Everglades Fishing – Captain Ned Small

Keith Calhoun has had the foredeck for the past few days fishing for tarpon and snook, the reds being somewhat scarce on the flats. The fishing has been tough, but we found a solution that worked for us. I’m reluctant to give away our secret, (other guides check this report,) suffice it to say we caught close to fifty snook and two tarpon over the past three days, not to mention the jacks, ladyfish and mackerel. Seven or eight of those snook were in the 24 to 30 inch class, not counting the ones that broke us off, all on fly, Everglades Style.

Where do you begin when talking about fly fishing in Montana? I almost didn’t come back, I was ready to cancel my flight home but fortunately, (I guess,) cooler heads prevailed. We were in the Moose Piss Bar, Grill and Casino the evening of our departure and I wanted to call the airline and cancel, or at least postpone the trip home but Rich wouldn’t let me have the cell phone. I tried to talk him into staying as well, I must have run that fly over him twenty times but, although he did look it over a time or two, he just wouldn’t bite. One thing I can say for sure: I’ll be going back. We fished the Missouri below Holter Dam for the most part and we took a couple of Hare Scrambles over the mountains to fish the Blackfoot, the Madison and the Gallatin. Most of the guys fished with nymphs, the best producer being a size 20 Disco Midge, for my part I stubbornly stuck with dry flies: size 22, Baetis, and while the guys were drifting nymphs I would stalk the banks seeking that close encounter with a Big Fish in Shallow Water, a Bank Sipper. Check out these photo’s and see what I’m talking about. Here’s Rich Small, in the photo with a Missouri River rainbow.

Well, Jeanne didn’t do much damage in Everglades but she sure loused up the fishing. She left tons of mud in the Gulf and a deluge of fresh water pouring out of the Everglades. It’s clearing now and the fishing is finally getting back to normal. Tim Rutledge and I fished together for the past couple of days and we worked the River at night for the best action. Here’s Tim, in the picture to the right, with a little somethin’ he picked up on dawn patrol. We also worked two mornings on a school of giants we located just outside of Discovery Bay. There were a few moments of intense excitement, close encounters with 100 pound plus tarpon, but the hook-up eluded us. We’ll get ‘em next time. I’ll be in Montana until October 15, but I’ll check my e-mail if they have computers in the Big Sky Country.