A few months ago I fished in the Everglades with Glen Pla, the Host of Average Angler Adventures. We had a great time chasing down snook and peacock bass in some remote areas, and he was interested in more. So, we set aside a couple of days in February to do it again.
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Glen's bass
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The winter weather in South Florida can change rapidly as fronts move through weekly turning windy and cold…..and windy. The first day began on Lake Gloria in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve. This is a deep clear lake that has plenty of nice largemouth bass and reports of giant snook. We launched into a very cool, still morning. A beautiful mist rose from the water as a couple of wintering belted kingfishers protested our presence. The edges of the lake drop sharply to several feet, typical of man made “borrow pits” elsewhere in the Everglades. We stuck to those edges as we made our way around the lake.
Glen struck first with a feisty largemouth on a paddle tail bait. The fish here are healthy and blemish free, and Glen’s bass was no exception. It was a decent size, but not the 8-10 pounders that are known to inhabit the lake. We continued working the edges and Glen landed a couple more smaller bass. It soon became clear the fish were not responding to my topwater lure, so I switched to a paddle tailed grub on a lead colored jighead.
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Being Watched
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That seemed to do the trick and I joined the “catching” club on my second cast. The bass were running anywhere from almost as small as the lure to a few pounds in size. They also responded well to the paddle tail grub and along one stretch, I was landing a fish every cast. The wind began picking up sharply but the fish didn't seem to mind, and we continued to work every edge around the lake. We fished the lake for a few hours total before deciding to move on.
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| Early Morning Launch |
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| Micro Poon |
The next day we were joined by Jim VanPelt. Jim had been having luck in the area with small to medium tarpon. We met up at the Port of the Islands resort and journeyed to a nearby pond. The sun was just rising and lighting up the mixed palm, pines and live oaks on the west edge. The water was still and across the pond we could just make out a subtle disruption as the dorsal fins of rolling tarpon pierced the surface. We launched quickly despite a chill in the air, and we made our way over. Almost immediately, Jim set a hook and his little tarpon came sailing out of the water. He skillfully landed the micro poon and followed it up with two more. Glen jumped a couple of his own, but lost them yakside. We headed back to the launch as we wanted to check out one more spot. The wind began to pick up.
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| Glen working on a fish |
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| Gar! |
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| Morning light |
We headed to a favorite spot that Jim and I featured in Bass on the Road 2. The area is readily accessible, although I have never seen anyone fishing there. I turned onto the short dirt access road and, much to my surprise, there were vans and trailers everywhere! Turns out the nearby Turner River launch was closed and every kayak nature tour in the area was launching here! We found parking and launched anyway as the tourists seemed to be touring in a different direction. By now, the wind had picked up and was making sight fishing impossible.
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| The Hosts meet |
After a short while I was talking to Jim when I noticed a group of kayakers approaching the launch. They appeared to be fishing and Jim remarked it looked like a mutual friend of ours had brought a group there. We laughed at the thought that someone may have brought a group to one of our spots, then laughed louder at the irony when our mutual friend came paddling over! And it seems he had Jim Sammons and crew with him! It took only moments for everyone else to catch on and there we were, show hosts, camera guys, producers and guides all talking about where we had been and where we were going to try next. As we chatted, I found out they were headed to one of our peacock bass spots next.
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| Funny Flotilla |
The day ended up being interesting to say the least! It was great to meet Jim Sammons and all the talented guys with him and it was great to see the “No Secrets” concept in action. I figure the more the merrier and I like seeing new folks in “my” spots enjoying the same experiences that I do. When you find something good, you should share it! Just let me know when you will be there next time Esteban, and we can give you some room!
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