By: Capt. Greg Poland
If you like snook and juvenal tarpon, this is the time of year you have been waiting for! Fishing in the Florida Everglades for snook has been good over the last few weeks, however, the sharks have been so aggressive that you will need to be on top of your fish as soon as it starts jumping around. It has got to the point that I have been using a landing net on just about every fish in the backcountry.
Once the sharks figure out that the struggling fish is leaving the protection of the mangroves and heading to the boat, it seems they simply set up camp under the boat looking for that easy meal. On my boat, we either make a move or get out the big rod and have a little fun pulling on them for a while. I must admit, I have loved pulling on big sharks since childhood and when Shark Week is on TV, I make a bowl of popcorn and spend a few hours on the couch watching, and when I get a kid on the boat that wants to pull on a big fish, I’ll make it happen.
I recently stopped by Islamorada Fishing Outfitters and had Capt. Randy build me a custom rod specifically for young anglers to do battle with big sharks, and keep it rigged with a wire leader so when the tax man shows up, we simply put on a bait, and we are off to the races. Over the summer, we have been catching everything from permit to snook.
If you are looking to get out on the water and catch some fish, give me a call and we’ll show you how we do it! Hope your fishing has been good and see you out on the water, or if you’re around the Lorelei stop by to say hello as this is where I usually launch from.