No go on finding a bonefish, fought jacks until I couldn't stand it anymore... it was hot and I guess my phone decided it wanted to go swimming. One more day of fishing and I think I'll be headed home.

thats hilarious

Last day of fishing … hope it’s a good one. Rods and reels all washed down and cleaned, leaders all changed back to 40 and 50 lb from the 12 lb leader I had switched to for bonefish… been up since 3 as I passed out around 7 last night.
Should be on the water 8:00…eastern time.

Didn’t know what to expect today… every day at west lake had been awesome.. today was a lot tougher as there weren’t near as many bites but did land 9 snook, 3 redfish, 2 trout, several Oscars, and jumped 3 tarpon landing the first one which I didn’t take picture of thinking I’d be catching them all day.. caught lady fish as well.. Met some nice guys on the water, saw 5 crocs.. planned to only fish until lunch but stayed until just before dark.. No mosquitoes today and beautiful drive out of the park.. Packing up, doing wash, and headed home..

I am glad you had a good finish to your trip. The pictures of the Redfish are amazing.

Another excellent LConn fishing trip

the ones in west lake look totally different from those in Flamingo, 7 miles away... much cleaner water in west lake, check out the spots on this one

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Whew! ! ! I’m wore out from all that paddling and fishing and I wasn’t even there. Great Post as usual. Thanks for sharing.

I'm planning on being back down there in May for a couple of weeks, no firm date set... if anyone would like to join me post here or private message me.. if you plan on being down in the keys or miami area you're only an hour or two from the most incredible place I've ever found to be outdoors.

Met a handful of guys at the ramps or on the waters while there this trip.. from all over the world. Met one guy, Jim that I spoke to briefly on the water the first or second day.. spoke to him at the ramp another time, then on the third day.. we meet on the water and he says, "Louis, is that you?" We had met at Lake Fork, years ago, at the Tournament of Champions kayak tournament, had been friends on facebook for years and knew many of the same guys in kayak community... he is from Missouri. I had given him a swim bait and he remembered. He answered an ad online for seasonal work at Flamingo and rather than spend this winter in Missouri, snowed in, decided to come to Flamingo and work with the private company, that runs the marina, does the boat tours, built the eco tents where I stayed, and is building a hotel there. He stays at the lodging provided by the company and fishes from his kayak almost every day after work and days off.

Met a young man from Cuba.. just graduated from high school and is taking 6 months off before deciding what he will do next.. fish for a living as a guide at Flamingo or go to college. The kid has only been in the country 5 years with his parents, living in Miami and, speaks perfect English, Spanish, and Italian. He is now consumed with fishing Flamingo in his kayak and electric motor.

Met a couple of guys from Boca Raton kayak fishing that had never been there before.. enjoyed showing them a few places and hearing the loudest scream from a grown man I've ever heard. One of them had gotten bumped hard by something huge... probably either a manatee or shark.

Last day on the water I meet two guys... one that fishes Flamingo a lot... just bought a new boat (gheenoe), new 6 hp mercury (max hp for west lake), and this was his first outing in rig.. had with him a fellow from Peru... my mom's country of origin. Hit it off and spoke at the ramp way too long.. met on the water several times during a long day to check how the fishing was.. Could tell right off the bat .. Peru guy knew how to handle rod and reel, to my surprise. Found out later he was invited to fish for the Columbian team at the World Black Bass Championships that had just ended a few days earlier. He had said earlier that the U.S. fishermen had kicked [censored], but I didn't know he was a participant. Not sure he has fished much for bass but to be invited to represent another country, says a lot in my book.. Nice meeting you Pato!

https://usabass.org/2022-bbwc-usa

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006690341042

Check out the monsters he has caught on facebook page above.

Beautiful fish..

My camera that went swimming is coming back to life today.. I can pull up my photos but it loses a charge fast.. taking pictures of pictures from that phone that weren’t saved in cloud..



This is the other side of redfish… over 50 spots total between the two sides and by far the most spots on any redfish I’ve ever caught or seen.

What is probably an abandoned refugee boat I came across in Biscayne Bay, near Turkey Point Nuclear Power plant. I’d fished the area only once about 15 years ago and security got on the bullhorn and told me to leave.. didn’t get so close this time where I took these pictures.. more than likely the boat was made in Cuba.. barrels for flotation.

What is probably a bull shark in West Lake the second time I fished it on this trip.. thought I wouldn’t ever see this picture as it was the one I wanted most in old phone

Harley Gheen and the Gheenoe - when I was stationed in Orlando met a friend that had a Gheenoe with the fan propulsion. Fun boat and could scoot across some of those areas choked with hydrilla. Thanks for the memories and really appreciate the pictures of what looks to be an incredible place.

Very popular boats in Florida.. I really like the Low Tide 25

https://www.customgheenoe.com/price-list