To start…what a year 2024 was on the water. In my typical (unacceptable) fashion, I find myself playing catchup on my fly fishing adventures from the year rather. I am committed in 2025 to make a much more diligent effort to do posts in real times after my outings, as it’s always fun to recap and keeps the blog updated in real time.

With all of that said, let’s hop into the 2024 adventures by discussing fishing for Barrramundi in Osceola, Florida. That’s right…Australian fish in Florida! This was hands down an opportunity that I wouldn’t have ever thought would exist in the United States, and I knew I had to make the time and effort to check it out.

Although the fishing was objectively not very challenging (as tons of fish were present), the fights, conditions, and getting eyes on a new species made it one to remember. These fish are here because of an outfitter that legally has been able to stock them for fishing and other commercial purposes. This is the only outfitter in the United States that has these fish.

Only about a 45-minute drive from some work I had in Orlando, I arrived to the property unsure of what to expect. The weather was abnormally cold for Florida, and the outfitter gave me a heads up that it could be a challenging day as these fish really need wam water to get amped up. With that said, I rigged up my 8-weight rod and had an assortment of strong-hooked flies that I typically use for saltwater ready to go. Within the first ten minutes of throwing a white bucktail fly, boom…

The take of these Barramundi is honestly something that I would compare to a tarpon. They fully engulf the fly with a huge open mouth, and when you strip set, it feels like you are trying to get a hook into a concrete block. With a few major jumps mixed in, these fish really are an ultimate game fish and I was extremely happy that I made the time to come check this place out. The fish were definitely a bit lethargic from the colder water (and the flies needed to be fished very slowly but yet sporadically to entire an eat), but was able to land more fish than I could count. The biggest trick to the day was making sure to have heavy enough line (straight 40 pound fluoro) and a strong wide gap hook to keep the fish on. The majority of the fish were between 8-12 pounds, but larger fish do exist that can be conquered in deeper water during the spring and summer in warmer weather. As for flies, anything that was white and 3-6″ inches long seemed to really be the ticket. As shared earlier, the sheer number of fish on the property makes it inevitable that success will be found, but adjusting to the conditions absolutely made it a much more productive day.

Sometimes it’s good to mix it up and go somewhere to get a pull on the line! This is a great example of that – I mean you can’t really ask for a better way to spend an afternoon in the middle of a colder January.

Tight lines!

Joe