Alright everyone. We had an unbelievable trip to wrap up 2021, and I’m definitely going to get to the fishing, but this is going to be a different kind of post. I promise to do my best not to make this too sappy or emotional, but this trip meant way more to me than honestly any other trip I have ever had. And it wasn’t because of what many people may expect…i.e. fishing in some “once in a lifetime location”, or able to land a massive bucket list fish. It was because I was able to be back on the water with my Dad.

Not going to get into specifics, but my Dad experienced a “close call” very early on in 2021 and was extremely hurt. We are talking about being in the ICU hurt. We are talking major surgery and not being able to walk for an extended period of time hurt. We are talking about a situation in which most people wouldn’t be able to bounce back.

So with that said, the fact that I was able to end my year with my Dad back out on a boat lighting fish up is a blessing, and provided me with a chance to reflect on why fly fishing matters to me. It’s because of the people I get to do it wish, and the memories I have with them. Not just because of the fish.

AND END SCENE. Let’s get into the fishing and talk about that! For this trip, we returned to the Everglades to hopefully find Peacock Bass and other exotic freshwater species that live in these waters. There is nothing like the Everglades when it comes to sheer numbers of fish, and the calm waters in the canals make for an enjoyable and comfortable experience. With this said…we arrived to a ton of rain, and a very wet first day of fishing.

Luckily for us, even though the rain coats were soaked, the fish were going absolutely bananas. The weather shift got the fish all amped up, and they were smashing quickly stripped flies. This goes for all the species – the peacocks, largemouths, oscars, mayan cichlids, and sunfish. It was insane, and because we didn’t mind weathering the elements, we experienced one of our “highest number” fish days ever. We lost count after we got to about 50 peacocks, and I promise you we easily caught another 50-60 more after we stopped counting. One really cool thing about the fish this trip was that they were dark in color, unlike many of the other peacocks we have caught in the Everglades before.

Although the fish were so active that probably any fly would’ve caught something, the Peacocks really were hammering larger 4-5 inch white dear hair streamers that were moving fast. They also were crushing 3-4 inch long dear hair chartreuse flies that looked like smaller cichlids in the water. Our best Peacock of the trip came off of a white bucktail and flashy streamer that ended up being completely destroyed at the end of the day. The fish was a true pig of a Peacock.

After a day of pure fishing madness, we experienced another fruitful day of fishing in the Everglades (although not as crazy as Day 1). The fish were still chompy, but they definitely were more spread out and deeper in the water column that made us adjust our strategy. We turned to more clouser type patterns to fish deeper, and slower as well. Although more Peacocks were caught, the highlight of Day 2 was a massive Largemouth Bass that smashed a large buckatil streamer. This fish was roughly 4-5 pounds and put up quite a fight on the 6-weight.

To wrap up our trip, my Dad and I took out to the beach on our last morning to see if we could find any of our saltwater friends in the surf. The water was relatively calm, but the wind was moving and shifting the tide towards large rocks on the shore. With some baitfish patterns tied on, and some fresh tippet, I began casting parallel to the rocks…and our Florida trip yet again produced. Within a 2-hour window, we landed 7 Snook. The majority of the fish came extremely tight to the rocks where I was getting worried that I would get hung up. But after some additional observation, there were schools of glass minnow looking creatures schooled up against the rocks, making it clear that the fish were in “feed” mode.

To reflect on the year, we ended way better than we started. It isn’t always about the “coolest” destinations, or catching the biggest fish. Mind you I am big fans of both of those, and life is short, so need to make a better effort of traveling to catch all the fish I can! But my point is this…never take for granted who you are fishing with, and for the opportunities you may have close by.

Life is good, fish are good, and really looking forward to keeping after it here in 2022.

Joe