I had been to South Florida and the upper Keys a couple times before this trip but it was before fly fishing had become a part of my life. So when Jeremy asked me if I wanted to go chase the saltwater fish down south i was excited to return and see what I was missing out on. The cold front had passed leaving high seventies and a big ball of fire (the sun) which was perfect for two fishermen flying in from the northeast. Our plan was to fish from Naples, through the Everglades, down the Keys and out to the Marqueses in just about a week. Within the first day we were casting at rolling tarpon under the eyes of the many resident alligators and hooking up to my first snook later that night. But the crystal clear waters of the Keys and the fish that feed there were calling us. The giant forked tails of bonefish and the permits’ cicle fin piercing the water’s glassy surface as they rooted around for something to eat. Stingrays cruised around like gliders picking up anything that was kicked up. The barracuda and sharks had the other end of the food chain covered. Jack Crevalle swimming on the surface in unison chasing down our flies and bait busting false albacore and spanish mackerel were just offshore. And in the evenings after a little food and a Red Bull or two Jeremy and I fished various bridges throughout the keys where tarpon waited, hidden in the shadow line. We waded where we could and fished out of everything from canoes and kayaks to ripping fast flats boats. And, in the end i think learning how to read the Florida waters and knowing what to look for in this environment was one of our greatest victories. To see all of this in one trip will make it all that much sweeter when I return and my line comes tight to my first bonefish and permit. I can’t wait until my return and I hope Jeremy is right next to me with a high five and a bent rod.
Book
- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
- Guiding: Friends For Life
- Guiding: Know Where You Are
- Guiding: More Than Just A Fisherman
- Guiding: Mystery Of The Fisherman
- Guiding: Payment
- Guiding: Saltwater, A Different World
- Rough Fish
- Fly Fishing For Rough Fish: Why Do It?
- Introduced Rough Fish: The Carps & Other Invasive Species
- Methodology: Gear & Tactics For Pursuing Roughfish On A Fly
- More Roughfish: Bullheads, Whitefish, Goldeye, Burbot & Drum
- Rough Fish Environments: Where To Look For Rough Fish?
- Rough Fish Species: The Suckers
- Rough fish: A Lifetime Of Learning
- Rough Fish: Fishing For Dinosaurs (Gars & Bowfin)
- Rough Fish: What Are They?
- The Hook: Some Common Rough Fish Fly Patterns
- Spey
- Spey: Applications, Where Can You Do It?
- Spey: Atlantic Salmon, A Significant Fish
- Spey: Defined And Demystified
- Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts
- Spey: Lines, They Are That Important
- Spey: Steelhead, New Traditions & A Modern Movement
- Spey: The Energy
- Spey: The Flies
- Spey: The Swing
- Spey: Two Critical Casts
- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
eddy —
that was a killer trip .. seriously dude we covered some tracks, had a ton of laughs, even more redbull, hook some awesome fish, lost a ton of fish, caught a couple fish and i’m ready to do it again whenever you are! …. like you, those permit and bonefish tails sticking out of the glassy water have a way of getting into my head …. ya man, i learned a ton that trip .. mostly, don’t just bring 2 tarpon flies! with that said .. thanx to all the boys down there in south florida who helped us out and who we crossed paths with .. (marshall, mark w, Big bear and his whole crew, bonefishwhisperer etc…) .. the only thing i hate about fly fishing in south florida is that the time just goes by tooooooo fast …. seriously, it’s like i wake up before sunrise down there and get on the water with sun up .. and before i know it the sun is setting …. and 4 or 5 days goes by like 4 or 5 hours! .. can’t wait to get back down there … ed, i guess any tarpon is better than no tarpon .. and for us those were awesome fish .. but, on our next trip .. the big dogs will be in town … till then brotha!
Sweet vid boys, you covered some serious miles. Looking forward to getting down ther in a month or so. Hopefully I have just as much luck. Not to bash on the giant tarpon, but those smaller ones look like just as much fun as their huge older cohorts. Not to mention if you get a good hookset they can be landed in under an hour. Don’t get me wrong I’ll take whatever I can get. Whether its a 10lber or a 100lber it is all good. Sorry to ramble. Just got me jazzed up to hit the salt. Living out west has its benefits for trout but sometimes you get the urge to bust out the big gun and cast to something salty. Thanks for the boost.
j-
Nice guys! I may be heading down in April. Looking forward to a little sun. Enough of this mess in New England.
Awesome. I love the opening tarpon into the tree jump. I was wondering when you were going to post that.
Cool vid.
That opening shot is hysterical…
Wow…warm water
Congrats on the fish guys.
And what good would any trip be without a little carnage? Too funny…
INCREIBLE !! muy buena pesca Ed , espero que pase el tiempo rapido y en algun momento poder ir a conocer tu pais y poder pescar en el oceano .Miguel
ya man .. that was awesome (not surprising) bumping into you in florida airport … a sign of the times for sure … bump into each other during layover and connecting flights and share our digital fly fishing goodies ! .. then, off you go to south africa or wherever .. can’t wait for our annual boating magazine bluefin tuna trip this year … what kind of boat are we gonna be rolling in … something that can take us to “the mud hole” i hope:) .. i love that trip . .. and llooking forward to this years trip…
hey — how did south africa pan out??? fun or what? how was the fishin’? i saw a video on lateralline of all the cool animals and a fish you caught .. what kind was it??? you should do a fishtale .. looked like an amazing adventure!
pete — i see you rolled out a new blog format at fishing jones … thought you just did that??? was the other format not working out .. i like the simplicity of the new wordpress format … you like it?
‘Holy f**k’
dont think i can add anything more to it than that, perfectly said.
Ed….So glad you could finaly witness florida from a fly fishermans perspective! It is a fishing paradise for sure. What a tarpon at the beggining! those jumps were sick….
26 footer with twin o/bs. Mudhole, no problem.
Yeah, I took a gamble on a startup blog service provider about a year and a half ago and then they went out of business, so I had to switch to a new format. Much happier on wordpress.
yellowfishing was awesome, but I only got one day instead of the planned three. They behave a lot like trout in their feeding patterns but fight really hard for their size. Always to the reel. I’ll put something up although the pics didn’t come out that great.
That is a sweet vid. I love the first fish.
Chaos-noun 1. a state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order.
Hmm, small Tarpon is definitively is better than no Tarpon at all.
I recognized the canal where I stood with Marshall last fall.
Seeing that video brought up some good memories about the place.
“26 footer with twin o/bs. Mudhole, no problem.”
That will do:)
Great…great…stuff guys!
Great trip and video, I especially the like the the last couple of minutes, i.e. removing the waste materials from the car. He was fortunate that you weren’t tossing car parts along the road, like the visor over the passenger side window. There is always carnage.
Amazing to see my dearest brothers down south crushing fish and learning the waters for when I make it down there. The video was killer love it all.. Alex
ya man .. you and the boys in argentina dial it in for us down there .. and we will dial it in for you when you come to usa .. can’t wait for you to come this summer …
Awesome video fellas! You guys always put together a video that shows what a road trip with the boys and fishing through the keys is all about. That Great hunt after the silver king. Keep em’ coming!