Conquering Wild South Florida - An Original Film

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:02]South Florida might look like a fisherman's paradise, but beneath the surface, it's one of the most complex and fragile ecosystems on the planet.

[00:00:13]From Lake Okachchobee to the mighty Everglades through the inner city canals all the way down to pristine Biscane Bay, every drop of water here is connected. And what happens to one of these ecosystems impacts them all. I want to discover what this incredibly diverse fishery is all about at its core. So this week, I'm partnering up with three of the most passionate creators I know to embark on the ultimate Florida adventure.

[00:00:46]Mike and Ryan are going headtohead with the invasive species threatening this system.

[00:00:52]>> Oh, he almost got me.

[00:00:54]While Brent and I chase the native fish that have thrived here for thousands of years. Are you kidding me, dude?

[00:01:01]>> Oh my god.

[00:01:03]>> Four lifelong fishermen.

[00:01:05]>> Oh my god.

[00:01:06]>> Five legendary ecosystems.

[00:01:10]One mission.

[00:01:11]>> Got him. Got one fish.

[00:01:15]>> This is wild South Florida. Let's get after it.

[00:01:36]Good morning everyone and welcome to this 5-day South Florida tour. We are way down south today. We're in one of my favorite ecosystems and a place that really doesn't get the attention that it deserves and that is Biscane Bay. Home to some of the most pristine, beautiful water in all of Florida and home to some of the hardest pulling and best eating fish. I'm super excited to show you what this fishery is all about. And then we have four other ecosystems that I'm excited to show y'all. Every single one is extremely vital to the South Florida fishery as a whole. So, this video should be a ton of fun. I hope you guys learned something. Thank you so much for clicking on it and I hope you enjoy it.

[00:02:20]Before we get started on fishing, y'all, we got to pick up some live bait. So, we're pulling up to my boy Alex right now, Miami Bait on Instagram.

[00:02:27]>> What's up, guys?

[00:02:28]>> What's up, dude? Good to see you, bro.

[00:02:31]Yeah, Alex does p We're getting pilgrimage from him today, but he does goggle eyes, pin fish. Basically, he's gotten mullet for us. You name it, he can get it. He's the guy. If you need bait down here in Miami, he's about to load us full of piltrids for this trip.

[00:02:45]Woo!

[00:02:46]Look at these beautes. Here we go.

[00:02:50]Keep them coming, brother.

[00:02:59]>> Scaled sardine, aka pilt. What do you guys call them on the West Coast, Bren?

[00:03:03]>> We call them greenbacks. Everybody says they're wrong.

[00:03:05]>> West Coast calls them greenbacks.

[00:03:07]Whatever you want to call them, they are candy to fish. Some of the best bait you can have. Damn, look at those baits.

[00:03:13]Those are beautiful poachers. You can see these baits are really, really quality. They look super healthy, super clean, no scarring on them, no red sores because Alex just caught them last night. And he take good care of the bait and that's what's most important because, you know, a lot of people sell bait and they don't take care of the bait and then it dies in the well after an hour or two. But I have confidence these are going to last all day long.

[00:03:36]Dude, thanks so much, Alex. I appreciate you.

[00:03:38]>> Anytime. Thank you very much.

[00:03:40]>> We'll let you know how it goes.

[00:03:41]>> See you.

[00:03:41]>> Good to see you.

[00:03:42]>> Great to see you. We'll see you soon.

[00:03:43]>> Yes, sir.

[00:03:44]>> Guys, got to hit up Alex if you need bait in Miami. Let's go catch some fish.

[00:03:48]So, I wanted to start this adventure here in Biscane Bay because this is actually where a lot of the fish of South Florida get their start. You can basically think of this area as a giant nursery, and the baby fish that grow up here can do so safely because of the abundance of seaggrass. Not only does it protect the juvenile fish, but it also acts as a filter, which keeps the entire system stable. What's super cool is that a lot of the fish that grow up in Biscane Bay don't actually stay local and they end up spreading all across South Florida into multiple different ecosystems, some of which we'll explore later in this video. Let's get one of these baits. I'm going to go right here in the throat.

[00:04:28]Pitch them up current. We got an outgoing tide right now, so it's coming at us.

[00:04:35]Boom. We're fishing.

[00:04:39]>> Come on. There you go.

[00:04:41]>> Nice fish.

[00:04:46]Not sure what I have here, but it's definitely fighting pretty good.

[00:04:53]I want to back the drag a little bit, but looks like a button, though.

[00:05:02]Yeah, it's a nice mine. Just got eyes on him.

[00:05:06]Small, but not bad.

[00:05:09]Dang, that thing fought hard.

[00:05:11]>> All right, good start.

[00:05:13]>> What a beauty, man. Let's show this guy off. Check that out, man. That is a beautiful little fish. And that is one of the fish that we are absolutely targeting down here in Biscane Bay. That is a mutton snapper. One of my favorite eating fish. They got to be 18 inches to harvest. And this guy's a little bit too small. But just look at the colors on that fish. Their tail is split half red, half yellow. They got that infamous black spot. A little bit of blue under their eyeball. Such a gorgeous fish. All the fish down here in Biscane Bay are so so pretty. They're so tropical.

[00:05:47]I knew that was going to be violent. All right, let's get another one. Got a fresh pilt. Going to go right in the nose here.

[00:05:56]I'm kind of working this edge of the flat right there. You got some pristine grass right there. And then it comes into this deeper channel. And I like that edge right there. I feel like it's a good ambush point for some of these muttons and yellow jacks.

[00:06:13]Want me to help you?

[00:06:15]>> I'll figure it out.

[00:06:20]>> Stop resisting.

[00:06:21]>> Stop resisting.

[00:06:25]Stop. Stop. Stop.

[00:06:30]>> They're like my homie. Not the homie.

[00:06:35]>> See you. See you, dude.

[00:06:39]>> Come on.

[00:06:40]>> There we go.

[00:06:43]>> Good fish.

[00:06:44]>> There we go.

[00:06:47]>> Yep. Decent. What is that?

[00:06:50]>> Rouper.

[00:06:51]>> Oh, a little red grouper. That's cool.

[00:06:54]>> Ah, not really what I was expecting, but hey, that's pretty cool.

[00:06:58]>> That is cool, dude.

[00:06:59]>> Thank you, sir. Good job.

[00:07:01]>> Really was not expecting to catch a red grouper here. We got some black grouper last time, some little guys, but really we're looking for mutton snapper and yellow jacks. That's a cool fish to catch right there. Look at the pattern on this guy. This dude is lit up.

[00:07:20]All righty, y'all. Been kind of a grind today. This wind is not helping us out whatsoever. We've been getting kind of beat up. We were way way down south in the finger channels. Caught a couple fish like you guys saw, but nothing too too promising happening. So, we decided to leave there. We came north. Right behind me is actually a house that's on the water. There's a little neighborhood here. They're not inhabited anymore, but they used to be. And this is called Stiltsville. Keascane is right there in the distance. I could see downtown Miami. So, it's a really, really cool spot. And there can be some really nice fish here. There's a deep pocket about 16 feet of water right here. So, we did a little bit of live chumming. We had some fish come up already. We're going to see if we can get a big mutton or maybe a yellow jack here.

[00:08:04]>> A big yellow.

[00:08:06]>> Jesus, those are huge, bro.

[00:08:13]I need a live bait. I need a live bait.

[00:08:16]Those were big. Oh my gosh.

[00:08:35]>> Yeah, it is.

[00:08:40]>> What is that?

[00:08:41]>> No clue.

[00:08:45]What was that, bro?

[00:08:52]Guess maybe I got him pinned with a two circle. Look.

[00:08:59]Kind of look like a shark.

[00:09:01]>> Yeah, he's head shaking like a shark.

[00:09:05]Let him eat it for a while though.

[00:09:11]He's definitely head shaking like a shark. Now he's wrapped. Yeah. Gone.

[00:09:17]I think that was a shark.

[00:09:19]Thought we had a mega yellow jack there.

