Fishing Guide: Everglades, Naples, Fort Myers
Capt. John Stark is a full time fly fishing guide and has been guiding anglers of all abilities to snook, redfish, and tarpon in Southwest Florida on fly and light tackle since 2005.
Fly Fish Southwest Florida
Capt. John Stark specializes in fly fishing the shallow waters of Southwest Florida from Fort Myers (Pine Island Sound), Estero (Estero Bay), Naples, Marco Island (10,000 Islands), Everglades City, and Chokoloskee (Everglades National Park). Some of the most amazing expanses of shallow water bays, creeks, and flats exist along this stretch of Florida, and the fishing in Southwest Florida is great year-round.
Capt. John Stark primarily targets three species of fish on his fly fishing trips:
Snook: One of the stealthiest fish that swims, the snook is our primary target year-round and can be found all across Southwest Florida. They are ambush predators that live in the “jungle”. The complexity of their habits and their ability to hide in plain sight puts catching a big snook on fly at the pinnacle of the game.
Redfish: In recent years, redfish populations have been at an all time high in Southwest Florida. They can be found in most of the same areas that snook can be found but generally prefer water more on the saltier side than a snook. Redfish can be found crawling down a shoreline with their backs out of the water, or tailing on an oyster bar or grass flat. Redfish are voracious predators and eagerly eat a properly presented fly.
Tarpon: When the water warms up above 75 degrees, tarpon begin to migrate up the coasts of Florida to feed and ultimately spawn. This behavior has been happening for millions of years, and these literal dinosaurs of fish present anglers the opportunities that dreams are made of. Their size, acrobatics, and willingness to eat flies make tarpon the ultimate gamefish.
Fly Fish The Everglades
The Everglades is a vast area South of Naples where water moving through peninsular Florida flows into the Gulf of Mexico. As the third largest wilderness area in the contiguous Unites States, the Everglades definitely lives up to its reputation as a wild place, and one of the best shallow water fisheries in the world.
Fly Fish Pine Island Sound
Pine Island Sound is a unique body of water located West of Fort Myers, FL. Pine Island Sound doesn’t get a lot of attention in the fishing world, and frankly we appreciate that. This area seems to get overlooked by a lot of saltwater anglers, but has some of the best sight fishing opportunities on the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Capt. John Stark Everglades Fly Fishing Guide
Born and raised in Texas, John Stark grew up fishing for spotted seatrout and redfish on the grass flats and developed a passion for saltwater fly fishing. His passion led him to the Great State of Florida in 2001 to chase the fish that inhabit its Southwest Coast.
