I talked to Scott Silver back in February at the Back Country Fly Fisherman’s meeting.  We set up a summer time trip, and he was quite excited to catch both tarpon and snook on fly.  On the day we went out, I took the platform off, and we shoved up a very narrow creek almost two miles deep into the Everglades. Sometimes, you go so deep into the Everglades, the fish turn golden from the tanic water.

The sun came up as we entered the bay and the tarpon started rolling, and snook popping.  I told Scott that he would only need to use a popper, and the fish would crash it.  Not ten minutes into the remote bay, and baby tarpon zeroed in on the popper. 

Over 25 big strikes from snook and tarpon ensued.  Some fish missed it, some got it, some knocked it out of the water- but either way, popper fishing proved that its one of the most fun ways to fly fish in the Everglades.

Big tarpon on fly

Everglades Tarpon on Fly

Bill and Harry wanted a good shot at tarpon, and an early morning in August rarely disappoints.  Anglers catch tarpon and snook in the Glades year round, but summer time is great for throwing surface flies. Bill started off by throwing a deer hair surface fly in front of a big tapon finning on the surface.  A presentation 4-5 inches in front of the tarpon’s nose was all it took.  The tarpon smashed the fly and 45 minutes later, Bill brought the tarpon boatside. 

It was then Harry’s turn.  He had never caught a big tarpon on fly before, but this also was his day.  Four big tarpon swam right towards him, and he coaxed the fly in front of the biggest fish.  Again, the tarpon didn’t waste any time inhaling the fly and giving Harry the time of his life.

Scotty's tarpon

It was a steamy July morning.   Scott Cameron decided to take his new wife Joan fishing for the first time, and it was independence day.  The heavy rains of June and early July had pushed the snook and tarpon into the brackish creeks of the Everglades. After twisting through an number of bays, we came to a snook-lined mangrove shoreline.

Scott loves fly-fishing, and he tricked a 29 inch snook on a small white muddler.  Once the tide came up, the snook stopped cruising down the shoreline  so we moved onto tarpon fishing. I decided to take the boat up a creek that I was sure would be full of the silver kings. Bingo- once we moved into position, Scott made the right cast and hooked up a beautiful tarpon

Huge Tarpon on Fly

Back Country Snook

Roger’s fishing partner Mike had a lot better luck throughout the year as far as catching big snook and tarpon.  So Roger was due for a good day.  Big snook were difficult to find due to the freeze earlier in the year, but a small pond deep in the back country was holding some good fish. 

The overcast conditions made it difficult to see the fish finning through the skinny water, but we finally spotted one and he laid the fly perfectly a foot in front of the fish.  The snook exploded on the fly and after a strong fight, keeping the fish out of the mangroves, Roger subdued a 10 pounder. 

As the clouds cleared, we focused our energy on tarpon fishing.  Fly fishing for tarpon is always an exciting affair.  And this was no exception.  The shallow bay we entered was loaded with giant tarpon swimming and laying around.  We spotted a fish not more than 20 feet from the boat, and Roger carefully placed the fly just in front of the tarpon’s nose.  The tarpon did what he was supposed to do, and after an hour of battling, the 150+ pound tarpon came boat-side. 

This spectacular day made up for a few miscues earlier in the year.

Double on surface flies/plugs

Pretty poon on fly

Scott Dempsey and Carlton Franklin like to tag team the tarpon and snook in the Everglades.  On a recent trip they slammed catching big tarpon, little tarpon, redfish, and snook of all sizes on poppers and top water plugs.   One will throw the fly while the other casts a top water plug (chug bug, my favorite surface plug) and vice versa.   There combo is deadly as they received explosion after explosion in the skinny water of the Everglades.  The Everglades is one of the few places where a plug/fly combination works very well when done with precision.  September is a great month for surface strikes from snook, reds, and tarpon so if you like fishing on top this is a good time.

Giant Everglades Redfish on Fly

Charles Foschini was looking for a snook, redfish, or trout because he entered in a fly fishing tournament that needs all three, but we decided to target big reds first.  September is a great time for the largest reds of the year and the day Charles and I fished was no disappointment.   Poling through a shallow bay we sight fished this 36 inch 18lb red that was cruising along looking for a meal.    The fish took Charles deep into his backing and ending up being the biggest red he has ever caught on fly or plug tackle in his entire life.  Everglades National Park is known for its snook and tarpon fishing but in the fall redfish can be very abundant and are great game on fly or plug tackle.

Frisky, small tarpon

Early morning tarpon on fly

Chris Lee really likes the summertime fishing because of all the different types of tarpon fishing that are available.  He likes catching the big ones in the bays and rivers, but he really likes catching the small ones in the creeks.  On this particular day in August, he got a little bit of both. 

At first light we came into a quiet backcountry bay where numerous tarpon were finning on the surface and slow rolling.  It looked like a good call for the floating line and a surface fly.  Chris made some long but accurate casts in front of a group of rolling fish and immediately hooked up.  It was a great way to start the morning.

After tussling with big tarpon for awhile, the bite slowed and we headed to a spot where some smaller fish were still rolling.  A storm rolled in but it only made the fish even more active.  Chris hooked 7 or 8 tarpon in the 10-40lb range on surface muddlers. It was a great day all around hooking tarpon of all sizes.

River Everglades Tarpon

July is the time of year when downpours are common and lightning storms abound in the late afternoons.  But most mornings, the weather is calm and the fish are very active in the tanic stained water of the Everglades.  The tarpon fishing changes in the summer and in July the tarpon can be stacked up in the rivers.  David Phillips experienced a spectacular July day when the tarpon were as thick as they could be.  I took David way South to a small river where the tarpon were rolling non-stop between 60-140lbs.   As soon as we drifted into the fish and managed to stake the boat off- his line tightened up.  Using an intermediate line on his 12 weight and a small yellow fly, he managed to land 4 tarpon over 75lbs and hook 3 others in less than 2 hours. 

This time of year the tarpon can really get ganged up and the action gets pretty hot.  After a spectacular morning, Dave asked me what we were going to do next.  The big tarpon had stopped rolling around 10am so we had to change gears.  Even though this time of year the big tarpon is mostly an early morning bite, the baby tarpon and snook seem to be eager to feed all day.  Its only a question of finding them. 

We took another long ride, partly to get to the next spot, but also to utilize “nature’s air conditioning.”  We pulled the 8 weight out and started working some of the backcountry bays using white muddler minnows.  We could see the small tarpon rolling slowly and the snook cruising through the shallows.  We had opportunities at both and caught both small tarpon to 15lbs and snook to 28 inches.  It was pretty fun fishing considering it was our backup plan.