I am trying to figure out the costs for a trip like this.
Do you buy a Flamingo Park Pass or something so you don't have to pay the daily gate fee of $30 per vehicle?
Why do you stay at the Super 8 motel instead of on-site at the park?
Would a Hobie Pro Angler 12 work pretty well down there or is too shallow for the flippers to work properly?

I bought the Lifetime National Parks, Sr. Pass, .. No pay nothing any more.

I stay at Super 8 because it so cheap.. around $70 with tax, nice place, lots of foreign tourists, fast internet, tv, swimming pool, lots of fast food places to eat, Sonny's Barbecue nearby, no mosquitoes, no noseeums, and when the weather is like today.. 15 to 17 winds, I may decide not to fish tomorrow, or fish the Keys, or Biscayne National Park instead. I'd hate to be at the campground at Flamingo and not be fishing... plus I enjoy looking for stuff on the road at the end of the day, on the way out.

A Hobie Pro Angler would work well on most days.... when the winds not blowing, when the grass hasn't blown in, when you know your way around, when you know how fast the water can get blown out, leaving you high and dry for hours. On the days it wouldn't work, you'll be looking for rescue helicopter. Today, I promise anyone that followed me in a pro angler would be shooting off flares when it got dark. Today I hooked one of my lures in the front grab handle and couldn't shake it loose.. I looked for an hour for hard bottom so I could get out of kayak and unhook it. Never found it and I know my way around. Tide was coming in.. water 3 feet deep along mangrove shoreline, you would sink another foot or two if you got out.. you might not be able to get your feet unstuck from that goo. I'm not kidding... plus it stinks really bad. Would you want to be stuck in mud and couldn't get back in kayak? There's a saying by fishermen in Flamingo... "never get out of your boat"... if you don't count the ramp at campground or the one at marina.. I've gotten out of mine two times in 18 years... hard bottom on one of the islands.. most of them have none. Unless you want to climb on top of mangrove roots, don't do it.



This is the best place I ever found to hide from an east wind, like it was today. I’ve used it for 18 years, but it no longer has hard bottom. It’s also the exact spot where I was trying to get out of wind and approaching thunder storm 15 years ago, when there was a crocodile sunning that I spooked when I cut off its escape route and it ran over the bow of my kayak. It doesn’t look anything like it did years before. Several hurricanes have come through since then and the spoil island seems to be getting washed away.

Caught a bunch of small snook and one redfish today. Got to the park early, wind was starting to pick up and I decided to go downwind starting out.. New it would be bad coming back in but I was tired and would deal with it later.

Only went a couple of miles from the marina.. caught first snook early and missed several more. Fish were knocking slack in my line ... Caught close to 10 and lost a bunch.. throwing hook, Caught on DOA Shrimp and DOA C.A.L., jig with Saltwater Assasin. Nothing on topwater or spinner baits.

Thanks for sharing all the info and keep the updates coming.

great

crocodiles too

Winds finally laying down. Only snook today, 7 more, 22 for the three days and two reds. Haven’t seen any tarpon but today was first day that I could get to where I usually fish for them. Haven’t been on the water before noon the last two days. Suppose to be nice this weekend.

I had a long post ready and somehow lost it.. I'm not doing it again.. slow day until the very end. Just like the tide tables and solunar tables predicted .. 7:00 p.m. Caught one snook around 1:00, started fishing around 11:00, nothing for hours except a jack.. lots of paddling, almost 4 miles to Palm Key. Caught a bunch from 6:00 to 7:30.. had a good one bust me off late, stopped fishing when the last one busted me off from leader not being changed. Back at it tomorrow.


Start of day... no wind, messed up water, low tide.


End of day.. back at it tomorrow.

Rough day.. officially exhausted. Got to the park around 11:00, the place is packed like I've never seen it before. Think I'm going to have a heat stroke before I even launch. Its the end of low tide and I'm not too excited about getting on the water. Paddle out marina and noticed a boat on the flat out front, a half mile away. It has to be stuck. It has to be stuck because thats the exact line I was taking when I got stuck in kayak... at night and had to wait hours for enough water to come back in.



As I get closer, I can see that someone is paddling, then I see another person on the other side of boat paddling, then I see two people in the water pushing the boat from behind. They are on a line straight for the marina... no way they'll make it without a backhoe.

Told them they would not make it, that there's a shallow hump that will show itself soon. Best to just rest for another hour or so and float on out.



They thanked me and continued pushing and paddling ...inches at a time. I paddled a couple hundred yards away and watched. They finally got back in the boat and waited.


Hats off to anyone that will put a shark in the boat with three ladies with them.

Caught a couple of snook and a catfish... nothing for several hours, moving around a lot.. heading back in and stop off at a spoil island. Put stake out pole near where wind and water are coming around island.. Two casts and get bit.. Nice redfish on a DOA Baitbuster, and get another around 24 inches.. miss a couple, hookup and lose one, get bit on same cast.. It was great... landed 5, missed more.. and get a couple more snook. Was taking pictures with phone camera, had it in my lap, Had last red flopping all over the place and was happy to get hook out of it before it jumped back in. In all the commotion my camera went overboard... didn't even realize it at the time.

Saw this one on the way out. Have no idea what it is.. ran over a 6 footer of some kind.. different kind but nasty squished.


Probably no fishing tomorrow as I'll be trying to get a phone.

thursday

First rain in a week, only a quick passing shower and bird acts like he is trying to dry out. Barely got the road wet.

Thanks for sharing. Awesome.

Another good video on tarpon..



May drive to Islamorada today.. only an hours drive, the same as to Flamingo. Spoke to someone who said the tarpon migration is on and they are close to shore in Islamorada as anywhere. Its windy again today.. These are big tarpon... I've hooked several over the years in the 80 to 150 lb range. Three and a half hour fight at night one time. Never got a picture of it, never touched my leader. I think I'm getting scared of them in my old age. Not sure I want to risk it.



The battle at the side of kayak with tarpon is really serious from a kayak. Will never forget my first one 2003 .. about 50 lbs, rapala X rap with treble hooks shaking next to you. They will jerk your hand out of their mouth nearly every time. Always afraid of a shark coming up to take a bite as well. Have had that happen twice with snook. Or I could go back to Flamingo and look for the baby tarpon in the backcounty... that's more my style these days.