Everglades backcountry report, 20 May 2015

This week's report will be brief since I only fished the 'Glades for three days this past week. In short the big tarpon have left the gulf coast of the Everglades and by now are probably down near Islamorada somewhere (they'll come back our way in mid summer and increase in numbers until the fall.....). That still leaves lots of fish up to around fifty pounds - but none of them have made much of a showing recently - that will change in the next week or two. The good news is that we're finding big snook along the coast as they begin their heavy feeding as spawning time nears for the big females. Every day now we've had great opportunities with big snook that will eat a large live bait on sight... Here are a few pics from last week.... [img][img][URL=http://s235.photobucket.com/user/lemaymiami/media/fishpics/PeeplesKeith%20snook_zpsa1k9sazt.jpg.html][IMG]http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee111/lemaymiami/fishpics/PeeplesKeith%20snook_zpsa1k9sazt.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Here's local angler Keith Peeples with a solid ten pound snook [URL=http://s235.photobucket.com/user/lemaymiami/media/fishpics/docs%20snook_zpsx0vyizwd.jpg.html][IMG]http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee111/lemaymiami/fishpics/docs%20snook_zpsx0vyizwd.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [img][img] This fine snook was carefully released to fight another day by another local angler Charlie Shenker. Almost a carbon copy of Keith's fish at ten pounds... We jumped off a few others that were a bit bigger before this girl came along.... Along with the snook we've been finding good numbers of smaller redfish, trout, and the first of the summer tripletail (once the crab pots are pulled for the season the triples head inshore and can be found in surprisingly shallow spots....). Here's Keith Peeples along with his partner Eddie Reese with a pair of tripletail taken together as a double hook up on small lures. They were carefully released since each was 1/2 " short of the 15" minimum. This summer we'll find them up to ten pounds and bigger in very shallow waters along the coast.... {img][img][URL=http://s235.photobucket.com/user/lemaymiami/media/fishpics/PeeplesKeithEddie%20tripletails_zpsuvsxpjld.jpg.html][IMG]http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee111/lemaymiami/fishpics/PeeplesKeithEddie%20tripletails_zpsuvsxpjld.jpg[/IMG][/URL] As usual the quantity and ferocious manners of the sharks along the coast have to be seen to be believed. They're really thick in all the areas we fish now. Soon it will be a real challenge to get any fish with a hook in him to the boat in one piece. We're talking lemons, bulls, tigers, blacktips and others that range all the way up to as big as they get in less than six feet of water. It can be real eye opener for anyone that's done a bit of sharking along the Atlantic coast (where you wait hours for a single bite) when they see that any livebait has only seconds to live if a shark finds it (and that's usually within minutes of the bait hitting the water....). No, the 'Glades is not the place for a quiet swim at all.... Be a hero... take a kid fishing. Tight lines Bob LeMay (954) 435-5666