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Everglades National Park - Flamingo
Capt. Bob LeMay
January 18, 2006
Flamingo - Saltwater Fishing Report
Been a few weeks since my last report. I've kept busy tying flies for the Fly Shop in Ft. Lauderdale...
Finally got a couple of bookings, but only one in my favorite area out of Flamingo. Last Sunday we fished Whitewater and Oyster Bays under pretty bad conditions. A serious cold front had hit the day before bringing cold weather and howling winds. I didn't realize how hard the wind had been blowing on Saturday until we got out. The water everywhere looked like a chocolate milkshake. Pretty tough conditions for a fly fisher. To add to our difficulties we noted water temperatures at the surface while running that were as low as 55 degrees. My usual plan on a bad weather day is to find and fish pockets of clear water in sheltered coves. We had to move around a bit before finding the one we were looking for, fairly clear water and temps that were two to three degrees warmer than anywhere else... Rupert McArt from London worked the cove perfectly. The fly of choice was a Blacklight Special (black maribou pattern on a #1 hook) on a fairly light leader. The fish was right where he should have been, 20' off of the shoreline on top of a shallow mud flat. When the commotion ended we'd landed and photoed a solid 30" snook before carefully releasing it to fight another day. It was a very nice fish considering the conditions... The rest of the day we struggled, having a shot here or there, but never connecting with another good fish. All winter long you deal with cold fronts, usually a day or so later the fishing picks right back up. As I write this I'm sure the backcountry areas have turned back on but it sure pays to watch those fronts...
The night fishing is still going strong around the bridges (and will all the way through April). I have three night bookings in the next week so we'll be getting up close with the tarpon.
Tight Lines
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