Pictures brief Florida on the fly report

Trout Bum · 06-05-2009, 08:59 PM

I was on a family trip to Florida, but I was able to sneak out a few days early and fish a little bit with a good friend. We were venturing into uncharted territory (both in location and fish species), but didn't do too badly, considering what little time we had to fish together.

The first day we had a quick afternoon on a canal close to his place. Caught a fair number of peacocks and lost a monster carp, similar to the one my buddy caught a couple weeks ago.

The next day we met up at dawn with one of his connections in the Miami area. We cruised down to Flamingo (Everglades) and fished the backwaters. It was uncharacteristically still and HOT. We fished a myriad of unnamed creeks and rivers meandering through mangrove islands, the current ebbing and flowing with the tides. We fished both the interior of 'glades as well as a little time on the edge next to the open ocean. We were after tarpon primarily, but unfortunately they were not hanging in their usual haunts. My buddy hooked up briefly with a 40-50 pounder that just ate his lunch on its first aerial display! We put 75 miles on the boat trying to run down tarpon, to no avail. At the end of the day, we switched gears and picked up a bunch of small specks and snook. The tarpon will have to wait for another time. We briefly saw a few reds and some random sharks, but no real opportunities to fish them. Here's the standard issue speck and a scenery shot.

The next morning, we had a half a day to fish the Miami area before my buddy had to fly to Iceland. We decided to try our hand at bonefish on some flats in the Miami area. Kind of a tall order to head out in Miami city limits and catch a bonefish on the fly, but what the hey? As we expected, the hardest part of bonefishing (at least in this area) is finding them, but we lucked out. As the tide came in, the current created a nice rip lateral to the shore and we spotted a few bones occasionally coming off the turtle grass to roam on the sand. I had a brief hook-up followed by prolonged agony of the bone shaking my fly free. That group of 3 spooked after my hook-up, but we spotted a couple more working the edge. My buddy threw his shrimp out and connected. This bone gave him a heck of a fight on his 8 wt with 12 lb test. As an aside, dink barracuda are an annoying pest that cost me a handful of flies while fishing for bones.

By the way, note the fly in its mouth. It was a touch-and-go landing on this guy, my buddy had it in the shallows and I tailed and basically wrestled it out of the water!

From the other side:

We were pretty pumped to have seen, more or less hooked and even landed a bonefish on our first outing.

I spent the rest of the week with my grandparents, parents, and uncle. I caught a lot of small jacks, lookdowns, etc., on the fly, but didn't have the opportunity to chase anything spectacular. I was able to free up about 2 hours to fish with my dad on a canal and was able to get him a baby tarpon and a nice peacock, which made my day.

It was a good trip, but all that little taste did was whet my appetite for a bonafide saltwater trip. I now am craving a full-on week of fly fishing down in the Keys (or Belize, etc.). Some day soon, my friend, some day soon. Until next time...

Jump n Fish · 06-05-2009, 09:11 PM

Awesome!! I can't believe I live so close to the salt and I never take the time to learn the marshes around me. I'm on freshwater rivers and creeks kick right now, but maybe I'll venture out of my comfort zone one of these days.

Thats pretty crazy to have peacocks in the canals in your backyard. What a riot.

BPbowhunter · 06-05-2009, 09:23 PM

Awesome fish! I've always wanted to catch some peacock bass.

Fish Recycler · 06-05-2009, 11:27 PM

Buddy, that's not a halfway trip, that's bonafide great fishing right there. You were doing everything right for sure.

thedarkarcher · 06-06-2009, 06:16 AM

okay, awesome bonefish, sweet little tarpon...but man those peacocks got my blood right boilin'....

:zclap ping:

**holdemplyer** · 06-06-2009, 06:49 AM

****LONG WHISTLE****** That looks to be a heck of a trip! Peacock bass are one Bad*%$ lookin fish.

Fish Magnet · 06-06-2009, 08:14 AM

Those are some nice fish I cant wait untill my saltwater fishing adventure in july.

jarredbehrendt · 06-06-2009, 08:33 AM

That sounds like an awesome trip! You have to love the salt, you never know what could be lurking! That is an awesome bone there!

**buglem** · 06-06-2009, 08:41 AM

Awesome trip! Those are some sweet fish, especially the bonefish!

Congrats!

AnglerX · 06-06-2009, 11:16 AM

Very nice! Bonefish is my holy grail, so I'm jealous! Awesome pictures!

troutbum · 06-06-2009, 05:21 PM

That is a MASSIVE bonefish!

Panfisher · 06-07-2009, 12:34 AM

Especially the peacocks.

I was able to catch a few in Hawaii last week and have been wanting to share them on this site. Unfortunately I'm a newbie and can't post photos yet. yours put mine to SHAME though.

Good on ya!!!

tmn515 · 06-07-2009, 01:31 AM

Awesome!

Troy

Trout Bum · 06-07-2009, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnglerX

Very nice! Bonefish is my holy grail, so I'm jealous! Awesome pictures!

Bonefish definitely belong in the screaming ZZZZzzzzzzzz club!

Hooligan · 06-07-2009, 12:01 PM

Wow, man. Wow. That bone is a pig of the utmost proportions.

