Adventure Fishing World Championship.....Part 2 of 4....Which way do we Geaux

Which Way do We Geaux

 So day one ended on a positive note, I was able to meet a lot of new people from across the country, I added a new species of fish to my list, I saw several things I never new existed and most of all I was amped up for two more days of fishing in paradise.

Day 2 was another story, I was awakened by the sound of trucks cranking and anglers getting everything ready for the last pre-fishing day before the Championship began.  As quick as I could, I gathered everything I could and was loaded up ready to go, I knew today was going to be a bruiser of a day.  I had developed an idea in my mind of going to the furthest western boundary by open water and weaving my way through the back country with hopes of ending up at the launch location.
As I thought about last years event, I was trying to make this one very similar in that you should be able to leave from one location, see the world, and make it back to your starting point from an entirely different direction.  Well folks, this ain't last year, and that plan likely should have been evaluated by a true professional, someone like Crocodile Dundee and definitely not by me. 
While loading my gear I stopped to claw on Elliot's tent like a Florida Panther, to wake him up nicely of course, when  Russ Pylant walks up and ask what our plans are for today.  Russ' partner Michael Ethridge, who is from Mississippi, was flying into Miami from Minnesota, but had been rerouted to New Orleans due to weather and was forced to sleep in the airport just to make his connecting flight to the tournament.  Mike and Russ were partners last year and looking forward to making a move this year to the front of the line of winners.  If you know Russ, he's dang near 7 foot tall and if you gotta go wrestle the wild, he's one you want to wrestle it with.
I explained to Russ what my plans were and asked if he would like to join us, he quickly responded, heck yeah, and he also had somewhat of the same idea in his mind.
Within minutes the three of set out for an adventure of a lifetime and the only time limit ahead of us was making it back to the camp ground for the Captains meeting at 7:00 that evening. Prior to launching off the beach we passed through the marina to pass the idea on to a few of the locals and some said that we could  make it through with the route we planned, while others simply said, good luck, but in all the conversations no one ever said don't do it, you can't make it. 
So to the beach we went, and while we were unloading our kayaks and getting everything set up for our initial 9 mile paddle through open water, a local angler pulled up and asked what our plans were, when we told him, you could immediately see the look of disbelief, and his response to the plan matched the look on his face, but we weren't phased. 
With the sun up, a solid plan, and wind at our backs, we hit the water, and In just under 3 hours we reached our destination, East Cape, the most southern tip of the Florida mainland, the only thing below us was the Florida Keys.  We turned into East Cape canal, which I had been warned to prepare for crocodile encounters throughout the area, and headed to the dead end. When we reached the dead end, we pulled up and over the damn and we were now in the most southern part of the back country, this my friend was awesome.  The water was crystal clear, you could see several feet down, the mangrove roots were towering above the waters edge, wildlife was hiding under the trees, and crocodile slides were everywhere you looked. 
Within minutes of traveling north down the canal, I landed a mangrove snapper, lesson #1 learned, don't put a finger in this fish's mouth, they have some seriously shard teeth and a jaw with some crunching power behind it. 

It wasn't long after that, I was able to entice a Snook from the mangroves with an inline spinner, but unfortunately I was traveling too fast and wasn't able to slow the lure enough for the beast to catch it. 
About that time Russ pulled close and I began to share with him my technique and how I was working the lure in and out of the mangrove roots and as I pulled the inline out of the exposed roots and stopped it to let it hover to the bottom, a gorgeous Tarpon showed up and engulfed my lure in front of all three of us.  You could see the beast attacking it from almost 4 feet below the surface, it was as if the Coors Light silver bullet train just flew in to town and my hooked snagged the grill of the engine.  I set the hook with all I had and immediately the he cam flying out of the water, four flailing jumps later and one tail walk and I had him in my paws with a monster smile to go with it.
 I couldn't believe what this trip was turning in to.  Did I really just land a Tarpon in the Everglades???? You dang right, a country boy can survive. 
My first Tarpon ever, was landed in Sarasota, Fl last year, but due to the overwhelming attack of sharks, I was unable to get a picture, the Tarpon was even more unfortunate than I was, but I'm sure the shark tells the story from an entirely different angle. 
Anyway, this was one of those catches that you want to get out of the kayak and into the water and elements with the sparkling silver bug eyed trophy.  As both Russ and Elliot were helping taking pics, I started explaining how I wanted to get in the water and complete this photo shoot the right way. 
We were talking and laughing and drifting from the wind right past an exposed mud flat, and what just so happened to be on that flat watching the entire show, you got it, a crocodile. 
Well that sealed the deal, I am not getting in the water with a crocodile, about that time the croc turns and slides in the water headed in the direction of all the commotion, yeah, that was me making all that commotion, Tarpons don't just sit calmly on the side of the yak and say cheese, they flail and fight and splash, pretty much ringing the dinner bell for any predator that's looking for an easy meal.  I snatched him out of the water(which I know your not supposed to, thanks Elliot for the quick action shot)
and immediately  began on getting the hook out of the poons mouth. I eventually had to use pliers, but it was quick, and he was released and swam away vigorously. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to hang on to him, and wish him luck, and let him free willy right out of my hands into the deep blue yonder, instead he got a flying experience on the other side of the yak away from the croc, I was doing everything I could to avoid another encounter where my catch becomes a meal for some toothy critter that isn't willing to chase down its own meal, but would rather steal my trophy moment instead.  Me and Tarpon one, crocodile zero, at least for now.

