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Flamingo - Everglades National Park
Capt. Ariel Cabrera
May 19, 2005
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Backcountry Fishing Report and Forecast
Summer in the Everglades and adjacent waters is the time to live for! Winds are calm, temperatures are hot, and the fish are biting. Near Flamingo, redfish have been stalked in large schools and smaller pods alike, tarpon season is at its peak, and snook are roaming from the flats to the Gulf coast. Another added bonus is that the winter crowd of guests and campers are now gone leaving more room for the serious angler who wants to toss flies and be in secluded wilderness. This is my favorite time of the year to fish.
In Florida Bay the mangrove snapper bite really turns on between Nine-Mile Bank and Rabbit Keys. When chummed up properly and with fluorocarbon rigs expect fish up to 18” but most averaging around 14”. Bonefish, permit, and tarpon are also nearby working the shallower flats and will fall for a small blue crab or shrimp bait. I always bring a ten weight fly rod with Keys-style fly patterns in case we come across schools of laid up or cruising tarpon. Clear lines and 40 to 60 pound Yozuri fluorocarbon leaders are a must!
Fish in the area love pinfish and crabs this time of year. The baitfish can be cast netted or caught with sabiki rigs. Purchase the crabs at the local bait store. I often purchase a dozen small to medium silver-dollar sized ones. Hook sizes can range from a 1/0 to a 3/0. Keep them sharp!
On the deep water Gulf expect more permit and tripletail, larger snapper, occasional cobia, and gargantuan goliath grouper. Sometimes schools of breeder-sized redfish can be intercepted. Remember to contact me if interested in fishing this area since I have added a new larger boat to my fleet. With the deep vee hull we can comfortably run through inclement weather if it gets bad. Please call if you have any questions. All full days offer a NO FISH -NO PAY guarantee.
And lastly, a few tips for summer fishing is getting an early start. Have lots of liquids available to replenish water lost due to sweat and avoid heatstroke. My boats have bimini tops with flush mount hardware. The shades are folded flat when stalking fish like snook, reds, and tarpon on the flats and come up later in the day as the sun does. Fish accordingly and don’t forget sunglasses, a hat, and some sunscreen.
Don’t miss the 12th annual south Florida boat show at the Miami Beach Convention Center June 3-6, 2005. Top Florida captains will be presenting Free fishing seminars and there will be lots of giveaways from lure manufacturers like D.O.A., Spike-It , and many others.
Recent catches include Dag Z and son’s catch of seatrout, snapper, and jacks followed by Ryan Hodges and friend Steve. These folks fished three days with me exclusively on fly. Day one they landed over a dozen trout all over sixteen inched , two of which went over twenty. We chased schools of redfish in large numbers. Day two in Whitewater produced ladyfish, jacks, and more trout on fly. Day three we ended up in Fl. Bay with large schools of redfish. Each angler caught one on fly - Dupre’s sponn fly was the trick. We also had a tarpon on fly and spit the hook in less than 10 seconds of airtime. Jake and Jason from Tennessee fished a private lake for peacock and landed a 21” fish plus 10 largemouth to 3.5 pounds. Pete Hernadez released3 trout, one redfish, 10 jacks, and some ladyfish for the MET tournament. That very evenening Scott Averett met me for a split night trip to land a large trout end endless amount of snapper. He said “hundreds were staring at him below a branch” in clear water. Bubba and Dave Flowers caught one snook, snapper in the Government Cut are on an evening trip. Finally Quentin felty, PhD and parents caught over a dozen trout in a morning. Two went over twenty inches and more endless snapper.
Capt. Ariel Cabrera is an outdoor writer, instructor, and a permitted Everglades National Park fishing guide. He brings genuine fishing and outdoors experiences to people and to print. To contact him call (305) 552-9788, (305) 431-6936 or online www.captainariel.com
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