Saltwater

It truly was a week to remember at Casa Blanca Lodge.

Little Palm Island, located at Little Torch Key, Fla., is designed to provide a lifetime angling vacation experience for couples, friends and family members over 16 years of age.

Too many people associate fishing strictly with sunny days and shirtsleeve weather. The fact is, some of the most rewarding angling takes place in the dead of winter and early spring.

The discovery and unfolding of a prolific baby tarpon fishery on the west coast of the Yucatan peninsula had been going on for a few years, and I was anxious to experience what all the buzz was about.

Fishing the crystalline flats of Florida, Texas, the Bahamas, Mexico, Turks and Caicos, or Central America has the potential to be one of angling's richest and most fulfilling experiences.

While the title carried a play on words, it was barely a suggestion of the fun and finesse that accompanied the hunt for redfish and other gamesters I had with Captain Willy Le of Native Fly Charters. For those unfamiliar with this spectacular body of water, you'll be pleased to know that the Mosquito Lagoon, as well as the Indian River and Banana River, comprise the inland estuaries of the Space Coast — a mere hour east from bustling Orlando, Fla.

I recently asked veteran South Florida flats fishing skipper Captain Bob Branham what he considered to be the key factors in choosing an effective trip to Biscayne Bay's salty shallows. He mentioned that it's always essential to consider the tides and their stage, direction, and velocity. The last component is linked to the velocity of the current, which has more speed during full moon and new moon stages.

Fanning Island lays a days-long boat ride northwest of famed Christmas Island in the Pacific. Both of these islands are beautiful atolls with sugar sand beaches, great surfing and astonishing fishing.

We choose many things about our saltwater fishing. The reel and rod combination is just one, but it is one of the most important. Off the shelf "big box" combos sell well, but for the most part, they are illogically sized and usually what I call throw-away quality. My dad always used to say, "ou get what you pay for." In this department, he was right.