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Everglades Fly Fishing
Everglades National Park
Mark and I had planned on fishing, or at least pretending to fish while we floated around the Everglades this morning, it was supposed to be "messing about in boats," as in 'The Wind in the Willows,' but , after a hot coffee at daylight, and "just a quick look at the site ..." we spent the whole morning messing around in here. The result is this 'concept page.' Everglades fly fishing.
I am flat out fishing right now and probably, realistically, won't get very far with this until ...maybe, September. This is May 23.
This page is going to have information about how it actually is fishing with a fly rod in Everglades. I'm not sure of the format, maybe a series of short essays.
I'll link it to the fly page, (yet to be created,) but there's going to be some information about tackle and rod choice on here to.
And this is where you'll find my best explanation for the seasons and tides, and what to expect at any time of year.
With that said, I'm going to draw a line here, and everything after this line, is just a blind man feeling for the elephant. The elephant named, 'Later.'
Everglades has fishing in every season and almost in any weather condition. There is shelter in the thousands of islands at all times of year in all but the worst conditions. We might not "want," to fish it, but we can.
The Everglades can be hugely rewarding, there are some serious fish here, at the same time the fishing in Everglades can be unpredictable and tough. There's rarely a blitz like you might find striper fishing or false albacore fishing, most of the fish we go after are individuals stationed for ambush, hovering.
You really don't have to cast a mile, a good caster who can really place the fly at fifty to sixty feet will do just fine.
Generally, rods with some flex in the tip are better, we're not covering the water, in most cases, (there are exceptions and it's good to be ready for those, too.) we're trying to place the fly within a two foot window at fifty feet, quickly.
It's OK if you're not up to that, I'd be happy to do a short day of instruction on flats fishing with a fly rod, maybe we can get a few fundamentals down and plan the next trip. Everyone gets lucky once in a while and that's 'Oh So Welcome!' at the same time, if you practice your casting, on the snow, the street, the golf course, the yard .....in the relentless wind, on that day when we finally get a break from Diana and the fish are rolling, ...you and I are going to catch some fish.
..Lets go into some detail about the seasons and what to expect. And remember, it's ..."Everglades Fly Fishing,"
Shallow water is what it's all about, and visible fish, sometimes they're pretty big, too, and you can feel the pull of the fish and you can hear the drag. You can watch them jump. They can break you off in a half dozen different ways, tarpon, redfish, and snook. We'll try to prevent that though, with a stout leader.
(Shallow Water,) it's not hard to find, you might get pushed off it at high tide in some places but more likely we'll race the rising tide into the backcountry, and when the wind and tide cooperate we'll be in the shallows all day.
...We can get something in here about the equipment and flies we use in the Everglades, when 'fly fishing Everglades.'
So it's no surprise that a few years back when ESPN did a series called the Ten Best Fly Fishing Destinations, Everglades National Park was their choice for number one, the worlds premiere fly fishing destination.
But the pressure on the fishing here is increasing.
And there are pending rule changes in the 'Park,' that may change our way of fishing forever.
Some destinations may be harder to get to than SW FL, but the feeling of exploration and discovery are equally tangible in the Everglades. At least for now, every guide I know has expressed concern...
