Chokoloskee/10K Islands Camping Trip

[jslorenz3]

Hey y'all,

A couple buddies and I are going to be taking a trip down to the 10 Thousand Islands over Christmas break. We have talked about going down there for years, but this will be the first trip. Plan is to leave Orlando next Thursday and take two truck/boat combos down to Chokoloskee. We will be camping on one of the islands in the Everglades National Park Thursday-Saturday nights. Hoping that the skeeters won't be too bad this time of year.

Anyone done a similar trip? We are really looking forward to it. I will report back (hopefully with lots of photos!) after we get back!

[MuleTrainGA]

Me and a couple of buddies from UGA did the exact same trip last year except we went during spring break. Its awesome man, one of the best fishing experiences I've had. Not only are the fish fun but being in that ecosystem away from buildings, concrete and lights is truly wild. Watch out for the racoons on the islands, they'll come after your water supply and food while your asleep. Keep everything in hard cases and have a GPS handy just in case you get into a tight spot. We stayed on 3 of the keys on different nights just to move around the area a bit. We found snook, reds, trout, tarpon, and all kinds of other fish. Give me a call or shoot me a text if you want some tips and spots to fish down there. 229-392-2258

[jslorenz3]

Just shot you a text MuleTrain. After a quick search of your posts, I remember you posting the story about your trip now.

[Pirate]

Better watch out for "Bloody Watson" from the book about the area "Killing Mr. Watson". True by the way!

[jslorenz3]

A little late on the report, but I finally have some time to write it.

First of all, the trip was a huge success. We left St. Cloud on a Thursday morning at 9:00 and made it down to the ENP Ranger Station in Everglades City at about 2:00. We obtained our permit for three nights. The permit cost $22 for two people for three nights. We then launched the boat and made our way out to the island. As you can tell, my 16' flats boat was loaded down. Firewood, tent, clothes, grill, fishing equipment, extra gasoline, and food and coolers.




We watched a great sunset that evening and got a campfire going with the wood we brought down.




The fishing for the next two days was solid. Had a hard time finding the snook that we thought would be abundant, but the trout gave no problems. We found a few spots where every single cast we were catching trout and had to move on to look for other species. We also ended up catching some nice redfish in one of the many passes leading out to the gulf on cut mullet. The largest one came in at 30".



All in all, in two days we caught ~100 trout, 4 redfish, 1 snook, lost a big bull shark, and many of the unwanted fish. Great trip and would do it again!

[Salty Gator]

Solid report, thanks

[Gulf Coast]