Everglades National Park and Florida Bay (Bait, Artificial, and Fly)
Expect to take a Beautiful 45-minute boat ride through winding through of mangrove islands and shallow, narrow channels. With an abundance of fishing locations, anglers of all skill levels will have the opportunity to catch snook, redfish, trout, small tarpon, black drum, and much more. Fishing the Park is good year-round, with some of the best fishing from October-March.
Fly Tarpon Fishing
With multiple fishing options, backcountry or the oceanside flats of Islamorada, there are options for every angler’s skill level. Backcountry tarpon (on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico) tend to lay up near the surface, oftentimes in dirty/milky water waiting to ambush prey. In other spots of Florida Bay, we’ll find tarpon laid up or moving slowly in clear water. The ocean side flats have migrating tarpon in clear water, so you can expect to get shots at single tarpon or large schools and strings. One can expect to have shots at tarpon between 30-150 lbs. This season is from April-July, however big tarpon can be found year around when the weather is right. If small tarpon (5-20 lbs.) is something that interests you, the best time of year to fish is between July and October.
Bait/Artificial Tarpon Fishing
Depending on your fishing preference, you can sight fish tarpon using light spinning rods, casting live crabs or artificial lures. Another option is fishing near channels and bridges using a variety of live bait. Expect fish between 50-150 lbs. The best time of year for this trip is March-July. If Small Tarpon (5-20 lbs.) is something that interests you more, the best time of year to fish is between July and October.
Bonefish and Permit (Bait, Artificial, and Fly)
With countless flats, banks, and shorelines from Key Largo to Key West, we’ll have plenty of options. The majority of the time we’ll fish from Islamorada; however with the Lower Keys only an hour away, we have the option to trailer the boat down the road. Bonefishing can be good year-round in the Upper Keys. Average bonefish size is about 5 lbs., but don’t be surprised if you find yourself casting at double-digit weight fish. Permit fishing is better from March to October and the average size is about 10-15 lbs., but again, fish over 30 lbs. are not uncommon.
Shark Fishing (Fly or Spin Gear)
Bull, Tiger, Lemon, Hammerhead, Blacktip, and Spinner Sharks are prevalent throughout Florida Bay. Shark Fishing is very visual, oftentimes you can spot over a dozen sharks behind the boat searching for a meal. When targeting sharks on fly, expect to use an 11 or 12 wt and be ready for some exciting bites! When using spin gear be ready to cast medium-sized baits to get aggressive bites followed by blistering runs.
Family Fun Trip with Capt. Brooke
We’re parents- we know what it’s like to have the family on the boat and it can be a ton of fun. Depending on your family’s ambition, we can target anything from sharks to snapper. We love fishing anglers of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels. This trip can be as intimate as a parent-kid fishing trip or as general as the whole family on ecotour. Either way, we’ll spend an easy couple of hours on the water.
Snapper Fishing (Bait, Artificial, and Fly)
Yellowtail. mangrove and mutton snapper are common catches. Most snapper trips are fished on the reef edge on the Atlantic side of the Keys. We’ll use a variety of light tackle to target these potential dinner entrees. Anglers are allowed to keep up to 10 aggregate snappers per day. Snapper can be an all-day target in the summer or incorporated into other offshore fishing trips in the winter months.
Patch Fishing (Bait, Artificial, and Fly)
Shallow, live-bottom areas inside the Florida Keys Barrier Reef Tract makes for a day of variety catches- snappers, groupers, mackerels, jacks and so on. Depths of 8-25 feet allow anglers to use light tackle, including fly. Late fall and winter months are the best time for the patches.
Kite Fishing (Bait)
Kite fishing is a popular technique to target a variety of pelagic species. The 32′ center console will be loaded down with multiple live bait options that are key to a successful trip. This trip is a favorite to target sailfish with bycatch including tunas, mahi, wahoos and mackerels. With the option to fish four to six lines on the kites, anglers will use high-speed, light tackle conventional reels in hopes of landing a prized pelagic. Winter and spring months favor pelagic species on nearshore reefs.
Florida Bay & Gulf of Mexico Fishing (Bait, Artificial, and Fly)
The nearshore shallow waters on the bayside boast a grab-bag of species, including some of the largest targets. This trip can afford opportunities at mackerels, goliath groupers, cobias, permit and more.
No-Motor Zone Fishing (Spin and Fly)
This technical, specialized, single-angler trip gets you beyond the noise and into the unfrequented backcountry of the Everglades National Park. Expect to moor at the entrance to special areas that were set aside for conservation and sport. We will pole a specialized, 12-foot canoe through protected waters to grounds of snook, tarpon, redfish, snapper and more. Prepare for the added experience of intimate sightings of wildlife.
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