Florida's Fly In Fishing

by John Kumiski

My popping bug disappeared yet again. The line came tight and I had yet another bluegill, fat, dark, healthy, beautiful. Capt. Ron Bull had put me on this fish by dropping me out of the sky onto a small, inaccessible lake in central Florida's Polk County. Instead of a boat, Ron uses a Piper Cub equipped with pontoons to transport his anglers from lovely spot to lovely spot. Every one you visit is always accessible in no other way.

The plane ride is at least as much fun as the fishing. The Piper Cub is an amazing little aircraft, and gives you a perspective on your fishing spots and Florida's geography available few other ways. Just as important, if the fishing in one lake is slow, you simply hop to another in a matter of minutes. You needn't bring any lunch, either- when your stomach starts growling Ron will fly you to a waterfront restaurant.

Ron says, “When I first started flying float planes I realized that this versatile plane would provide the ultimate Florida freshwater fly fishing adventure. The combination of flying and flyfishing brought new life to my fly-fishing pleasure. It's a wonderful blend of challenge, serenity, esthetics, and freedom! I have enjoyed fly-in fishing in Florida, in the mountains of Alaska, and in Maine, and I will share it with you here on the beautiful lakes and creeks of central Florida. Florida is unique in offering perfect flying and fly-fishing weather the year around. The largemouth bass, crappie, and bream we have here tend to offer some fast paced fishing for the fly angler, and their willingness to strike topwater flies is one reason large bluegill are among my favorite quarry."

Although he does have boats available on some lakes, after the plane lands you usually get out and fish by wading. We waded in both lakes we fished, wearing Gore-Tex chest waders to protect us from the chilly January water. We used four weight fly rods equipped with floating lines. My leader was 10 feet long, tapered to a 10 pound tippet. You could use a lighter tippet, but you'll lose a lot of flies in the lettuce and on sunken branches. Besides, bluegills have never been known to be particularly leader shy.

Although he prefers using popping bugs to all other flies, Ron suggests carrying a variety of flies suitable for bass, sunfish, and other panfish, including poppers, streamers, and nymphs. Fish species include largemouth bass, chain pickerel, bluegills, redbreasted sunfish and other sunfish species (that list could be long), black crappie, and bowfin, locally called mudfish. Since you're often fishing around various types of aquatic vegetation including water lilies, bulrushes, and cattails, as well as cypress knees and branches, Ron recommends carrying at least some flies equipped with weedguards.

The day we fished Ron used popping bugs exclusively, preferring to fish for bluegills. I tried a variety of surface and sub-surface flies, wanting as many different species as possible.

The best fish I hooked was a bass of about four pounds. He felt the hook, took to the air in a spectacular leap (I think he thought he was a smallmouth bass), and then immediately wrapped my leader around some lily pads. By the time I got untangled he was gone. The biggest fish I caught was a rather unglamorous mudfish, three, maybe four pounds. He pulled hard, though! Both these fish fell for a lightly weighted, black #6 Wooly Bugger. Ron said the speckled perch (the local name for a black crappie) had been biting well during the week prior to my trip, but I failed to catch one.

We ended up getting about a dozen fat bluegills, a couple of small bass, and the mudfish between us. Ron said this was a rather slow day, with a good one being a couple of dozen 'gills, a bass or two or three, and a few specks, depending on fly selection, weather, water temperature, and the mood of the fish on that particular day.

The best fishing is during the spring and fall months. During the summer it's hot, and the summer thunderstorms are a concern. During the winter, the time I was there, cold fronts and chilly water temperatures can play havoc with the fishing. As already mentioned, the day I was there fishing was somewhat slow, probably due to the front that had come through two days earlier.

There are over 550 lakes near Winter Haven, in Polk County, Florida, where Ron's fly-in fly-fishing service is based. Yet, only 80 of these lakes have public access without a floatplane. Ron says a wide variety of waters and fishing opportunities are available depending on what the angler wants to do.

Compared to fishing in January, Ron says fishing should only improve as the weather warms. The bass will start bedding sometime in February, followed by the bream a couple of months later. While Ron doesn't specifically target large bass very often, this is Florida. These lakes are very lightly fished, and a 10 pound fish is always within the realm of possibility. You will certainly need to be prepared to work hard for such a fish, though.

The best part of the fishing was that these lakes are for all practical purposes unfished. The scenery on these undeveloped lakes is outstanding, and you'll see all kinds of birds and other wildlife. The fish are usually hungry and always unsophisticated, since they never see anglers. The feeling of solitude is wonderful. Other than Ron, you won't see anyone else all day long.

This article was written by John Kumiski of John Kumiski Outdoors and Travel. Contact him at his website www.johnkumiski.com or via email at john@spottedtail.com. Copyright John Kumiski.

John Kumiski 's most recent fishing guidebooks are How and Where to Catch Redfish in the Indian River Lagoon System (Argonaut Publishing Company), and Fishing Florida's Space Coast (Argonaut Publishing Company).

John Kumiski's newest book is Redfish on the Fly- A Comprehensive Guide .

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