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Florida Destinations
Although redfish are available statewide, there are six areas where they are the most abundant (see map): (1) the Banana River/Indian River Lagoon system along middle Florida's east coast, behind the Cape Canaveral Kennedy Space Center; (2) Flamingo, located at the southernmost tip of the state; (3) Chokoloskee/Everglades City and the Ten Thousand Islands in the extreme southwest part of the state, and at the northern end of the Everglades National Park; (4) Charlotte Harbor, a large estuary in the southwest part of the state; (5) Tampa Bay, along the west central coast; and (6) the flats off of Homosassa Bay and Crystal River, about 75 miles north of Tampa Bay.
Banana River/Indian River Lagoon
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1. The Banana River and Indian River Lagoon constitute a large estuarial system running north and south behind the Cape Canaveral Kennedy Space Center. They are no longer free-flowing rivers as their names imply, but long, narrow lagoons that average from one to eight feet deep. Protected from high winds, their waters are often calm and mirror-smooth, excellent for sight fishing to tailing fish.
In the '50s, when the Space Center was established, the rivers were closed at one end, preventing many fish from leaving the system created by the locks. Thus, there were thousands of redfish that became landlocked. Some of them grew to weights exceeding 60 pounds. (Over the past four years, five of the seven world-record redfish on a fly have been caught in these lagoons, but there are thousands of smaller reds as well as other species to be found there.)
Although it's possible to find access points to wade-fish in the Banana and Indian rivers, some bottom areas are too soft to wade. A boat, and a guide with local knowledge, is the best way to ensure you're catching and not just fishing.
Flamingo
2. At the southern tip of Florida is an Everglades National Park office, hotel, restaurant, boat launch ramp, and general store complex called Flamingo. Located 45 miles south of Homestead, at the end of a wilderness road running south through the Everglades National Park, Flamingo overlooks some of Florida's historically best redfish flats.
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Once you're there, you'll discover that there is almost no place to wade-fish, and although you can rent a boat, the area is a flats/mangrove wilderness, not a place that many people fish without a guide or someone knowledgeable about the surrounding waters. Florida Bay, on which Flamingo is located, is comprised of shallow flats-prime redfish habitat-but at low tide, boats can easily be marooned on its empty expanse. Inexperienced anglers can get lost on the shallow flats and in the labyrinth of mangrove islands, cuts, and canals. And their chances of finding redfish on their own are slim.
The Florida coast offers fly rodders some of the best year-round redfish fishing. Known as "the poor man's bonefish," redfish will take flies aggressively and fight like angry bulldogs.
The Flamingo marina rents boats, and you can buy a chart of local waters and receive local fishing directions. If you fish unguided, you should equip yourself with a local tide chart, a compass or handheld GPS unit, a cellular phone, and food and water.
Chokoloskee and Everglades City
3. Just as the road from Homestead dead-ends at Flamingo, State Highway 29 dead-ends in Chokoloskee, the southwesternmost town in Florida. Located on a small island steeped in commercial fishing history, Chokoloskee and its twin, Everglades City, are still commercial fishing towns, but today recreational fishing plays an equal role in the local economy.
Chokoloskee is located near the northern boundary of the Everglades National Park at the edge of a wilderness area known as the Ten Thousand Islands. Like Flamingo, the area is impossible to fish without hiring a guide because the mangrove islands and channels that make up the area all look the same. There are some excellent fly-fishing guides in this area (see below), as well as several places to stay.
Wade-fishing is not an option, except for some areas reachable only by boat, and many unprepared anglers have spent a day or two lost when they couldn't find their way while fishing on their own. The labyrinth of islands that surrounds Florida's southwest coastline from Chokoloskee to Flamingo, along with the hordes of mosquitoes that have kept people from settling there, are the primary reasons the area sustains such a large population of redfish, snook, and other fish.
Charlotte Harbor
4. Florida has two large estuarial harbors along its south and westcentral coast. The southernmost is Charlotte Harbor.
Charlotte Harbor has the state's most undeveloped shoreline with miles of pristine mangroves that harbor a dozen or so species of fish. Two large rivers, the Peace and Myakka, flow into the harbor's northeastern border, the fresh water from each flowing 30 miles down the harbor, past several barrier islands, and into the Gulf of Mexico.
 | You don't have to be a great caster like Steve Rajeff (left) to catch redfish, but it does help. When the fish have their heads down and are feeding heavily in weeds, you can--at times--get within a rod-length of them without them spooking.
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In addition to the mangrove-lined shoreline, Charlotte Harbor has vast expanses of Florida's most healthy and beautiful grass flats. Varying in depth from a few inches to more than 10 feet, the flats that surround the harbor and its mangrove shoreline attract thousands of redfish.
You can wade-fish at numerous access points around the harbor, but reaching redfish-rich water from shore is difficult. This is an area where a guide is essential, unless you have your own boat and are willing to explore.
Tampa Bay
5. Tampa Bay also sustains a large population of redfish. Of all of the areas mentioned, it's the only one surrounded by large population centers, and the bay bustles with recreational boating and commercial shipping. There are numerous boat launch ramps, fishing guides, fishing piers, and waterside motels and restaurants.
Although the bay area is heavily developed, the government agencies that maintain water quality have done an excellent job. Sea grass thrives in Tampa Bay's clean, clear water, and these vast grassbeds provide homes for shrimp, small crabs, and other crustaceans-foods for redfish.
Tampa Bay's fly-fishing jewels are its abundant wading-fishing grass flats. From Anna Maria Island at the southwest entrance to the Ruskin area in the back of the bay to Ft. Desoto Park in St. Petersburg, and even around the Sunshine Skyway Bridge Causeway, all have firm-bottom, easy-to-find, wadeable areas.
Homosassa and Crystal River
6. Along the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, west of the Banana and Indian rivers, lie the extensive grass flats near Crystal River and Homosassa. They hold as many redfish per acre as any place in Florida.
In May and June, the flats off of Homosassa becomes the temporary home of thousands of migrating tarpon, and fly rodders worldwide come to pursue them. The tarpon are in residence here briefly, but the redfish live there year-round, and large schools prowl the shallow waters just inside where the tarpon roam.
Although all of the redfish sites in Florida have shallow grass flats, none has as many as the Crystal River and Homosassa Bay shorelines. These waters present the ultimate challenge for pursuing redfish with a fly rod. When the reds feed in the shallows, they often stick their noses straight down into the grass while searching for food, much like bonefish flats-feeding in the Florida Keys.
When in this tailing position, their tails often appear above the water's surface, and casting to tails has few equals in fly fishing, especially if you can wade-fish for them. There are miles of hard-bottom wading flats along the Crystal River and Homosassa shorelines, and they are easily reached through guide services or by rental boats, available in the towns of Crystal River and Homosassa.
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