Everglades Adventure

Video trailer

This past week I had the pleasure of staying at Port of the Islands Adventure Resort with several good friends while fishing the area and filming for an upcoming project. The resort is just East of Naples and has a long history.

 

Hanging in the courtyard

Filming in the lodge

Going over the plan

Port of the Islands Resort was first known as Remuda Ranch. The resort's direct access to the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge and Gulf of Mexico made the spot a favorite of anglers and its two hotels attracted weekenders and global travel writers. Housing and condo development started around 1983, while the 86‐suite resort component of Remuda Ranch remained steady and evolved over time into what it is today.

Calm after the storm

 Port of the Islands is nestled within the Florida Everglades, the largest U.S. wilderness east of the Mississippi and the third largest National Park. This natural resource is among one of the most pristine ecological locales and is permanently protected for the benefit of the diversity of life it sustains. The western fringe of the Everglades is known as the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge and is directly accessible by boat from the Port of the Islands which is a secluded outpost on Florida’s U.S. 41.

Nature's theme park

 

The entrance road into the resort was once an airstrip, ferrying potential real estate buyers in by day, and illicit cargo out in the cover of darkness. Little remains of it’s infamous past, but now the area is being billed as an adventure resort. The full service marina has direct access to the Ten Thousand Islands, known for unequaled game fishing and birding. Paddlers can also enjoy the back country camping opportunities. Just across U.S. 41, the resort offers skeet and target shooting. Many outdoor activities are available including fishing, hunting, hiking, biking, shooting, boating and camping.

 

Our group checked in on a Tuesday afternoon. We were housed in four “cottage” units with waterfront and courtyard views. The rooms were efficiencies with small kitchenettes and cooking utensils for extended stays. Everything was very clean and well maintained and we settled in quickly. A short walk by the pool area and we were in the main lodge. The Angler’s Cove restaurant and bar is here but was closed during our stay. A couple of guys in our group, Stewart Venable and Eric Hughes, didn’t waste any time and began catching snook at the water control weir just across the street from the resort.

Nice rooms

kitchenette

 

Resort comfort

That evening the guys from Yaktastic Adventures, Rob DeVore and Rob Lee, filmed some preliminary footage while our Photographer, Chris Patricella, snapped away. Stewart, Eric, Jim VanPelt and I then went back to our rooms to prepare for an early day.

 

The first day of actual fishing had us launch into the Faka-Union canal, just across U.S. 41 from the resort. The canal is known for big snook, tarpon, largemouth bass and oscars. As we launched we could see tarpon rolling all over the surface. We made a concerted effort to use only fly gear and we caught a few smaller fish. As we spread out, Stewart and Eric tangled with some larger snook later in the morning. The tarpon eluded us that day and we headed to Everglades City for some lunch. That evening Eric and Stewart were on the snook again at the weir while Rob and Rob filmed interview sequences.

Eric staring down rolling tarpon

Looking for snook

got him

 

The next morning we headed to one of our favorite quarry lakes in the Everglades. Jim and I usually find a lot of exotics here including peacock bass. We were joined by cameraman Paul Greenleaf and production assistant/spotter Joe Jones. Between the underwater filming and the camera drone buzzing overhead, we managed to catch some fish. Most notable was Jim’s nice peacock on fly. By this time, Stewart was fishing with spinning gear and had given up on fly. Eric stubbornly kept at it and began catching fish after fish on fly. By the late afternoon we began to pack up. I found a dime-sized hole in the bottom of my Hobie Revo, probably from launching over the sharp rocks. We lunched at Joanie’s Blue Crab Café and headed back to the resort.

Small bass on fly

Jim's peacock

Peacock on fly

Planning our move

Stewart scores

 

The last day we planned to hike, with kayaks, deep into the brush. We took a little known Indian trail I had heard about, and pulled the kayaks to a very old quarry lake. The snook and tarpon were active, but after a couple of hours they proved they wouldn’t bite. We moved on to another very remote spot that we could drive most of the way to. There we stood at the launch and watched hundreds of backwater tarpon rolling on the surface. Jim, Stewart and Eric launched their kayaks and I waded into the murky water. There were small gators a few feet away. Stewart struck first with a very nice darkwater snook on a Yozuri. Eric also caught a big snook on fly. Jim and I caught tarpon culminating in the best fishing day we had.

Draggin' kayaks through the brush

watching the rollers

Our little buddy

Walking through the sawgrass

Stewart's nice snook

Eric hooked up

A Double

 We spent the rest of the day filming short scenes for the film. All too soon the adventure was over. Rob and Rob left later that afternoon. I left that evening and the rest of the guys left the next morning. We all had a great time fishing with friends and hanging out at the resort. To plan your next adventure, visit http://poiresort.com for more information. Also, watch out for the film of our adventure, Bass on the Road 2 coming out in late summer and available on Vimeo.