[00:09:22]Shark near uh near the Stiltsville homes. Not what we're looking for. Hold on, dude. I'mma feed you.

[00:09:30]Come here. I'mma feed you.

[00:09:37]That's freaking crazy. All right. Peace out, man.

[00:09:44]Bit again. That's a fish.

[00:09:48]>> I'm going to I'm going to cry.

[00:09:52]>> Need a bait?

[00:09:53]>> Yeah, please.

[00:09:55]>> Wow. I'll take that mega. Thank you.

[00:10:02]>> Okay, >> finally.

[00:10:07]Don't be a shark.

[00:10:13]>> We chasing it or >> Yeah. Okay, >> I think so.

[00:10:18]I don't want him to get me in those those sets, too. Those pilings.

[00:10:25]No idea what this is, but hopefully we get some eyes on it.

[00:10:33]Yeah, try to cut him off.

[00:10:38]You're wide open.

[00:10:41]I have a light leader, so just don't want to put a ton of heat on them.

[00:10:47]Careful, there's something sticking up out of the water right there.

[00:10:52]>> Let me get the net just in case.

[00:10:54]>> Oh, dude, he has me on something down there.

[00:10:56]>> Does he?

[00:10:58]>> Oh, no. No, no, no. Yes, he has me in something. He has me in a rock.

[00:11:05]Oh, no. How the freak did he find the one piece of structure out here?

[00:11:11]I'm trying. I'm turning it.

[00:11:17]It's off.

[00:11:30]Oh. Oh my god, dude. It's a big mutton.

[00:11:32]>> Yep.

[00:11:33]>> He just came free.

[00:11:36]>> I think that's what it is.

[00:11:37]>> Am I spot lock it?

[00:11:38]>> No. No. No. No. No. Let's be Let's be mobile if we need to be.

[00:11:46]No way. Is that a mutton? Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Dude, I'm actually shaking like a leaf right now.

[00:11:58]>> Brent, net this fish. It's a big mutton dog. Yep.

[00:12:00]>> Come on. Come on. Right here.

[00:12:05]>> Got him.

[00:12:07]>> Are you kidding me, dude? Oh my god, what a relief.

[00:12:12]>> My >> I I don't even feel like I'm alive right now.

[00:12:16]>> All right, I'm putting this thing in the >> Oh my god. Let's go, dude. That is the fish we've been looking for in Biscane Bay all damn day. I mean, even going back to the last trip that we were here for 5 days, we were trying to get a fish like that. Dude, I I love you, bro. That is a fish right there. The fact it got on structure, got off, and you still got that thing to the boat.

[00:12:40]>> I thought I had a jack on.

[00:12:43]What the heck, dude? Really quick before I show you guys this mutton in all its glory. We're going to get a quick measurement on him. I got him on zero right there.

[00:12:52]We all guessed off screen or off camera what the uh what the size was. I said 24 and Andrew behind the camera said 22.

[00:13:00]So, it's 23 and a half. What a freaking fish, dude.

[00:13:04]Oh my god, I'm so freaking stoked on this fish.

[00:13:10]There we go, baby. That is such a stud of a mutton to catch right on the edge of a flat in Biscane Bay. Stiltsville right over my shoulder there. And then the Miami skyline in the distance. I mean, 23 and 12 inch mutton snapper. I really wanted to come out here and catch muttons. We wanted to catch some yellow jacks, too, but this was the true fish that I wanted to catch.

[00:13:34]What a blessing. I know this is only day one of this ecosystem adventure, but I mean, the fact that Biscane Bay exists and it holds fish like this basically all year long, it's just such an awesome, awesome catch. I'm so so happy to get this one. It's going to make a incredible meal. No doubt about it. I'm sure we're going to eat this fish at some point in this video. But what a stud. same gorgeous colors that you saw in those smaller ones earlier today. But I don't know, for some reason, this fish is even more vibrant with the blue under his eye, that orange eyeball, that split tail.

[00:14:09]My favorite snapper species just cuz they're so freaking pretty.

[00:14:29]Good morning everyone. We are doing something completely different today.

[00:14:33]One of the most underrated, underutilized, and just overlooked ecosystems in South Florida is the canal system, particularly the urban city canal system. So, we're down here in Miami today. We're going to be in the heart of Miami all day going after a bunch of different species. I'm super excited because this is where I grew up and this is what I grew up doing. We got some little light setups right now.

[00:14:57]We're going to be going up and down these banks looking for some really cool fish. Actually, behind the camera, I see a grass carp right now, which is actually a nonnative fish. We're going to go after some native and some non-native today. So, I'm excited. Let's get on them. Here in South Florida, we actually have three different types of classifications of fish. We have native fish, which we're going to be targeting throughout this entire video. We have invasive fish that got here introduced illegally. And then we have what's called a non-native species. The non-native species were actually introduced here purposely to help eradicate some of the invasives, which honestly is so crazy. It's these canals are just like highways that interconnect all throughout South Florida and they have the most incredible fish in them.

[00:15:40]You'll get red tail catfish, pacu from the Amazon. But what we really want to highlight today is one of my favorite fish of all time. It's the butterfly peacock bass. They were actually introduced here, I think, in the 80s to help eradicate some of the invasive species like the Mayan cichlid, tilapia, and so on. So, these fish are really aggressive, really beautiful, and I hope we can find some. I'm just going to throw a little yozer pins middle for now, but we got some live bait with us.

[00:16:06]It's going to be a lot of walking. This is kind of what I did in my use, so I'm excited, man. Let's see if we can find him.

[00:16:19]Got one.

[00:16:21]Got one.

[00:16:24]Dude, there's a school of like five of them behind mine. Look at them all. Woo.

[00:16:29]Nice little jump.

[00:16:30]>> Pretty fish.

[00:16:31]>> Yeah.

[00:16:33]>> A be.

[00:16:41]>> Someone grab my feet. I feel myself slipping.

[00:16:43]>> I got you.

[00:16:46]felt my whole body starting slipping.

[00:16:48]>> Got to do what you got to do to get these fish. You got them.

[00:16:51]>> Yep.

[00:16:51]>> Nice.

[00:16:53]So sus.

[00:16:55]Got to do what you got to do. Not a bad way to start our Miami day right there.

[00:17:00]Get a release on this guy. There's a Midas cichlid right there. There's a couple of them. That's so cool. Another peacock. Get this guy in the water. Get another bait.

[00:17:10]See you, dude. Brent just caught the first peacock bass of this little canal adventure. And I keep getting denied by them. And it's interesting because there's six lb leader on the rod that I just threw in. And Brent's letting me use it real quick. My original rod that I was using has 15 lb leader and they don't want to eat it and they're eating the six. So if that doesn't show how smart these fish are, he's already lost one and caught one and I cannot get a bite. So, this crystal clear Miami canal water, these fish can see just that little minute difference in leader.

[00:17:48]So, I'm going to drop down to the six here and see if I can get a bite.

[00:17:52]Now, that's fish hooked up.

[00:18:03]It's a peacock. Oh my god, that fish is so pretty, dude. Dude, fighting this fish on the ultral light is so insane.

[00:18:11]It's not a very big fish, but there's like deep ledges here and you got to follow them.

[00:18:18]That six lb made all the difference, man. That is wild.

[00:18:24]Woo! There we go, dude. Check that thing out. That is a gorgeous little butterfly peacock. You see he's got this hump on top of his head. Correct me if I'm wrong in the comments, but I believe that's full of testosterone. And this little guy is a male. But that has to be one of the prettiest fish that swims definitely in Florida and possibly the entire world. I love the colors on these guys.

[00:18:49]I mean, you saw how hard that little fish fought. And it's so freaking beautiful. And what's really cool, their tail kind of splits right down the middle. The top half is almost like a grayish blue. the bottom half orange and then that butterfly peacock spot in the back. That's why they get the name.

[00:19:08]That's actually a false eye helps them when they're even smaller than this to uh get away from predators. But dude, the orange under his gills, that is unbelievably vibrant and beautiful.

