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Flamingo - Everglades National Park
Capt. Ariel Cabrera
May 17, 2007
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Summertime Fishing is Here!
Summer is just that time of year when fishing really heats up and remains relatively consistemt. Warm water of around 78 degrees Fahrenheit or higher is perfectly suitable for the vast majority of shallow water fish. Anglers interested in generally good inshore fishing will love the fast approaching summer pattern. But, here’s the catch, GET UP EARLY. Best bet is to get the earliest start as possible. This will always increase your odds and also help beat the heat.
The first favorite that comes to mind is tarpon fishing. I like to throw flies and hardballs at first light. If that doesn’t get a bite and the fish show their presence by rolling then a cork and live bait combo is used. This will usually work. Once there is enough light we typically move on to stalk redfish and snook on the shallows. One of the stealthier lures to use is a soft plastic jerkbait for the experienced angler, otherwise use a weedless spoon to catch fish. Skimmer jigs are great too, add a plastic tail or piece of fishbites for added appeal. This way you’ll make longer casts as well.
After we’ve had our share of the flats-we may skim the coast a bit and look for snapper, tripletail and even permit. This is an easy set-up with a live crab or Gulp Shrimp. We sightfish for most of these, with the exception of snapper which are fished from large craters and potholes. As we have been doing this we have encountered Goliath grouper and we attempt to catch them. Some of these fish have been real tough on our tackle. They tend to stick their tails of the water at times when close to structure, near the surface. I have to say that in order to make some of my customers believers I went a little unconventional after getting beat up by Goliath. At eh end of my pushpole I now have a piece of 100 pound mono and use this 18’ push pole to get the bait right on top of their heads where it is slowly lowered. The groupers have been able to open several large, quality hooks but we’ve managed to “lift” a few.
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