Swamp Fly

Funny, I was just thinking that the storm is supposed to hit just a little north of me and that it is "just" supposed to be a class 3 when it does. It used to be that a class 3 was everyone's nightmare. Capt. Bob is correct though, the biggest threat will be the water coming out of the gulf. There are evacuations all the way to the locks on the Caloosahatchee, about 30 miles from the gulf. It used to be that storm surge wasn't really as much of an issue, now it seems to be the worst factor with these storms. Houses have been built stronger since hurricane Andrew and seem to do much better in the wind. You can't stop the sea though, that's just a whole other level of energy. Most of us as fly fishermen are fully aware that wading one or two inches deeper in a stream is impossible, not a question of if you will be going for a swim at that point. Plenty of videos of houses being picked up still completely intact and just shoved away by water in one piece. Thank goodness this one is not supposed to be a major rain event, the swamp is already full up. Time to go tie down the boats. Swamp

Yeah I saw a sustained wind speed of 185 mph yesterday. That's just mind numbing. I feel bad for the folks on the Yucatan peninsula, I imagine the majority of them did not have the ability to get out of the way. I'm in the Ft Myers area and at the edge of the prediction "Cone". The good news is that the wind speed is dropping as predicted and the forward speed is increasing. Expecting gusts up to hurricane force but not sustained winds that high. A key is that the forward speed, faster is better in this case. I went through hurricane Ian, it was a meat grinder, 12+ hours of hurricane and tropical storm force winds. This storm could still wobble and smack us and I have to admit Ian left a mark on me so I'm more nervous than normal. I'll be staying, and pulling a real bonehead move. A bonehead move on paper that is. I'll be leaving my inland house and actually going closer to the gulf. Mom and stepdad are in their 70's and 80's. She just broke her wrist and he is on home dialysis. So I'll grab the roof-rabbits (cats) and head over in a while. Gotta do what I have to do. They can't come here so I'm going there. Their house is solid and 23' above sea level. They didn't even loose a shingle in Ian. Spent yesterday dropping trees close to the house. One huge old pine that mysteriously died during in the last year and some stuff that might have whacked the power drop to the house. I looked around afterwards yesterday and thought jeez it looks like the aftermath of a hurricane. Those downed trees I left whole and where they fell nestled up against the house so they can actually help with flying debris. That old pine was big enough that it could have crushed the house and I live in a log home so that's saying something. The other stuff was just to avoid damage. Amazing how fast stuff grows down here, everything was trimmed by Ian two years ago... So I expect conditions just above that which we can get during our normal summer thunder nastiness. Let's just hope that's all we get here. I have friends in the Tampa area that I am concerned about though. Hunkering down Swamp

Sweet thnx

Quality is great just as always. Is this rod designed to be a nymphing rod or for overhead casting?

It got pretty sporty here for a while but I do not have anything other than a little vegetative damage. Areas closer to the gulf were hit by storm surge pretty good and the barrier islands haven't been opened yet so I don't know how bad it is there. Haven't hear much about where the storm actually hit but it can't be good. Last report I saw was the storm is still at 60 mph sustained wind and in north GA. Hopefully the mountains will tear it apart in short order.

The hat is still attached for now. The sun is shinning and the birds are...well actually they are hunkered down since it is actually rather breezy. Had some intense rain bursts overnight and expect more. Lost power for a few hours this morning but they managed to get it back up. All kidding aside, this is a big nasty storm and is going to get nastier. My thoughts are going out to the the people up in the big bend area. Even without the winds the forecast is for a storm surge of 15-20' up there. We have some water on the roads beach side and the sustained winds out there make it impossible to walk in a strait line, but nothing like what they will get. The local news sent a young woman that probably doesn't weigh 120 lbs. to report. It looked like she was going to go airborne. Biggest danger to us here in SW FL is going to be tornadoes and some flooding, pretty much like any day during rainy season. I guess it time for me to call in the cows, I couldn't do that yesterday. I just hope I don't have to get into the john boat to get them. I might end up having to get out and pull it around in waist deep swamp if the wind is just too intense to pole around in. I guess the good thing is the wind would be blowing me back to the house. Swamp

Houston we have a problem...

