Saturday, March 15, 2008

Fishing in the Big Cypress Swamps

My honey hole fishing spot has changed, now there are competitors and I think they ate my lunch. I went yesterday to my favorite fishing hole 47 miles down US 41 from the Collier Blvd and 41 intersection. In previous years I could catch 25 fish and hour there and expected to again to obtain the main ingredient for a summer fish fry.

In the top picture to the right you see that "ditch fishing" spot. When I arrived there was two large gators across the ditch as seen in the second picture suning themselves. Also a larger one I think maybe 12 feet in the center of the channel.
They pleased me by dashing into the water, and out of sight and I baited up and began what I had hoped to be a 3 hour 75 fish afternoon. I fished about 15 minutes with zero bites, moving from hole to hole that I had found so productive in past years.

I had not seen gators in this exact spot before but began to wonder if these guys had not cleaned out my honey hole. I think they have cleaned it out because about that time my freinds returned, they were no longer doing what gators are supposed to do and that is making themselves scarce. As you can see in the third pic down there were "Irish eyes a shining on ME." And soon just off to my right was another of the gator patrol and I began to wonder if I was the only one fishing there.

I tossed them a few stones and they snapped at them but did not go away. Instead slowly moving closer. I don't know but I have heard about how fast they can climb a bank and run at pretty high speed for maybe 100 feet...My car was about 200 feet away and the fish were not biting anyway, these guys had already eaten them, and now they may have been hungry again. I think the larger one to my right was smiling at me. You know what? They sell nice perch at Sams club back home...I think I like nice Perch or Talapia even better than Oscars I was trying for.

So my secret fishing hole is now public because I am hereby turning it over to the camera buffs who love to photo these fish pirates. I think they are getting thicker and braver here in SW Florida. May be time to bring back gator hunting and gator eating but the inviro whacko's have the upper hand in this nation so now we have lots of gators and not enough oil.

That's it for the day. The Canadians are doing their semi-season gormet breakfast at the club house and then I am headed to the St Pat's day parade in downtown Naples where I will help the Marine Corps League lead the parade as they do each year here.
Should be fun and sore feet maybe....ha

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