# Everglades, Florida Bay, wind...



## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

So I have been down to the keys twice now. Both times were during the spring. The first trip was not terrible as far as wind, but last year was brutal. I was SOL with my LT25 and even trying to wade from shore one day yielded battling waves. 

My wife and I are planning on hitting up the Everglades this year again however this time we want to avoid the wind, or at least head down there during a time where the wind is least likely. 

The past two trips have been touristy vacation bs with fishing somewhat as an afterthought. We have experienced the tourist crap and this will be a straight up fishing trip. 

So when is the best time to head down there and avoid the wind? Right now I have the first week in June in mind. What time of the year am I most likely to see those mornings of glass like water in Florida bay?


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Yep... but also a cloud of mosquitoes... What most of the folks I know do to deal with windy days of winter and early spring is simply head to places where you're as sheltered as possible (out of Flamingo fish the inside areas of Coot, Whitewater, and Oyster Bays - out of Chokoloskee you head into the upper bays - but be careful since those areas aren't easy to learn -with oyster bars everywhere...).

The one thing you try to avoid is big open areas -like Florida Bay (everything west of the Keys...) and even in the interior plan your run so that you're as sheltered as possible. To get across Whitewater on a windy day for instance simply run the Joe River (a perimeter river, about eight miles long that runs around the south and west side of Whitewater Bay and ends right at the south end of Oyster and the entrance to Mud bays..). On days when it's screaming out of the east or southeast - the entire west coast of the 'Glades from Cape Sable to Lostman's River is a sheltered shoreline... 

One of the simplest tricks in the interior is to face directly into the wind and run until you get to the opposite shoreline (where you'll actually be sheltered from any wind at all...). Whitewater Bay is a big place, ten miles long and six miles wide... but there are plenty of islands (and every island has a lee side where you're out of the wind) and no matter what the wind is there's always one side of Whitewater that's sheltered and the sheltered areas have the cleaner, warmer waters up shallow....


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## EasternGlow (Nov 6, 2015)

Early June the fishing is typically on fire. Make sure you get an early start each day as it'll warm up quickly.


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

lemaymiami said:


> Yep... but also a cloud of mosquitoes..


Thanks for the response. Mosquitoes and heat are a big factor. We will be camping so not being miserable is a plus. 

So last year we did a few nights in Flamingo before heading to Key largo for the rest of the week. This was in March. The very first time I took out my new to me LT25 was in florida bay. It was in the morning so the wind hadn't picked up too bad then, but on the way back in around lunch time it was pretty rough. 1.5-2', which for being my first time out was substantial. we stayed in coot bay and the edges of whitewater the next few days. Except for the afternoons it never got all that bad there. 

Once in Key Largo it was a different ballgame. We put in at Pennekamp and took adams cut over to Blackwater sound. I stayed near to the shore but there were some pretty large rollers. We came close to taking a big one over the bow and got a little spooked. We pretty much stayed in and around Largo sound after that. Lesson learned i suppose. 

Looking at the Joe River area on google earth is very promising. It looks like it is fairly protected regardless of what the wind is doing. We will be doing a Wednesday to Wednesday trip this time and will be spending the whole trip running from Flamingo.


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

EasternGlow said:


> Early June the fishing is typically on fire. Make sure you get an early start each day as it'll warm up quickly.


This is what I am hoping for. We will be taking hammocks and bug nets which is about as cool as one can sleep without a/c. I want to be on the water before sunrise every day.


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## EasternGlow (Nov 6, 2015)

If you spend any nights on chickees, I recommend South Joe as it is probably the most exposed chickee to the breeze. no-see-um mesh, thermacells/coils/citro candle, and some wikskey and you're good to go. Definitely bring a head net to wear for dusk and dawn while thermacell sets the perimeter. I also carry two full no-see-um suits on the boat.


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## Scott (Aug 24, 2015)

June camping in flamingo is going to be rough. Tent or RV with A/C?


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

I think those new eco-tent things will be open and available starting in May. You might inquire now about renting as I imagine they will be popular.


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

We will be tent camping. I plan on taking my eno with bugnet and rainfly, and we will also have a ground tent. We have clothes with built in insect control and will have thermacells and a few other tricks with us. My only concern with the heat and mosquitos is sleeping. This is my main reason for the hammock. It should be pretty cool if there is even the slightest breeze at night. 