Sounds like you did everything right. It's just tough right now. With water up that high the fish are going to be where the food is and that's up amongst the trees and on the flats. When the water starts to drop and all those little fish that are up on the flats have to come back out, then it can be absolute mayhem. I'm sure you are more than familiar with the concept from fishing the the canals where you are.

Nice Mahi! Small #6-#2 tan deer hair sliders/divers are my go to down there. Gurglers in the same color and sizes are also a favorite. The trail can be really tough this time of year. That said, under the bridges usually brings some action, unfortunately trying to throw flies 10-20 ft under those bridges while standing on them is beyond my ability. I haven figured it out especially since the water surface is only 5-6 feet below your feet. I won't wade around those bridges just to get into a better position either. I almost always get a few grabs by flicking a clear/brown Storm grasshopper popper or the smallest floating silver/black rapala with an UL spinning rod under the bridges. As far under as you can. It's tough on the rod tip. Grabs on the rapala are obvious, just listen for the explosion with the popper. If you want to hit the trail together once rainy season has stopped and the water has droped at least a little, let me know. Probably not before November at a guess. Might be fun. Swamp

Mercury poisoning is a planetary issue. Apparently what goes up a smoke stack comes down again somewhere, go figure. Like everywhere, being mindful of your surroundings is key. Going for a stroll down a dark back ally can get you mugged even in a small town. 1000s of people fish from shore here in S. FL every day without issue, both in town and out in the sticks. Look around and see if there are any gators first. If they are a reasonable distance away and minding their own business go ahead and fish, how close is to close depends on experience and personal comfort. If a gator starts slowly moving towards you keep an eye on it, if it really starts moving then back up and find another spot. Just about every mud puddle holds fish down here, plenty of places to fish. There are also plenty of elevated places to fish from like a concrete seawall of bridge. A gator can't really "jump" out of the water anymore than we can. Sure they can thrust up a little in the same way a person treading water can. Now if they can get their tail under themselves against the bottom then yes they can trust/spring up a fair way. Perhaps a 1/4 to 1/3 of their torso at a guess. This is what the tourist gator farms have trained their gators to do. Water depth needs to be just right though. Some spots are just unfishable, the gators come rushing over immediately. In my opinion even those gators aren't just going to try and get a hold of you. I feel the danger is greater from a gator that sees someone catching fish and then watches the fish getting thrown back of reach of the gator. Gators will get pissed off, no joke, you can really tell if a gator is mad or not. They have a certain posture that just screams attitude. Those are the ones I get away from, they can get really aggressive (just like people). If you are fighting a fish and a gator comes shooting over, break the fish off or give the fish flying lessons to land behind you. Get away from the bank and deal with the fish away from the water. Don't go back. At worst let the gator have the fish and then break it off, a fish isn't worth it. I'm not saying that it's all sunshine and rainbows but you aren't taking your life in your hands if you step off the sidewalk. Honestly I walk and wade waist deep in creeks and ponds a lot. I pay attention and don't go farting around in really obvious ambush spots. I'm not recommending that just everyone does that, and certainly not without learning some things about these animal's behavior. At the end of the day it's a calculated risk, like everything in life. like walking around in any woods anywhere. Be aware you aren't the tippy top of the food chain anymore. Nature isn't "safe", nor should it be. BTW if you see 12" to 18" baby gators find someplace else to be, mama is already watching you. I've actually called a whole nest worth of fresh hatched babies right to my feet. Mom is a resident on my property and knows me. I still didn't hang around long. It was cool thing to see but I left mom in peace to raise her young. Respect is key. Snakes? I haven't seen any more venomous snakes here that anywhere else in the USA. Watch where you step. Don't go grabbing "roots" on the bank. It's a non-issue for me. Sharks? Well we do have a bunch of lawyers down here so enter the state at your own risk. In seriousness don't go wading/swimming in the middle of a baitfish blitz or during the annual baitfish run. Nope not me. Otherwise not a problem. Drag your feet, stingrays are a much bigger hazard if you step on one squarely. That is called doing the "stingray shuffle". They shoot out of the way if you just bump them on the edge of their body. You might still poop yourself though. Insects/spiders? Okay we do have more than our fair share of those but we don't have any more venomous varieties than anyone else. I've seen less than a half dozen black widows in 30+ years. Try not walk into banana spider webs, it'll give you the creeps. Those webs can be 20' across and a bit stronger that your average web. Not fun to look up and see a not so small spider 6" in front of your face even if they are "harmless". Yes they do actually look to be the size of a racoon up close. I had a friend that had COPD, back when I lived in East Central Florida. In light of that I would suggest a visit in March/April/May-sh. The heat is not so horrible (< 90*F) but it's unusual too late to get a cold snap which puts the fish down. More importantly the humidity won't make you want to Scotchguard your shirt on the inside. Seriously my friend suffered in the humidity as far as the COPD was concerned but that might not be an issue for you(?). The hotter it is the better the freshwater exotic bite gets, It gets better and better until the rainy season spreads the fish out. During our "spring" it's a gentleman's sport, fishing is better at noon than at 6 am.

