wh2004, I have not paddled from Choko to Flamingo. Those were the two places I normally fished every weekend so I'm familiar with the areas within a few miles of Choko, within 12 miles of Flamingo. Never had the desire to do the entire 100 mile trip as my friends that have, never came back with any fishing reports that impressed me enough to go. A lot of paddling, not so much on the catching. I'm a fisherman first, kayaker/paddler/camper second. Sleeping in mosquito infested areas is not fun, in your tent before sundown, constant drone at night. Most folks go during the winter months when the bugs aren't so bad. Just saying its a noble trip to make solo but if great fishing is what you're looking for, you are better off fishing either place within a days paddling distance. I've never camped off any of the chickees that are available...heard they are poop covered and smell is awful. Tides, if you're not familiar with them or how the winds can blow all the water out of the bay, or negative tides, its best to experience within a day's paddle before getting out there and not knowing where to find water or how long before it comes back in.


From the entrance gate of Everglades National Park near Homestead, Fl to Flamingo is 38 miles of nothing but pure wild.


Plenty of great fishing within a days paddle of Flamingo, this is only a mile from ramp. Best place I ever found for tarpon, Christian Point.


Can't go from point a. to point b. at low tide. At high tide you could just paddle straight across to islands. Got to know your tides and how certain wind directions can blow the water out of Flamingo Bay, even at high tide.


There's a reason they call the Everglades a river of grass.


Camped out on only spot I could find for miles coming back from East Cape... All campfires have to be made below the high tide line so its sure to be put out by rising tide. Set tent up here and built fire, at high tide the next morning there was a redfish nosing around in what was my campfire. Trout, snook, and redfish caught from shore before I even launched to fish. Within three miles of Flamingo ramp.





Flamingo snook.


Foul hooked up to 7 foot sawfish, later got spooled by it but not before chasing it down and getting leader into rod tip. The fish never knew it was hooked for the longest. Christian Point, Flamingo. Lots of great memories of starting out fishing from a kayak in Flamingo. Can't tell you how many times I've been jolted by the adrenalen rush here. Same with Chokoloskee.


Be prepared to wet your paints!

The best person to contact would be my friend vivian. She leads trips out there during the winter and recently reported on the trip she made earlier this year. Don't tell her that I said she's afraid of the fish at Flamingo.

http://beachcamper.blogspot.com/

Awesome pics lconn. I had actually heard that about the fishing which is why I am considering doing the Keys trip instead. I have also thought about just doing a 5 day trip from one spot in the Keys and just finding a place to camp and fish the whole time without worrying about paddling the whole way. Either trip would be epic to me though.

Wherever you decide to go, let me know and I'll send you info on where and how I would fish the area and what to expect. Highly recommend getting some time at Flamingo if the wind isn't blowing. Good campground with cold shower, or pay $3.00 for hot shower at marina. During summer the campground is usually vacant because of the mosquitos. Small museum there that has car wash type dry blower in entry room that blasts all the mosquitos off of you before you're allowed into main room. Great fishing starting a hundred yards from marina. Snook, tarpon, redfish, mangrove snapper, sawfish, bullsharks, lemon sharks, porpoise, manatee, and all kinds of bird life, alligators, burmses python, and just around the corner from Christian Point is the Crocodile breeding grounds in Snake Bight. I think I read somewhere over 200 species of fish in Floriday Bay. map of flamingo http://goo.gl/maps/vVEdr


photo above and below are from the Keys.. Annes Beach/kayak launch and Channel 2 bridge area. map here: http://goo.gl/maps/Lg79S



When you're in Miami you might as well try to catch some of these. Easy access to canals that you can walk along the shore or fish the Miami Airport Lakes from kayak.


Chokoloskee, half mile paddle to easiest place to catch fish in Florida. Snook, trout, redfish, goliath grouper and black drum. Campsites at either Chokoloskee Island Park or Everglades National Park.

http://goo.gl/maps/jXIet
zoom in and you'll see the oyster bars to the south of the island where picture above was taken. At low tide those oyster beds appear everywhere and the power boats can't fish most of it. Your own private fishing hole for hours with boaters watching from a distance.

Do them all!

I've got to throw the Jackson Big Tuna hat in here. Its got quite a bit of storage below deck with a huge rear hatch to get to everything. Plus plenty of open deck space up top, especially if your paddling alone. Not the lightest of yaks but completely manageable.

Stable fishing platform and mucho space for gear = NuCanoe Frontier 12. It does have limited access to the inside, but it's really no big deal if you pack it right. For long hauls, I put my dry bag, tent, sleeping bag etc. inside. I tied a 10' piece of string on the dry bag and put it in first, then load everything else while pushing the bag back a little at a time as needed.If something gets a little to far back I can usually pull it forward with the string on the bag. If not, I just lift the back of the boat up and everything slides forward. A minor inconvenience when you consider the amount of stuff you can put inside, not to mention the amount of stuff you can put topside on the wide open deck. The Frontier is rated for 650lbs. and I know my oldest son and I have had it close to that a time or two.

lconn, thanks again. I'll let you know when I go. I could do the trip of a lifetime just doing day trips from the truck hitting all the good areas in South Florida...


Tex, I took some time checking out the Frontier this morning. It is pretty awesome. Definitely down to it at the Ultimate. I'm just worried about long distance paddling in the Frontier. What do you think?

what didnt you like about the trident 13? The tridents have the long hatch that allows you to have easy access to storage. And my trident 15 is humungous inside. Not to mention is has a 550lbs capacity and paddles fast.

Storage capacity was fine on it. I just never felt comfortable in it.

That trip looks fun !

wh2004, I think I would load my Frontier and join you in a heartbeat if I had the time! The farthest I have paddled (not counting river floats) is about 50 miles (give or take). I paddled Big Sam from the Ewing boat ramp on Hwy. 103 to the boat ramp on the east side of the dam. I fished and explored along the way. It took five days. I wasn't worried.

killer pics icon
need to get back to florida reel soon!

I think you have it narrowed down to 2 great boats. Sounds like a great trip you have planned! Wish I had more time to do trips like this.

Does anyone know how the storage is on the Hobie Adventure or PA14?

I would go with the PA14 over the Adventure. The larger front hatch, 3 total access hatches, higher weight capacity, and a bigger tankwell. I say this because it's a 5 day, coast trip and you're going to need to pack a lot of drinking water.