Fly Fishing Southwest Florida - Marco Island
and Everglades City / Chokoloskee |
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Marco Island and Everglades City / Chokoloskee is the
Gateway to the 10,000 Islands, Everglades National Park.
Talk about a fly fishing Mecca. This is as close to fly
fishing Nirvana as one gets. There are miles and miles
of mangrove coastline with countless fish camps, hotels,
motels, restaurants, boat ramps, tackle shops, and guides
to insure you a successful outing.
Marco Island and the Everglades have some of the very
best fishing in the world. Snook, Redfish, Tarpon, SeaTrout,
Cobia, Snapper, Pompano, Permit, Tripletail and more
are caught in the Backcountry. The beauty of this entire
area is you are a 5-10 minute ride to the fishing areas.
It is well protected by coastline, barrier islands and
mangroves. Even on the windiest days one can get out
of the wind. Of course let's pray for no wind but it
happens so why not be in an area you know you can get
out and fish regardless. Many a day we are able to catch
1 of all the fish listed above. Oh, I forgot the jacks
and lady fish which raise heck when the hook is set.
This place is unreal.
 Big
Snook and Tarpon cruise right along the beach in late
spring and early summer. An 8-weight outfit with a nice
floating line would be perfect for the snook along the
beaches. Many throw baitfish imitations that resemble
common baits called a “pilchard” when targeting these “linesiders” along
the beaches. Such patterns include white clouser minnows,
white deceivers, or any other white or gray pattern that
resembles a small bait commonly known as a “pilchard”.
For these snook along in the surf you can get away with
even using 2-pound monofilament as a leader, but you
will lose a good number of fish. I would recommend at
least using 12 pound for these superior game fish. Lastly,
snook season is closed from May through September; unfortunately
you will have to release all of these tasty denizens
of the sea during this time of year.
A great location to try to hook up these angling treats
would be at the Tigertail Beach in Marco. The beach is
clearly marked on any map of Southwest Florida. This
beach will give you a great starting point in which you
can find large snook and even the occasional tarpon.
Make sure you are fishing this area about an hour before
the sun comes up and you should have some great success.
Another excellent snook spot would be in Caxambas Pass.
If you can properly position your fly next to the rocky
shoreline either in the early morning or evening you
should definitely expect several hook ups.
 For
the tarpon along the beaches you will probably need an
11-12 weight. The reel needed must have at least 250
yards of backing and a great drag system. A sinking or
intermediate line is needed for these fish because you
want to get the fly to their level quickly. The best
selection of patterns for the tarpon along the beaches
during this time is usually a dark keys’ style pattern
or of course the very success bunny. But when the fish
are hot nearly any pattern could reveal your next 150
lb. tarpon. The ideal leader would involve an 80 pound
butt section followed by a bimini twist and then a 25
pound class tippet, and lastly a 60 pound bite tippet.
Although the late Spring and Summer is best for the large
tarpon along the beaches, there is also a resident population
of medium to small “poons” that will test your angling
limits on your 9-10 weight outfit. And of course these
resident fish are around nearly 365 days a year.
The fall in South West Florida is a transition time.
The snook and tarpon are starting to migrate into the
creeks and the red fish are starting to school up on
the flats. This time of year is a very exciting time
to fish because you can experience almost every species
in one outing.
Although snook fishing is slow in the dead of winter
the trout, redfish, pompano and others turn on. During
this time of year you can find redfish tailing, which
is quite a challenge on fly. Most use a 7-8-weight outfit
for these fish. Floating line is the best choice for
these fish and feels free to use your summer snook leaders
for these fish as well. The best patterns to throw here
are usually crab and shrimp imitations that sink quickly.
While fishing for these tailers don’t feel shy about
nailing them on the head with the fly because these fish
are so focused on feeding in the thick grass that they
are not focused on the surface activity. The other species
mentioned are likely to be caught on deeper grass flats
with the same tackle.
 The
last location worth venturing off to would be the Jolley
Bridge Flats on the West side of the bridge. This flat
lies just barely on the South side of the causeway. This
would be an excellent spot to throw a fly because you
have a wide variety of fish to catch. And if you arrive
their early enough you have an excellent chance of encountering
some tailing redfish. And in adding this spot is also
accessible by the angler without a vessel.
Southwest Florida is an angler’s destination that should
be visited. There are some truly divine places to stay
and I suggest talking to Pat Kelly directly for all info.
On Marco Island don’t miss the Snook Inn for on the water
food and fun, it should be a stop on any angler who is
in search of food and fun as well. Lastly, good luck
fishing Southwest Florida it is a world-class destination.
NOTE: Text supplied by Jim O'Keefe, Founder International
Snook Federation, avid angler, conservationist and lover
of Southwest Florida. |
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