Drove out to the Everglades a couple days ago. My original intention was to fish a canal I'd read about recently in the outdoors section of one of our local newspapers. I was skeptical that the directions given at the end of the story were accurate, because they didn't match what I saw on Google Maps. But I figured perhaps the Google Maps image was old and perhaps no longer matched what was actually out there. Well, Google Maps was right: there was no right turn near the first bridge beyond the Palm Beach County line heading north on Route 27, just a gated-off water control facility and a steel guardrail that went on for miles. I could see the canal mentioned in the article but there was no way to drive along it for two miles until you reached the boat ramp. The writer figured out how to get out there but I couldn't.
Fortunately, another canal runs along Route 27 and there are boat ramps every few miles along it. So...I made a u-turn and headed back south until I found one and slipped my kayak in the water.
It was a breezy, overcast day following a cold front. I started off heading south down the canal with the wind pushing me along at a pretty good clip. I quickly caught several small bass on a popper fly. After about a mile I turned around and pedaled upwind in the opposite direction. My Hobie kayak with Mirage Drive does allow you to fish in windy conditions. But when the wind is gusting down in your face, the bow of the kayak tends to fall off to port or starboard constantly, forcing you to put one hand on the rudder control to correct your heading. And since you really need two hands to fly-cast, it's a bit of a struggle to lay a fly out where you think the fish are.
Fish continued to slash at my fly as I was going north but they were in one of those moods where they grab it lightly in their mouths, then drop it as soon as you pull back on the line to set the hook.
This went on for a couple hours until I felt it was time to reverse directions again and let the wind push me back toward the boat ramp. At that point I replaced the surface popper fly I'd been using with a bright chartreuse "sqwirm worm," which is a fly angler's version of a plastic worm used by spin and bait casters. I tossed the sqwirm toward the bank to my left, which was mostly large chunks of limestone left over from the orginal excavation of the canal. I'd drop the sqwirm worm on a chunk of rubble, then pull it off into the water and make it slither like a tiny snake. The bass really liked it and I hooked many of them and even managed to bring some of them to hand. I've fished that canal many times now. It's full of fish--largemouth bass, bluegill, mayans, longnose gar, oscars, and who knows what else. The biggest bass I caught wasn't much more than 12 inches, so it's not a place to go for lunkers. But if you just want action, you'll find it there.
I didn't catch a single mayan, unlike the time I was there a month ago or so. Mayans like it sunny and hot. Since it was cool and overcast, they may have been feeling sulky.
I fished until around 4:45. I saw only two or three other anglers on the water all day long. Because the canal is close to Route 27, you do hear big trucks rumbling by all day long. I myself prefer quieter waters but the fish who live in that canal don't seem to care.
Here's a link to video I shot of the trip: http://youtu.be/d1UWDo8Y2Ic
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