Bob Parker, president of the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers, and I drove down to The Everglades this morning for a day of fly fishing for oscar, Mayan cichlid, largemouth bass, bluegill and whatever. Turned out to be the best oscar bite I’ve ever experienced. In all, I would estimate we caught and released 100 oscar – and most were hefty.
First thing in the morning, we caught a few bass, bluegill and oscar on poppers. But that bite slowed quickly. We switched to the Myakka Minnow and the action got hot. We had numerous double-headers. Often, we’d hook oscar on 10 casts in a row.
I used a 4-weight with 5-pound braided tippet. First time I’ve used the braid and it worked well.
When an oscar hits, the first move is to get back in the cover and you must prevent that or you’ll lose the fish and probably your fly. On the day, I used two Myakka Minnows and lost none. I had to retire one because most of the tail was gone.
Water is low in The 'Glades which is great for fly fishing. Fish are concentrated.
On the day, we caught 100 oscar, 12 largemouth bass (nothing large), 15 bluegill, 5 Mayan cichlid and 12 stumpknocker.
Nice oscar on Myakka Minnow
Mayan cichlid on Myakka Minnow
Bob Parker doing battle:
