IN DEEP: PART III

This is the continuation of the series In Deep, in which Capt. Johnny Touchton, and Capt. Tim Whitfield are explor- ing the backcountry surrounding Chokoloskee.

The night on the chickee went rather well and without problem, though for whatever reason, several mosquitoes were able to find their way into the netting and caused both of us a great deal of annoyance at around three in the morning. Right after the mosquitoes were vanquished, we heard what could only have been a big saltwater crocodile annihilating some poor, small mammal. Other- wise, the night went smoothly and we slept soundly.

The next day we woke to a high tide and by some divine intervention, a working GPS. The Action- Craft floated away from the chickee with Tim and I bidding our night haunt adieu, but not before we carved out our initials into the wood, beneath Alligator Willie’s.

We had seen some promising sandbars on the ride into the creek and after the hassle of breaking the poling platform down and putting it back up again, we cruised to the potential redfish hotspots. It wasn’t long before I spotted a couple of tails and hopped on the poling platform while Tim hopped onto the Yeti Cooler, now secured on the front deck.

The tide was coming out steadily and after what seemed like an eternity of poling, I got us into position, up current. Tim false cast just once and then
threw the fly directly in front of the redfish’s path. Judging by the tail, the
fish was no monster, but any fish caught on fly is well worth the effort and the sweat stains on my Simm’s Cold Weather Shirt were proof of the work put in.

After a strip here and there, the tail dropped. “Set up!” I yelled a little louder than I had anticipated. The fly line ran in the clear southern waters and Tim pulled hard on the line and bent a deep ‘U’ in the rod at the same time. The fish bulldogged hard for it’s size, but eventually gave way to the ten-weight and we got to hold the small pumpkin.

Now it was my turn for some bow time. Tim poled me towards the rest of the school that had seemingly not noticed the commotion. Their tails were still straight up and waving at us like a siren’s song. Following several attempts at fish that were not willing to give up the real thing I finally had a taker. The fish nailed the shrimp pattern just as it hit the water, with a good portion of it’s head coming out of the water, giving both anglers a show. I did my best to untangle the fly line at my feet and did what must have looked remarkably like a pirouette on top of the Yeti, get- ting free. This fish pulled better and as it got boat side gave me the shower I had needed after the night. Luckily my Chroma Pops saved my eyes from the cold water and the fish was boated.

Several times throughout the day,Trout nailed our shrimp pat- tern and on numerous occasions Jack Crevalle would fill the line up. We packed our bags and headed back to the marina for a comfortable night in a soft bed and some tequila shots at the bar. We looked forward to speaking with Cream Soda about our adventures, and seeing what else he had up his sleeves.

Captain JohnnyTouchton makes his living on the deck of his skiff, and from behind his writ- ing desk at his home in Tampa. His work has been published in magazines, and newspapers all around the southeast. He can be reached via his website at www.LPineOutdoors.com