 |
Everglades National Park - Flamingo
Capt. Bob LeMay
February 27, 2007
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Fishing this past week has shown steady improvement as the backcountry warmed up after the first really serious cold front of the year (I know it's not much by northern standards but frost on the car window is a bit unusual down here in paradise...). Water temperatures are finally back into the low seventies by late afternoon each day and the fish are responding. We've found snook, redfish, and speckled trout every day we've looked for them this week. The trout have been eager to feed, the redfish and snook a bit reluctant, but we've had lots of sightfishing shots each day at fish in clear shallow coves and small bays.
The highlight this week came on Sunday, when local angler James Banta brought his 7wt fly rod for a day of sightfishing. The morning had us catching and releasing speckled trout, ladyfish, snapper, and even a little barracuda (he was obviously lost almost all the way into freshwater...) on small black flies and medium sized Clousers in chartreuse and white.
Here's a solid tip for first-timers fly fishing the 'Glades, make sure all of your flies have weedguards - it will make a difference... We also found some large tarpon in one bay but they were scattered and not really fishable, I'm hoping that will change later on this week. Towards the end of the day, James made a perfect cast into a little opening along a mangrove shoreline that was just scattered bushes with roots extending out into very dark water. He was rewarded with a solid take from a very nice sized redfish that promptly tangled him up in the mangroves. That was the start of a really outstanding fight with a light rod and a fish that later measured 27" and almost 8lbs. With all the line hazards involved, he did a great job of chasing that fish over, under, and around every tangle - including several trips around and under the stern of my skiff... We were rewarded with a perfect dark copper colored redfish that was photographed and then returned to the water to fight another.
The weather for this coming weekend looks great, without one nasty cold front in sight... For those that like to chase small tarpon at night, this week's tides are right on the money for another few days...
Tight Lines
Bob LeMay
More Fishing Reports:
|
|
|
|
