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Fishing report, Everglades backcountry
Capt. Bob LeMay
December 21, 2008
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
This past week I only had two days on the water. It's the time of year when a lot of folks are concentrating on the upcoming holiday, after Christmas I'm booked almost every day... I'm spending more time in the shop, with a half dozen rods and a few reels to repair for customers. There's also lots of fly tying and lure making to catch up on so every day is busy.
My first day on the water was last Wednesday out of Everglades City, fly fishing the interior. This time of year it should have been solid, but the fish had other ideas.... We did find one large snook up in very shallow water but couldn't make a decent presentation. I just couldn't pole fast enough for a proper intercept before the fish worked into a shady area and disappeared on us. We did run back outside in the afternoon and found a few nice reds, that weren't hungry and some very large sheepshead that were tailing like bonefish at the bottom of the tide. Some of the sheepies were well over 20" - that's pretty large for the shell crunchers. All we could get them to do was follow a fly... pretty frustrating in crystal clear water. I have some ideas of what we'll need in the way of a fly for the next winter encounter. A really big sheepie on a 7wt. is something to work for.
On Friday it was back to Flamingo for an "everything" day with the accent on fish for the table on lures or bait. I quit counting when we had boated more than ten different species including speckled trout (season closed now, we released 20 or more slot sized fish...), goliath grouper (all released since they're still protected, we got them up to about 12lbs), spanish mackeral, bluefish, one redfish, king mackeral (little ones), snapper, blacktip shark, and a half dozen gag grouper, mostly on the small side. We ended the day with our two best eating fish, gag grouper from 24" all the way up to our best one at 28". Both were caught with fairly light gear in a river mouth. That 28" fish weighed 9 lbs on the Boga Grip. It was taken on 15lb line by Allistair DeVertueil from Jamaica (hope I've spelled the last name correctly). A while back he got one that was even bigger. That's a very nice river grouper.... After Phillip Dalley caught a 24" grouper he picked up a light spinner and began tossing lures at some small tarpon that just happened to like our grouper spot. He jumped off three before we moved from 10 to about 20lbs. That's a pretty good spot..... Both Alistair and Philip grew up in Jamaica but live here now. They can usually teach me a thing or two about fish for the table. Alistair's wife Pamela was also aboard that day. She can hold her own with the guys...
We also found one "un-stoppable" at another spot. From the way it picked up the bait in shallow water I'd guess it was a very big sawfish in the 300+ range. If that's what it was it would have to be well over 12' long. I see them periodically up to around 20 feet long in some of the places we go, but mostly in the warmer months. Although they're on the endangered species list now they're still quite common in the 'Glades if you know where to look and you'll see them in every size from less than 18" to much bigger than your boat. When a big one picks up a bait, they just never stop or slow down. I don't think the really big ones even know they've been hooked... We treat them very carefully when brought to the boat, both for their health and ours since that bill is studded with very sharp teeth.
There's just nothing like the 'Glades on good days or bad.
Tight lines
Bob LeMay
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