Trout Bum · 06-08-2009, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hooligan

Wow, man. Wow. That bone is a pig of the utmost proportions.

Yeah, we knew it was pretty big, but we didn't know how big until we started comparing it to pictures of big bonefish online. Man those things are tanks!

TROUTMAN · 06-08-2009, 10:19 AM

Please plan my next "halfway" fishing trip for me. Awesome fish!

bassinoutwest · 06-08-2009, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troutbum

That is a MASSIVE bonefish!

was thinking the same thing...that bonefish is bigger than average...by far...

my favorite fish from the photos though has to be that baby tarpon...that's a great looking fish!

Wingman · 06-08-2009, 12:29 PM

Great trip. Thanks for sharing. If you need company on your next Saltwater adventure..... I will be available.

vrentropy · 06-08-2009, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wingman

Great trip. Thanks for sharing. If you need company on your next Saltwater adventure..... I will be available.

06-05-2009, 08:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
Trout Bum Trout Bum is game over. Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Millard Posts: 1,048 Thanks: 26 Thanked 182 Times in 84 Posts	brief Florida on the fly report I was on a family trip to Florida, but I was able to sneak out a few days early and fish a little bit with a good friend. We were venturing into uncharted territory (both in location and fish species), but didn't do too badly, considering what little time we had to fish together. The first day we had a quick afternoon on a canal close to his place. Caught a fair number of peacocks and lost a monster carp, similar to the one my buddy caught a couple weeks ago. The next day we met up at dawn with one of his connections in the Miami area. We cruised down to Flamingo (Everglades) and fished the backwaters. It was uncharacteristically still and HOT. We fished a myriad of unnamed creeks and rivers meandering through mangrove islands, the current ebbing and flowing with the tides. We fished both the interior of 'glades as well as a little time on the edge next to the open ocean. We were after tarpon primarily, but unfortunately they were not hanging in their usual haunts. My buddy hooked up briefly with a 40-50 pounder that just ate his lunch on its first aerial display! We put 75 miles on the boat trying to run down tarpon, to no avail. At the end of the day, we switched gears and picked up a bunch of small specks and snook. The tarpon will have to wait for another time. We briefly saw a few reds and some random sharks, but no real opportunities to fish them. Here's the standard issue speck and a scenery shot. The next morning, we had a half a day to fish the Miami area before my buddy had to fly to Iceland. We decided to try our hand at bonefish on some flats in the Miami area. Kind of a tall order to head out in Miami city limits and catch a bonefish on the fly, but what the hey? As we expected, the hardest part of bonefishing (at least in this area) is finding them, but we lucked out. As the tide came in, the current created a nice rip lateral to the shore and we spotted a few bones occasionally coming off the turtle grass to roam on the sand. I had a brief hook-up followed by prolonged agony of the bone shaking my fly free. That group of 3 spooked after my hook-up, but we spotted a couple more working the edge. My buddy threw his shrimp out and connected. This bone gave him a heck of a fight on his 8 wt with 12 lb test. As an aside, dink barracuda are an annoying pest that cost me a handful of flies while fishing for bones. By the way, note the fly in its mouth. It was a touch-and-go landing on this guy, my buddy had it in the shallows and I tailed and basically wrestled it out of the water! From the other side: We were pretty pumped to have seen, more or less hooked and even landed a bonefish on our first outing. I spent the rest of the week with my grandparents, parents, and uncle. I caught a lot of small jacks, lookdowns, etc., on the fly, but didn't have the opportunity to chase anything spectacular. I was able to free up about 2 hours to fish with my dad on a canal and was able to get him a baby tarpon and a nice peacock, which made my day. It was a good trip, but all that little taste did was whet my appetite for a bonafide saltwater trip. I now am craving a full-on week of fly fishing down in the Keys (or Belize, etc.). Some day soon, my friend, some day soon. Until next time... __________________ "The solution to any problem - work, love, money, whatever - is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be." - John Gierach

06-05-2009, 09:11 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jump n Fish Jump n Fish is dreamin of clear rivers and big spots Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Laurel, MS Posts: 1,331 Thanks: 613 Thanked 463 Times in 216 Posts	Awesome!! I can't believe I live so close to the salt and I never take the time to learn the marshes around me. I'm on freshwater rivers and creeks kick right now, but maybe I'll venture out of my comfort zone one of these days. Thats pretty crazy to have peacocks in the canals in your backyard. What a riot. __________________ We accidentally replaced your heart with a baked potato. You have about three seconds to live.

06-05-2009, 09:23 PM	#3 (permalink)
BPbowhunter BPbowhunter is at full draw 2007 NEFGA Outdoorsman Of The Year Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Broken Bow Posts: 3,467 Thanks: 40 Thanked 324 Times in 226 Posts	Awesome fish! I've always wanted to catch some peacock bass. __________________ Is it duck season yet? Whackin' Woodies Waterfowl Crew "Look, a pair of singles!"