[00:19:22]I freaking love these fish, man. I grew up catching them. I'm so happy that they exist here in South Florida. Sometimes I get kind of frustrated that there's so many invasives in South Florida, but if the invasives weren't here, then they wouldn't have never introduced these guys and I would have had to travel all the way to the Amazon to catch one. So, we're beyond blessed to have these fish down here in the canal ecosystem of South Florida. Let's get them back. Got to get down here near the water's edge to let this little guy go.

[00:19:50]Oh man, I feel like a little kid right now.

[00:19:56]Peace out, dude.

[00:19:58]What a be. Now, the way these canals contribute to South Florida's entire fishery can be a bit complicated. They weren't built for fish, but now fish depend on them. And they've become pathways that connect everything we're about to explore in this video. From inland waters all the way to the coast.

[00:20:15]And what moves through these canals doesn't just stay here. It affects every ecosystem downstream. So, if we don't monitor the water quality here, it can have major negative effects on our coastal fisheries, like the one we'll fish later today.

[00:20:30]There's something pushing a weight coming down right there.

[00:20:37]Ooh, nice peacock. Got him.

[00:20:43]I don't know what this is, but it's a decent fish. I saw a fish waking. Andrew and I both saw it. I pitched at it and it ate. It was in like inches of water.

[00:20:55]Oh, it's about to jump.

[00:20:58]Got a little tiny hook on here, too.

[00:21:05]Don't want him to get me on that structure.

[00:21:12]Only got a 10 lb leader to get the bite.

[00:21:15]Wow, this one has a crazy hump.

[00:21:19]My humps. My humps. My humps on this guy.

[00:21:23]I got him foul hooked.

[00:21:25]He looks like he's hooked in the freaking hump.

[00:21:30]I think he is.

[00:21:34]Dude, I hooked him in the hump.

[00:21:37]What the heck are the odds of that? Look at this fish. He's hooked in his freaking hump. That is a good peacock right there. I'm going to unhook him real quick. Sorry, dude. I did not mean to do that. That is so random. That is the fish I've been looking for all day.

[00:21:54]Hopping around in these canals here in Miami doing the urban concrete jungle fishing. Such a sick fish. We are so truly blessed to have peacock bass down here. I love these guys. Been catching them since I was a little kid. I hope I can catch them for the rest of my life.

[00:22:09]Not the uh most vibrant one you're ever going to see, but still some beautiful colors. It's a little bit lighter in coloration. There's a little bit of like a murkiness to the water in this lake and I think this fish is kind of blending in with that water. But so so cool. And that freaking bump on his head is like pulsating. It's so full of testosterone. This one's got to be probably right in the middle of the spawn right now. Making a bunch of little baby peacocks. But catch and release on this guy. We're going to get him back. What a beauty, man.

[00:22:39]There he goes. Dude, that is sick, man.

[00:22:42]Great fish.

[00:22:48]A few hours later, we gave you guys a glimpse of what the freshwater urban canal ecosystem is like. And now I want to show you all what the saltwater urban ecosystem is like down here. We're in the heart of Miami. The skyline is right over my shoulder. There's a plane that just left Miami airport going overhead.

[00:23:08]And this is my boy Brent's very first time doing this. So, I'm excited for him to see what this is all about. I grew up doing this type of fishing. And you wouldn't think it, but up against the concrete, against these giant bridges where people are going in and out of the city, there are some really quality fish. Huge fish, delicacies, a bunch of awesome stuff. And I'm excited to get on them. So, we're going to head to a bridge and get to fishing. Just pulled up to the very first spot we're going to try tonight. We're at a bridge. There's a bunch of cars going overheading into the city of Miami, which is pretty cool, man. And here we're going to look for something to eat. We're going to look for maybe a snapper, a trout. I'm going to be throwing a little artificial shrimp. Right now in Miami, the reason why a lot of these fish are here is because there are shrimp flowing. There's a shrimp run that happens in the wintertime and the early spring, and all these fish are here to gorge on them. So, I'm going to throw this little guy. I got a VR50 with some 15lb Beyond Braid, 20 lb Beyond Floral Leader. And this is a brand new rod that I'm rocking. My buddy Laz makes these rods. It's made by CatchCraft.

[00:24:09]That's the name of the company. Very, very sensitive. Perfect for little jigs like this. So, I'm excited to pull on some fish with it. We want to catch some fish for the cooler and then we're going to move on to some bigger and batter fish that call the city home. So, let's see if anything's here. So, the technique when we're working these little Zman shrimp, I got a 3/8 ounce jig head on there and we're casting to the shadow line basically, but at an angle. We're letting it sweep down in the shadow line. And you want to just imagine that it's a shrimp coming from the bay and getting swept out with the tide.

[00:24:45]Fish.

[00:24:46]>> Yep.

[00:24:48]Not very big, but it's a fish.

[00:24:52]What is this little guy?

[00:24:54]We got the targeted species. Just a little bit munchkin version.

[00:25:00]There we go. Little mangro snapper, gray snapper. delicious fish that you can find down here in the bay in Miami. They got to be 10 in to harvest. That guy was a little bit short and we probably won't keep anything unless it's about 13 to 14 in cuz we want the little ones to grow up a little bit. But that's a good sign.

[00:25:17]That's a good start. We've only been here for less than 5 minutes. So, let's see if its big cousin is home.

[00:25:27]Uh-oh.

[00:25:30]That's a tarpon.

[00:25:32]Oh no. Wasn't trying to hook this y'all.

[00:25:36]Come on. Spit it.

[00:25:41]Doesn't feel big. Honestly, fast acting acting, Brent. Okay y'all, we just hooked the tarp and wild mangrove fishing. We don't have the right setup for it, but let's see. Maybe I could try to get this jig at least out of this fish.

[00:26:03]Okay. Be super super careful here. See where you're going, right?

[00:26:07]>> Yeah.

[00:26:08]>> He just jumped over there somewhere.

[00:26:11]>> Huh?

[00:26:11]>> He just jumped over there somewhere.

[00:26:13]Keep going. Keep going.

[00:26:15]We're good.

[00:26:17]>> All right. Get on him, please.

[00:26:24]I need you to go. You're on 10.

[00:26:26]>> Yeah.

[00:26:27]>> We got to go on the main motor.

[00:26:31]Okay, y'all. Brent's starting the main motor because we're kind of dangerously close to getting spooled. Yep. Go ahead.

[00:26:36]We got to catch up to this fish real quick. I'd love for this fish to just throw the hook, but she's pinned pretty good. Pretty ironic cuz tarpon are so hard to hook.

[00:26:46]The fish is like further than that. Like he's going to run over my fish.

[00:26:55]He's about to run over my fish.

[00:27:00]Dang, that actually worked. I went slack and let the fish go under that boat.

[00:27:06]>> Holy crap. It's like a freaking miracle.

[00:27:11]The fish was definitely past that boat.

[00:27:15]I don't know if I mentioned it yet, but tarpon was the big fish that we were going to go for down here in the middle of the concrete jungle. We were just trying to get some uh fish for the cooler first.

[00:27:26]Loan loan bowl. We hooked the tarp in before we caught anything for the cooler, but I'll take it.

[00:27:32]Dude, I got some pressure on this fish for real with 20 lb beyond fluo. That is Dude, that's good. Good leader material right there.

[00:27:44]I would take my time with this fish, but you know, it's not really responsible to do that. I'm not fighting him on the right tackle, and I don't want to like completely exhaust him, you know?

[00:27:57]Look how much heat I'm putting on this fish. That catchcraft rod is doubled, son. Running the line right down his back. That's exactly what you want to do to a tarpon. That's how you break their will. They obviously don't like it. They get pissed. But if you want to fight these fish properly and not fight them all night long, I can't believe that this leader hasn't gave.

[00:28:23]>> Oh, >> dang. I was putting too much on it. I just kind of felt like I mean, look at that, Andrew. Show them how far we are.

[00:28:31]We're a good 500 800 yards away from that bridge. So, I just I I don't have the heart to fight that fish all night long. I want it to swim away. I want it to survive. And tarpon are notorious.

[00:28:42]They will fight to the freaking death if you let them. Ton of heat on that fish.

