Florida Bay, Everglades National Park
Two months almost to the day after "the incident" in December, I am finally back out on the Key West 1720CC. Launching from the Flamingo marina in Everglades National Park, I headed south towards one of my favorite flats. The winds were blowing at a steady 10+ knots out of the S-SE, probably more like 15+, and coupled with the outflowing tide the combo was pushing the waters out of Florida Bay.
With my heart intent on catching a red, I set up a drift pattern and started blind casting. The water was a brown pea soup with zero bottom visibility. Trying to determine the water depth was a constant chore - I wanted to avoid getting stuck on the flat for hours waiting on a returning tide. After over an hour and a half without a single strike and wading birds getting closer, I decided to head elsewhere in search of cleaner waters.
I ran almost ten miles east before finding slightly cleaner water. There was still no bottom visibility. Setting the anchor lock on the TM, it wasn't long before my first catch of the day was in the boat - a speckled trout. Not long afterwards, a second was bending the Avid Inshore rod. While both were undersized, they provided some nice action to an otherwise bust of a morning. A couple ladyfish and a jack rounded out the catch for the day.
I called the trip about five hours after I splashed the boat. Some days are just fishing and you have to enjoy being out on the water. I certainly did.
Thanks for watching another one of my fishing adventures.
Wishing everyone bent rods and tight lines,
~ Jim
15 сен 2024
