Submitted by Jeff DuClos

So I’ve been a FATC member for a couple of years or so now … Fly fishing for around 38 years of my life .. always trying to expand on the world of fly fishing… I always had a bucket list dream of fishing Tarpon – snook – redfish- etc., in the salt … So I set my sights on a Florida trip … Specifically, a backcountry trip in Everglades National Park out of Islamorada…  The wife and I celebrated our 40th year anniversary.

She loves the pool & the Beach and i love to fish … so we booked a week at Chesapeake Beach Resort … Fabulous place at a very reasonable price … So I booked a guide to chase 5 to 6 ft. tarpon all day and it was heart pounding excitement to say the least…  I had big tarpon chase my fly to within 10 feet of my rod tip … They just wouldn’t commit … Oh well , Big Tarpon fishing is a completely different ball game than fishing the backcountry and around mangroves…

There I was more at home because I’m a lot more use to sight fishing to trout at close range … 15 to 30 ft…
What was so cool is hooking these Juvenile Tarpon and having them jump 3 to 4 ft. in the air cartwheeling was something I’ll never forget…

Next , seeing snook dart out of the mangroves to smash a 3 inch streamer was also exhilarating!

Finally, maybe the all-around highlight of the trip, was the guide spotting a Goliath Grouper laid up in about 3 ft of water, he pointed it out to me and said : You’ll have to make your cast perfect … He said, you’ll need to cast your fly in a 3 inch window, cause they won’t chase your fly ! It took 2 cast to get it right out in front of his face … He said nice – just let it sink to the bottom, then he said give it a one-inch strip, and we both saw the fish open its big mouth and inhale my streamer! I strip set it and it put a full bend in my 9 wt. rod, and it was a tug of war to keep him from swimming into the mangroves!  We got the job done! Afterwards he told me he had been guiding there for 7 years – 300 days a year and he has clients throw at them all the time … And said in 7 years he’s only had one client catch one of those fish on fly … I became the second guy … That completed the slam for me that day … A day I’ll never forget!!!

If anyone wants to talk about any details of the trip feel free to contact me or call, I’d be happy to share any information with you !!!