Yesterday we went out for an afternoon session to Doctors Pass. The Gulf was still mixed up so no beach fishing for us. From the West rainclouds where heading towards shore. There was not much going on inside the pass. On the tip of the Northern jetty a huge school of bait was milling around and some real big fish where feeding on them. We could not see what the predators where but they where for sure no dolphins.
I could not intercept any fish inside the pass so I tried the risky tactic of fishing a Clouser minnow very close to the rocks.
That method paid off and I was rewarded with two juvenile Gag groupers.


Gag grouper on Clouser minnow.

Near sunset Michael nailed one Ladyfish out of the pass and that was it. No more fish for us. The sunset that evening produced not that great colors like before but we still put some time aside to document it.


Sunset at Doctors Pass.

After sunset we headed out to Joe's dock. We where a bit early and many of the condo people where still out and about. The Snook where not present in the numbers like before maybe because we where so early.
With the inhabitants of the condo still outside it did not take long before the Condo police was on to us. So Joe, if you get complaints you know who to blame... Oops, just got the news from Mark, they already banned us from your place.
When all the people left the fish returned to the dock in reasonable numbers and Michael and I where soon into fish.
I hooked only one but Michael was hauling in one after an other. It was unbelievable how many times he hooked into a fish.


The "Snookmeister" Michael.

Whatever fly I tried I could not get a fish to bite. Only late at night when I tied on a epoxy fly I managed to get the only Snook from Joe's dock. The last one I guess untill I get there by kayak and those busybodies that have no life can not bother me anymore


A Snook from beneath the dock.

Michael's Baltic Sea trout fly was a favourite among the Snook. We traded places but I just could not get any of the Snook. The dolphins working the bait in the bay where no help either.
This morning it was time for a visit to pond X. Things where slow down there. In the early morning hours Michael landed a nice Snook on a hot EP minnow (pink/chartreuse).


The Snookmeister with a Snook from pond X.

We fished pond X well after sunrise but got no hits whatshowever on the fly. We both had a Mayan Cichlid following the fly but that was it. Maybe the weather change has something to do with it. We just have to try and try. So now we are banned from dock fishing, I guess the season starts down here. Let's hope the weather will improve and the beach waters will clear up so we can do some beach fishing again.

There are more signs of the beginning of the season down here in SW Florida than the arrival of the busybodies. At Everglades Angler they recieved tons of new flies. Just look at the EP flies below that are so neatly stacked by Maria.


EP minnows.