10,000 Islands – Everglades
Southwest Florida’s coastal and backwaters are truly a sportfishers’ paradise! Stretching along the Gulf of Mexico from Cape Romano to Cape Sable on Florida’s southernmost tip there are over ninety miles of pristine, uninhabited, unparalleled, labyrinths of coastal keys, estuaries, shoals, oyster beds, backwater bays, mangrove islands and freshwater creeks teeming with rich nutrients, aquatic life, and more important, great fishing.
Starting in the late spring, fueled by abundant rains (60 inches/year) over the grassland and marsh ecosystems in Collier Seminole State Park, Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve, 10,000 Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Big Cypress National Preserve, and over 5,000 square miles in Everglades National Park, become the nursery to billions of tiny shrimp, crabs, and crustaceans. These nurseries attract a variety of backwater southwest Florida gamefish including Snook, Redfish, Spotted Trout, and Tarpon. These backwaters are also permanent homes to Black Drum, Sheepshead, Mangrove Snapper, and Ladyfish. During the summer and fall months, the coastal shoreline, white sand beaches, outer keys and passes, are awash with massive concentrations of thredfin herring, finger mullet, scale sardines, and glass minnows. Diving birds and surface agitation indicate “hot” action as schools of Spanish Mackerel, Jack Crevalle, Spotted Trout, Snook, Tarpon, Permit, and Pompano drive the baits into a frenzy.
From dawn to dusk in this serene wilderness far from roads and urban clamor, accessible only by shallow water skiffs, kayaks, and canoes, encounters with ibis, osprey, white and blue heron, egrets, and roseate spoonbills will enrich your day in the Glades.Whether you are a seasoned fly-fisherman, spin caster, or avid light-tackle angler, I invite you to book a charter with me and enjoy this truly unique 10,000 Islands-Everglades world class fishing adventure.