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An afternoon in Miami I can’t get enough telling people about the excellent opportunities we have for fly fishing in Miami. I insist: if you come to Miami, even for a couple of hours, bring your 4 piece fly rod. If you see a lagoon, a canal, a ditch; please, wet your fly. You’ll never know what you may catch. But, please, look carefully. Besides the famous Gators there might be a water moccasin or even a lizard to hurt you. I recommend to watch out where you walk. I have never had a problem but seen enough crocs and snakes around to show some respect.
Anyways, my Cuban buddy Daniel Ortiz who happens to be a great fisherman and I decided to go and fool some Tucunares or Pavones and as many species as possible with our fly rods.
Downtown
We left my home a very hot spring Miami Saturday afternoon. The air was in the 90’s but if felt a couple degrees hotter than hell. We drove straight to the canal in Flagler St (SW 1st St ) and SW 97th Ave. The water was dirty from last nights rain but we could spot fish all over the place. Like with any other city canal you must watch your back cast. You have to wait until cars slow down at the stop sign and time your cast accordingly. Thank god my Scott rods have a lifetime warranty!
Well, I cast to some Peacocks and other miscellaneous fish and found out the tactic we used effectively in winter (casting to the opposite bank and strip super fast) didn’t work. These fish were there on a purpose, sexy time! They would not move from their newly made nests. I remembered some TV shows with people jigging for Bass and decided to give it a go. I tied a Clouser Minnow (chartreuse and white with heavy lead eyes) and jigged it over some newly weds. The moment the fly swam over a loving couple I hooked a fat black Acara (cichlasoma bimaculatum) that looked like a mix of a mangrove Snapper and a Crappie. I was a large aggressive female that fought like a Lion. I almost lipped it but saw a couple of Nosferatu teeth that seemed to cause some serious pain.
After the Kodak moment I released it back to the canal. I made another cast and hooked a Jaguar Guapote (Cichlasoma Managuense) that sported the same colors as a Peacock Bass. Another great fighting fish.
My third cast gave me a Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides Floridanus), I couldn’t belive it! Three casts and three different species in the same hole! Only this one took my fly because I didn’t check on the 12lb fluorocarbon leader after catching some toothy fish.
Since I had to tie a new fly I decided to try a large wooly bugger that I use for large trout in Patagonia. It is tied on a # 2 6X long shank hook with crystal chenille, rubber legs and a heavy tungsten bead head. I looked intensely to spot the Peacocks. I saw 3 pairs nesting close to a culvert and jigged the fly over their heads and BAM, the smaller male took the fly and run to some mangroves on the opposite side of the canal. I grab the fly line and stopped him abruptly. He jumped a few times shaking his head and a few moments later I had him by the lip. My first peacock of the day was a 3 lb mean male.
836 (Dolphin Expressway) and Palmetto We moved to another canal that should be cleaner and was supposed to have bigger Tucunares but we only found a bunch of Alligator Gar (Atractosteus Spatula). The unique feature of this fish is that they have a mouth like a crocodile only smaller. It is very difficult to hook them. One 4 pounder tried to grab my fly but couldn’t hook him. Somebody later told me that you have to use a similar tactic as you do for Alaskan rainbows feeding on eggs. The bead (Salmon egg imitation) is 2” away from the fly and you hook the fish on the outside of the mouth.
Turnpike We moved again to the Turnpike. If you go Northbound there is a canal on the right hand side. We stopped under a bridge where the canal was some 100’ wide with a couple of culverts coming from under the road. There were bunch of Peacocks mixed with some Oscars and Guapotes. We hooked 4 o 5 peacocks each. On one retrieve a very large snook followed my fly but didn’t take it. I was shaking! This fish was almost 20 lbs! After a few refused casts and when the snook decided to go back who knows where, we drove to a Lake that held large Peacocks, or so they say.
3 Lakes This lake was very pretty. It reminded me of some little Lakes close to Kissimee, near Orlando. There were no houses and it was pretty wild. We saw Racoons, Squirrels, some Vultures and a few small Alligators but no sign of fish.
I looked closely to some tree trunks in the water, large submerged rocks, weed patches and all the usual places and saw nothing but a few small bass and bluegills. I rigged my 8’ # 4 wt Scott rod and tied a rubber leg Stimulator. Then as I looked to the drop off I say a large male Peacock some 20’ away. I quickly removed the dry fly and tied a Ramirock Streamer # 6 and cast to that fat boy. On the second cast I saw him follow the fly. I had all the fly in the rod and my leader was hanging from my rod tip and as I tried to roll cast he took the fly and I hooked him. When he felt the hook he run to the drop off and sounded. I tried to lock the fly line and felt him shake and rub the line against the coral wall of the drop off and some rocks, moving in circles. I put my light fly rod in horizontal position, standing right on the edge and started to lift him, using the but section of the medium action rod. Just when he was almost on the surface and 6 ft away from me, he jumped and then I walked back, with my fly line locked between my fingers and beached him. It was a handsome 8 lb male in spawning colors. After some de rigeur photos I released him back to his hole safe but tired.
The last (we thought) fish of the day was a Red Midas, a fat bright fluorescent orange cichlid that refused all flies except a redfish fly I got from Blane Chocklett from SC. My technique was to leave the fly in “his” spot until he picked it up. It wasn’t very elegant but it worked.
Just was we were going to leave, we suffered a mosquito hatch and suddenly the lake became alive with bluegills. It reminded me of the famous New England Striper blitzes. I went back to a dry fly. This time I picked a # 18 parachute adams and we caught a bunch until we couldn’t stand the mosquitoes anymore. We didn’t have bug spray, what a mistake.
Well, I hope you liked my story and just to finish the same way I started, next time in Miami have your fly rod handy. You will have as much fun as on the Amazon in this concrete jungle.
Tackle 9’ # 6/7 rod with warm weather floating line (trout lines melt)
7’ to 9’ fluorocarbon leaders (Frog hair are excellent) of 12 to 20 lbs.
I use a longer leader when I want to go deep with my heavy weighted flies.
Bug Spray.
Flies Clouser minnows (2 to 6), Everglades minnow, Gartside’s Gurgler, Bead hed wooly buggers, Adams 14 & 16, Dry dragon fly, Poppers, etc.
Neoprene booties
Polarized sunglasses
Light quick drying clothes
Bottle with plenty drinking water
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