| 08 June 2010
The year 2010 has so far proved to be the toughest year for
fishing for me as a guide here is South Florida. We started the year off with a terrible cold
snap that left thousands of Snook, Tarpon, Bonefish, Grouper and numerous other
species floating dead throughout the state.
The hardest hit seemed to be the Snook population and the proof was in
the pictures coming in from around the state from other fellow fisherman.
Before the freeze certain backcountry creeks could always be counted on to produce.I can still remember getting on the water
down in Flamingo the morning after the freeze and traveling up to one of my
favorite fishing holes deep in the backcountry to find all of my Snook buddies
had perished from the harsh days before. For months, we traveled to Flamingo,
not knowing if I would even being able to catch a fish. It was a situation that
I had never before had to face. Flamingo
has always been this magical place that even on the worst day I would be able
to catch a few Snook, Grouper, and as many Jacks, Ladyfish, and Snapper that I
wanted. It was a time of uncertainty
that I will surely never forget.
The month of March proved to be a positive sign from old
Mother Nature. After a conversation with
fellow fisherman and friend Flip Pallot I received some information on some
juvenile Snook that he found in one of our holes deep in the backcountry.
A strong class of 3-6 inch snook in Flamingo backwaters are a cause for hope. photo: Capt Rich SmithI decided to take a trip back to the Glades
to investigate and to my amazement little Snooklings galore. It was one of the wildest days I can
remember. We fished a clump of branches
that usually holds schools of 10-20 Snook that are between 15”-“30.” But on this day there must have been nearly
100 Snook that were only 3”-6.” They
were so uneducated we were able to take the trolling motor right up to them and
stare at them with amazement for several minutes. It was like staring at a bunch of juvenile
snapper but these were no snapper, these were the future line-siders of the Everglades. But how could this be? How could these juvenile fish survive the
frigid temperatures that their bigger brothers and sisters did not? These are all questions that I really don’t
think anyone knows or as Flip says, “I don’t think we are even supposed to
know.” But the fact is they are there and
they are coming back.
Then, even more positive news for the months of April and
May. The Tarpon showed up from their
long winter offshore and boy did they ever.
Whitewater Bay, Florida
Bay and the Coast has been a playground littered with Poons sometimes so thick
you could walk on them. My buddy Graham
Morton from the ECC crew came down to
Islamorada in early April to film my customers and captured some footage
nothing short of epic. On the first day
my client from Alabama landed his
first Tarpon that we estimate to be between 150-180 pounds. Even though the fish was a once in a lifetime
fish the more valuable lesson he learned was not to swallow his dip during the
fight. I thought he was going to loose
his lunch after the release. But either
way the Tarpon are here and the freeze didn’t appear to affect them from their
normal visit to South Florida for their yearly spawn.
And now with all of our eyes glued to the news fearing the
worst from the ongoing Gulf oil spill once again I find it hard to stay
positive. The amount of greed and
political turmoil is enough to keep my anxiety level at an all-time high.
Adult sized Snook are being found up in the GladesSo if figured it was time to get away and
take another trip with one of my regular clients up to the Glades for some much
needed therapy. And to my surprise we
experienced something that I haven’t seen since before the freeze. It was that little smile on my customers’
faces and a forgotten feeling of “did that really just happen?” We found Snook in great numbers on the creek
mouth points and beaches. In one day we
landed over 50 Snook all in adult sizes.
These fish have returned from the deep to spawn in the upcoming month,
which proves many adult fish made it out to the deeper warmer water before the
freeze.
Later that day, I received an
interesting phone call from a friend of mine who informed me of Kevin Costner’s
oil extracting machine. I was very
skeptical. In disbelief, I assumed a
movie star never actually makes a positive contribution to the world. So immediately I began to research. After verifying the story through several
reputable websites, ABC News, NY Daily News,
and so on, it is safe to say the story seems quite legitimate.
About 15 years ago, Kevin Costner invested $26 million dollars into a team of scientist to develop a machine that would clean up massive oil spills. The team created a centrifuge machine that can separate oil from water at rates up to 210,000 gallons per day. BP has agreed to test the machines and has employed 6 of them as a trial run. Is this a solution to our Gulf crisis? Who knows, but the one thing I do know is Mother Nature is strong and can adapt. As for right now, the fishing is great in my area and I will keep a watchful eye on the situation. But if the unthinkable happens and we do get impacted with oil, I will painstakingly contribute to the clean up efforts in hopes to experience Mother Nature at her finest, once again.
About the Author: Capt Rich Smith guides the Everglades and frequently contributes to SnookFoundation.org fishing reports.
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