See Ya Later Alligator

After our Caribbean cruise we returned to Miami and spent a few days in the Everglades. Every time we stopped at a fishy looking spot I took a few minutes to work the water with my spinning rod. In light of the fish kill I wasn't expecting much action so I was thrilled to hook up. But what did I catch?

After an exciting nearshore battle with the fish I finally got the upper hand and managed to beach it:

A nice big snook! I was very pleased. Snook were among the hardest hit species during the cold snap. In fact, snook season has been called off - it's strictly catch and release until Fall when Florida Fish and Wildlife will review stock assessments. In the interest of the species I won't reveal exactly how or where I caught this fish. After some photos I released the fish and it swam off strongly in search of a real meal. Now we know there's at least one healthy snook left in Florida.
Within a minute and a half of releasing the snook an alligator came cruising over. It was undoubtedly attracted by all the splashing. Good thing I landed that fish when I did!

Men Who Fish With Goats

Upon arriving in Miami I was greeted with two pieces of unfortunate information: First, the weather was windy and rainy. Saltwater flats fishing was possible, but very likely it would be miserable and unproductive. Second, Florida had recently experienced a cold snap that resulted in a massive fish kill. My guide, Cordell Baum said he hadn't even seen a bonefish that season.
The situation reminded me of my last trip to Florida, only worse! Once again it was on to plan B, canal fishing. Cordell was cautiously hopeful. He had spotted some big snook in the canals since the freeze, but he hadn't seen any trace of many species that were previously abundant.
At our first stop Cordell was overjoyed to see a shoal of peacock bass holding tight to a bridge piling. Those fish wouldn't bite but as the weather warmed and we fished our way along the canal, we found some that would.
I was able to catch three or four fish in that same spot, during which time I also gained an audience.
A fellow came along, fighting the wind on his bicycle and while I fished, he and Cordell got to talking. It turns out that the guy is a personal friend of one of fly fishing's biggest names, Lefty Kreh. What a small world.
After a solid day of fishing we were finally chased off by a dramatic thunderstorm. Cordell insisted that the fish I caught were going to make many people happy, especially his clients who were already booked for Spring trips and had been hearing only bad news until then. I hope he's right, and I hope that Florida's fish rebound quickly because I still need to catch a Biscayne Bay Bonefish.

Low Sodium

I can hardly believe that in two days I will be on the flats of Biscayne Bay fishing for bonefish. I don't get to go bonefishing very often these days so to make the most of my trip I've been preparing myself.
Randall Kaufmann's Bonefishing With a Fly (the current edition is Bonefishing!) is one of my favorite fly fishing books. I've been re-reading every paragraph and trying to pack all of it's advice into my head.
Since this trip is coming at the end of a long winter I figured I should warm-up my casting arm so I've also been out in the yard every day for a week casting intently to trees and bushes.
Finally, I took advantage of a stretch of warm weather to do some "on the water" practice. There are no bonefish in Tennessee but fortunately their freshwater doppelganger is plentiful. Carp are incredibly similar to bonefish in many respects and so are the angling strategies used to pursue them.
We took the boat out to a small recreational impoundment hidden in the rolling hills west of Nashville and there we were rewarded with warm sunshine and plenty of hungry fish. After this nice boost of confidence I feel ready for some salt!

Spring Mystery

The weather has begun to show signs of Spring. I took advantage of one sunny but chilly morning to go wading in a nearby stream.The baitfish were active but the bass and bluegills still looked sluggish in the cold water. I had a lightweight spinning rod and I drifted a kernel of corn into a deep pocket just below a little riffle. I felt a little tug and so I recast and this time hooked onto this fish:
It was about 6 inches long and it looked very much like a cyprinid (the minnow family, which includes carp) but I didn't recognize it. I've sent the photo to one of my friends at the Waikiki Aquarium and I'll be sure to update this post if I get it identified!