I have fished all my life but never flats fished!  This was a great experience.  Captain Jake was very knowledgeable about the area & the fishing!  He put me on a variety of fish early on then did the bulk of flats fishing.  It all ended with a 28 inch Snook out of the mangroves.  What a battle! Captain Jake even got in the water to make sure the fish was landed after getting tangled in the Mangrove. Great experience all around and I will do it again if I am ever back in the area.  Thx Captain Jake!

This was my first trip to the keys. Jake went out of the way to put me on the fish. Couldn’t find a better guide in the keys. Will definitely book again with westward expeditions

Trip was exactly what we were looking for shallow water and casting small gear.  Guide had us on fish all day, and was fun to fish with.

This trip was for my daughter (10yo) and myself. It was a windy day but Captain Jake put us on fish first thing that morning. He took us to numerous protected mangrove flats and we caught fish at every stop. We caught Barracuda, Mangrove Snapper, Jack Crevalle and Goliath Grouper using artificial bait and live shrimp. Captain Jake was very attentive and patient while working with my daughter. He took care of capturing our trip in pictures and sending them to us so all we had to do was fish and enjoy the trip. We can’t wait to go back to the keys and fish with Captain Jake again.

First time flats fishing, first time with Capt Jake. Trip was excellent! Recommend trip for those looking to fish the flats in and near the Everglades National Park. The boat ride was 30-45 minutes. Capt Jake (Man-kota) poled the flats while we cast for Sea Trout. While fishing,  we started seeing Tarpon finding the surface. Capt Jake got out the heavier pole an advised how to cast for them. He stalked the Tarpon but I didn’t get the first one or two to hit. Then we had a few more around, so he continued the stalking. I was able to cast to the two and bring the jig across the fish and fish on! After multiple jumps and runs, we landed the Tarpon. How fun, bonus fish, wasn’t expecting to catch a Tarpon. We fished for more Trout, then moved spots. Next spot we used foam bobber rigged with plastic shrimp and jig. The bite was hot and heavy. I don’t recall how many Sea Trout and Ladyfish we caught, but it was a lot. We moved to another spot, this was getting later in the trip, sun was up and bright. Capt Jake spotted and stalked fish. I landed the biggest Sea Trout of the trip, 22 incher that was released. Time was up, we headed back in. Capt Jake cleaned our dinner fish and bagged them for our ride back to Marathon. Overall the wife and I enjoyed the excellent trip. The wife really enjoyed seeing the Tarpon, stalking (hunting) the Tarpon, and catching the Tarpon all while laughing at the Man-Kota reference. Fishing the flats was a brand new experience and one we’ll do again. Thanks Capt Jake for a wonderful experience. Bob and Julie