18th Day fishing – Florida Everglades – April 26
Today we got off to an earlier start. I fished with Carl today and Mel fished with Reid in his boat. We did not take our Mel’s boat because his boat does not do well in really skinny water. Reid’s and Carl’s boats are designed for the backcountry and very skinny water. They captained boats by Hells Bay Boat Works, Carl’s boat is a Whipray and Reid’s is a Waterman. Both are basically the same hull. Reid’s boat has tiller steering and that is the primary difference.
Carl is the guru of the backcountry. The key is knowing where the fish are and Carl is that guy. Fishing in the Glades is tricky and fly fishing in the glades, even more so. It is all about finding the fish and presenting the fly. Carl had a game plan. He systematically knew the spot he wanted to check out, including one spot where he basically guaranteed me a fish. I cast to the spot he suggested and sure enough, a small tarpon ate, but I missed the set. Still Carl said, “there are more fish in there, keep castingso I cast to the spot and this time went a bit further back and sure enough I had an eat, but this time I made the hook set and we were off to the races! It was a nice sized snook. I had to guide him away from the mangroves twice, but once I had him in the clear, I knew he was coming to hand. A few minutes later, sure enough!
The snook above was my nicest fish of the day so far. When I’m fishing with Reid, we trade off. If someone catches a fish, then that person gets up on the platform and poles the boat for the next person. Not so with Carl. He set a high bar and was hoping to find more fish. We tried multiple other places, but that spot was the best one of the day.