This crocodile fiasco didn't stop there, it seamed every time I turned my head for the next half mile there was another croc sitting on the bank or they were ganging up in front of us, it was a very uneasy feeling for the next hour or so. 
As uncomfortable as the situation was, we continued to fish, of course now we new to be a little more wary of our surroundings, because we were in there living room at this point, and I sure didn't want to visit their kitchen or dining room.  After I calmed down a little, a few cast later I was hooked up again, and this fish was pulling hard, but wasn't rising to the waters surface like all the other game fish I had landed, and as the day before, he finally came to the surface with that signature circle of death, another Jack.
As I was unhooking him and contemplating feeding him to the crocs to save my own skin, the Fishfinder hooked up with a fish that was ripping drag, and to tell you the truth, I was relieved that the crocs focus could now change to the bright red yak and not the yellow one, I mean red says a lot to a croc right, heck it's gotta say YUM more than yellow.  Another Jack landed.
From there we decided it was time to move to safer waters so we took a steady paddle toward the end of the canal were it entered a line of mangrove canals and tunnels and what we hoped were less treacherous waters.  As we made the turn to what we considered safe waters, I made one last cast on a point with my "seein spots" inline spinner and bam, a Snook, and with that my day was complete.  As far as I was concerned, it was now time to focus on finagling our way through the back country and finding a solid path back to the campsite, and we were all in agreement. 
At that point we got in line like kindergarteners in lunch line, we were making waves and gaining ground by the second, that is until the water started to pour out.  Before we knew it we were in waters that were less than a foot deep, and at times encapsulated in mangrove tunnels that were so tight, we had to take our paddles apart because it was impossible to swing a two sided paddle with the low surrounding canopy of branches.  I can remember knocking what seemed like a 3 pound spider out of my yak (I am deathly afraid of spiders), Russ even asked what the heck I just threw out as it made a wave when it hit the water it was so heavy. It freaks me out to even write about it. 
We followed these tunnels and pathways for between 5-8 miles and at every turn there was a dead end, we even searched exits of bays to only end up at dead ends.  Then finally the inevitable happened after miles of shallow water and exhaustion, a mechanical break down,
Elliot's drive took a turn for the worse, but like I said earlier, we prepared for it all, almost, I actually brought my spare drive and swapped him out and we were back on our way within minutes for another hour or so of pushing and poling through the mud.
Finally we stopped to regroup, gather our thoughts, take an inventory, and prepare for what might or might not happen.  It was obvious the maps we had weren't helping, even the very expensive GPS card that we had was brining us to impassable passages. 
At this point in the game, we decided that we were going to try and reach the back end of what we called canal number 1, it was a canal that ran into the open waters of the Gulf, but was cut off by a short piece of land that we would have to cross on foot, no problem right,  wrong, think again.  With the sun dropping, water running low, mosquitos coming out, the wind dying down, and tide still falling at a steady pace, we were forced to push our way through shallow water and deep mud for several miles around islands, points, and flats.  When we finally reached the canal that was going to lead us to canal number 1, we were relieved, we cheered, we smiled, our spirits were high, and nothing could stop us now. 
In the canal we encountered a few fallen trees and Elliot has now broken his paddle from pulling through all the mud, but we weren't going to let any of that hinder our motivation to make it back to camp for the captains meeting.  What did in fact stop us after we all pulled over several different obstacles within the canal was when the canal ended. It didn't end at a damn, it didn't slowly become smaller and dry up, it just ended.  And again, we were devastated, but we also kept our heads high.  There were times were we argued, there were times were we laughed, and there were times were we teeter tottered on the lines of defeat, but at each dead end we were hit with, one of us within the group was able to pull us all back together and keep us all moving forward. We may have left as the three stooges, but in the face of danger and defeat, we fought back like a Roman Army of thousands.
As we reached the end, we sat and discussed options, it was only .4 miles through the everglade jungle to the beaches that would set us free, .4 miles of dragging unwheeled kayaks through thorned brush, gumbo mud, and who knows what else, and that's not even considering the wildlife we could possibly encounter.  We decided to pull our yaks out of the canal and start the journey toward freedom on land, I mean really, it was less than a half a mile, we can do this.  Yeah right, after pulling our yaks from the waters of death, and hearing what I thought was branches breaking on the trees I was squeezing my yak through, I ended up breaking three of my custom built Bull Bay rods, I was fuming.  I wished a crocodile would have been laying around the next thorny bush, because at that particular moment, I might have gone against better judgment and tried my strength and furry on the beast. 
Thankfully for us all, during my time of solitude, foul language, and kicking the wind, Russ and Elliot decided to walk to the beach to see just how far it really was.  Wouldn't you know it, another obstacle, they came across a waterway of sorts that wasn't on any map we had and it didn't show up on GPS, but it did run east and west, where the canal we needed ran north and south, so it was yet another confusing dead end.  They then decided to head back toward the guy that was acting like a 4 year old that couldn't have two scoops of ice cream and had to settle for just one, yep, they were headed back to me.  On their way they crossed a hiking trail, and it ran in the direction we needed to go, and after we all pulled our yaks about 100 yards through the jungle it was clear that .4 miles just wasn't going to happen whether we knew how to find the beach or not.  At this point the sun was falling, and we had estimated our walk to camp at 7 miles through the unknown and all that the Everglades has to offer. 

