Hotter than hot

[SteveGibson]

The Everglades are red hot right now. Last two trips have been two of the best outings I've had.

Today (Tuesday), I took Capt. Al White of Boca on the Fly and Capt. Pete Greenan of the Gypsy. Nice to have experienced fly anglers. Just wind them up and watch them catch fish. In all, I estimate we caught and released 350 fish -- a majority of which were feisty oscar. The oscar were running a little on the large size, with several fish going 12 inches or more. My guess is that we caught 150 oscar. Rounding out the total was Mayan cichlid, largemougth bass, bluegill and stumpknocker. Plus, I caught a new species for me in The 'Glades, four warmouth perch.

A majority of the fish were caught on Myakka Minnows. A few were caught on poppers, Bluegill Fly Jigs, chartreuse jig flies and a nymph jig.

We hit the water at 7:15 and paddled back to the launch at 11:30 for lunch. Al provided fried chicken, chicken tenders, cheddar cheese, potato salad and olives.

After lunch, we fished a different area, but found the fish just as friendly.

On the way home, we stopped at the Bass Pro Shop in Fort Myers and had dinner at the Islamorada Fish Company.

Long day, but fun.