06-05-2009, 11:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
Fish Recycler Fish Recycler is spending 20x more time talking about fishing than fishing Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Council Bluffs, IA Posts: 2,099 Thanks: 448 Thanked 700 Times in 267 Posts	Buddy, that's not a halfway trip, that's bonafide great fishing right there. You were doing everything right for sure. __________________ You can be a Fish Recycler too...let 'em swim. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-06-2009, 06:16 AM	#5 (permalink)
thedarkarcher thedarkarcher is thinking inside the box, the tackle box. 2008 Buck Bash Archery Division Champion Join Date: May 2008 Location: Lincoln Posts: 3,377 Thanks: 2,522 Thanked 1,412 Times in 643 Posts	okay, awesome bonefish, sweet little tarpon...but man those peacocks got my blood right boilin'.... :zclap ping: __________________ I still wish I could breathe underwater. -Ned Plimpton/Kingsley Zissou

06-06-2009, 06:49 AM	#6 (permalink)
holdemplyer holdemplyer is waiting on open water Director Join Date: May 2007 Location: hunting for Kenzies MA gill!!! Certified Youth Fishing Instructor NEFGA Line Recycling Volunteer Posts: 6,088 Thanks: 850 Thanked 1,390 Times in 822 Posts	**LONG WHISTLE**** That looks to be a heck of a trip! Peacock bass are one Bad%$ lookin fish. __________________ "So I says to Mabel, I says... I'll continue this later." Waiting on the shadow to materialize.... Gone, but never forgotten.*

06-06-2009, 08:14 AM	#7 (permalink)
Fish Magnet Fish Magnet is caught his first fish through the ice Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 167 Thanks: 63 Thanked 40 Times in 32 Posts	Those are some nice fish I cant wait untill my saltwater fishing adventure in july. __________________ Catch big or stay home!

06-06-2009, 08:33 AM	#8 (permalink)
jarredbehrendt jarredbehrendt is Dreaming of Paradise Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Omaha, NE for now.... Certified Youth Fishing Instructor Posts: 2,476 Thanks: 600 Thanked 406 Times in 304 Posts Blog Entries: 68	That sounds like an awesome trip! You have to love the salt, you never know what could be lurking! That is an awesome bone there! __________________ Fish when you can...... Work when you have to.

06-06-2009, 08:41 AM	#9 (permalink)
buglem buglem is sharpening the Guillotines!!! Director Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Elkhorn Posts: 1,206 Thanks: 191 Thanked 341 Times in 183 Posts	Awesome trip! Those are some sweet fish, especially the bonefish! Congrats! __________________ You're a strange person, Kevin. But you knew that. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. - Old Bald Guy

06-06-2009, 11:16 AM	#10 (permalink)
AnglerX AnglerX is resting Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: where the shad are.. Volunteer Hunter Education Instructor NEFGA Line Recycling Volunteer Posts: 3,566 Thanks: 258 Thanked 814 Times in 318 Posts	Very nice! Bonefish is my holy grail, so I'm jealous! Awesome pictures! __________________ Keeper of the Blue Bucket

06-06-2009, 05:21 PM	#11 (permalink)
troutbum troutbum is has given himself rotator cuff tendinitis from drilling ice holes with a hand auger Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 211 Thanks: 184 Thanked 79 Times in 38 Posts	That is a MASSIVE bonefish! __________________ Flyfishing is life! -quote from Todd, a guide in Saratoga, WY

06-07-2009, 12:34 AM	#12 (permalink)
Panfisher Panfisher is Finally back home!!!!!!!!! Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Alliance, NE Posts: 55 Thanks: 16 Thanked 42 Times in 19 Posts	Sweet fish!! Especially the peacocks. I was able to catch a few in Hawaii last week and have been wanting to share them on this site. Unfortunately I'm a newbie and can't post photos yet. yours put mine to SHAME though. Good on ya!!! __________________ Take your kids fishing, they'll return the favor when they are older. "A candle loses none of it's light by lighting another candle" James Keller

06-07-2009, 01:31 AM	#13 (permalink)
tmn515 tmn515 is fishing Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Lincoln, NE NEFGA Line Recycling Volunteer Posts: 1,812 Thanks: 853 Thanked 360 Times in 299 Posts	Awesome! Troy

06-07-2009, 12:01 PM	#15 (permalink)
Hooligan Hooligan is just biding his time. Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1,378 Thanks: 98 Thanked 555 Times in 330 Posts	Wow, man. Wow. That bone is a pig of the utmost proportions. __________________ "If people don't occasionally walk away from you shaking their heads, you're doing something wrong." John Gierach

06-08-2009, 10:19 AM	#17 (permalink)
TROUTMAN TROUTMAN is Praying for a sunny weekend Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: OMAHA Posts: 411 Thanks: 163 Thanked 44 Times in 39 Posts	Please plan my next "halfway" fishing trip for me. Awesome fish! __________________ “When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money.” ~ Cree prophecy

06-08-2009, 12:29 PM	#19 (permalink)
Wingman Wingman is wishing i was fishing! 2008 Catch and Continue Finalist Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: SE Neb. Posts: 430 Thanks: 113 Thanked 46 Times in 28 Posts	Great trip. Thanks for sharing. If you need company on your next Saltwater adventure..... I will be available. __________________ TEAM SKANK.....

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