Angler’s Guide To Fly Fishing In Florida

From backwoods bass ponds to explosive tarpon leaping and crashing on the flats, anglers will never find themselves lacking in opportunity here. The northern panhandle has record-book fish patrolling tinted inshore waters and magical springs where schools of jack crevalle swarm amidst the manatees and monkey islands of places like Homosassa.

Head farther south to renowned flats systems for record-book-worthy bonefish, giant snook, and tarpon (of course) that ambush flies in visible and energy-filled eruptions, or the extensive mangrove-lined estuaries filled with a hodgepodge of exciting species. You can even chase down peacock bass in Miami canals between lunch and cocktail hour.

It’s a unique place, to say the least. Anglers come for the fish, but most come back for the culture. Key West dive bars, walking barefoot, roosters running rampant on roadways, and the sweat-inducing humidity that calls for cold beers and butter shrimp after long days poling, stalking, and stomping through wild waters. Welcome to fly fishing in Florida.