I definitely want to camp on a chickee some time but not during the summer. One issue we would have with that is having enough room in the gheenoe to fit all of our stuff. 

Right now the plan is the last few days in May into the first few in June. Average temps for that time are 90 and 75 at night. Hopefully the actual is close to the averages this year.


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## bobber (Sep 29, 2015)

Truth is, a chickee is the most comfortable place to camp in the late spring,early summer. Several degrees cooler because it's over water and any breeze wafts up under the deck. Also the lean to roof keeps the sun off. Less bugs than ground sites. And between 4/15-11/15 the 1 nite stay limitation is lifted. Get up pre dawn,run to the outside,fish til noonish,back to the shade for a siesta and hit it again in the late afternoon/earlyevening. Best of all,you'll have the backcountry all to yourself, not many folks are willing to endure any discomfort anymore.


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

bobber said:


> Truth is, a chickee is the most comfortable place to camp in the late spring,early summer.


Well this changes things a bit. The backcountry camping is what we wanted to do since the first time we went down there. I definitely don't mind being uncomfortable, I lived in Eastern Africa for 4 months. Somehow never managed to get Malaria despite getting slayed my mosquitoes. My wife swears she is good to go, all in for chickee or campground. 

So when you say run "outside" you're talking about florida bay area right? Is there a way to get from the inside to florida bay near flamingo without relaunching? 

Our fishing is 90% fly fishing. We will have a couple spinning setups on the boat but I generally only use them when we are idling through some of the trails. I have still yet to catch a snook or tarpon so those are high priority. I don't even care about catching big girls, I'd rather catch jeuvenile tarpon.


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## BassFlats (Nov 26, 2018)

You have to relaunch at Flamingo to go from the inside to the outside and vise-verse. I believe they were referring to is camping on a chickee near the shark river and running to the outside from there.


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

BassFlats said:


> You have to relaunch at Flamingo to go from the inside to the outside and vise-verse. I believe they were referring to is camping on a chickee near the shark river and running to the outside from there.


Ok this is kinda what I figured. Thanks. Shark river is a long way so I doubt I'll be doing that. We may do the north side next year. 
Does anyone know if the shop/ fuel station is back up and running at flamingo? I plan on having 9-12 gallons on the boat, but it would be nice to be able to fill up there if needed. Also getting ice would be solid.


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## BassFlats (Nov 26, 2018)

They have snacks,fuel and ice.


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

BassFlats said:


> They have snacks,fuel and ice.


Good deal. Thanks!


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## EasternGlow (Nov 6, 2015)

bobber said:


> not many folks are willing to endure any discomfort anymore.


which is part of the reason I mostly camp in the summer!


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

BassFlats said:


> You have to relaunch at Flamingo to go from the inside to the outside and vise-verse. I believe they were referring to is camping on a chickee near the shark river and running to the outside from there.


 I guess now that I look at it, if we were to stay at the Joe River chickee, the shark river area is half the distance that flamingo is. So that would absolutely make sense to go there from that spot. Looks like some great fishing there too. Lots of mangrove structure.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

From the inside ramp, through Whitewater and across to mouth of the Little Shark River... is pretty much 21 miles one way... Use the Joe River to get there and you add 3 miles to the trip... 

Good luck and post up a report if you make the trip... Right now I'm over just west of Chokoloskee and we'll be on the water out of Port of the Islands for three more days (with me commuting back and forth each day 93 miles one way... ).


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

lemaymiami said:


> From the inside ramp, through Whitewater and across to mouth of the Little Shark River... is pretty much 21 miles one way... Use the Joe River to get there and you add 3 miles to the trip...
> 
> Good luck and post up a report if you make the trip... Right now I'm over just west of Chokoloskee and we'll be on the water out of Port of the Islands for three more days (with me commuting back and forth each day 93 miles one way... ).


That's doable in my boat for sure. I need to get my fuel tank situation and spare fuel storage figured out but that shouldnt be a big deal. 

As of right now we are a go for may/june. We will have about a week down there. At this point we plan on 2 nights in a chickee then head back to flamingo and sort of recharge with a shower, refuel/ice (if needed) and either head back out or stay at the campground depending on conditions. 

I'm a bit jealous, I would fish the everglades every single day if I could. One day we will live close enough to make a day trip of it. If I left right now I would be there in right at 12 hours.


