August 12, 2026 hooknfly

The Beguiling Big Cypress

I am delighted to report that my recent article about exploring and fishing in the Big Cypress Preserve, one of the first national preserves in the nation, was featured in the Hidden Gems section of the August/September issue of Florida Sportsman. Located in south Florida next to the Everglades National Park, the Big Cypress Preserve was recently in the news as the home of the now-defunct Alligator Alcatraz. You can read about the origin of that disaster back in the 1960s in this article as well. Click the link below to view the article. Enjoy!

FLSP Big Cypress

April 6, 2016February 22, 2018 hooknfly

Prying Secrets From The Indian Key Pass Oyster Beds (near Everglades City)

“The life of man is of no greater importance to the universe than an oyster.” –David Hume

I’m always looking for a new kayak fishing day trip that doesn’t require a Herculean paddling effort, one that I can feature in the Everglades kayak fishing guide I’m working on. So sitting comfortably on the lounge chair on my sun deck on late afternoon, margarita in hand, I conducted a virtual tour on my cell phone GPS app and spotted an intriguing area I had never explored. Just northwest of the national park headquarters in Everglades City lies a broken jumble of mangrove islands and oyster beds in Chokoloskee Bay that looked promising and whetted my appetite.

February 16, 2016 hooknfly

SKUNKED!! When The Fish Give You Lemons…Make Lemonade

February 16, 2016

Hope Is Such A Bait, It Covers Any Hook–Oliver Goldsmith

One of the most odious words in the lexicon of anglers is “SKUNKED!” It means you fished all day and didn’t catch, let alone release, anything. I have had several of those near-death experiences this past few weeks as the torrent of freshwater from the Everglades–due to rains of near-biblical proportions in January–have pushed my saltwater quarry out of the backcountry and into the Gulf. And even there they have been tough to find. While snook will tolerate freshwater somewhat, redfish, sea trout, jacks, tarpon, and others don’t fancy the taste.

This past Friday was a perfect example. We have had sunny, dry weather for over a week. I thought by chance the freshwater flows might be subsiding, and the snook and reds would be heading for the warmer water in the backcountry. Hope springing eternal, I put in on my favorite Halfway Creek in the Big Cypress Preserve at 6:30 a.m. and was greeted by a family of manatees rolling and feeding at first light, a couple of young ones boldly swimming right under the kayak as I held my breath they wouldn’t flip me.

February 4, 2016February 22, 2018 hooknfly

Kayaking With The Dolphin On The Sandfly Pass Loop…And Scoring A Grand Slam To Boot

January 2016

“I, I wish you could swim…Like the dolphins….Like the dolphins swim

We can be heroes just for one day…We can be us just for one day”

Heroes–David Bowie

The heavy rain continues in the Everglades in January, courtesy of El Niño. Winter is usually the dry season here, when at times the Everglades actually burn just like a prairie. And with the rain, comes a slug of freshwater pouring out of The Swamp, chasing the snook, redfish, tarpon and other of my favorite quarry–that seek refuge in the upcountry from cold temperatures–back into the Gulf and its saltwater. So, I readjusted my sights and headed out into the Ten Thousand Islands, just offshore of my new home in Chokoloskee, to see if I can change my luck. And boy, did I!

January 3, 2016February 22, 2018 hooknfly

Dawn of the NewYear: Chokoloskee Island

“Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.” –Thoreau

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to be on the water at dawn on New
Year’s Day to see the first sunrise of the year…and so I am. I peddle out from the launch point at 6:45 a.m. in my trusty Hobie Outback kayak and head towards the oyster beds just south of Chokoloskee Island, my new home. The oyster beds are happy feeding grounds for fish, birds, and other critters. I am not disappointed. What a peaceful and hopeful feeling I have as the sun peeks over the clouds and welcomes in 2016.