Short answer is yes. Slightly longer answer is that there are elevated mercury levels in the Glades so there are official guidelines as to how often you should eat fish (of any kind) here in S, Florida. Suggestions are only once or twice a week depending on your age, health, or reproductive condition. If I recall those numbers correctly that is. Regardless of geographic location the normal common sense of not eating anything out of cesspool like water applies just like everywhere else in the world. Having said that, I've eaten a whole lot of Mayan Chiclids, Oscars, and even some Jaguar Guapotes. They taste great and have medium firm meat as compared to tuna. Snakeheads are tasty from what I hear. Clown Knife Fish are commonly eaten by people in the native waters of the fish (SE Asia). I don't see any reason they can't be eaten here as well. Officially the only exotic fish you are not supposed to summarily keep/kill are peacock bass that are officially game fish and are regulated for size and numbers. Unfortunately a lot of fishermen feed them to gators (the animal not the University of Florida fan ). Ultimately that is a death sentence for the gator since they will eventually start approaching humans begging for food. Yes, I've heard iguana tastes like chicken. Depending on the local laws, discharging an air rifle (or even a bow and arrow) is treated the same a discharging a firearm. Check with the locals etc. Removal of Iguanas by legal means is encouraged by the state. Fun fact, years ago there was a cold snap and iguanas started falling out of the trees. An adventurous/opportunistic Miami area resident drove around to town collecting "dead" iguanas to eat. Iguanas like most reptiles are "cold blooded". Those iguanas weren't dead, just in a stupor from the cold. Once the temperature warmed up they all woke up in the guys backseat. An iguana is nothing but muscle, teeth, and claws. They also have a long tail that they use as an effective weapon, getting whipped even through jeans can leave welts (been there, done that). So our ardent adventurer is driving along and all of those big 6ft iguanas suddenly woke up grouchy. I mean who wouldn't be grouchy waking up stacked up like cord wood in the back seat of a car instead of in the safety of some nice tree? Mayhem ensued... Swamp

Yeah, those little buggers suck.

I started using a magnifier like that a few years ago. I have a hobby station that has an organizer, light, and a magnifying glass. I tried that first and it worked okay but it had a florescent light and even that was just too hot next to my head. I bought a cheap one that uses LEDs as a light source for around $30 on Amazon. Works great and it is easy to move out of the way. I frequently use it just as a light source. I find myself using the thing for lots of things like digging out splinters and soldering as an example. I can even use it for some SMD soldering. I'll eventually get a stereo or digital scope for soldering even smaller components. I sure hope not to need it for fly tying (if I ever need size #50 flies I'll start lobbing dynamite...). The head worn magnifiers don't work for me when tying, anything farther than 10-12 inches away makes me think that Monet had a side gig making Rorschach prints. Swamp

Yep, for about 20yrs. A lap board with a heavy pedestal vice does the trick for me. Works quite well actually, tied thousands of flies like that, everything from #22 Catskill drys to 5/0 bass bugs and saltwater streamers. A good vacuum and pets that don't treat feathers like the beast thing ever really helps. That said, there are many advantages to tying at a table. These days I tie at table but my back hates me for it. And yes I often watch TV while tying. Not saying my ways, past and present, are better or worse. You can tie many places you may need to adjust some things to make it work. Swamp

