Capt. Bob LeMay
December 19, 2014
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
After November's on and off weather patterns we're finally in cold water (relatively) winter conditions in the Everglades. Most days the water temps at the boat ramp have been barely above sixty degrees at dawn... As a result the fish have moved up inside and are found along shallow warmer water shorelines as the sun does its thing each day (at the opposite end of the scale, a cloudy dark day in winter means some very tough fishing....). Along with cold water this past week the cold fronts with their windy conditions have taken a break and we've had a few days with hardly any breeze at all and if the water will just warm up a few degrees we might be in for some big tarpon action by Monday or Tuesday. By next Wednesday another cold front means the end of any warming trend. This is fairly typical for winter in the 'Glades anywhere in the Park.
Although we did pretty well with the trout... the last hour of the trip found us back up inside Whitewater looking at slot and way over slot sized redfish in very clear, very shallow waters. Big redfish in winter's clear waters are as tough as bonefish but it was fun seeing them to cast at...
Yesterday I went exploring on my own wanting to get away from the workbench (where I have flies to tie, lures to make, and rods to re-wrap....) and take advantage of some premium weather. I try to do a few things differently when I'm exploring -hoping to add to my knowlege. After catching a few live baits (and lots of small trout for release) it was off to a grouper spot to see if the gag grouper (a winter favorite) were on station and hungry... No gags -but my first drop did find a hungry goliath grouper and it was game on... After lots of back and forth he was released carefully (after a photo and removing the hook). Here's the pic and this is typical of small ones in the rivers of the 'Glades where we find them year 'round...
[img][img][URL=http://s235.photobucket.com/user/lemaymiami/media/fishpics/jewfishonpluggear_zps5d7ff74b.jpg.html][IMG]http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee111/lemaymiami/fishpics/jewfishonpluggear_zps5d7ff74b.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
I estimated this one to be between 15 and 20lbs (the reel shown is a Calcutta 400 with 20lb line).
That day I found a few good sized trout, a nice small black drum (very good table fare between 18 and about 24") but most of my outside spots held very little. Sometimes it's a good idea to know where the fish aren't... (if you can believe it). As a result of yesterday's scouting it will have to be a good bit warmer before we're back out along the coast again...
Be a hero... take a kid fishing.
This will be the last time that I mention this - -its time for a gift certificate for your favorite angler.... My next report will be in the New Year unless something spectacular happens.
