Somewhere on Rte 41 between Naples and Miami we found the perfect Snookery. There was a big Mangrove tree that separated two little estuaries and bait was coming in from both the everglades and the Gulf of Mexico. We got out of the car, stepped into the bright Florida sun and the Snook were feed veraciously. I tied on some sort of olive and white deceiver that they guys everglades angler recommended. I threw the fly just short of the overhanging mangrove and began to strip the line briskly. On the third strip, BANG. A nice Snook was on my line. He was not a record breaker, but he was all mine. I released the fish and on the very next cast had another Snook on my line. If you ever find yourself in Florida fishing for Snook, here is my advice. These fish are spooked easily and require a certain amount of stealth and common sense. First find the fish, then stand back from the fish and finally choose your casts wisely. Don’t false cast over the fish. In fact, if possible, don’t false cast at all. When the fly hits the water, start stripping immediately using short brisk strips. Keep in mind, these fish were in very skinny water and fishing for them was much like fishing for trout in a spring creek. So, the bottom line is, you only get a few chances in any given spot. So today is travel day. We are leaving Naples and headed to Miami to pick up our friend Tom and then making our way to Key West. Wish us luck, our next story will be from some flat somewhere in the keys.