We think alike! While I could have done without the mad two hour dash back to the ramp, I really enjoyed it. I plan on going back as soon as water levels drop some, water is up almost another foot since then. I just bought replacement batteries for my camera so I think I might spend most of a day taking some photos. On a surprising note I was not sore the next day. Not sure why, I really should have been. It must have been the scotch! I'll have to test that theory again sometime. LOL

I've been hitting the local creeks for the last couple of months, sometimes on foot and sometimes in the canoe. I should post an overview soon. One of the creeks I like to fish is Fisheating Creek, it empties into Lake Okeechobee. It's somewhat of an odd creek in that the channel disappears into a marsh for a while so you can't actually run the length of it (major flood stage being the exception). like many creeks around here water flow drops to a trickle or even stops altogether during dry season. Only holes and bends hold water then. Rainy season got a real boost to start with this year with the tropical low that moved through. We went from zero flow and a gauge height of 0.03 ft to 223 cuft/s and 4.5 ft gauge height in less than three weeks. I've actually never been on the creek with water this high since the fishing is better when it's lower. I wanted to see what it was like. It was tough so I actually spent very little time fishing. I decided to just explore the creek. I spent the day 16 miles of paddling 8 upstream and 8 back down. The entire 8 miles downstream I raced a thunderstorm back to the ramp, it took 2 hours. I'm going to feel that tomorrow. Who am I kidding? I already feel it! If I had spent the time to fish more I'm sure I would have figured it out but I've been wanting to explore further upstream for years. The pesky act of catching a lot of hungry fish in a confined area always got in the way! When I got back to the ramp and finished loading up, the sun came out. Typical Florida, Sun + rain together = normal... For all the folks that want to rush down and see what a South Florida cypress creek in paradise looks like you should know I saw a lot of friends on the creek today, all of them gators. I saw at least 50-60, less than a dozen were less than 8'. I didn't see any real monsters, but a couple were pushing at least 12'. I could smell the dominant boar gators before I saw them. It's a distinct odor and I don't wade when I smell it, I stay on the bank or in the canoe. Frankly I usually just move on, plenty more creek. I'm thinking it's time for a couple of fingers of single malt. That is provided I can un-cramp my hands long enough to not have to use a straw. I will only stoop but so low! Swamp

LOL, I have to completely disagree! If they allow all the people that "need killin'" to be offed then there wouldn't be an issue. Of course we are all on someones list of people that the world would be better without, heck some days I'm on my own list... Swamp

I'm not happy about that, but what can you do. I just placed an order that should keep me going for a few years or more. I've been switching to jig hooks and theirs work well. Haven't had a real problem with the beads. I've found one or two that weren't quite right but I used them anyway. I'm not a presentation tyer so for me it's not an issue but I understand if others are less happy. So now the question is where to look now at a decent price point? Swamp

Dragged right at the entrance to Picnic Lake for about 100 yds, probably could have gotten away with only 10 yds. There were 2 or 3 more spots but nothing major, ran aground a number of times but pushing with the paddle and doing the canoe scoot got me going again without getting out. I was hoping to get back out later this week but I don't think that will happen, maybe next week.

Great photos. Fisheating Creek is one of my favorite places. It's the land that time forgot, what the rest of Florida should looks like. That looks like Monument Tree so I'm thinking you went East. I tend to go west just because or maybe because I tend to stay for just one more cast as it gets toward dark. It's faster going down stream. LOL I've been three time this year. I love it when the water is low but it makes paddling a pain though. Fishing will get better once the water warms a few more degrees. I've seen more Gators this year than the last 3-4 combined some bigger lizards too (12-13'). You notice more as well? Swamp

Thanks Bob. I just received a 16oz epoxy kit. Supposedly it has 2x UV protection, yeah right thank you marketing dept for making stuff up again. I plan on hitting the shaft with some 320 and 400 grit paper and then using the epoxy almost as a wipe on finish. I don't need strength just UV protection and while I don't want it to look horrible, spending effort on a pretty finish is a waste here. I suspect the previous owner left it outside under a tree together with the canoe for years. I will at the very least store the paddle under the canoe. If this works out I may treat a fiberglass pushpole I own this way too. I'll add some light-ish colored pigment to the epoxy for that..I don't like black pushpoles, they looks great but get hot enough here that I just about drop them when in full sun. I have to dunk them in the water to cool them down. In fact I may do the same to this paddle after it is apparent that the finish is working out.

