Chris Flannagan
I spent a long time trying to figure out what I’d write about for my first column here. I grew up fishing for bass and brim in little Alabama ponds. When I moved to Florida eleven years ago, I was intimidated by the idea of saltwater fishing. I got myself a little boat a year ago, a 17’ 1993 Angler. I couldn’t just go out on the water around here without taking a rod and reel, so I picked up a few lures and started fishing again. I caught my first snook ever on my third voyage. Anchored up on some little flats and threw out a plastic shrimp with a popper. Pop, pop, pop… strike! All the feelings from my youth came rushing back. It was straight downhill from there. Bought some nicer gear, started doing research, loads of trial & error and suddenly I became a pretty good saltwater, inshore fisherman.
My wife and I had a son in 2016. We also have my 9 year old daughter from a previous marriage. The last few years have been pretty fast-paced. I was working 60 hours a week, we were raising young children, there really wasn’t a lot of time to think or chase hobbies. The stress was building, my waist was growing and my blood pressure was ticking up and up. I woke up around 5am one day, saw my fishing poles lying around and decided to go waste a couple hours before work, fishing from shore. I hadn’t done any shore fishing since getting the boat but I only live a couple miles from Siesta Key. Hopped in the truck and headed out to Point of Rocks. What do you know, I caught some fish. Got my first red fish out there and as if prescribed by Dr. Seuss himself, caught a couple of blue fish. This fired me up like I hadn’t felt in many years. Next thing you know I’m purposely getting to bed early just so I can sneak in some shore fishing before the family wakes up and I gotta get to work.
An old Sarasota native told me if I hike down the rocky shore a quarter mile or so there’s a cove loaded with big fish. A few weeks later, I landed a 40” snook! This is it, I’ve discovered the secret to life. Or so I felt I had, and in the end the secret to life is different for everyone. It’s been a few months now and I go out there nearly every day. I go either super early in the morning or after my kids go to bed, so I’m not bleeding too much into family time. I’ve caught dozens of snook in the 30”-40” range and countless smaller ones. I’ve caught big sheepshead, trout, snapper and so on. I put my best fishing buddy on his first 40” and my wife too! But the cherry on top is my health. The hike out and back is about 2 miles round trip. I run regularly but the way I like to eat, I’ve stayed a good 30lbs overweight since my son was born. As of this week, I’m down just over 20lbs. My blood pressure is in the normal range and I think some of my hair is even growing back-LOL! Never in my life did I think fishing would be so physically healthy for me. I knew it was helping my mental health almost instantly, yet here I am, leaner than I’ve been since college. So “tight lines and small waist” might just have to be my new fishing motto.
