A lot of people have heard, some haven’t, some care, and others don’t give a shit. A couple weeks ago we had an unusual weather event that cooled our water down to levels that were too low for certain fish like snook, tarpon, and bonefish to survive. I was unable to go out and witness the carnage first hand because I was in the rat hole finishing up our video for the fly fishing film tour this year. Most of my friends (guides) were ultra-depressed and all doom and gloom about the scenario, but everyone was aware that this kind of thing happens. Thousands of fish died. Big hit to the fishery.

Or is it? What percentage of our winter resident snook and tarpon actually died? It seems like nobody really knows. Over the last few days we have heard that some biologists and scientist types have been booking up days with Everglades fishing guides to assess the damage. It looks like it was a serious enough event to require professional interaction. I can’t wait to find out.

In the meantime all we can do is come to our own conclusions. Most of the initial talk on the internet is very negative. Things like “we didn’t find any life” or “all we saw was a lot of dead fish.” Now don’t get me wrong there has been a bunch of good things posted, but none really good enough to really offset the bad vibe. Until now…

I’m not going to get into the details of it, but five days after I finished editing a part of our new movie about the best snook (fish) of my life, I go out fishing once, when the fishing is supposedly as bad as it has ever been, and catch a snook that was better than the one I just spent all this time trying to tell about. The fish was a bit longer, and probably weighed about the same, but none of that is what it is even about. It’s got nothing to do with even catching the fish. What it is about is hope. Now granted these fish are down, beaten up (some to death) and very vulnerable (a perfect time to actually stand a chance with a fly rod), and I will honestly say that I went out looking to kick something big while it was down. But in the process of catching and releasing her, great respect was paid not to wear her down too bad and to make sure she swam off exactly how we found her. And she did. It was at that moment that Jeff and I realized how symbolic it was. At a time when many lost all hope, there was still a trophy out there willing to eat my stupid little fly and prove to all of us that it is FAR FROM OVER!

Our Fly Fishing Film Tour project is coming down to the wire. We have just shy of 6 weeks left to turn it in, and are getting ready for quite possibly the best two weeks of our lives. Will, the Bear, and a few others are on there way to Everglades City as I type this, to hook up with Jeff and I for our last main shoot of the year. Our plan (what there is of one) is to head out into the everglades and explore deeper than any of us have ever been before. We have a boat for just about every situation we will encounter, and aren’t afraid to use them… If you see a caravan of Hell’s Bay Whiprays or a tiny boat that you don’t recognize (Skate) in the park over the next couple weeks, it’s probably us. Feel free to stop by and see whats going on.

The fishing recently has been nothing short of spectacular. With the warmer than usual weather and light winds, we have had no issues finding fish to throw at. The redfish have been where they should be. Snook have started to move into their backcountry haunts. Tarpon have been laying up on the calmest days. And when the tide has been too high to sightfish, the albie (bonito) bite off the beaches has been on fire.

Dave Teper
WorldANGLING.com

Slam by WorldANGLING fly fishing South Florida for Permit, Bonefish, Tarpon, Snook, and Redfish from WorldANGLING on Vimeo.

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What do you think of SLAM? Want to get some for yourself? Wish the video was longer? Favorite moment? Post your thoughts below.