Everglades Fly Fishing

The northern edge of the Everglades National Park lies just north of Everglades City, FL where the 10,000 Islands transition into the two unique fisheries that comprise the northern half of the ENP.

Nearest the Gulf, the islands taper off into a solid shoreline, only broken by the rivers and creeks that feed out of the Everglades. With tides similar to those in the 10,000 Islands (up to 5 feet each day) the outside bights of the ENP are home to snook and redfish and tarpon.

Further inland from the Gulf of Mexico lies the Everglades backcountry. With less tidal influence than the outside, and more freshwater influx from the natural sheet flow of the Everglades to the east, the backcountry is a brackish environment that generally sees less than one foot of tidal swing every day. The water from the Gulf only enters and exits the backcountry through a few rivers that act as highways for tarpon, snook, and redfish to travel.

The summer (May-October), brings us warm, sometimes hot, water from the Gulf and fish can be caught in both the backcountry as well as the outside. Tarpon are at the peak of their migration in May and June, and resident fish can be caught all summer long. Redfish and snook can be caught fishing the shallow shorelines as long as the water isn’t too hot. Eventually the summer rains inundate the backcountry and the majority of the late summer fishing happens near the outside.

In the winter (November-April), the freshwater flow tapers down, the wind blows water out of the backcountry, the water cools, and the tides are some of the lowest of the year. November-February can offer some of the finest sight fishing on the planet. Snook and redfish can be abundant on the shorelines and days of 20+ shots are common. Fly fishing in both the backcountry and the outside can be on fire. When conditions align, tarpon will move in to feed and warm up and some of the best tarpon fly fishing of the year can occur.