't co-operating there's still everything else that's hungry - snook, redfish, trout, and the list just gets bigger.
Tight Lines
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