The weather is getting hot and so is the fishing in the Everglades.

We are definitely into our summer pattern with it being unseasonably warm.  Temperatures are averaging mid nineties and storms coming through midday to late in the afternoon. What that means to me is get out and kayak fish real early (at or before sunrise) and come back in around noon. It still gets you around five hours on the water to fish. After that for me it’s head for the A/C.  The water has really warmed up and normally fish get lethargic in these temperatures (especially snook even with being a sub tropical species) but there has been a lot of activity. I've been catching a fair amount of snook 20" or more along with some nice trout and a red fish here and there. I still haven't been able to get out to some of the barrier islands in the gulf but there have been some good reports of some larger snook and reds being caught along with permit and tarpon.  I plan on getting out there real soon.

The other morning fishing shorelines flipping soft plastics with light tackle I hooked up with a large fish. It freight trained away and my first thought was a very big snook only it never stopped. My next thought was maybe a large ray. Being that I was using light tackle I couldn't crank down too much on my drag and I couldn't put out the anchor for fear of getting spooled. So after being on a sleigh ride for about a half mile I finally got the upper hand and got the fish near the boat. It turns out and to my surprise it was around a 5 foot black tip shark. As I finally got him next to the boat with a head shake he pulled the hook. Using only a 30lb mono leader I can't believe he didn't cut me off.

Yesterday I kayak fished the backcountry for a few hours and again hooked up with a larger fish. This time it Was a nice snook. After a nice fight and of course she headed into the mangrove roots I managed and caught my largest snook of the year so far. A real nice fish around 36" and just less than 12lbs!

So like I said, fishing is getting hot and now is the time of the year in the Everglades to catch some nice fish. Snook, tarpon, and reds are among the many species that are available. For anyone wondering about the oil situation here, there is none and the probability of any getting here in the future is about 1% according to NOAA. Attention should be paid towards the competency of our government in how this situation came about and now how they are handling this disaster and the consequences that it will have on the people, wildlife and environment around the other areas around the gulf and maybe the east coast that it is going to affect for many, many years.

Rich Jones

239-631-9028

http://kayakfishingtheeverglades.blogspot.com/