Everglades Snook

Kevin asks me, “Jeremy, out of all the places that you have fly fished what is the coolest?” I say, “right here in the Florida everglades.” It is true. There are very few places on earth and especially in the USA that a fly angler can experience such a unique fly fishing adventure. Kevin, Dave (headrush999) and I traveled deep into the everglades. We bypassed the typical and easy to access spots and traveled far and deep into the everglades. We winded our way through tight mangrove channels and across the windblown flats. Alligators lined the shorelines while rolling tarpon and Snook appeared around every corner. I did not want to ask the typical impatient question, “are we almost there yet?” So, I sat patiently and took in everything that surrounded me. Then we arrived to a spot that looked no different to me than any other spot we had passed. But, that is exactly what makes everglades fly fishing so difficult. Everything does essentially look the same, but only the experienced anglers know the places where Snook, Tarpon and Redfish dwell. And, the dwelling grounds change according to wind direction, water temperatures, air temperatures and time of year. Kevin hops up on the polling platform. He says, “Big Snook 10 O’Clock.” Dave is on the bow and sees the fish. Dave has one of the smoothest casts I have ever seen. Effortlessly, he throws 60 feet of floating line and drops the fly within inches of where it needed to be. ‘He’s on it, he’s on it, strip, strip…he ate it.” Dave sets the hook with the infamous everglades strip set and the Snook does not like that. The Snook jumps clear out of the water and the battle is on. The Snook heads for the Mangrove roots and Dave manages to keep him just barely on the edge of the roots. The Snook jumps several more times and finally comes to hand. We snap a few photos and release the fish. I’m up next. I think to myself, “Wow, this is the real deal. No blind casting, just Kevin spotting the fish while I put my skills to the test on the bow.” Last year, while fly fishing for Tarpon, I choked allot. Oh sure, I can cast like a pro when the pressure is not on but when the pressure builds it becomes infinitely harder. So, I spent this past season practicing and trying to improve on my weaknesses that became exposed in the everglades last season. I practiced throwing allot of line, minimizing useless false casts and dropping my fly quietly on the water with precision. Whether I was fly fishing for trout, striped bass, albies, bonito, steelhead or salmon; these were the weaknesses that began to transform into strengths. So, it all boiled down to this. I was on the bow and this was the truest test of them all. Kevin pointed out the first fish. I stripped line off my reel and effortlessly laid out a ton of line. The fly landed exactly where it needed to be. I gotta say, I was very proud of myself. The Snook chased down my fly and ate it! Unfortunately, the everglades exposed another weakness. My hook-sets were terrible. They would have been great if I was fly fishing with a dry fly for trout, but these were not trout and I was once again humbled in the everglades. This time was different though, I was not gonna wait a year to get the job done. I was throwing the fly perfectly and all I had to do was forget everything about my trout style hook sets. So, I did just that. The next fish ate my fly and I strip set the hook hard in a downward motion. The hook stuck and I landed the Snook. Finally, I managed to put together all of the pieces that make everglades fly fishing so tough. This type of fly fishing is not easy. See a fish, make a cast to the fish, trick the fish and try your best to keep him out of the mangroves. Your cast has to be perfect. At times we literally had to bounce the fly off the mangrove roots because that is where the Snook were. Precision and nerves of steel were required. Slapping the water, needless false casting and casting too far or short resulted in spooked fish. Dave had told me for a long time how technical this type of Snook fly fishing was and I doubted his claims. Well, now I am a believer. And fly fishing, in this manner, for Snook is certainly as addicting and mind boggling as my passions for trout, salmon, steelhead and false albacore/bonito (from shore). We had a great time. We fly fished hard from shore and boat, ate well and recorded music at night. Dave is a very talented digital musician and we found a way to creatively combine my love for acoustic guitar and songwriting with his digital craftsmanship. The sound we created together is new and refreshing and I love it. You can hear our song while watching the video that we put together. All in all, it was a phenomenal fly fishing and musical experience. Worth the trip.