Everglades fishing trip 5/25/24

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5/25/24

Miami River north as far as you can go.

6:00AM-11:00 AM

Sunny and Hot 90*+

W/T 88*

Wind NE 5-10

Clarity light stain

 

A good friend of 30 years just got a new boat, a Ranger 521c, and wanted me to experience the ride.  We headed out before first light and found half the ramps along Alligator Alley are closed because of low water and poor ramp conditions.  We searched for an open ramp and found one at MM35.  We decided to head up the Miami River and fish the north cuts.  First and every cast we were experiencing constant exotic hits from Oscars, Jaguars, and Mayans.  We had to go heavier and deeper to get to  some largemouth action.  The canal was full of gators with ten or more at every cut.

 

This section of canal is 6 miles from the closest road so there is lots of wildlife on the surrounding Islands.  No sounds of civilization and no other boats. .In the past I have heard bobcats calling in the morning, eagles, hawks, river otters playing along the bank, hogs, and a variety of song birds doing their thing.  We even once saw licensed python hunters up on the island looking for snakes.  Although it was hot we had lots of shade from the big tree canopy.  

 

We ended up catching over 30 rock bass, a bunch of Jaguars and Mayans.  Once we figured out the bass bite deep, we caught 20+ with the largest just over 2 lbs.  The big old girls didn't come out to play.  The canal is full of fish but not necessarily the ones you want.

 

It was a pleasant day, on a big comfortable bass boat, with a good friend, and lots of action.  I even caught a camouflaged Gator in a pad field.  I thanks to him for breaking the 15 lb floro.  We had several big gators come within two feet of the boat, and it's breeding season.  A fun day in the wilderness, and thanks Steve for the invite!  

[Don51]

A very interesting place. This "rainy" season is starting out like last year. Could be big trouble if the rain doesn't kick in soon.  

[Zcoker]

Great report! Yes, very shallow running. Big girls come out at night. All those sounds that you mentioned and then some! 

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2 hours ago, Zcoker said:

Great report! Yes, very shallow running. Big girls come out at night. All those sounds that you mentioned and then some! 

Thanks, although we couldn’t find any big girls, it’s still a fav place to go if you want to get close to nature without the noise of civilization!