Keeping a Fishing Log

A key to future fishing success

I remember my first trips to Flamingo in the Everglades National Park. It was like a trip to another country - so many miles across the vastness of the everglades to a small fishing village on the tip of Florida. Some of the guides who fished out of Flamingo in the '50s and '60s were legendary, at least they were in our part of the country.

One in particular was an old man whose name happened to be Walter Mann. I think I remember him spelling it with two n's. Walter was a crusty old fisherman whose reputation for catching fish was unparalleled. It seems that he always knew where the fish would be and what they would be doing.

I never got to fish with Captain Mann, but I knew several people who did, and they raved about his expertise. One friend told me this story:

"We pulled up to some mangroves back in the labyrinth that is Lostman's River. Captain Mann tied us off on a branch and said, we would catch some trout here, but not for another 30 minutes. He suggested we eat a sandwich or two for lunch and then we could fish. I figured - hey, I'm paying for this and I'm going to fish. I fished while the others ate, and caught absolutely nothing. Sure enough, in about 30 minutes, Captain Mann put a live shrimp - the same bait I was using- out on a float behind the boat - the same place I had been fishing. It drifted back about 20 feet and immediately went under. So I did the same thing - and wham - I got one too. Then the other three started to fish and we all caught more trout than we knew what to do with. After about 45 minutes, Captain Mann said that the fish would quit and we would have to move. He said it while all four of us had a fish on, and wouldn't you know, within 5 minutes, they quit. This guy was good!"

I have similar stories and comments from everyone I knew who ever fished with old Captain Mann. He really knew his stuff. It took me a long time to figure out how he knew so much, but I finally heard from some reputable sources just how he did it.