Everglades Fishing – Captain Ned Small

A strong front is upon us. The tarpon fishing is slowing down and the snook are a little fussy. It’s going to be windy for the next few days and cold. It may take a day or so for things to stabilize but this northeast wind will definitely, finally, clear the water up. This is a switch back to winter like conditions and we’ll be fishing in some fresh areas for snook and reds. The Bights south of Chatam Bend can be hot during this weather cycle. Also, get ready for some excellent sighting opportunities for tarpon when things calm down.

When I got up this morning at four a.m. I thought I should reconsider my trip because of the flying rain and house shaking wind. Today I fished with Clyde and Clyde. The Clydes don’t back down, “let’s go tarpon fishing with fly rods,” So off we went at dawn, into the soup and the sea and the howling winds. Turbid water, impossible to find shelter, windy, it’s March. ….Tarpon, on fly, with video documentation, in the boat. 50 lb’s.   …Clyde on the foredeck.

Isaac Wasserman on the foredeck hunting sleepers. Windy conditions and turbid water kept us working hard but Isaac remained patient and we got one in the air.  Tarpon on fly, 100 pounds. A Giant.

Winds are swinging around finally and we are getting a clearing trend in the water. Sighting conditions improved throughout the day today (clarity). We were sight fishing tarpon all day with fly rods. The conditions were demanding, still fairly windy for tarpon, and the visibility is not that good. We went stalking the hidey holes for sleepers, Hap Fauth had one giant on briefly, and lots of chances at others. A light southerly flow, predicted for the next few days, should keep the tarpon happy. Oh, I almost forgot, the snook and red’s will bite. Just can’t tear away from the tarpon long enough to get lined up.

The weather is changing. Winds veered through three hundred degrees by two o-clock today.  From east at dawn to Northeast in the afternoon. The water is somewhat turbid, sighting remains difficult but it can be done. A hundred pound Tarpon and a 32 inch snook on fly, Dr. Peter Millett and Jeff Wyman. Quarter moon, the fishing is good. Winds expected to come in from the north which will clear things up.

A slight improvement over yesterday, it’s warmer for one thing. The water remains a little silty but we’re used to that down here. We can still sight fish, in the right places, if the fish will cooperate by coming into the shallows. Tarpon have gone scarce for now but we caught some nice reds on fly today. Chuck Edwards caught one about thirty inches. Southwest winds 10-15. Full Moon.

It had to end. Violent thunderstorms, torrential rains, plummeting barometer, southeast wind at dawn. Mud, muddy water, aground mud, low visibility mud. Yeehaw. Let’s go get’em.

Balmy breezes from the south alternating with tepid calm zones. Robert Ford and his sons Alex and Matt fished with me today for half the day. We spent most of the time jigging with the boys catching  …”five catfish, nineteen lady fish, five jack crevalle, three pufferfish, three nice pompano (in the icebox,) three flounder and a couple of other things. We trolled into a tarpon bay with the boys casting jigs, we would start poling up on the lee shore, Alex tied into something that stripped a hundred and fifty yards of line from his reel and got into the mangroves and broke him off. “It was a tarpon, a tuna, a giant snook, a tarpon, a mako, a great white, a big jack, a tarpon…” A few minutes later Robert had his first fly rod shot at a giant sleeper.

Congratulations to Bill Blanton on the tower and Bob Delaney on the foredeck today, on Bill’s boat, for landing a giant on fly in one hour. One hundred twenty five pounds. They got it done. And congratulations to Doug VanSlyke on the purple “Faunch Fly” they used.

Gentle southerly breezes, beautiful, hot sunny days and more big tarpon every day. The snook are biting too but it’s hard for us to break it off with the tarpon to chase them. There are plenty of sleepers here right now! Most of them are in the hundred and hundred plus class.

I had a lay up day today, and Bruce had a cancellation, and then Doug “lost interest.” We parked the boats in the yard and stood around in our Australian, rabbit felt, “you want sun protection, we’ll give ‘ya sun protection,” wide brimmed hats, trying to speak Australian and seeing who could make the  most realistic snot shot from his nose with plastic jerk baits. The most realistic bait was Dougs CLX ‘Premium’ slitherin’ opalescent shad bait. It had extra stretch, and surprising realism as a freshly sneezed, faux snot. It also stretched the longest and had maximum dangle factor. And, not surprisingly for all it’s fine attributes, it was the most expensive. We’re looking for a Sponsorship.