UTERJanuary
Dry season: snook and reds in the creeks and on the drained flats
Low winter tides push fish into the creek bends and deep holes. Sight-fish the outside flats on calm sunny afternoons. Baby tarpon deep in the rivers.
Marco Island to Flamingo
The Everglades fishing
What's biting in The Everglades in October: tarpon, Spanish mackerel and snook at their peak, with king mackerel, permit and cobia around too. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows 21 fish here month by month, from Marco Island to Flamingo.
Snook reopens; reds, snook and tarpon on the fall bait
Mangrove islands, tidal creeks, oyster bars and the outside beaches from Marco south to Cape Sable, then Florida Bay's shallow basins and banks. Almost none of it developed. The most tide-driven water in the state.
Marco IslandEverglades CityChokoloskeeFlamingo
Updated
Now · October
Snook reopens; reds, snook and tarpon on the fall bait
Snook harvest reopens the 1st. The outside beaches and passes are alive with mullet; reds schooled on the bars; trout back on the flats.
RedfishSnookTarponSpotted seatroutSpanish mackerelFlounder
This month here
From the season calendar, best firstPeakPeakPeakSpawningPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakArrivingLeavingAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAround
Tarpon
Fall fish on the mullet along the outside beaches and passes.
Spanish mackerel
Snook
Redfish
Spotted seatrout
Mangrove snapper
Jack crevalle
Ladyfish
Blacktip shark
Bull shark
Bonnethead shark
King mackerel
Arriving from the north.
Permit
The last of them before the fronts.
Cobia
Sheepshead
Goliath grouper
Black drum
Tripletail
Great barracuda
Striped mullet
Lemon shark
The water
The tide here
Mixed, 2–4 ft
Big tides through a maze of mangrove creeks: the water has to get in and out through the same cuts, so every creek mouth becomes a current seam twice a day. Winter north winds blow the backcountry dry.
Snook
Slot 28–33" · open Mar 1 – Apr 30 and Oct 1 – Nov 30
One per person with a snook permit. Southwest region rules; Everglades National Park has its own gear and access rules. Check MyFWC for the rule of the day.
Structure that matters
Mangrove shorelineChannel edgeGrass flatPass / inletBeach / surfOther
After a cold front
The best sight-fishing of the year: north wind drains the backcountry and forces snook and reds out of the mangroves onto the open flats and into the deep creek bends. Fish the outside points the afternoon after a front.
Month by month
What's happening, and what to throwFebruary
Peak dry-season sight fishing; reds school in Florida Bay
Redfish schools on the Florida Bay flats and the outside bars; snook on the sun-warmed mangrove points by afternoon.
March
Snook opens; snook and tarpon move toward the outside
Snook leave the backcountry for the outside points and passes as the water warms. The first tarpon show at the river mouths and along the outside beaches.
April
Tarpon on the outside; snook stage on the beaches and passes
Tarpon along the outside beaches and in the big bays; snook staging at the passes for the spawn (harvest closes the 30th). Permit on the outside wrecks.
May
Peak tarpon and beach snook
Tarpon everywhere on the outside; snook on the beaches at dawn; big trout on the Florida Bay banks before the heat.
June
Tarpon and snook outside; the wet season begins
Fish early — the afternoon storms build by noon. Tarpon on the beaches and at the river mouths on the outgoing; snook in the surf.
July
Wet season: dawn on the outside, snapper in the creeks
Beach snook and late tarpon at first light; mangrove snapper thick in the creek mouths; the backcountry is bugs and heat after ten.
August
Hot, wet, buggy — and the reds start to school
Reds gather on the outside bars and Florida Bay flats; snook under the mangrove shade on the strong tide; fish the outgoing at dawn.
September
Redfish schools build; the bait run starts on the outside
September reds on the outside bars and beaches with the mullet; snook and tarpon follow the bait along the outside.
October · now
Snook reopens; reds, snook and tarpon on the fall bait
Snook harvest reopens the 1st. The outside beaches and passes are alive with mullet; reds schooled on the bars; trout back on the flats.
November
The first fronts drain the backcountry — sight fishing begins
The dry-season pattern starts: low water, clear water, fish on the open flats and in the creek bends. Snook closes the 30th.
December
Dry season proper: clear water, low tides, fish in the open
Sight-fish the outside flats and the creek mouths on calm days; deep creek bends after each front.
Fish guides for The Everglades
When, where and what to use, fish by fishBlack drumCobiaGoliath grouperJack crevalleKing mackerelMangrove snapperPermitRedfishSheepsheadSnookSpanish mackerelSpotted seatroutTarponTripletail
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