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Everglades National Park - Flamingo
Capt. Bob LeMay
February 12, 2003
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
The big tarpon are back in Whitewater! Not just big but extra large... Seriously, most of the fish last week were in the over 100 range. That doesn't mean they were particularly hungry, though. When the big fish are in and feeding it's pretty obvious. Most of the ones we found were laid up and loafing. We only got one eat on fly but didn't score. Good spots for laid up fish are state secrets. The best advice that I can give is to find quiet coves that are away from any boat traffic. Just one boat on plane anywhere near such a spot and it's all over.... For those with other fish in mind there are still lots of big, fat trout in Whitewater along with reds and snook in shallow coves. On Monday we had water temps of 76 to 77 degrees in sheltered bays. Finally the water has warmed enough to make things really interesting. As I write this a small cold front passed through (Tuesday night) and it may slow the fishing a bit, but only for a day or two. By the weekend things should be on again.
We only fished Biscayne Bay one day this week and it was as good as the winter fishing there gets. Water temps were at around the 70 degree mark on the flats with lots of big bones showing. Although we spooked most that we saw a fat 10lb fish did co-operate on shrimp. The big ones can sure burn off a lot of line in a hurry. Over the years I've noted a definite association with big bones and sharks. When the bigger bones are around there's always sharks nearby. Yesterday was no exception. Within minutes of landing and releasing the bonefish we were hooked up solid on a blacktip shark of about 100lbs at the same spot where we had just released the bonefish. Even on 15lb line and a heavy spinning rod that fish was a handful. It almost spooled us before I could get moving after him. The shark did the usual spectacular leaping and spinning runs. It took us about 25 minutes to chase him down and release him safely at boatside. If you must handle one at boatside never grab the tail... The pectoral fins make a perfect handle if you're careful.
Tight Lines
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