SNOOK, SNAPPERS AND LAID-BACK MANATEES
Florida never disappoints with its infinite variety of wildlife
THE second part of my recent Florida adventure took me to Crystal River, some 80 miles north of Tampa.
It has a unique environment where 350 million gallons of pure, crystal-clear water bubbles into the shallow waters of Kings Bay every day. Tour parties are taken by guides to dive with manatees in water with virtually unlimited visibility.
In England most of our water rises from chalk at 10ºC but these pump out at 22 degrees. As temperatures fall – and we had night-time lows just above freezing – it’s not only manatees that are on show as hundreds move in from the surrounding areas. Snook, one of the great gamefish, show up from miles around. Some of them are huge – 30lb and more – and in common with the manatees they see no threat from humans and go about their normal business.
Mangrove snappers in their millions also move into the warmer springs, despite the fresh water. They seem to sit deeper – depths go down to 30ft in the springs with the fresh water sitting on top of the denser salt.
There are many businesses here that revolve around manatees, with trips to see them and even dive with them. The manatees honestly seem to enjoy it, despite our not being allowed to feed them. I guess it’s a bit like dolphin trips... and they are here too!
Offshore, gag groupers move on to shallower rock marks but, once leaving the springs, the water becomes extremely shallow. After leaving the confines of the bay it’s a further 20-mile run to reach 20ft of water. Larger ‘bay boats’ and centre consoles do that run while the shallow channels and flats are the domain of skiffs, pirogues and kayaks, pedal and paddlepowered.
Sight fishing is more difficult than the classic bonefish/permit type on the Atlantic flats as the water is clear but stained a brown tinge, like very weak tea without milk. Redfish give their presence away by tailing as they go headdown looking for shrimps and crabs. That’s best accomplished on a rising tide as the water covers the exposed flats and oyster bars, left dry at low tide. Unfortunately, by virtue of sheer bad planning, I only had falling tides to fish. Add to that a moderate breeze rippling the surface, and sport potential was very limited. Even the bestused fishing app in these parts declared sport likely to be ‘poor’.
Talking of apps, I’ve learned about two new ones here – Navionics, which is the equivalent of a GPS navigation system operated through a phone, and Fish Rules.
The USA version of Navionics costs under $20, so is an absolute snip. Once the maps have been downloaded it tracks voyages and marks can be saved. What a brilliant idea!
Fish Rules lists all the fish likely to be encountered by locating your position and also gives size and quantity limits, plus whether fish are worth keeping to eat. As we used a self-drive boat in the Keys it was a vital tool to ensure we didn’t break any of the strict rules. I’m too old to go to prison!