[00:28:46]We fought them for a good while. We got the most out of them. That was not even what we were going after yet. We're going to pull on some with the right tack in a little bit, but that was freaking fun. And I I swear to y'all, like I don't even know how I can display how confident I am in that leader material now. Like the fact that it just held up to that fish. What do you think about that?

[00:29:04]>> That was wild.

[00:29:05]>> That was freaking crazy. All right, cool. Let's uh And all it did was wear through the leader. I mean, that's just understandable. Tarpon have really, really abrasive mouths. Add a ton of pressure on that fish. We're going to put another Zman on and let's go get something for the cooler.

[00:29:26]That's a nice snapper.

[00:29:29]Oh, maybe not. If it is, that is a freaking stud, bro.

[00:29:39]Yeah, definitely grab the net.

[00:29:42]>> Oh, yeah.

[00:29:44]>> Think so. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Good one.

[00:29:47]Good one. Coming. Yep.

[00:29:50]>> He's right here.

[00:29:54]>> That right there is a good fish, baby.

[00:29:58]>> Check out this Miami mangrove snapper, bro. That is a freaking stud on the Z, man. God, that's a nice fish. That's got to be I don't know 16 17inch fish. We'll get a measure on them. Like I said, they only got to be 10 in. So, I know without question that this one's coming home.

[00:30:17]Beautiful. delicious eating fish that you can catch right here, right along the concrete, bro. Right in the heart of this freaking city. Such a sick ecosystem that's really slept on here in South Florida. The peacocks in the canals and plus all the other fish in the canals. And then you come down here to the to the skyline and catch fish like this, man. That's sick. 17 12 almost an 18 in mangro snapper. One more look at him. Dude, that is a beautiful fish, man. And I am so grateful to get this fish down here in Miami. We're going to put him in the live well and then no doubt this fish will make an amazing meal.

[00:30:59]>> There we go.

[00:31:02]>> There we go.

[00:31:06]>> Careful here. Take your time. You're good.

[00:31:08]>> Good snapper.

[00:31:10]>> Got a good hook on there.

[00:31:12]Oh, dude. Stud.

[00:31:15]Stud. Oh my god.

[00:31:17]>> That's what I've been looking for, dude.

[00:31:19]>> Holy crap.

[00:31:20]>> There we go.

[00:31:21]>> That's the biggest one I've ever seen at this spot, bro. I mean, that's >> a stud.

[00:31:26]>> 20s something inch fish, dude. Go show that thing off. That is unbelievable.

[00:31:30]>> Finally, >> dude. Look at this mangrove that Brent just got. I was telling him that there's some stud fish out here. Got it on the Z, man. Like, the fact that we could catch these fish on artificial, I think you're kind of surprised.

[00:31:41]>> That was so much fun, dude. Like I've been watching you get bites, get fish, and I was sitting there. I was like, "What's going on?" You rigged me up that little Zman. And as soon as you did, I started getting bites and I got this good boy right here.

[00:31:54]>> Also, it's 10:56 and I told Brent at 11:00 we're switching to tarpon fishing.

[00:31:59]So, he caught this fish last minute.

[00:32:01]Hail Mary. You ready to pull on some tarpon?

[00:32:03]>> Let's do it, dude.

[00:32:03]>> Tarpon next. Let's get it. We hung up the little rods. Just picked up the big setups. I got a get dump shrimp on.

[00:32:10]We're sticking basically strictly artificial tonight. There's so much shrimp in the water down here in Miami that you can get away with throwing lures, which is just so much more fun as an angller. I'm going to throw it down this shadow line and hold on tight.

[00:32:22]We're looking for a big tarpon. Now I'm just casting down the shadow line.

[00:32:32]The snapper, we were working the bottom.

[00:32:34]The tarpon, we want to work the top of the water column.

[00:32:39]Just come right down that shadow line just like a shrimp that's getting swept with the tide.

[00:33:00]>> There we go.

[00:33:01]>> Here we go.

[00:33:03]Stay on him.

[00:33:04]>> He's going in there.

[00:33:07]Go slack if you need to.

[00:33:09]>> Yeah, I'm I'm slack.

[00:33:11]>> Okay, come to the bow when you can. Just watch out for this rod.

[00:33:14]>> Yep.

[00:33:14]>> Okay, y'all. Brent is hooked up. I'm going to play captain.

[00:33:18]Tell me if he's straight through.

[00:33:22]>> Looking pretty good.

[00:33:25]>> Okay, just walk him out. Don't put too much pressure on him. If he went, just let him go. Stay tight. Stay tight.

[00:33:33]Beautiful.

[00:33:35]>> There we go. Oh, that's that thump I was looking for. Got a little baby silver king.

[00:33:42]>> That's sick.

[00:33:46]>> Nice.

[00:33:49]>> Whoa. Good.

[00:33:50]>> So cool.

[00:33:52]>> And that get thump, baby.

[00:33:56]>> And that's a leader fish.

[00:34:02]>> Oh jeez.

[00:34:03]>> Jeez, dude. He just gave you a kiss. He >> just headbutted me.

[00:34:09]>> That was freaking nuts.

[00:34:10]>> That was wild.

[00:34:12]>> Oh my god. I'm just trying to help you out, brother. Just trying to help a brother out.

[00:34:18]>> All right, let's try that again.

[00:34:20]>> Round two.

[00:34:25]>> Thank you, Tyler. You need help?

[00:34:29]>> God, he's a strong fish, dude. Look at that guy. Get dumped right in the top roof. His ro get dumped right in the roof of his mouth. That is so so sick, dude. I'm going to pop pop this hook out. Hooked perfectly.

[00:34:43]There we go. Hook is out. Brent, take care of that.

[00:34:46]>> Got it.

[00:34:47]>> Let's go ahead and get this trolling motor going. We'll get some uh water rushing through this tarpon's gills. You always want to revive these fish.

[00:34:56]>> Oh, there he goes. Oh, swam off. Good.

[00:34:59]swam off real good. It's kind of spooky.

[00:35:03]There we go, baby. Good job, dude. That was sick. Spooky holding those fish with dark water and there are there's a major shark problem down here in Miami. But we're purposely fishing in an area where I do not encounter sharks. Knock on wood, wherever the heck it is because you never know. But that was sick, man.

[00:35:17]I really wanted to put my boy Brent on a Miami tarp and he's never done this.

[00:35:20]That was a little guy, but still super fun nonetheless.

[00:35:35]We have made it to Lake Okachchobee.

[00:35:39]This is the largest lake in Florida. And all of the water of South Florida is controlled by this lake. It's an amazing ecosystem full of incredible wildlife, incredible nature, and incredible fish.

[00:35:52]I can't wait to display it for you guys today. Going to get up in some reeds right now and do some frog fishing. I am so so excited. Let's get on some fish.

[00:36:00]We have made it to where we're going to look for these giant Lake Okachchobee bass. I got a popping frog on. There's all these reads and lily pads around us.

[00:36:09]Let's start slinging it.

[00:36:24]Come on.

[00:36:29]There we go. Yep. Senko.

[00:36:34]Not a bad start.

[00:36:38]Destroying a wacky rigged Senko by the reads while Tyler's throwing a frog.

[00:36:43]It's not a very long bass, but look at the gut on that thing, dude. Such a fat, healthy bass there on Lake Okachchobee.

[00:36:51]Get a release on this little guy here.

[00:36:54]See you, dude.

[00:37:02]>> Nice.

[00:37:04]>> Oh, that's a good one.

[00:37:05]>> Yeah, it is. Oh, really good, dude.

[00:37:07]>> Come on, dude. Out in the middle.

[00:37:09]>> Really good one.

[00:37:16]>> Come on, dude.

[00:37:18]Dude, that's a better than the other one.

[00:37:20]>> Yeah, a little skinny, but sick, dude.

[00:37:22]Nice Lake bass right there.

[00:37:24]>> All right, if we keep getting bigger every time, I will be happy.

[00:37:28]>> Yeah, definitely a longer fish. Not as fat as the other one, but still super sick. I felt that thump on that one.

