Fishing Florida's Famous Tamiami Trail with a fly rod. Roadside angling at it's best!

Join Fly Fishing guides Capt. Greg Bowdish, Andrei Stroman, and Skip Laney for a day of fishing in The Big Cypress Perserve on Hwy 41 on Saturday, February 5th. This is not a shop organized event or a guided trip, nor is there any charge for you to come along. It is just an opportunity for all of us in the fly tying class to get together and spend a day fly fishing.

About the Tamiami Trail

OLN Masters of Fly Fishing Champion Frank Smethurst and Capt. Greg Bowdish with a nice roadside snook from the Tamiami Trail.	The Tamiami Trail is legendary for its roadside fly fishing. As early as the 1950's, this stretch of Florida's Hwy 41 was being fished by some of the greatest names in fly fishing. Lefty Kreh, Chico Fernandez, Stu Apte, and countless others have fished here. This unique and picturesque fishery is home to an incredibly diverse range of aquatic species including large mouth bass, tarpon, snook, oscar, gar, bowfin, bream, tilapia, mayan cichlid, not to mention countless aligators, snakes, frogs, birds, rodents and other everglades denizens. The water you will be fishing primarily consists of roadside canals and ponds where sometimes a poorly timed backcast can result in a hookup with a car or truck, so one should be very aware of the dangers while fishing there. One of the highlights of the area is Loop Road which is known for its photographic beauty as much for its great fishing. While packing for a day trip to the area, don't forget a camera as the chances for some unbelievable wildlife photography are just as good as a portrait of you holding up a nice fly caught fish.

What to Bring

Some of the gear we would recommend bringing along would be a camera, polarized sunglasses, a hat, bug repellent, a jacket or fleece, and sunscreen. Any fly rod from a 2wt to a 9 wt is suitable, but because of the heavy weeds, a variety of weedless flies and lots of extra tippet material from 12# to 30# is recommended. It would also be wise to bring either a stripping basket, small tarp, or a towel to lay on the ground to keep your fly line from getting snagged in the weeds. The most important thing to bring with you is a current Florida Freshwater license! If you have a fishing rod in your hands you will be checked by the game warden, so do not take chances on getting a ticket - you will! To get a freshwater license call 1-888-347-4356 or go to www.myfwc.com. There is also a very limited number of stops for food and water, so everyone attending should bring along lunch, snacks, and a cooler with cold beverages. NO ALCOHOL PLEASE!!!

Where to Meet

Those of you leaving from Cape Coral, meet at Angler's Outlet at 7:00 am. sharp. WE WILL BE LEAVING PROMPTLY AT 7:30 AM SO PLEASE BE ON TIME. Anyone wishing to meet us from the Naples area, we will hopefully make be at the gas station at the intersection of Hwy 29 and Hwy 41 by 9:00 am. If you wish to meet us here, please e-mail me so that I know you are coming. again, be advised that we will be fishing on the side of a very busy thoroughfare in a canal full of gators and for everyone safety we ask that all angler's under the age of 15 be accompanied by a responsible adult. Again, we also we ask that there be no consumption of alcohol. It is an hour or so drive from the Cape and everyone is responsible for their own transportation, but once we all meet up at the shop, we can condense down into a few cars to save gas on and confusion. Any vehicles making the trip must meet us with a full tank of gas! We want to get to our destination with the least amount of delays and there are very few places to get fuel where we are going. As you can imagine, if you do find gas in the glades, it is very expensive. Gas up your car ahead of time!

Again, this is not a shop event rather just an opportunity for all of us to fish together. Our fly fishing community here in Cape Coral has grown considerably and a day out fishing together could really be a lot of fun and give us all a chance to know each other better. Lets have a safe and productive time and be courteous to all involved. Hope to see you there!