This week's treat of the week is brought to you by one of the many flats that I had the opportunity to fish while I was down visiting Brian in the Keys. Everything was going fine and I was catching the usual barracuda while stealthily wading to cast at each new patch of mangroves. Down here you never know what is going to come out of the mangroves to chase a fly.
When you are wading the flats you want to keep your eyes constantly moving for cruising shadows. Today just happened to be a shadow that was a little bigger then the rest! I looked behind me and I could see a huge shadow swimming a little too close to me while I was wading. Sure I had watched 2 - 3 foot sharks check out what I was, but they did so in a harmless and controlled manner. This shadow was way bigger then anything else that I have seen up to this point.
What I had also forgot to mention was that that day was a little cloudy with a slight breeze. When the sun goes behind the clouds you aren't given as clear of a view into the water and when the wind picks up it also camouflages the visibility even further.
Anyways, back to the story. I am wet wading and this huge lurking shadow is being too curious for comfort. I make a quick decision once the sun goes behind the clouds and the wind picks up. Now I am left completely blind to where this thing might be swimming. I had a mangrove system that I was fairly close to so I walked over slowly to the mangroves, climbed up and perched myself like a gargoyle to get a better view of this shadow. I waited a few minutes and never got a chance to see what exactly this thing was. Which made matters worse because all I could think about was this shadow for the remainder of that day.
I'm pretty sure it was a shark, because before I had seen the shadow I heard it's tail slap on the waters surface letting me know of it's whereabouts. I will never find out what exactly it was but I knew I was at ease perched atop the mangroves.
On that day you won shark, but we would get revenge the next day when we hooked into several of your friends on the Patch Man Do!