[00:37:34]>> Yeah. Yeah, I could hear by your reaction.

[00:37:36]>> Oh, yeah. That's so sick, dude.

[00:37:40]>> Yeah. Maybe when it warms up a little bit the afternoon, the the top water bite might be better.

[00:37:45]Oh, there we go.

[00:37:46]>> Nice.

[00:37:48]>> Another bass on the senko.

[00:37:50]>> Bro, you're killing it, dog.

[00:37:53]>> Dude, it was just on the fall. I didn't even like start working it yet.

[00:37:57]Healthy one.

[00:37:58]>> Yeah, it is.

[00:38:01]Another shorty. Another Lake Okachchobee largemouth bass right there. That is sick. Let's see if we can get like an eight pounder.

[00:38:08]>> Your boy is thoroughly getting outfished by the Seikko.

[00:38:12]>> Not a big deal. Is anyone surprised?

[00:38:13]Come on.

[00:38:23]Is it a bad?

[00:38:24]>> Yeah.

[00:38:24]>> Oh, yeah.

[00:38:28]>> That doesn't look fun.

[00:38:29]>> There we go. That's a good one.

[00:38:31]>> Yeah, it is.

[00:38:32]>> Yeah, that's actually freaking heavy, dude.

[00:38:36]That is really heavy.

[00:38:40]Oh, yeah, dude. It looks huge. Oh my god, dude.

[00:38:51]All right, we got this. We got this.

[00:38:56]>> One hand net.

[00:38:57]>> Look at that fatty.

[00:38:58]>> That's like a four to five pounder, I think.

[00:39:00]>> Look at that fatty. Thanks, dude.

[00:39:02]>> I got you, dog.

[00:39:03]>> Senko.

[00:39:04]>> The sinko. I mean, I think I got to put something on.

[00:39:07]>> Look at the gut on this bass right here.

[00:39:10]That is what you come to Lake Okachchobee for right there.

[00:39:15]Three and a half. That's a three and a half pound bass right there. Got a two pounder, a couple one pounders. Like I said, they could get them 10 plus pounds here. That is so sick.

[00:39:27]Lake Okachchobee is often referred to as the heartbeat of South Florida's fishery as a whole.

[00:39:35]Not only is the lake a refuge for a diverse variety of fish and wildlife, but it also actually controls where and when the water moves across the entire system. Yes, it's one of the most productive bass fisheries in the country, but it's also the source of water that feeds everything downstream.

[00:39:54]And when the water leaves the lake, it has to go somewhere, which you all will see over the next 2 days.

[00:40:03]Switching things up just a little bit here. I really want to catch a bass on a sinko or a frog or a little baby duck lure or something like that. But in the meantime, I just want to get a Lake Okachchobee bass under my belt. So, I'm putting on a live shiner that we picked up at Rolling Martin.

[00:40:24]There you go. Little kale hook, little bobber. I'm going to pitch them up here against the reads and see if there's any bass that want to eat a live bait.

[00:40:33]You want to go towards the cut, right?

[00:40:41]Oh, my bobber just went down.

[00:40:46]That's probably close to 10. No.

[00:40:55]Hooked up way in the reads.

[00:41:00]I think we got a bass. Oh, nice. Sweet jump.

[00:41:05]Come here, baby boy.

[00:41:11]So, you got to wait 10 seconds before setting the hook on these guys. That's what Brent said. He used to do this when he was a kid with his dad. There's nothing more young Florida fisherman than going bass fishing with your dad.

[00:41:22]So, that's pretty cool.

[00:41:25]That's how I started fishing, too. Just taking my time with this guy. He's actually fighting pretty dang good.

[00:41:32]>> They really do.

[00:41:35]>> In the net, >> man. Yeah. Got me a my first ever Lake Okachchobee largemouth. Dude, they are so healthy. I catch some bass back home, but they don't look like this. These ones are so picturesque. The ones back home are like ditch pickles and they're all gnarly and beat up and skinny. But that's a little football, man. And that dude is chunky. Check out their mouth, man. They get these big old mouths eating on frogs and worms and shiners and brim.

[00:42:08]This is like the most staple fish when it comes to freshwater fishing in America. I love it, dude. So sick. We're going to let this guy go.

[00:42:19]Thanks for playing, buddy.

[00:42:22]There he goes.

[00:42:39]What was that?

[00:42:42]>> Working it fast. 18 there.

[00:42:44]>> Really?

[00:42:45]>> Yeah.

[00:42:47]Working the fuzzy senko. Reeling it in.

[00:42:49]One just ate right there.

[00:42:53]>> We're up. Oh, there you go.

[00:42:55]>> I was working it fast, too.

[00:42:57]>> Okay, maybe we're just too slow.

[00:42:59]>> Oh, no. My sinko.

[00:43:03]What the heck? I wonder if it's the same fish. Check that out. That is my first ever largemouth bass on artificial in Lake Okachchobee. Got him on the sinko, which Brent has been absolutely putting on a master class. We're calling him Bassmaster Brent. He's caught a bunch of fish on senkos thus far.

[00:43:22]There we go. Cute little guy, dude. Like just like the last one you guys saw that ate the shiner. It's just such a healthy specimen. But we got shiners behind the boat. We're still working lures. We're having fun. It's nice, easy, like stress-free fishing, choking around.

[00:43:38]It's cool to be on Lake O, man. This is such a beautiful, beautiful environment, beautiful ecosystem.

[00:43:43]And let's see if we can get a big one.

[00:43:55]Not the hottest bite out on Lake O today, at least for me. Brent did really well. He caught some really nice bass.

[00:44:02]You might see a little bit of it in this video, but if you want to go check out his channel, see you dude, to see his whole day out here in Lake O. But really awesome ecosystem. Had a ton of fun out there. It's like midday right now. The bite really slowed down. So, we're going to switch up the gears. We want to show you everything that this ecosystem has to offer. So, we're going to look for some crappie now. Got this little Zman crappie paddle tail. I'm not even too sure what it's called, but just the perfect little presentation for these crappie. We kind of have them marked over here. I'm going to cast this ultral light sixlb leader. Really, really finesse stuff. So, I've never caught a crappie. Maybe I can get my first one.

[00:44:37]We got the unit running right now and we're marking a bunch of fish right there. And I think those are them.

[00:44:42]Hopefully, we're about to find out.

[00:44:44]Right over there in that clump of lily pads, there's a manatee and he's coming up and feeding. I did not expect to see a manatee in Lake Okachchobee.

[00:44:55]>> There we go.

[00:44:56]>> Yes, sir.

[00:44:59]>> There she is. What? What is that?

[00:45:02]That's some kind of brim. No, >> mouse.

[00:45:05]>> Is it a war mouse? Oh, wow. We were just talking to Ryan about the war mouse. He said they're super rare. I don't think I've ever I've caught a couple of these as a little kid. This is why I love freshwater fishing. It's near and dear to my heart because as a little kid, that's all I had access to for the most part. And um I have caught some of these warm mouths and I had a little fish tank where I used to keep a lot of the little fish I caught. And I didn't even fish for them. I used to just dip net fish and in the grass and stuff like that.

[00:45:33]And I've caught these little warm mouths and they're so cool. I used to keep them in a fish tank and feed them minnows and stuff. I think that's what that is. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong in the comments, but it's a cool little pan fish. It almost is like a a mix between a some sort of a bluegill brim and a and a bass. That's sick. He ate the crappie jig. Still looking for my first ever crappie.

[00:45:54]Oh, otter.

[00:45:57]>> 100,000%. Dude, that was so sick.

[00:46:01]>> He just came right off this that point and just and just dove. There is an otter right now that is chasing something. Look at that thing. That is so cool.

[00:46:13]He's over there on the opposite bank. I spotted him like five minutes ago and then he just popped back up. Dude, that is so cool. Look at that thing.

[00:46:22]Oh, there we go.

[00:46:25]>> That's a crappie.

[00:46:26]>> Is it?

[00:46:26]>> Yep.

