Another awesome day in the backcountry of the Florida Everglades. Every trip out here is a completely different experience and no two trips are ever the same, even going to the same places.
The Fish and Fishing
Just one of those days when the fishing gods smile down upon you with perfect weather and the fish cooperate. One of the better days for fly fishing and slammed the peacock bass as well as catching a few other exotics such as oscars, mayan cichlid and a first for me with a Jaguar Cichlid, a native of Central America.
For native fish we also caught largemouth bass, Florida gar and bowfin, a prehistoric air breathing fish.
Swallow Tail Kites
Not rare but an uncommon sight and usually just in pairs. Yesterday there were at least 20+ pairs souring high above the River of Grass.
Swallow-tailed Kites are large raptors. They have long, narrow, pointed wings, slim bodies, and a very long, deeply forked tail. The bill is small and sharply hooked like other raptors.
The Alligators
Again not a rare sight and actually very common to see in the Everglades. However this trip we were surrounded by dozens of gators and a few aggressive ones. Normally they don’t bother you and you don’t bother them. This time we had a couple charging the boat a few times till we scared them off by hitting the water with a baseball bat. Better than the alternative, either being gator bait or having to shoot them.
