Everglades days and Biscayne nights
Capt. Bob LeMay
July 1, 2009
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
This report covers the last half of June and started out in fine fashion with lots of snook hitting our lures and flies every day along the Gulf coast of the Everglades north and south of the Little Shark River area. The snook were every size from little ones, to slot sized, all the way up to overslot in double digit sizes.
The first photo is Mike Raney with a 12lb snook on light spinning gear with only 10lb line... the second is Tony Phillips with a solid slot sized fish taken nearby. That day it was lots of snook, goliath grouper (some much too big, gag grouper, speckled trout, and a variety of other species. Mike and his dad, Lynn were visiting from England and hosted by local angler Tony Phillips for a great day on the water. To add a little spice to our day we found the first of many giant tarpon that are returning now to the 'Glades after spawning down in the Keys. There will be more and more of them as the summer moves along.
Just a day or two later everything changed along the coast as a long lasting weather front brought southwest and west winds to our area that are still going on as I write this ten days later. Those weather conditions just shut down the west coast of the 'Glades. Although you could still find a few fish, many of my favorite spots and situations were just zeros. A day booked to fish big bull sharks on fly turned into a day of frustration... the next day I talked to my anglers about a night trip instead of what we'd planned...
The night scene was the savior with the west winds and the fish were just on fire. Every night during summer the local baby tarpon (10 to 30lbs average during summer) feed around all the bridges that connect Miami and Miami Beach). I like to fish them on a falling tide so that night started just after midnight and went until dawn. Using nothing but light spinning gear and artificials we jumped at least a dozen fish in four hours then spent the remaining hour fishing docklights. Chip Willimon and Erich Weikel from the Carolinas had an outstanding evening, bringing four or five (I lost count) fish up to 30lbs to the boat. Erich went on to lose a big snook next to a small docklight just before dawn. My kind of fishing... Here's a last photo at dawn just before heading into the old 79th St boat ramp
That west wind should end soon and I'll be back down in the 'Glades. The night time falling tide next week in Biscayne Bay will be perfect for an early evening trip...
For fly anglers, standard gear is a fly rod in the 8 to 10wt size range for almost anything encountered except the giant tarpon... For them, an 11wt is the smallest you'll want in your hand..
Tight Lines
Capt Bob LeMay
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