[00:46:28]>> Let's go.

[00:46:32]That is my first ever crappie right there. Too small. They also have the name speck. A lot of people call them specks.

[00:46:40]Dude, that's my first one. I'm actually for it being such a tiny fish. You guys have seen some awesome bigger fish in this video, but for this being such a tiny fish, I'm really, really stoked to catch it. Help me. This crappie did not want this little tiny crappie jig.

[00:46:58]We are about to do something extremely unique and very cool. If you can see, there's a bunch of lily pads around me.

[00:47:06]and Andrew, who's holding the camera, was recently on a python hunt, which two of the guys back at Florida Fish Camp are actually doing a python hunt in their video. So, make sure you check it out. Fish Like and Ryan is Fishing are their YouTube channels. But what the the guys named Sammy, who took them on the python hunt, told Andrew that inside of these lily pads lives a little worm, which happens to be one of the best pan fish baits that you can get your hands on. So, we're going to try to get some to catch keeper crappie with them because we caught quite a few little crappie, but none of them are keepers thus far. So, this is really cool. Check this out. Here we go. Grabbing this lily pad right here.

[00:47:47]What you're looking for is that little hole. That's an indicator that there should be a worm inside calling this thing home. There he is.

[00:47:58]Look at that, dude. That is so wild.

[00:48:03]Come here, buddy.

[00:48:06]That is incredible. Get him in the sunlight for you guys. That little worm is probably one of the best pan fish baits that nobody knows about. And hopefully we can go turn it into some keeper crappie. That is such a cool thing that exists here on Lakeo that I had no clue existed. So sick. Look inside of this bucket. We got a few of these little worms out of those lily pads. That is so crazy. Shout out to Sammy who told Andrew who told us that these baits even exist. And now let's try to catch something with one.

[00:48:39]Hopefully a keeper crappie. That would be ideal. But honestly, I would take anything. Just catching a fish on a worm that you just caught out of a lily pad was something I never expected to do on this tour, but I'm stoked. So, let's see.

[00:49:03]>> Oh, what the heck is this, dude? That's a big bluegill, huh?

[00:49:11]That is so cool, man. Got him on the worm. I've caught some giant bass in my day on bluegill. And I know the bass in Lake Okachchobee like to munch on them, too. But that's pretty cool. I think we're going to take this guy home and Chef Will's going to cook something up with him. Pretty cool, man. All righty, y'all. We are getting out of here. Ton of fun on Lake Okachchobee today. Wasn't an absolute sleighfest, but that's not really what this place is about. We got to see and experience the entire ecosystem. We learned some things. We caught some fish. And then to cap it off, we had a really nice lunch. We We even had some gator bites. The same gators we saw out there on the lake. We got to enjoy and eat. But we will see you guys tomorrow in a brand new fishery. We're heading across the state.

[00:49:50]We got a really fun one planned for tomorrow.

[00:50:05]Good morning everyone. Only a couple more ecosystems left on this Florida tour. Today we're going to be checking out and exploring the southwest Florida estuaries. This is basically where the freshwater meets the saltwater. And this place acts like a home and a nursery to all the little baby fish that live inshore and nearshore in South Florida.

[00:50:28]So, it's a very important vital ecosystem. And it's also home to the big three when it comes to inshore fishing.

[00:50:35]The slam, the trout, the red fish, and the snook. So, we're going to see if we can do that today. That is the goal. Try to get a slam. Right now, we're up against a bar right here. There's mango trees in the distance. all the perfect environment for these fish to live in. I got a top water on. We got some low light. So, let's see what we can do.

[00:50:53]It's going to be a fun day.

[00:51:13]>> Double puffs.

[00:51:15]You got a trout?

[00:51:17]>> No. Mega puffer.

[00:51:18]>> Oh, two. I thought that was a trout.

[00:51:20]>> This is so weird, y'all. We have hard baits on specifically because there are so many puffer fish on this flat.

[00:51:30]And look what a puffer fish does. If you never seen one before, it's like a defense mechanism. They blow up like a little balloon. And if you scratch their belly, they'll get like really solid.

[00:51:42]Such a bizarre fish, man.

[00:51:46]Was not really expecting to see these and definitely not expecting to catch him on freaking hard baits, but that is freaking hilarious. And as soon as he hits the water, he's going to deflate.

[00:52:02]Go away. This looks good though. Like where we're at right now, it looks good.

[00:52:06]I just I haven't gotten a bite yet.

[00:52:19]Oh my.

[00:52:27]That's enough to make a grown man cry right there.

[00:52:37]>> That's a good fish.

[00:52:38]>> There you go. Nice. He clapped that thing.

[00:52:42]Oh, it's a nice trout, dog. At least I think it was. Maybe it's a snook.

[00:52:50]Dude, I think it's a big trout.

[00:52:52]>> That's a big trout. Yes.

[00:52:55]Okay. Stay glued, my boy.

[00:53:01]That's a good one.

[00:53:03]>> Coming on your right side.

[00:53:05]>> Just let him take you wherever he wants to go.

[00:53:07]>> Yeah. Back hook only.

[00:53:15]>> Good job, friends.

[00:53:16]>> Dude, that that's I think that's bigger than mine. Look at the size of that thing, dude.

[00:53:23]>> Let's go, dude. I love this area. Check out this sea trout, man. That is a healthy one. My biggest ever actually came in this area at 23 and 1/2 in. And we're going to see if this beats it. Ate the top water. The same lure my PB is currently caught on that red and white moon walker. No, he's 22.

[00:53:44]>> 22.

[00:53:44]>> 22. Yep. 22 on the tape. But still, man, it's it's just a fat fat healthy fish.

[00:53:51]That is so so sick. Couple things I love about sea trout. This one only has one.

[00:53:56]He's a little bit gnarly, but they get those two fangs typically up there and they use those to grab on to bait fish and shrimp, whatever they're feeding on.

[00:54:03]And then they get that yellow mouth and then those spots in the back. Those spots are so pretty. I say it all the time, but I'll say it again. It just reminds me of a leopard. These fish are so sick. They blend down in the grass and they ambush all types of little baits and crustations all day, and they are so beautiful. Right ahead of the boat here, this is kind of the pattern that we've been coming up with today.

[00:54:25]You can see there's a sand, I'm calling it a sand bar, but it's almost a sand bar with some oyster with some grass on it. And then behind the boat there's another one. And then there's a little bit of sort of like a pass or a channel that goes between the two. And it seems like as the tide is coming up, these fish are pushing up on this bar. There's mullet around the bar. So we have bait fish. And the mullet actually when they get really big, they'll spook little crabs, little shrimp, smaller bait fish. And these trout reds and snook will almost use the mullet to locate bait for them. So, it's a really cool. It's not a symbiotic relationship because the mullet don't really get anything out of it, but you know, the predator fish are taking advantage.

[00:55:13]I wonder if we've hit this thoroughly enough.

[00:55:20]Lol. Right after I said that, a snook.

[00:55:24]Let's go. Only got a 25 lb leader.

[00:55:29]Oh, there we go. We've had some really, really cold weather this winter. A lot of snook have suffered, but got a healthy one on right now. That leader is pretty light, even though this isn't that huge of a fish. Oh, no. You're good. You're good.

[00:55:46]>> It was small anyway.

[00:55:48]>> Yeah, it wasn't that small. I mean, mid20s probably.

[00:55:52]>> Yeah, >> that's okay. We'll get more. Check it out, y'all. I am in the water. You might be able to hear some excitement in my voice. The boys are right there in the boat. Andrew popped up the drone, which is flying right above. He wanted to get some B-roll of this area because we've been fishing this bar for a couple hours and he wanted to show it off. And then all of a sudden, he started seeing fish that we couldn't see with our naked eye.

[00:56:14]So, I am going to try to stalk one of these fish by foot. I think that would be so so cool. I got a Zman Prawn Stars on something a little more finesse. He's saying there's like a deep pocket right here, right on the edge of the sandbar, and that the fish are kind of just laid up in it.

[00:56:41]Oh, this a nice snook right here. Let's go. I just saw him sitting on the bar.

