Everglades backcountry report, 28 August 2013

lemaymiami

This past week we found a nice variety of fish along the Gulf coast of the 'Glades out of Flamingo. I had Cody Hoffman and local angler Matt Arnold aboard for two days and we found snook, trout, sharks, a seven foot sawfish, some nice sized triple tail, and a variety of other species - almost all on lures. Each day we caught and released snook on topwater plugs up and down the coast. The fish jumped on Zara Spooks in several sizes and also Skitterwalks. Here's Matt with a nice one on a Skitterwallk....
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We also ran into the first school of larger jack crevalle and released one that weighed 10lbs. In the next two months we'll see more and more marauding schools of bigger jacks. When they're schooled up they'll shred any lure you get in front of them... We kept trout each day for the table up to about 19" and also found some very nice triple tail to take home as well. Our biggest triple tail weighed in right at 6lbs - all were caught on gulp tailed jigheads. They were so hungry we even had a few double headers.....
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Since the snook season is finally opening up on the Gulf coast folks will find them in good numbers. The trick will be finding them in the slot. I'm looking forward to it.... Although we only fished plug or spinning gear this past week, this is a great time for fly anglers as well. An 8 or 9wt rod with a floating line is what most will use. For a second rod I'd recommend a 10 wt with an intermediate line (more and more tarpon showing every day now....).

TGunn

lemaymiami wrote: »

This past week we found a nice variety of fish along the Gulf coast of the 'Glades out of Flamingo. I had Cody Hoffman and local angler Matt Arnold aboard for two days and we found snook, trout, sharks, a seven foot sawfish, some nice sized triple tail, and a variety of other species - almost all on lures. Each day we caught and released snook on topwater plugs up and down the coast. The fish jumped on Zara Spooks in several sizes and also Skitterwalks. Here's Matt with a nice one on a Skitterwallk....
[img][/img][img][/img]
We also ran into the first school of larger jack crevalle and released one that weighed 10lbs. In the next two months we'll see more and more marauding schools of bigger jacks. When they're schooled up they'll shred any lure you get in front of them... We kept trout each day for the table up to about 19" and also found some very nice triple tail to take home as well. Our biggest triple tail weighed in right at 6lbs - all were caught on gulp tailed jigheads. They were so hungry we even had a few double headers.....
[img][/img][img][/img]
[img][/img][img][/img]


Since the snook season is finally opening up on the Gulf coast folks will find them in good numbers. The trick will be finding them in the slot. I'm looking forward to it.... Although we only fished plug or spinning gear this past week, this is a great time for fly anglers as well. An 8 or 9wt rod with a floating line is what most will use. For a second rod I'd recommend a 10 wt with an intermediate line (more and more tarpon showing every day now....).

I know Matt. Great guy. (The one from LaBelle, right?)

He can catch a snook on a topwater. . . .I've seen it happen once or twice!

Nice report. Looking forward to snook season opening up.

lemaymiami

He mentioned you as well.... I'm sure everyone is looking forward to snook season...

miami mutton

Great report capt, thanks for sharing and nice fish as always

Reel4Reel

Great report. Thanks for sharing.

katwoman85

Thanks for the info. Bob wanted to ask - I guess that is why I have not really seen very many jack crevalles at all in my canal (Dania Cutoff Canal). I saw one about a week ago & caught a small one a day or two before (12") these were the first ones I saw in quite a few weeks. I guess this is not the season right now for them? Is that an accurate statement?

redjim

Fishin with Capt Bob is on my bucket list and I hope to do in the next month.

Love the photo of the snook on topwater.

Capt, any photo of the SAWFISH? Wow,...

Thanks, Jim

lemaymiami

Kat, where you're located I'd expect jacks to show up as the water cools -then be around all the way through spring.... Once you start to see schooled up mullet around your dock then I'd expect to see the big jacks (and everything else since mullet-eaters will follow them and jump them at dawn and dusk wherever they are in the interior...).

Hi Jim, I rarely ever take pics of saws anymore (and I'm usually really busy with both hands when we get one next to the boat, trying to release one without any injury -particularly to the guy holding the leader - they're a handful at the boat). In most of the places we find saws we're poling up shallow and actually see a few before we hook up (usually a fish we never saw). I long ago quit targetting them when they were listed under the ESA. Every year the sawfish in the 'Glades grow more and more numerous. I think the net ban has worked wonders to bring them back (inshore netting worldwide is what darned nearly wiped them out, if a saw of any size runs into a net -they can't get free and usually die before being found...).

All that would be needed to bring them back in the Americas is a ban on inshore netting everywhere they travel... Even when they disappeared everywhere else they stayed strong in the Park since netting was stopped there years and years ago....

redjim

Interesting Capt, thanks! Sure can understand about the the no photo, once I think about it.

:thumbsup