Hot Everglades action
- This topic has 10 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated Feb 10, 2009 at 1:16 pm by
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While most of the country is experiencing terrible weather and cold, we’ve been able to make a couple of trips to The Everglades over the last two weeks.
The water is down and the fishing good.
On the first trip, I took Bob Parker, president of the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers in Sarasota. It was his first experience and he had a blast. We combined to catch 250 largemouth bass, bluegill, stumpknocker, oscar and Mayan cichlids.
If you’ve never caught an oscar, let me try to explain it. They’re very, very strong and determined. You don’t want to fish anything smaller than a 4-weight. Tippet should be no lighter than 3X. The first thing an oscar will do is try to bury back into the structure, and you can’t allow it to happen. They’re bluegill on a double dose of steroids. I rate them the strongest fish for their size that I’ve caught in fresh water.
They average about a pound, but often will top 2 pounds. World record is about 3 1/2 pounds.I took Capt. Pete Greenan of Sarasota and Capt. Al White of Rotonda down a week later and we nearly hit 400 fish. A majority of the fish were oscar, but we also caught bass, bluegill, stumpknocker Mayan cichlids and warmouth perch.
A majority of the fish came on my Mighty Myakka Minnow.
Fishing in The ‘Glades should remain good until late May/early June.
Oscar:
Bob Parker doing battle:
Capt. Al White in action:
Bass on MMM:
Nice job Steve.
Is that the Tamiami Trail in the background of #3?
My father used to take me to the Glades and Lake Okeechobee when I was a kid (early 60s). Your photos jogged the memory some. I remember the Seminole Indians had chickees along the highway that were on stilts. I also remember Frog City as a place to gas up the car and boat and get bait.
I’ve been to the Keys several times since but not the Everglades. A spring trip to Flamingo may be in order.
Thanks again for posting.
Thank you for your kind words — and for the referrals. I appreciate it very much.
I owe you a trip. Contact me and let’s go fishing!
Nice job Steve.
Is that the Tamiami Trail in the background of #3?
My father used to take me to the Glades and Lake Okeechobee when I was a kid (early 60s). Your photos jogged the memory some. I remember the Seminole Indians had chickees along the highway that were on stilts. I also remember Frog City as a place to gas up the car and boat and get bait.
I’ve been to the Keys several times since but not the Everglades. A spring trip to Flamingo may be in order.
Thanks again for posting.
No, that’s Alligator Alley. There are several recreation areas along the Alley. We launched at Mile Marker 42.
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