I figure that at some point I'm going to need eye surgery, I've spent a lot of time around kilns. I've always been careful about having didymium lenses or #5 shades on but when someone else opens a door or peephole it's tough not to glance at it. When surgery is needed I'll go back to better sunglasses. As far as readers, the one nice thing about being nearsighted and wearing corrective glasses is that I just drop the frames to the end of my nose and I can see perfectly at about 9"away. I'll have to take a look at the Tacfires whenever I get to Walmart again. Most of the Walmart's around here have parking lots that are so screwed up it takes 15 min to get back out again. I avoid going as much as possible.

The ends of the arms are gone, just the wire that allows one to shape the arms to personal head/ear profile is left sticking out. There is about 3/4" of wire sticking out of one side and 2"+ out of the of the. This is not something that is exclusive to Cocoons in my world. Granted this time it is a little more extreme but I've had this exact thing happen before too. I've had plastic/rubber glasses arm ends get gooey, peel off, or like in this case disintegrate. Most of the time it just affects over-molded rubber. Here I expect the plastic was compromised enough that the ends were inadvertently pulled off. I'm not griping about the quality, I'm keeping my personal history with all eyewear in mind. While $50 is not peanuts, I still consider the price point to be significantly less than heirloom quality. If they are 4+ years old that's less than $15 a year, I often spend that in gas for a single fishing excursion. If this was a "high end" pair of sun glasses I'd be getting in contact with the company. I just looked at the glasses again and it appears that the last 2/3s of the arms are not the same material as the frame. It's a softer material probably chosen for comfort and to be soft enough to be shaped for improved fit (that's what the wire is for). Keeping them in my car (HOT) probably is not doing them any favors either. As far as how they look on me, my sunglasses are the least of my problems there.

Wrap around frames are what I am used to and I'm going to sweat regardless of my glasses, welcome to Florida I hope you brought extra shirts! I've never been a fan of wrap around lenses for the very reason that is mentioned, the ones I've worn do distort at the periphery. The distortion doesn't interfere with my activities, but I noticed that I get eye strain much faster. When I bought this current pair of Cocoons, I thought the side panels would be an issue but it hasn't been a problem. Of course now that I'm thinking about it, it will be! Good tip using a Sharpie though. Humm ski googles are probably good for running the boat after the sun goes down. The bugs can be so bad that with a spot light it looks like a snow storm to the point that I have to hold the light as low or high as I can just not to get blinded from the light reflected off of the bugs, eye protection of some sort is mandatory. I'm just glad I'm not a mouth breather.🤮 During the day with our humidity wearing goggles might be like looking through a full aquarium from the inside while sitting in a sauna. I'm not sure what it is but my sweat is tough on most rubber, eventually it will disintegrate. I've even had some plastics fall apart, I guess it's not just my personality that can be caustic! 😈 I've learned to live with it, the personality too. I'll probably wait till I go in to get new prescription glasses and then buy some new Cocoons of the appropriate size. I'm good with that, like I said the ones I have have worked just fine. It just never hurts to look around for even better options if you have to replace something anyway. As far as how they look, well I have been know to call them "My Birth Control Glasses". The good news is that while I'm fishing, I don't really care unless I look so bad even the fish don't want anything to do with me... Thanks for the input. Swamp

So I have about given up on being able to wear contact lenses again. I'm unwilling to buy new custom <insert brand here> quality fishing sunglasses at $300+ every year or so. I purchased some Cocoons branded fit-overs a 3-4 years ago. The wheels are about to fall off of them at this point, the last inch of both arms are bare wire now. At $50 they don't own me any money. They are/were okay, not spectacular but certainly not hot garbage either. I'd like something a little better but a very quick cursory search is not showing me much other than throw away junk from the usual sources. I'll buy Cocoons again but I'm open to suggestions. FYI I really don't like clip-ons etc. I'm looking for something that covers and blocks light coming in from the sides etc. From sunny but very bright Florida.... Swamp