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## bobber (Sep 29, 2015)

POI is running a 20% off special on stays of 2 or more nights


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## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

Make sure the mesh on your tent is smaller than the no seeums. I made that mistake once and it's one I will never make again.


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

el9surf said:


> Make sure the mesh on your tent is smaller than the no seeums. I made that mistake once and it's one I will never make again.


Yep. My buddy Shannon is tall--6'6" or so. I usually take a 2 man tent, but thinking about him one trip I took a 4 man tent that I had not used in years (or checked before leaving home). We fished all day, got to the Chickee at the end of the day and set up camp before cooking dinner. Skeeters were typical for that time of year, but we had spray and Thermacells. Unfortunately, after setting up the tent we discovered that the zipper did not work. We toughed it out the first night, fished all day the second day and returned to the Chickee. We cooked dinner and ate as the sun went down. Shortly thereafter, we looked at each other and at just about the same time said "you want to go?". We both said "YES!". So we packed up and cruised back to the marina in the dark rather than spend another night with skeeter buzzing around our heads all night! Lesson learned!


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

DBStoots said:


> Yep. My buddy Shannon is tall--6'6" or so. I usually take a 2 man tent, but thinking about him one trip I took a 4 man tent that I had not used in years (or checked before leaving home)......Lesson learned!





el9surf said:


> Make sure the mesh on your tent is smaller than the no seeums. I made that mistake once and it's one I will never make again.


Yikes, I will be sure to check on the mesh in whatever sleep system we end up taking. Thanks for this. ENO sells one of their nets that goes over the hammock that also has insect shield built into it. Probably permethrin. I used one of the sea to summit liners with it in Tanzania and it was a life saver. We will pick up two of these and that should at least keep them off of us at night.


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

Yep. I have put my tent up in the drive way and covered in in permethrin. I think it helps.


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

DBStoots said:


> Yep. I have put my tent up in the drive way and covered in in permethrin. I think it helps.


I'll be ordering a few bottles of that stuff off amazon. Thanks.


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## tailchaser16 (Sep 23, 2008)

Camping in Flamingo in June??? Phuck That!! chickee or not, Thermacell and bug spray won't stop the bugs. Not to mention the daily afternoon thunder showers and heat that will follow. You might not be very popular with the wife taking her to the Glades in the summer.
We just did a trip 2 weeks ago in 60-65 degree weather. Bugs were out enough for us to light bug coils every night in the winter!!
Me personally, I would stay at a hotel in Florida City and do the 44 mile drive in and out trip each day.


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## manny2376 (Mar 15, 2007)

tailchaser16 said:


> Camping in Flamingo in June??? Phuck That!! chickee or not, Thermacell and bug spray won't stop the bugs. Not to mention the daily afternoon thunder showers and heat that will follow. You might not be very popular with the wife taking her to the Glades in the summer.
> We just did a trip 2 weeks ago in 60-65 degree weather. Bugs were out enough for us to light bug coils every night in the winter!!
> Me personally, I would stay at a hotel in Florida City and do the 44 mile drive in and out trip each day.


Summertime Flamingo mosquitoes have FAA Tail numbers on them and generally are unfazed by most replant products... strap in if you’re camping in the summer. Saying that, the no-see-um’s make the mosquitoes look like a little league team playing the Yankees! 

I will say, bugs were strangely absent all summer in Flamingo following Irma. Skeeters have been mostly absent as well all winter for my last few camping trips, although the no-see-um’s were present at dawn and dusk a few weekends ago.


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## georgiadrifter (Jan 14, 2009)

Make sure any tent you use has the fine mesh windows/doors that keeps no-see-ums out. Many tents are mosquito-proof, but not no-see-um-proof.

Don’t ask me how I know this.


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

tailchaser16 said:


> Camping in Flamingo in June??? Phuck That!!





manny2376 said:


> Summertime Flamingo mosquitoes have FAA Tail numbers on them.....





georgiadrifter said:


> Make sure any tent you use has the fine mesh windows/doors that keeps no-see-ums....


We talked about it multiple times, and even again just now after reading these responses. She tells me she is good to go. I'm more than experienced in dealing with them, bug nets and permethrin should at least allow us to sleep without being eaten. There is a chance we may come down a month earlier, but even then, the odds of the wind being bad are high and the bugs will probably still be around. We wont be on a chickee the whole time. At most it will be like 2 nights. 

