June/July/August-Everglades Fish Report
Greetings from Captain Buddy,
So far, so good, with no hurricanes yet reported in Southwest Florida, though Louisiana took a hard shot with Hurricane Ida passing through. I feel their emotions all too well, after the experience with Hurricane Irma in September, 2017–seems like yesterday, though it’s been nearly 4 years!
Other than a short trip to Iowa, and a few regional roaming’s, I’ve stayed close to Naples the good part of the summer. The fishing this quarter has been at times, very good. I’ve had some super Tarpon fishing, which took some dedication to find. I had an angler from Colorado fish with me at the end of July for four straight days and was pleasantly surprised when we landed 2 large Tarpon in the 70-80lb range, along with 11 other takes! He enjoys fly fishing; however, he was more comfortable using traditional tackle. I learned a lot more about split rings during those four days. If I’m fishing with plugs/lures, I only use inline, Owner, single hooks. I never use treble hooks! The particular lure that we were using had an additional spot to attach another hook. I assessed my inventory of assorted split rings, and thought “I’m good”. Well, turned out, not really, as we lost a few fish with the split rings breaking, or opening up. Good lesson learned. I immediately made my way to Bass Pro afterwards to purchase the heavier split rings. 80-100 lb fish don’t leave any room for error! With the lack of oxygen in very warm water, be prepared to get your fish in as quickly as you possibly can. This makes for a good release, which allows your catch to swim away healthy and strong.
In June and part of July, I had some really good sight casting for Redfish. The sightings have slowed over the past month, due to higher water temperatures. Hopefully with fall around the corner, we should see it picking up again soon. The Snook fishing is still reasonably good. If you ask someone who fishes during the day, if they’re being honest, they’ll tell you that it’s not been good. The key for me, at least during the summer and early fall, is to fish from 4:00 pm until dark. I really enjoy that time of day, when all boat traffic has virtually disappeared. Though early fishing is also an option, if choosing between the two, I seem to do my best fishing later in the day, making it my number one preference. With the cooler water, and fish often in ‘feeding mode’ around dusk, it makes a heck of a difference.
These past few months have also given me the opportunity to enjoy some great baby Tarpon fishing in some of the back lakes, where most Tarpon are in the 5-12 lb range. Poppers, gurglers, and just about anything on the surface was the ticket. On a final note, I use my Jon boat to access those remote lakes. Some of them required my inflatable, 2-man, kayak. Always an adventure to head a little further and deeper into the shallow waters of the remote mangroves, but requires a little extra backcountry endurance that’s not for everyone (at least that’s what my wife says)!
Signing off…………
Captain Buddy