[00:56:48]Let's go, man.

[00:56:51]Now all I got to do is get a a red and I'll have my slam if I can get this fish to my feet. Come here, baby. Dude, that is so sick, man. This is such a blast.

[00:57:02]Oh, there's another one following him. I mean, look at this. I'm in crystal clear water on this flat.

[00:57:10]Unreal, dude.

[00:57:13]Not a bad little snook.

[00:57:16]Let's go.

[00:57:19]Like I said, the snook have been kind of having a tough winter, so it's good to see some healthy ones here.

[00:57:27]Oh man, that's awesome.

[00:57:30]Here we go. Another part of the slam right there. The common Florida snook.

[00:57:36]When you think about Florida, you think about snook, man. That lateral line right there. One of my all-time favorites.

[00:57:44]Let's go. Let's get him back healthy right here in freaking 8 in of water on this sandb bar. I sight fished that guy.

[00:57:53]Saw him cruising.

[00:57:55]Go ahead, bud. You're good. That is so cool.

[00:58:05]GOT ONE. NICE ONE, >> DUDE. That's a big one, >> dude. It is right away with the salty Ned.

[00:58:19]Got to keep my rod tip high. There's some oyster bar right here.

[00:58:25]Dude, I watched him track it down and just inhale it.

[00:58:30]One of the coolest things I've ever done, bro. I can't believe it.

[00:58:36]Put on a 20 lb Beyond Floral leader.

[00:58:39]just I was having a few fish spook out and I didn't know why. So, I changed my bait, changed my leader. It was worth the trek back to the boat over there.

[00:58:49]Dude, I am so like elated right now.

[00:58:57]Freaking God is good, man.

[00:58:59]>> God is so good. Yeah, put in the universe.

[00:59:03]I went back to the boat. I was like, "Guys, I just want one really nice red."

[00:59:07]And Andrew standing right next to me was like, "You put it in the universe." And I did. There's actually some fish right here behind it. That's another nice red, >> bro. That is so sick. Right here on the bar. What a beauty.

[00:59:20]I got him. Oh my god, dude. Look at this fish. That is so freaking sick.

[00:59:29]There we go, baby. What a beautiful, beautiful red fish. I can't believe I got to get out of the boat and sight fish this one. This has been one of the most fun things that we've done on this Florida tour so far. He ate that little Zman salty Ned shrimp. Dude, I am so so stoked to get this fish. I mean, walking a sandbar like this, that's got to be one of the coolest styles of fishing I've done in a really long time. And man, it's just it's just a beautiful, beautiful fish. We're going to let him go right here, right where we caught him with our feet in the water. Just so blessed to get this one.

[01:00:04]Thanks so much for playing, baby.

[01:00:07]Watch him swim away on this beautiful sand. That is incredible. Just watch that fish swim away. You could see it clear as day on that sandbar. I mean, that was unbelievable. I don't know what else to say. That's what these estuaries have to offer. That was just a blast.

[01:00:25]As you can see, estruaries like this one can be incredible places to find fish, but they are extremely delicate environments. They depend on the perfect mix of fresh and salt water. Too much or too little can completely disrupt the ecosystem. For South Florida's fishery, this is where the balance matters most, but it's not the final stop. The water and the fish keep flowing into a system where everything slows down.

[01:00:57]Good morning everyone and welcome to the final day of this Florida tour. I'm not going to lie, we're a little bit exhausted. As you guys have seen, we have been working really, really hard to display all these awesome ecosystems to you guys. And today, I think we saved the best for last. We are in Everglades National Park, Flamingo. This is the largest natural estuary in Florida. And it's a very unique ecosystem, not only to Florida, but to the entire world.

[01:01:24]It's home to some giant fish. It's home to some baby fish. It's home to an incredible plethora of wildlife. So, I'm really excited to show you what this place is all about. Let's get to fishing.

[01:01:39]This time of year in the Everglades here in the back country, giant tarpon will push into these big open bays and they'll stage up. So, we're going to start off looking for some of those tarpon. I'm going to throw this guy right here. This is an RNR Lady Fish. I think this is still a prototype. They might have just released it. I got a CatchCraft rod and a big Dia bait caster. So, let's see what we can do. It would be so sick. These tarpon should eat it basically at our feet. I'm really excited. This is something I've wanted to do for a very long time. And the fact that these big tarpon live here in Everglades National Park, it's just super exciting. So, let's see if we can get one.

[01:02:28]Oh, yes. Yes. Yes. Oh, >> freaking Aiden swam right at me.

[01:02:35]>> Brent finally got a bite. I mean, we haven't been doing this that long.

[01:02:40]Brent.

[01:02:43]friend. Let's go, dude.

[01:02:45]>> That was sick.

[01:02:48]>> Right close to the boat.

[01:02:52]>> Yes.

[01:02:56]>> Let's go.

[01:02:56]>> THERE WE GO, DUDE.

[01:02:57]>> LET'S GO.

[01:02:58]>> I think that's the one you marked.

[01:03:00]>> I'm on the motor. I'm on the motor.

[01:03:06]>> Oh my god.

[01:03:09]>> Mullet went flying off, but who cares?

[01:03:13]That is epic, buddy.

[01:03:14]>> You're right. I got your fish close to the boat. You weren't kidding.

[01:03:19]>> That is epic.

[01:03:21]>> He's running now. We might want to go now.

[01:03:28]Stay on top of him, dude. He's hauling.

[01:03:43]Shallow water. They got nowhere to go but away. Dude, those jumps were so sick.

[01:03:49]>> That was incredible, Brent.

[01:03:52]I'm just driving the boat right now.

[01:03:54]Brent's got the fish on the bow. We just want to stay pretty close to this fish.

[01:03:58]Want to stay semi on top of it.

[01:04:02]All right. He's pretty pretty close in front. He's taking off.

[01:04:08]Here he comes.

[01:04:15]>> Let's go, baby.

[01:04:17]>> So sick.

[01:04:18]>> There's leader. There he is.

[01:04:22]So sick.

[01:04:22]>> Let's go, Brent. All right, he's going right. Keep switch. Jeez, dude. What a direction change.

[01:04:34]That was wild. Making me tired. Okay, here it comes. Oh, back under the boat.

[01:04:47]Nice.

[01:04:49]>> Hey, Tyler.

[01:04:50]>> Yeah.

[01:04:50]>> Isn't this what we came here to do?

[01:04:52]>> That's what we came here to do, man. You >> wanted this.

[01:04:54]>> You were doing the dang thing right now.

[01:04:55]>> We wanted this pain.

[01:04:57]>> We wanted it. I'd like a taste, so don't complain.

[01:05:03]That's a sick fish, dude.

[01:05:04]>> Yeah.

[01:05:04]>> And check out this scenery we're in, man. This is so cool.

[01:05:07]>> This is what Florida looked like 10,000 years ago. And >> we got a fish that was living here 10,000 years ago.

[01:05:15]>> My god.

[01:05:19]>> Almost took my ring off.

[01:05:21]>> We didn't uh >> Sorry, honey.

[01:05:23]>> We didn't bring a tarpon gloves on this trip. We forgot. So, these are Brent's sun protection gloves, and I'm going to use them to try to land this fish.

[01:05:33]Whoa, dude. This is a stud.

[01:05:38]Hold on to him now.

[01:05:40]>> Oh, it's hard cuz the the hook's in the bottom lip.

[01:05:43]>> Oh, is it?

[01:05:44]>> Yeah. So, Brent, way to go, dude. That's a stud, man.

[01:05:49]>> How you doing, buddy?

[01:05:50]>> I mean, that fish is 120, 13. I don't know how big it is. It's gigantic.

[01:05:55]>> Look how like thick the shoulders are on this fish. These scales are freaking massive, too. Such a beautiful tarpon.

[01:06:02]>> That is a freaking stud, dude. That's so sweet.

[01:06:05]>> Well over a hundred. Big big fish. Look at that eyeball, dude. Brent, great job.

[01:06:11]Our first time doing this, man.

