Gary Meyer | Tuesday, 15 May 2018
If I were to write a recent fishing report it would be fiction. The areas I normally like to fish this time of year are suffering horribly from algae blooms. The poor environmental conditions in upper Florida Bay were making headlines before Hurricane Irma. Now, all the dropped leaves and rotting branches are contributing tons of nutrients to the already overfed system. The result is not pretty and it appears the fish have either migrated or died. I use the word “appears” because it is impossible to see into the water. Even if I were to try to fish I cannot imagine how a fish could find a fly unless it was tied with rattles.
So, it is time to change locations. Hopefully, it will only be temporary. The good news is we were able to book a house in the Keys for a week of tarpon fishing. If you had to come up with a Plan B that would be a tough one complain about.
The Keys are also recovering from the hurricane. A common problem for a visiting angler is finding accommodations. While it is always difficult during the tarpon migration, this year it is worse due to all the damaged structures. The number of available rooms is greatly diminished. There is a lot of rebuilding going on, but the influx of tradesmen to do the reconstruction has further reduced the available rooms.
If it were not for local knowledge and the dedication to task my fishing buddy possesses I doubt this would have come together. The fact that we have this opportunity is a victory in itself. That we scored a house in this particular location is bordering on fantasy, but unlike a made-up fishing report, this is for real.
I feel it is now our responsibility to go down there and demonstrate our appreciation for our luck with some serious migratory tarpon fishing. I’ll let Y'all know how it goes.