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Everglades National Park - Flamingo
Capt. Bob LeMay
January 9, 2007
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
The tarpon have finally shown up in good numbers this past two weeks in the interior of the 'Glades, but only a very few anglers have been chasing them. With the mild weather these past two weeks they've shown up in force but wind and rain have made it difficult to target them. On our best day we only jumped a few up to almost 80lbs on lures and bait. On one day in particular we spent almost six hours with fish all around us but only one or two bites... They're the greatest inshore gamefish that swims, but sometimes they can be a bit frustrating to put it mildly... At any rate another cold front in the next two days will have them on the move again back out into the Gulf, but with a mild day or two they'll re-appear. What all of us are waiting for is some mild weather with good sight-fishing conditions. The winter time tarpon fishing in Whitewater Bay is often overlooked by folks that think the tarpon season starts in March down in the Keys. When the conditions line up it's not un-common to see a half dozen boats hooked up at once with fish in the 100+ category. Tarpon anglers from as far away as Key West and Homosassa just happen to turn up at the inside boat ramp at Flamingo. Celebrities that are normally seen in front of a camera appear without any cameras in sight... It can be that good. I've got my fingers crossed that it's going to happen shortly.
In the meantime all the winter fish are biting. We've been finding good numbers of large trout from the interior all the way out to the Gulf coast on both tides. River mouths are holding a good variety of reds, trout, spanish mackeral, grouper, and the occasional very large snook. I have one spot north of the Shark River where at least one angler a day gets taken to the cleaners by what can only be one of the big breeders. As usual the bite has been on artificials almost exclusively. We're using Gulp shrimp (the 3" size in any color) on small jig heads, or my own backcountry jigs tipped with small Gulp strips all on light spinning gear. With fly anglers aboard we're poling the shallows in the interior looking for cruising reds or laid up snook. It's that time of year. Although I haven't made any offshore runs, I'm seeing some nice cobia at the cutting tables along with triple tails and sheepshead. Typical winter fare.
Away from the 'Glades the night fishing in Biscayne Bay has been steady with both snook and small tarpon. The urban areas of the Bay are well sheltered and fishable even on nights when the weather has been tough. When the shrimp start moving in good numbers the night fishing will be off the hook with tarpon averaging 20 to 40lbs with occasional 50 and 60lb fish each night. By next month I'll have some of the folks that work the boat show fishing each night and yawning their way through the show the next day.
Tight Lines
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