Shallowfish.com

He was 4th generation Floridian, a hard-scrabble farm boy whose family made an honest living in the state’s cow country, a placid region located between the open, rolling fields of the panhandle above and the vast wetlands of the Everglades below. He grew up among the fading remnants of the Old South, where he was taught to cherish natural wonders and the region’s beautiful and vilified past. His was a world of shotgun shacks, spring-fed rivers, moss-laden live oaks and a unique backwoods culture that harbored a fading innocence now mourned by few. As the child of dyed-in-the-wool Baptists, he considered the words aimed at souls in rough-hewn church pews by high-pitched, piney-woods preachers, and his faith blossomed. He was vibrant and full of promise.

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I’ve wanted to publish a series of cartoons for some time now. To move toward that goal, I’ll start with some simple designs/ideas. Here’s a first stab:

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Freshwater trout anglers have long known that fish like to lie in the “broken water” on the downstream side of rocks, downed trees and the like. That same philosophy applies to shallow saltwater flats, shorelines, and bays where a tidal current is present. Snook, redfish, sea trout and striped bass (to some extent) are ambush predators that often linger in spots where the flow boils and eddies, saving valuable energy and surprising prey by shooting out from cover to feed. Look for water washing over, around or by oyster bars, submerged trees, sand bars, reefs, bridge pilings, or other structure, and concentrate most of your casts on the down-tide side of these objects.

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Each month I field a question from a reader and answer it as best I can, focusing on those inquiries and responses that I believe will be of general benefit or interest…or at least of interest to me. Blogger’s prerogative. I recently received this email from sometime Florida angler Tom G. from Dayton, Ohio: “John, what in your opinion is the best flats boat on the market? I’ll be moving to Florida in the next year or so and I’ll be buying a shallow-water boat.”

Tom, I can help, but to do your question justice I’d need to write many pages in reply, which is beyond the scope of this website. Bottom line is that (contrary to the claims of several manufacturers) there is no “best” flats boat for all conditions.

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If you fish in saltwater, you know how quickly used hooks can develop rust and turn your tackle box into a lure graveyard. At the end of trips most of us wash down our tackle and boats, but lures are often overlooked. The solution? Get in the habit of maintaining a section of your tackle box — a plastic tray, a Tupperware box, etc. — for the lures you use each trip. I personally write the word “used” across a single channel within each of my trays. When you switch to a new lure, place the salty versions in that devoted spot — not back among your other goodies where they can spread rust. When you get home, squeeze a bit of soap in the “used” container, fill it with water, give it a good shake, empty the water and place the lures back where they belong. Takes only a minute or so, but it can save you many dollars in new tackle.

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Date: July 6, 2007
Location: Dependabay
Time: 7 PM to 8:30 PM
Weather: Overcast, surprisingly mild, sporadic rain
Tide: High outgoing

Joe called me late this afternoon asking if I could go fishing. Naturally, I replied that I had a lot to do and that a man can’t just neglect his responsibilities. Then I drove to his house with my gear.

Weather was funky–overcast and threatening rain. Radar, however, showed little of the heavy stuff, so we rolled the dice. Turned out to be a good call. We ran back to a new stretch of shoreline while we waited for the tide to fall and the heat to wane. A light rain began to fall–enough to soak our shirts thoroughly–but no lightning accompanied it so the cooling effect was welcome. After squeezing through a tight tunnel of mangroves, we glided into an open area and began casting. A few minutes later I placed a good cast (who am I kidding–it was spectacular) into a dark little pocket, and the lure went “poof” inside a big swirl.

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Gotta break the shallow-water code early so I can post pics of two buds who had banner trips this past week. First is of Big Joe who scored his first big permit on a rare offshore trip. Group he was with caught everything from huge yellow-tail snapper (which I’ll be sampling shortly…right Joe?) to African pompano. Right on the heels of that news came an email from my buddy Pete (on left, second pic) who also bagged a nice permit on a guided offshore excursion. Great stuff, guys. While I was slogging away at work you were racking silver dollars. Looks like my two pards are getting seduced by the wiles of the offshore crowd. Begone with you, then. More snook for me.

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