Arachnophobia

Sunset in the Everglades...

The location came as a recommendation from a friend. After a look on Google Earth, I found a tidal river snaking its way into the Everglades through lengthy mangrove tunnels. I was told to expect gators, the occasional baby tarpon, and willing snook. Nary a word was spoken of spiders. After a 2.5 hour drive south, I arrived at sunrise to a morning chorus. I couldn't help but notice how dark the water in the pond was and what might lie beneath its calmness. My imagination ran wild with thoughts of a gnarly gator sneaking up on me as I made trips back and forth to the Outback. How would anyone know if I got dragged into the depths? What if a giant python wrapped me up deep in a mangrove? What if a ran into one of those nile crocodiles that are now down in the Everglades? Thankfully, the mosquitos interrupted the horror story in my head by finding every inch of open skin. When I finally shoved off into the water I immediately saw a gator in the distance investigating the fool entering his turf. A foggy mist swirled over the water that was dotted by fish breaking the surface. My first cast along a mangrove edge resulted in an aggressive take that startled some long term memories from my neocortex. It had been awhile but I knew exactly what I just felt...

Tarpon.

                      

Megalops Atlanticus

The first mangrove tunnel was the most wide open. Even so, I had to sit down on the yak and break my paddle in half to make it through without colliding into every root and overhanging branch. I had two rigged fly rods hanging out front with a telescopic GoPro pole that had to be disassembled before entering every pathway. Without a skeg on the yak, she has a habit of moving side to side. I played a verifiable game of "how to break a fly rod," with one hundred different ways for game over. 

Then, I looked up. 

I had to lay flat on my back and use a wide angle lens to get this shot. These guys are about head level...

Once I saw the webs hanging over the water like tarps filled with orb weaver spiders, I freaked out a little bit. Occasionally I'd eat a mouthful of spider webs, hit a branch, or my paddle would slice through some webbing making it rain. The distractions resulted in some precarious rod snapping situations and careful maneuvering of a SUPyak barely small enough to make it through some sections. I also made a few wrong turns and tried making my way through some tunnels that led to nowhere. Those were the buggiest and most infested with spiders. After awhile, I just started to laugh off every situation as I made my way deeper into the mangroves looking for a particular pond.

A lot of fun on a 7wt. 

A solid gator in the distance...

I've never caught a snook before. I remember seeing a handful off beaches while bonefishing in the Caribbean but never really paid any attention to them. For some reason, I thought I'd be sight fishing to laid up fish along the mangroves. It took me half a day to realize that this was a blind casting game. When I figured it out, I started to have consistent action but only if I made a perfect presentation. 

Complicating matters were the spider webs constructed across every ideal open casting spot. The deepest pockets almost always produced a snook if you didn't get hung up on the webs. The webbing was strong enough to catch an everglades special and 30lb. leader after a long cast. This would then entangle the fly and cause the webbing to goop up on your tippet. Snook didn't like that. 

My first snook.

DIY as always...

My paddle out through three ponds and tunnels ended up being timed perfectly. I stood atop the kayak and took in the sunset as tarpon rolled across the water in front of me. After one day, the allure of the Everglades was evident. This was just a small taste of a lifetime of water that some people dedicate their lives to. My mind wandered to the Seminole Native Americans that lived here and to Ponce De Leon exploring this area back in 1512 as he searched for the fountain of youth. A different time and a different era. 

I bet the spiders were hell though...