Everglades, Backcountry and Offshore in 3 days

This week I had the pleasure of fishing with Doctors Liz and Mark Harris. They are visiting Islamorada from the Isle of Man in the UK, Both are competitve fisherman and knowledgable birdwatchers.

We spent day one running into the Everglades National Park creeks and bays over on the Florida mainland. A very interesting day in which we viewed Crocodiles and many birds. We had some excellent fishing as well. We made our first stop at Middle Cape Sable and fishing off the beach, we caught Black Drum and Redfish. Liz and Mark were awed by the raw beauty of the place.

A Crocodile slips into the  creek

Fishing from the beach at Middle Cape Sable
Mark caught Black Drum

Redfish were along the beach as well.
We used Rage Ultralight rods and
Bonefish Trek rods fitted with Diablo 350 spinning reels

We then travelled into Little Sable Creek where plenty of Sheepshead, Redfish, Seatrout and Ladyfish were caught. For all this action we used Fox Bonefish Trek Travel rods and Diablo 350 spinning reels. We also used the Fox Rage brand Ultralight rods.



We then travelled into Little Sable Creek where plenty of
Sheepshead, Redfish, Seatrout and Ladyfish were caught.

One of the bigger Redfish taken this day by Liz

Mark brought along his own Bonefish Trek rod on this visit which he used on the days that I did not take him out. He did well down at Long Key with Bonnet Head Sharks and Barracuda on his own, He loves his new Trek Rod. Later in the day we fished in East Cape Canal where we got into a good bite of Black Drum and a fabulous bite of No See Um's. Yep ... We had to leave this spot, the bugs were a bit much. The wind had died down and a couple light showers had brought them out. A really good day though.

Liz got more than she wanted with a Stingray. the
Fox Rage Ultralight rod and Diablo 350 reel were put to the test and won!

Day 2 we headed offshore on my 28' boat "First Growth" named after a favorite vineyard of the owner. We were hoping to find a Sailfish or two. Bait fishing was fun. Using the Rage Ultralights we jigged up Blue Runners for kite baits and brought in a few Cero Mackerel as well.

Cero Mackerel caught by Liz Harris near Alligator Lighthouse
on a Rage Ultralight - Diablo 350 combo

After a few hours of slow trolling and no sails in sight I decided to anchor down along the reef edge. This proved to be a great move. Flying a kite with 2 blue runners for bait on the EOS 30 reels paired with the Tarpon Spincast Trek rods and fishing live Ballyhoo on the outriggers on Permit Trek rods paired with Diablo 550 spinning reels we stayed very busy this afternoon. Large False Albacore or Little Tunny's were hitting both the kite baits and outriggers. Tough battles ensued.

This Little Tunny was taken using the EOS 30 Fox reel
and the Tarpon Spincast rod on a bait suspended below a kite

Liz Harris with her Little Tunny which she released,
using the Permit Trek rod and Diablo 550 spinning reel

Then the right outrigger popped loose and next thing you know Dr. Mark is hooked up to a tailwalking Sailfish! I ran to the bow and threw the anchor buoy and we gave chase. The battle lasted 45 minutes before Mark got his Sailfish release. Great job Mark using the Permit Trek rod and Diablo 550 reel. Its really fun using this fairly light tackle on Sails and such.

With a big smile Mark uses the Permit Trek rod and Diablo 550
spinning reel to catch a 45lb Sailfish. 
Alligator Reef lighthouse in the background

Dr. Mark Harris proudly displays his Sailfish release flag
and his rod of choice. The Fox Permit Trek Travel rod
and Diablo 550 spinning reel

After getting back on the anchor some large King Mackerel showed up behind the boat stealing kite baits meant for another Sail. So I switched to a short wire trace and before long we had landed 2 out of about 10 bites of the 20lb King Mackerels. We stayed almost til sundown enjoying good action.

Some large King Mackerel showed up late in the day

Mark Harris and Skip with another beauty of a King Mackerel
caught on a Permit Trek rod and Diablo 550 spinning reel

After a day of rest Liz and Mark were back at it for day 3. This time I headed in the direction of Sandy Key on the western edges of Florida Bay. The moon had just passed full and we were experiencing a negative low tide phase. That channels all the fish off the flats into run-offs and channels which makes them very available to anglers. We released a dozen fat Redfish and 20 or so Seatrout before the tide slacked and the bite slowed.

Fishing the flats near Sandy Key we got into some hefty Redfish

Liz and Mark with a double of Seatrout and Redfish

Now I headed to a spot in the Gulf of Mexico to catch the beginning of the incoming tide. I was hoping to find a Cobia. But instead every cast produced a Jack Crevalle , Ladyfish and Spanish Mackerel. Also a lot of small King Macks too. With this kind of action it was the perfect setting to bring out the fly tackle.

The Spanish Mackerel are well suited for
fly tackle and a blast to catch

Liz caught her share of  Spanish Mackerel on the
Rage Ultralight - Diablo 350 combo while  Mark used the Flyrod

Mark had said he does some Trout fishing on fly and I was impressed with his flycasting abilities. I tie a version of a Clouser fly with bucktail and lead eyes which these fish just ate up. We went through a dozen of my flies as the toothy critters were chewing them up. Mark caught 5 species on the Fox 9 weight flyrod. We used the new Fox Cellmax reel with a slow sinking line. Mark told me that none of his friends will believe him when he tells them about the action we had.

Mark caught 5 species on the Fox 9 weight Flyrod
and the new Fox Cellmax flyreel

Mark caught  20 assorted fish on the
Fox 9 weight  travel flyrod and Cellmax flyreel

Bluefish on the fly while Liz uses the
Rage Ultralight - Diablo 350 combo

So just another great 3 days of fishing here in the Florida Keys.

The weather has been staying unseasonably warm and the fishing is really good. Get yourself set up with some Fox Trek travel rods and reels and get on over here.

Happy Holidays
Captain Skip Nielsen