Snake Guides: Florida

Spring Break when you are 43 means something totally different than spring break when you are 20.

My daughters, 7 and 11 were off from school this week and the family boarded a Frontier flight (we flew free on vouchers issued from the Mexico debacle from November), and this time I brought my rod tube on board, without apology, and pulled it off with no questions asked. As we have for a number of years, we flew into Fort Myers and drove down to Marco Island.

It appears 20 year olds on spring break don't go to Marco Island, which is why I go to Marco Island.

I didn't bring my work lap-top and when my work cell phone battery died on day 2 I didn't bother to plug it back in. It was tennis with my wife, ice cream with the kids and sunset cocktails with the in-laws.

And a day of Tarpon fishing.

I spent a morning wading the Tigertail Beach lagoon but the recent cold front left it void of fish. I fished the jetty on the south side and despite seeing 3 pompano caught, I was blanked. I stopped by a local boat shop and inquired about fly guides. The guy at the counter said, "yeah call OC...Captain Drew". He gave me Capt. Drew's number and when I got back to the condo I gave him a call. He said he had a family fishing trip booked for Wednesday that he "might" be able to get another guide to take it. He said he'd give me a call back.

The call came about an hour later, he was "in".

The plan was to meet at a gas station on Marco on Wednesday morning. I was without wheels and he agreed to shuttle me to the launch in Goodland FL, about 15 minutes south and the entrance to the 10,000 Islands.

At the prescribed time on Wednesday morning, Captain Drew pulled in for gas and I jumped into his Tacoma (boat in tow).

I'd put him at 27 or 28 years old. Young and eager. I like that.

He said he knew a spot where the tarpon were laid up and we'd likely get some shots.

We pulled off the dock, idled through the manatee zone, and jumped up on plane.
I'm sure if I spent as much time in the 10, 000 Islands as he did, the labyrinth of creeks and mangroves would seem less labyrinthy...but if would have told me to steer the boat home (without electronics) I would have been in tough shape.

He cornered the skiff into a mangrove bay that looked just like every other bay we had seen, cut the motor and jumped up on the poling platform. I took the casting deck with his 11 wt (I only brought 8's) and fired off a few test cats to get a feel for the rod, line and fly.

It was 7:40 AM.

At about 8:15 AM he spotted his second laid up tarpon, I pitched and the fish ate...I strip set and the fly popped out. To give you some perspective, these weren't babies. Averaging 100-150 lbs these giants seem like more of a threat than a quarry. They pull into this channel and settle into the bay to rest on their migration north. A number of them exploded on the surface as the day progressed, a few charged hard for no apparent reason, leaving a thick wake in the shallow water. Others simply floated up to the surface, took a breath and sunk back down. The water was tinged with green making visibility tough but it was better than it had been for months, or so said Capt Drew.

We spent the day poling and looking, peering and hoping. I can't remember how many fish we saw, threw flies at or simply lost sight of. It occurred to me at one point that 100 pound fish shouldn't be that hard to find or that difficult to see once we located them. It was steady a steady and baffling hunt. Unnerving and exhilarating at the same time.

The early grab would be the last eat that I had from a Tarpon that day but the hunting action was constant and when things would slow down for 10 or 15 minutes a giant silver king would blow up 300 yards away and keep us on our toes.

By late afternoon we made our way deep into a corner of the bay when the finger mullet started freaking out. I took a long shot at a cruising shark that followed but didn't eat because I failed to keep the fly in it's zone of vision. I was watching the mullet explode around me when I small school blew up a 10 yards off the bow. I false cast and pitched into the settling water, stripped three times and then watched a hole open up under my fly. The jack turned and I set.

The backing screamed off the reel and I felt like giggling. I've always liked jacks. I have only ever caught some 10" fish off the beach but I deeply admire their hunger and strength. This one was a little over 10 inches.

In the course of the battle the jack put the 11 wt into a deep arc, made me tighten the drag and kept lining a laid up tarpon 80 yards out. A saltwater gong-show.

I know that Capt. Drew was hoping I'd land the jack and get a shot at the tarpon but I was having too much fun to worry about a 100 lb tarpon. When we finally got it on the Boga-grip it weighed in at 16 lbs.

I love jacks.

I had been standing on the deck for 8 hours when I asked Capt. Drew what the plan was. He replied, "What time do you have to be back?", I said, "Dinner in Goodland with the family at 5:30".

He said, "With the tide down I know where we might be able to see some snook or redfish..."

OK!

Before it was over I had shots at Trapon, Jacks, Snook, Redfish and Black Drum. Capt. Drew fished me for close to 10 hours and I had a great time. I've been to Andros where the guides started looking at their watches at 4:15. Not the case here. I think he would have fished me until dark.
I like fishing with guides whose love of fishing supersedes the time clock or the 8 hour window printed on their brochures...such is the case with Capt. Drew.

We got back to the dock at 5:45.

If you are ever down in Naples or Marco Island and would like to fish the 10,000 islands I can highly recommend Capt Drew and his company Mangrove Maniacs.