We grabbed our cameras, a pistol, the one bottle of water that was left, flares, a compass, and some mosquito spray and that was it, we were off.  We knew two things at this point, we had to move to get to the captains meeting, and we had to move if we wanted to keep this story from hitting the news channels, in turn, creating worry to all those that cared about the lost coon asses in the Everglade Swamps. 
We started on our brisk pace, to me it was almost a jog, and for the first mile or two I was barefoot, because the wet mud in my crocs kept them flying off my feet with every step.  The terrain was flat, but curvy, and the trail wasn't wider than a foot.  At times we were in areas that looked like the Serengeti,
 and at other times it looked like we were in a scene from Lion King near where Scar lived.  We also encountered more tunnels as the trail winded through the woods, back into the open, and back in the woods, it was a walk that I wasn't excited about, but I knew we had to do it.  As the sun set and I was the one with the headlight, so I lead the way forward, and I lead it at a fast pace.  At one point Elliot asked if he could have the light and he would run back to camp and make sure everyone knew we were ok and on our way.  That idea took about 5 seconds before Russ and I both laughed and responded with, you aint getting my light, and that was the end of that, Elliot Fishfinder Cheetah speed Stevens was gonna have to complete the hike with us.
 After over an hour of walking and throwing around ideas of how we are going to get our kayaks back before the tournament, we came up with towing them back on straps over our shoulders while they rode on wheels that we would have to borrow from other anglers at the camp.
 Seven miles pulling a kayak over land through the Everglades at midnight thirty was our most solid idea, it was sure better than borrowing a bicycle and fabricating a trailer, or stealing the rangers golf cart and using it with a fabricated trailer, heck we didn't even have electricity at the camp grounds more less the materials to fabricate a paper airplane let alone a trailer.  During our hike back there was several outburst of laughter between us all, I would start laughing outloud for no reason, other than a crazy thought, and it would immediately become contagious among us all.  We talked about the famed RugaRoo and the Ruken and any other swamp monster we could think of, the hike was tiresome, but a bonding experience to say the least. We considered shooting a flare at one time, but were concerned we might set the woods on fire and then we would lose more than just our dignity, but our kayaks would be gone too.
After nearly 3 hours of a fast paced walk, we made it to the back of the campgrounds, we went to the first tent we saw and asked if the gentleman would give us a ride to our vehicles, after we summarized everything we had been through of course, at this point we felt like kings that just conquered a new country.  Without question he jumped in his truck and told us to load up, and he brought us to our vehicles.
Now, you have to realize what we look like, we have fought mud for hours, trekked through thorny brush, and have been sweating since 7 a.m. that morning, I even had to cut the sleeves off my shirt to use as a chaffing barrier between my legs it had gotten so bad.  To say we were Funky, would be an understatement, I'm still not sure we got a ride so fast because he felt sorry for us or because he wanted our funk away from his dinner and campsite. Either way, the reason didn't matter, we were appreciative. Once we reached the vehicle, we rushed to the captains meeting just in time to catch up with John and Woody and explain the situation, they said as long as we were here and ready for the safety inspection at 5:30 am than we were good to go. 
That's all I needed to hear, we went back to the campsite, gathered almost a case of water in backpacks, got some wheels from one florida angler, and a buddy of mine Jorge from Alabama(don't hold that against him) and we ate some of the feast that TK had once again perfected on the Orion cooker.

Now is when our journey really becomes interesting.  As we filled up on TK's food, and quenched our thirst with Gatorade and lots of water, we told our story to the crew surrounding the buffet of Beef, Chicken, and Pork.  People were quick to offer up their wheels, water and food if we needed it, but one individual jumped up and said, "lets go, I'm in", and that guy was Michael Ethridge, who just showed up from sleeping in an airport, his flight was rerouted, the airline lost his luggage, and all he had on was a t-shirt and a pair of work slacks.  Michael you are the man, and we thank you!
We stayed at the campsite for no longer than 45 minutes before we were loaded up and headed back into the belly of the Everglade Monster.  When we reached the entrance to the where the fun was to begin, we all took a deep breath, paused in a moment of silence, and took our first step.................

Part 3 of 4 soon to come.