Fishing in Florida

I am planning on heading down to Florida with one of my friends to do some fishing in late April. We plan on driving down and visiting various bass fishing destinations around the state. If any of you guys have any recommendations of lakes, guides, etc..., that would be very helpful. We also plan to go out in the ocean at least once, probably for tarpon. We are definitely staying at Roland Martin Marina on Okeechobee for a few days. Blue Cypress and Stick Marsh are likely other destinations at this point. What about Bienville or the central Florida phosphorous pits?

Any suggestions/Florida fishing stories appreciated.


Thanks,


-Glenn

I haven't fished there myself, but I've heard great stories about baby tarpon fishing in some of the canals near the coast. sounds like a fun trip. enjoy.

p.s. fly-fishing or spinning/conventional?

Some of the guides on the Madison guide in Florida during the winter. If you wish I'll try and get the info. They would be primarily fly fishing types.

From what I got out of the guide websites, the bigger tarpon start moving into shallower waters around the time we will be there. If they are already in the flats I would love to try to catch a 100 lb fish on a fly rod, but if the fishing in the flats isn't good yet we will probably just go with light spinning and baitcasting tackle. I am not an accomplished fly-fisherman...I can tie basic flies (no fancy 22's) and I used to be able to cast reasonably well when I was able to fish more often, but if it is anywhere near as hard as bonefishing looks like it is I think that going for 100lb fish on 20lb spinning tackle will be exciting enough. Plus, my friend has less fly-fishing experience than I do, and he is quite accident prone, meaning there is a fair chance that someone will lose an ear if he is whipping a big streamer around. All of our bass fishing will be baitcasting/spinning (no shiners though...we've had an agreement since 8th grade that anything we catch on live bait doesn't count in the inherent competion).

A friend of mine uses a 6-8 ft. step ladder. Sets it up in the water a sits on top. He's able to sight fish this way using spinning gear. I've seen photos of some nice permit he's caught this way( AND NO GUIDE FEES). I hear you can find plenty of barracuda to cast to just looking around. Most good sport shops should point you in the right direction. You might pack a fly rod along just in case you come across a favorable shore line situation. You should be able to put plenty of distance between your buddy and you.


Have a great trip and do post when you return.