Having said that, would the first week of May be that much better than the first week of June?


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## BassFlats (Nov 26, 2018)

Rough it in one of the new a/c houseboats.


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

"In the aftermath of a hurricane in Texas, a massive swarm of mosquitoes killed 15 cows one single night.
The 15 cows that were found dead the next morning in Texas back in 1980 were not killed by mosquito-borne disease; instead, they died from severe anemia resulting from the bloodsucking activity of mosquitoes. The day before the cows were found dead, they had been seen acting distressed upon being swarmed by mosquitoes. The death of the cattle occurred exactly one week after flood waters from Hurricane Allen receded, which is the exact amount of time that it takes for an egg to develop into an adult mosquito. One researcher calculated that it would take 3.8 million mosquito bites to drain one cow of half of its blood." Yikes!


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## tailchaser16 (Sep 23, 2008)

Wading from shore? Be careful, many toothy critters around. The lakes and ponds on the main road in would be my focus if it was blowing.
I don't know how flexible you are on your travel days. I would check what ever weather app you have confidence in a week before and decide then. I find that the Windguru for Islamorada is the most accurate for out front Flamingo. 
May here is typically rainy days and windy but, every year things change or get pushed back a bit. If you really are heart set on the summer months; June -August are your less windy days. 
As I mentioned before afternoon thunder storms and bugs would keep me away from camping.


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

tailchaser16 said:


> Wading from shore? Be careful, many toothy critters around. The lakes and ponds on the main road in would be my focus if it was......


We are flexible on deciding dates now but not so much as the time gets closer. We both have to schedule the time off for work and also boarding for our pets. At this point I'm thinking 1st week of may, or last few days of may first few in June. Ill be taking my gheenoe lt25, which is why I want to avoid the wind if possible. I really want to fish in Florida bay and I figure my best chance of making that happen is the less windy time of year. Unfortunately that coincides with heat and bugs. This is proving to be a difficult decision to make than I thought.


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## tailchaser16 (Sep 23, 2008)

KingFlySC said:


> or last few days of may first few in June.


My vote.


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

Depending on the wind, you could be on the west side/chokoloskee, South/south west/ flamingo Florida bay, then dont forget you have Biscayne bay, BONEFISH clear water and options for wind because of west facing shore line and safety valve islands like elliot key. Prettiest water in US if you ask me


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

Boneheaded said:


> Depending on the wind, you could be on the west side/chokoloskee, South/south west/ flamingo Florida bay, then dont forget you have Biscayne bay, BONEFISH clear water and options for wind because of west facing shore line and safety valve islands like elliot key. Prettiest water in US if you ask me


One day, we absolutely will be exploring and fishing all of those places, this year is flamingo though.


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

KingFlySC said:


> One day, we absolutely will be exploring and fishing all of those places, this year is flamingo though.


Keep in mind, from the entrance gate of ENP to homestead bayfront is about 15-20 mins. Ive had mornings fishing flamingo, but the conditions were "magic" for Biscayne and back tracked and had memorable afternoons i Biscayne. long story short, keep you're options open.


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

Boneheaded said:


> Keep in mind, from the entrance gate of ENP to homestead bayfront is about 15-20 mins. Ive had mornings fishing flamingo, but the conditions were "magic" for Biscayne and back tracked and had memorable afternoons i Biscayne. long story short, keep you're options open.


I'll keep this in mind and keep an eye on the weather. If conditions favor it we may head out there. Thanks!


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## tailchaser16 (Sep 23, 2008)

last resort if it is blowing is hit the Miami freshwater canals & airport lakes for Peacocks and the Ft. Lauderdale canals for Snake heads and bass. Or do that on your way up and back from Flamingo


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## KingFlySC (Jan 15, 2018)

tailchaser16 said:


> last resort if it is blowing is hit the Miami freshwater canals & airport lakes for Peacocks and the Ft. Lauderdale canals for Snake heads and bass. Or do that on your way up and back from Flamingo


I know I can at least run inside when its blowing. As long as we dont try to run straight across wwb or coot bay I can at least get to the Joe river and have somewhat sheltered water to fish. I have never caught a peacock so we may have to try that one day or like you said on the way back.


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