[01:06:12]>> First time, dude. Last day of our South Florida adventure.

[01:06:18]>> Crazy.

[01:06:18]>> Could you ride a better ending than that?

[01:06:20]>> No, you really can't.

[01:06:21]>> So sick.

[01:06:21]>> In the coolest ecosystem in the whole country.

[01:06:25]>> Let's revive this fish. What a stud. If you want to just put the boat in gear quickly.

[01:06:34]Ah, I just lost her.

[01:06:36]I was rolling, but yeah, >> dude. She's just She was too strong.

[01:06:41]>> She was ready, dude.

[01:06:42]>> Oh my god, bro.

[01:06:44]>> No hug. I'm going in for the hug.

[01:06:45]>> It's always hug time.

[01:06:46]>> Oh, man. Thank you for grabbing that fish, dude.

[01:06:49]>> I had her for a little bit, but I mean, that fish is stronger than I am all day long. And once she was ready to go, she was ready to go.

[01:06:55]>> Great job, dude. What a fish. Your >> turn right there.

[01:07:04]I want a tarpon. Yes, I do. I want a tarpon. How about you? I want a tarpon.

[01:07:08]Yes, I do.

[01:07:11]Celebrate.

[01:07:15]I want to get bumped so bad.

[01:07:25]>> Oh, he threw it, dude. That was sick. Okay, Brett just caught a freaking giant like you guys saw. I switched over because he's been throwing a paddle tail. So, I switched over to a paddletail imitation. Looks just like a little mo. It's NLBN. You guys are probably familiar with the company. Really, really good imitation of a bait fish. 5 in right there. I like this purple color in this dark water.

[01:07:48]You can hear it in my voice. I am geeking out right now. I want to get one of these big tarpon for myself.

[01:08:00]Oh my god, bro. I jammed him. It just pulled out of his mouth.

[01:08:08]Brent, teach me how to be a good fisherman.

[01:08:11]>> Oh, right over there. One just swirled right by the mangroves again. Just like a tail comes up and just sloshes.

[01:08:17]>> I don't know if I could reach that, though. That That was pretty far, right?

[01:08:20]>> Yeah.

[01:08:27]Dude, you're right there.

[01:08:33]>> Whoa.

[01:08:36]What the heck is happening?

[01:08:38]>> Fish.

[01:08:40]>> WHOA. OH MY GOD, DUDE. Crazy jump.

[01:08:45]>> No, he threw it. Oh.

[01:08:50]Oh no. What a wild 30se secondond sequence right there.

[01:08:55]>> Oh my god. We saw a freaking fish just free jump and then Brent told me to take this super long cast and I took it. He's like, "You're right where I just saw a fish."

[01:09:06]They're starting to really really chew.

[01:09:08]It's been a couple hours, guys. And in YouTube land, it's been a few minutes, maybe. I don't even know. It depends on how I end up editing this, but uh in reality, it's been multiple hours. And these tarpon are being really, really tricky. But I was just saying off camera, this is kind of what I dreamed of as a little kid. Like I love tarpon.

[01:09:25]Been catching them my whole life. And to do it here in the heart of the Everglades. Like we're miles and miles and miles from civilization.

[01:09:33]Mangrove shoreline right here. Oh man, this is just super cool. I really want to put one boatside besides the one Brank, but I'm just having a blast. The Everglades is truly one of the last natural systems still functioning the way it was meant to. After moving through flats, canals, lakes, and estuaries, everything slows down here.

[01:09:55]The fish we've been talking about the whole time, like snook, tarpon, and red fish, they all depend on this final stretch of the system to survive. And if anything upstream gets disrupted, it'll all eventually show up here in the end.

[01:10:09]Had a ton of fun going after those tarpon. But we cannot leave the Everglades without trying to show you all some more species that call this place home. By the way, I never landed a tarpon. I never got one to the boat.

[01:10:20]Jumped a couple. I'm going to have to come back very soon and do that again cuz that is a ton of fun. I heard about that bite when I was probably a teenager and this was my first time getting to do it. And it was such a highlight for me to be able to grab Brent's fish for him and see him fight that fish. He put on a master class. But let's see what we can catch in this creek. We got a really nice looking mangrove shoreline here.

[01:10:39]Some good flowing water. Water's actually really clean back here, which is I think going to be the key to the success. But um I'm going to throw this little Zman prawnstar shrimp. And then I got a CatchCraft rod here thanks to my boy Laz. You guys saw me catch a couple fish on this earlier in the video. And I got 15lb Beyond Braid and a 25 Beyond Floral leader. We're just going to skip this shrimp up in the mangroves and see what we can catch.

[01:11:09]>> I'm tight.

[01:11:12]Oh, little smoke. Oh, the back of the boat.

[01:11:18]That was my second cast, y'all, in this little creek. Little Everglades snook.

[01:11:22]Dude, the Everglades is such a sick ecosystem, man. One of a kind. So loaded with fish. We spent a lot of time going after this tarp. And the the goal was to show you guys some more species. I don't The day is kind of winding down, but I'm glad we got to show you guys the snook.

[01:11:36]Ate that shrimp. Oh, Brent just missed one. There's some fish right here, man.

[01:11:40]We found a nice little shoreline.

[01:11:43]Later, buddy.

[01:11:47]Tight on on the front of the boat.

[01:11:52]>> Dude, that is insane. Oh, actually trout.

[01:11:54]>> I do have a trout.

[01:11:57]>> Oh, sick. What do you got, >> Snookie?

[01:11:59]>> Dude, and all these snook. Got ourselves a nice little sea trout. Another fish you can find here in the Everglades.

[01:12:13]Staying low, Jack.

[01:12:18]>> Mangro, >> dude. Another species.

[01:12:22]10 minutes. And you guys have already seen three different species, multiple snook, that nice keeper trout, and now mangro snapper. And this one actually would be pretty close. They got to be 10 in. But we'll let him go. He's a He's a little guy. You guys saw those stud mangros we got in Miami hitting that urban fishery.

[01:12:40]Same fish just here on the west coast tight.

[01:12:56]>> Better fish.

[01:12:57]>> I don't know.

[01:13:01]Not bad.

[01:13:08]>> Is it stuck? No. It's not jumping.

[01:13:12]>> Oh, yeah.

[01:13:13]>> Decent one.

[01:13:14]>> Decent one. Decent one.

[01:13:18]Oh, kind of might need some assistance here, but come here, Bubba.

[01:13:34]In the boat. There we go. Man, that is my nicest snook by far of doing this little halfhour creek mission on our way back to the ramp. What a beautiful little snook, man. I love these fish so freaking much. I can't even express it.

[01:13:47]And it's a very, very healthy fishery back here. The Everglades is a special place. And if this isn't a perfect example, seeing all these fish caught in such a short amount of time, plus those giant tarpon, I don't know what else to say, man. Just super stoked. Great day down here in the Everglades. We started this journey in Biscane Bay where a lot of South Florida's fish get their start.

[01:14:08]And what became clear is that it doesn't end there. From canals to Lake Okachchobee, from estuaries to the Everglades, every ecosystem is connected. The fish don't follow boundaries and neither does the water that carries them. What happens in one place moves through all of it. And in South Florida, it only works if everything works together. Helping protect wild Florida can be as simple as picking up trash the next time you're out on the water, or as ambitious as joining a foundation dedicated to preserving the health of Florida's waterways. Whatever that looks like for you, it's vital that we do our part to protect this incredible ecosystem so the fish, the wildlife, and the waters themselves can thrive for generations to come. If you want to learn more about the invasive species of South Florida, be sure to check out Fish Like and Ryan is Fishing here on YouTube. And if you want to see the incredible meals we enjoyed throughout this trip, go check out Chef Will's channel, Cooking with Clams. A huge thank you to Brent and Andrew for sharing the boat with me on this adventure. And of course, thank you to all of you for the constant support and love. It truly means the world to me. Lastly, I want to thank my mom up in heaven for always encouraging me to chase my dreams and do what I love. I love you more than all the fish in the sea, mama. Until next time, take care and tight lines.