I have been a fishing nut for many years and have been asked by my friends and family about why I like to fish and as such, I thought it best to put down on paper what a good fishing experience is like, especially when fishing in one of my favorite places, Flamingo National park.
After getting the fishing gear ready the previous night (usually taking about two hours to rig the rods/reels/cigars and packing lunch) I usually head out to pick up my fishing partner at about 5:00a.m. The reason we get up so early is because it takes about 2 hours to get to the National Park. Of course, we stop along the way to get bait and drink coffee. The coffee we buy during these trips tastes better than most coffee that we drink during the regular work week-I don’t know why but it does. Of course, the two hour drive gives us plenty of time to talk about the weather and other nonsense that is interesting to fishermen. Slowly as the meaningless chatter continues the city fades away and wilderness and open plains start to appear. You also start to see animals like deer, alligator, and snakes try to cross the road. I once ran over an alligator with the boat trailer.
One of the most interesting things about fishing in Everglades National Park is that you feel like you are in another wild country, where there are no human inhabitants, just birds, fish and wild animals. From the moment you get out of your truck at Flamingo National park you are overwhelmed by the humidity, the clean air and the batlike mosquitoes that attack unless you happen to be there in the winter.
The last time I went to Flamingo, I went with my fishing partner, Steve Trescott. Steve is a bond trader for Suntrust Securities and happens to be one of the best fishermen I have ever met in South Florida. He and I have been fishing together for over 20 years.
Anyways, the moment you get outside you need to cover yourself up, lest you need a blood transfusion and of course, it would probably take two hours before anyone could reach you even if you did need medical help. The boat ramp is a simple structure, one of which is located on the “back country/gulf” side and the other of which is located on the “Florida Bay” side. We usually head out to the back country and when using the back country ramp there is always a big alligator, referred to as “Julio” by the locals, lurking around the boat ramp. It can scare the heck out of you, and him, if you are not expecting to see his large prehistoric face.
Once you get past Julio, the gate keeper, you head out a large canal that goes for at least a mile or two before opening up into a beautiful bay. From there you use your GPS to determine where you want to fish or you can fish the old fashion way which is to navigate by eye. Navigating by eye is the way I once fished when in high school and did not have the technology available today. As kids, we were limited to what we could explore as “hells bay” which is in the vicinity was very difficult to navigate (appropriately named due to the fact that once you are in it’s hellish to find your way out). Nevertheless, we now fish using great technology that allows us to go to places that we would have never explored before. The only scary part about the whole affair is that if the power goes out on the technology we could be really lost. Of course cell phones don’t work that far out and it is doubtful that the recently transplanted park ranger (from Yosemite) knows how to properly operate his vessel-even if you could reach him on the telephone.
After successfully fishing all day in the secret spots you slowly head back to the dock, load up the boat and then relive and talk about the events of the day. Slowly the city comes back into view and you realize you really enjoy nature but that it is nice to have a warm shower waiting for you.
As you can see from the narrative above, the most I take from these trips is the actual trip and not necessarily the catching of the fish. Selah.
Chris
www.vasallolaw.com
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