Flamingo, Everglades National Park Fishing

Flamingo, Everglades National Park is the one saltwater entry on the park's list of shoreline fishing sites, at the southern tip of the Florida mainland.

• Cast from the Florida Bay shore at the campground day-use area and along the Guy Bradley Trail
• A wild setting of mangroves, open bay, wading birds, manatees and crocodiles
• Spotted seatrout, redfish, snook, jacks and ladyfish on the shallow flats
• Frozen bait and tackle at the marina store, a fish cleaning station, and a restaurant that will cook your catch

Flamingo sits at the end of the Main Park Road, about 38 miles (roughly an hour) south of the main entrance near Homestead and Florida City.

• Getting there: from Florida City take Palm Drive and follow the signs to the main entrance, which is open 24 hours, then drive the whole park road
• Entry: every visitor pays the park entrance fee (a standard pass costs $20 to $35); the park takes no cash, and non-US residents pay an extra per-person fee
• Parking: use the campground day-use area beside the amphitheater, where the Guy Bradley Trail begins
• On foot: the trail follows the bay shore for a little over half a mile to the Guy Bradley Visitor Center
• The concessioner lists its bayside campground as closed for the 2026 season; if the day-use area by the amphitheater is closed when you arrive, park at the visitor center and walk the trail west instead
• No public transport reaches Flamingo, and the park warns that rideshare drivers rarely come back out for the return trip

The water off this shore is shallow Florida Bay grass and mud flat edged with mangroves, so expect backcountry fish rather than reef fish.

• Spring (Mar-May): snook moving up to the mangrove edges, spotted seatrout and redfish on the flats, tarpon showing around the marina
• Summer (Jun-Aug): snook, mangrove snapper near the old pilings, ladyfish, catfish and bonnethead sharks
• Fall (Sep-Nov): redfish and trout feeding hard before winter, schools of crevalle jack, ladyfish
• Winter (Dec-Feb): trout, redfish and black drum on calm days, the odd bluefish
• The park's mercury advisory for northern Florida Bay names spotted seatrout, gafftopsail catfish, bluefish, crevalle jack and ladyfish, so read it before you eat your catch

Light spinning tackle handles almost everything here; make long casts, because the water is thin close to the bank.

• Trout and ladyfish: a 1/4 oz jig with a shrimp-tail or paddle-tail soft plastic, or a popping cork over a frozen shrimp
• Redfish and black drum: frozen shrimp or a piece of crab on a light Carolina rig with a 1/0 circle hook, left on the bottom near the mangrove points
• Snook: soft plastics or small swimbaits worked along the mangroves while the tide is moving
• Catfish and bonnetheads: cut bait or shrimp on the bottom; add a heavier leader if you target sharks
• 10-20 lb braid with a 20-30 lb fluorocarbon leader covers most fish; a landing net saves you stepping down onto the soft shore

The NOAA prediction station at Flamingo shows two highs and two lows on most days, of unequal size, with a typical range of about 2 ft.

• Fish the rising tide and the first part of the fall, when water covers the flats in front of the bank
• At low tide the bay drains to mud and grass a long way out and fish slide back to deeper water
• Calm, clear mornings are best; a strong wind turns the shallow bay murky
• In winter, fish the warmer afternoons after a cold front passes
• The summer wet season brings heat, afternoon storms and the worst of the insects

This is a remote natural shoreline where the wildlife deserves respect and help is a long way off.

• American crocodiles, alligators and manatees live around Flamingo: keep your distance, never feed or disturb them, and hold your cast when a manatee is near
• The marl and mud shore is soft and slick; do not wade out onto the flats
• Mosquitoes and biting insects can be fierce, above all in the wet season; bring repellent and long sleeves
• Leave the open shore when thunderstorms build; lightning over the bay is a real summer risk
• Cell service is unreliable here (the park says AT&T is generally the only carrier with signal this far west), so tell someone your plans
• The day-use area has paved parking close to the water, but the shoreline itself is uneven natural ground

Flamingo has more services than most Everglades spots, run by the park and its concessioner around the marina.

• Marina store: frozen bait, tackle, ice, drinks and snacks, with restrooms; open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from November through April and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from May through October
• A fish cleaning station near the visitor center
• Guy Bradley Visitor Center with rangers: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily from mid-November through April; in summer 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Wednesdays and Thursdays
• Flamingo Restaurant, which will cook your catch, and the new Flamingo Lodge
• Campground restrooms, picnic tables and grills (camping fees are separate)
• Gasoline and diesel for cars and boats at the marina

• Buy frozen shrimp at the marina store before you walk out; digging for bait is not allowed anywhere in the park
• Walk the Guy Bradley Trail east from the amphitheater and cast from the open gaps in the mangroves
• Old pier pilings along the trail, left from the days when Flamingo was a fishing village, are worth a few casts for snapper
• Clean fish only at the cleaning station, or cook them right away at your campsite; filleting anywhere else in the park is not allowed
• Look for manatees, tarpon and crocodiles from the marina dock, but do not fish the marina between sunrise and sunset
• In summer, come early: heat and insects build through the day

Flamingo is part of Everglades National Park, managed by the National Park Service, and park rules apply on top of Florida's.

• A Florida saltwater fishing license is required unless you are exempt
• No fishing on the cement seawall along the visitor center breezeway
• No fishing in the marina or at the boat ramps from sunrise to sunset
• No fishing along the campground shoreline from the amphitheater west to the far end of C Loop from sunset to sunrise; Eco Pond, Coot Bay Pond and Mrazek Pond are closed to fishing
• Fish with a closely attended hook and line; cast nets and dip nets for bait must stay within the park's size limits, and digging for bait is prohibited
• The park notes that Florida's Gulf and Atlantic seasons differ, so check which apply before you fish
• Shore-based shark fishing needs the free FWC permit; check current FWC and park rules for size, bag and season limits before keeping anything