Freshwater Fishing Options Allow Childlike Awe

Sometimes all the water revealed was a peeled copy of the sky, a reflection of cloud patterns blended with patches of blue and a burning sheen of sun.
Of course, a freshwater lake should not be judged by its surface.
Below seemed a mystery, a fictitious civilization, something of a Narnia novel not yet flipped.

Rewind the DVD, cassette, or eight track to childhood. Slip to the back of the wardrobe. Gather, in worst case, a long-sleeve shirt, large-billed hat, sunscreen, water, Zebco rod and reel, some small hooks, a few sinker weights and a clump of worms. Nab the freshwater fishing license. Take your pick of the bay area's major water bodies. The series doesn't have to start with book No. 1.
Tucked in the swamps of eastern Sarasota County are the upper and lower Myakka lakes and river of Myaka River State Park.

Lake Evers and Lake Manatee, in Lake Manatee State Park, have a combined 750 acres of fishing options in Manatee County.

The best options north of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge are in Pinellas County. Lake Tarpon, the “Jewel of Pinellas County,” is about 10 miles west of Tampa in Tarpon Springs and Palm Harbor.

It has a surface area of 2,500 acres. The watershed encompasses 52 square miles, including its largest tributaries, Brooker Creek and South Creek. Just a couple of the access points to Lake Tarpon are through Anderson Park and Chesntut Park.

Lake Seminole in Lake Seminole State Park is smaller, but lesser known than big brother Tarpon.

Farther south in Manatee County, on 200 acres of freshwater habitat known as Lake Evers, a freshwater captain offers fly-fishing trips and shoreline fish fries (fresh hush puppies, fried panfish, beans, chips, cole slaw, etc.) for $150. It is perhaps the best bargain for a fishing charter in the area. Doc Lee, the guide (941-758-7670), has been fishing the lake more than 30 years.

“People tell me I take too many fish from the lake,” Lee said. “I just say they have to know how to fish it.”

Like a child, for one.

Something under those tea-colored waters pulls a strike-indicator cork (or small bobber) below the surface and blasts toward a thick clump of hyacinth.

The 7-weight fly rod bows in submission.

Catfish? Bass? Garfish?

Bluegill on Barry Bonds sauce?

It tugs for freedom. Wonder drowns adulthood. The 32-year-old man fighting the fish had almost become desensitized to surprise. Happy Birthday cut-out cakes ceased long ago. Back at the carnival, somewhere amid sweaty gymnasium carnies, in the middle of a tiny town out west, they had these fishing booths. Just throw a yarn line over the massive wall. And wait. Someone, or some mysterious angel on the other side, decides how glorious the night will become. Yet what ended up in the sack was not important. The reward already had come. A burning desire for the unknown.

Could it be a snook that had not found its way to the brackish Braden River?
After a final jolt, a slit of silver pierces the surface. Two heads bow, that of Doc Lee and the angler; four eyes squint, nature's lenses focusing to determine the species.

Tilapia.

A 3-pound tilapia hit a sinking bead-eye fly with a No. 10 hook attached to an 8-pound tippet.

The kid's delight.

If there's a secret to freshwater fishing success, it's small hooks: No. 8 through No. 12. And small lines: about 6- to 10-pound test. Big hooks tend to get big fish. Small hooks produce more bites and can snare them all.

What's happening at Lake Seminole Park? The designated wildlife habitat and sanctuary at 10015 Park Blvd. (74th Ave. N.) in Seminole has a 2-mile multi-use trail that snakes through pine flatwoods. The lake welcomes boaters, jet- and water-skiers (to the dismay of anglers), and, yes, fishing.

Speaking of tilapia, the Myakka lakes, located near Sarasota and Myakka City, brim with gators, thanks in part to its shallow depth that expose their leathery hides. It is a popular spot for tilapia and mullet cast netting. Enter the upper and lower lakes through Myakka River State Park. A fish tale is waiting.

Somewhere in America, a child is lost. Dad attached the depth finder to the back of a bathroom trash can, and besides, the dang thing's broken. Does the lake have bottom? Dad knows.

The kid doesn't care.