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Everglades National Park - Flamingo
Capt. Bob LeMay
May 24, 2005
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
This past week I only fished two days and found good fishing both days, although each was quite different. Several bookings had to be cancelled after a small problem with my boat trailer. I'll have a new one shortly...
The first day we found large snook and redfish while poling Whitewater Bay. We missed our shots at snook that ranged from 6 to almost 15lbs in shallow, clear water. Right in the middle of the snook, though were muds that appeared to be fish spooking. They turned out to be nice sized redfish that ate the first lure cast at them. The one my anglers caught measured 24"... Later that day we worked outside to the Gulf coast, looking for tarpon. With none to be found we set up on a current edge where lots of speckled trout were holding in four to around 10 feet of water, feeding on the falling tide. Every cast was a fish for more than an hour with fish ranging from 16 to over 20". I lost track after we'd caught and released more than 50 of them.... While everyone was concentrating on casting bucktails I set up one additional rod to see whether any grouper were holding on the corner of a nearby small island, hoping for some additional action. Action was the order of the day. Four baits in a row were hammered by gag grouper averaging around 6lbs in less than five feet of water. Three of the larger grouper all measured in at 23.5". Exactly a half inch short of the 24" minimum... I'll be looking for their big brothers the next time we work that spot!
The second day on the water was this past Sunday, fishing local angler Chris Lee. The entire day was dedicated to fly fishing and we had some success first thing in Whitewater Bay poling the shallows. His first cast of the day was jumped on by four or more large speckled trout that chased the fly all the way back to the boat before one of them made it disappear. That first fish was almost 20" in crystal clear shallows. It was fun to watch it stalk, then strike... A few minutes later we were in spooky, large snook along the same stretch of shoreline. We had our shots but never connected. We spent most of the rest of the day hunting tarpon, both in the interior and along Gulf side shorelines without much success. In the afternoon we returned to the interior and specifically began targeting small tarpon working close to overhanging mangroves. The change of strategy changed our luck. Chris caught and released two snook and one tarpon on fly to round out the day. Along the way we had shots at more fish than we hooked, but the successes made up for the slower parts of the day. Our biggest fish was a small tarpon that we released at the boat. I estimated it at around 15lbs. For anyone wanting to try small tarpon and snook on fly now a muddler-style pattern on a size 1 or 2 hook is all that we're using. It helps if the fly is weedless since a lot of casts will hit the mangroves just inches from where it's intended. I'll be after them again at the first opportunity.
Tight lines
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