Sight fishing is a demanding yet extremely rewarding method of angling.

There are a few points that I see my customers can always polish. First, you have to be able to see the fish. This may seem to many to be an exclamation of the obvious, but the better you can see into the water, the sooner the quarry will be sighted therefore allowing more time to prepare and cast. If the first cast does not go right where it is intended there will be time to reset and cast again. The odds just doubled in your favor! Invest in a decent pair of polarized glasses. For the browns and greens of Florida Bay I recommend brown. The amount of shading should not be too dark. The idea is to increase contrast and remove glare.

Angling skill requires practice and I don't care how world famous one claims to be, nobody is perfect. This should be a no-brainer. Tune up your casting techniques before hiring a guide and spending precious fishing time practicing on live targets. Casting techniques are numerous and varied. Some are even a little dangerous (for the person behind). As a kid I remember the best cast was a long cast. I know better now. Accuracy is far more important. For example, a topwater lure will act sluggish when cast a long way out. The fishing line will absorb some of the action. A bucktail jig will be hard to locate underwater when cast to maximum range. This is important when there is, for example, a big snook swimming by only fifteen feet away from the boat and you just fired one out fifty feet. You need to know exactly where your bait is in relation to the fish so that a proper presentation can be made. Watch out for wildlife! I really love watching a diving seabird except when it is going after the shrimp I so carefully located in front of a foraging bonefish. The Royal Tern is usually the culprit in Keys’ waters. They are very aggressive and sharp eyed. I cannot count how many times a customer has cast to a big fish only to have a seabird dive out of the sky from behind and spook the fish. They see the bait dangling off the end of the rod and just wait until it is cast out away from the boat. When stalking the flats and waiting to cast, try to keep your bait below the water surface and the birds will not see it.

Oh yeah, gators will go for your bait too! When a gator is in your fishing hole I find it is better to let him have it. There is no way to land a jumping, fighting fish in front of an alligator. The beast will almost always attack and eat your fish.

Here are a few obvious yet surprisingly overlooked hints to having a fine day on the water:

1. Do not try and handle a saltwater fish by the lower lip like those bass fishin' guys... most of the fish in these waters have lots of sharp teeth.
   
   
2. Do not throw trash in the water. It may come back to haunt you.
   
   
3. Be sure you have enough fuel for the day and some extra for the unforeseen.
   
   
4. Watch where you are going. Just because there are not any white lines to guide you does not mean you do not have to pay attention.
   
   
5. Stay away from lightning storms. Most fish do not feed during extreme weather.
   
   
6. Charts are like road maps for the waterways. Do not be embarrassed to use one.
   
   
7. Pay attention to the depth of water. Know your boundaries. Do not dig up the bottom with your propeller. The marine life on the bottom is near the bottom of the food chain and without it there is no foundation for the lifeforms above.
   
   
8. Use a guide in unfamiliar waters. The guide will hopefully handle your catch for you, carry your trash, not run out of gas, pay attention so you can relax and take in the scenery, keep you away from lightning storms, know the waterways like the back of his hand, and not run the boat up on a sandbar or reef.

-- Captain Kip