Sometimes dolphins or manatee use the same passageway that connects the Atlantic Ocean side of the narrow Keys with Gulf of Mexico waters. Later, when the full warmth of famous Florida sunshine tops the palm trees, iguanas will emerge to sun themselves and flaunt their incredible and varied coloration.

As the boat reaches the end of the narrow canal an entirely different world emerges off the bow. The dark and churning water of the canal, a product of constant tidal movement, gives way to a pleasing and vibrant aqua sea. It is a stunning scene.

The distant horizon is marked by ominous appearing clouds indicative of heavy rainfall. A rainbow reaches into the sky, its brilliant spectum of colors emphasized in front of the dark background, and disappears into billowy white clouds. Overhead the sky is a brilliant blue. A delicate flamingo, easily identified by its colorful pink wings, lazily flies past, adding an exclamation point to an already astonishing sight.

It is a moment of awareness that stirs emotions, akin to shaking hands with a dear old friend. A fisherman can be excused if his eyes suddenly water, his lips quiver, and he feels a swelling in his throat. In the boat the teasing banter amongst a trio of fishermen comes to an unexpected but understandable halt. No words were spoken. The image was too perfect, too extraordinary, to interrupt.

Kim Fundingsland/MDN A topwater lure was used to tease an elusive snook during a recent fishing excursion on the famed Florida flats. The angler is Mort Bank, Bismarck.

Green mangrove trees lined distant shorelines to the port and front of the boat. The unmistakable outline of an arcing bridge and its white columns was several miles to starboard, lit in the sunlight and towering above the shimmering, green water. Within minutes of cruising over a light chop the boat nosed toward the first destination of the day – Trout Lake. It is an odd name for a what is really a saltwater bay known for its concentration of speckled sea trout.

On this day though the trout didn’t come out to play, at least they weren’t interested in a variety of presentations offered by the fishermen. No matter. There are hundreds of places to fish in the expansive saltwater flats common to the Keys. In 15 minutes the anglers were testing another shoreline, casting lures into two to three feet of water.

Moments later an elusive snook is hooked. While that fish is being readied for release a black tip shark rips at a chunk of Jack Cravalle meat suspended under a softball-sized bobber. A double! And a very unique one at that!

While the snook, with its distinctive shoulder hump and black lateral line, was brought into the boat with relative ease, the shark was another matter entirely. It wasn’t nearly as large as many sharks lurking in those waters, but it proved to be challenging, wrapping line around the boat’s power pole and tangling up in a chum stringer mistakenly left hanging over the side of the boat.

All obstacles were eventually overcome by fisherman Mark Braun of Bismarck. Fellow Bismarcker Mort Bank pulled the manageable shark into the boat by the tail, using utmost caution due to the shark’s razor sharp teeth and ability to turn its head and reach its own tail. After a few photographs the shark was returned to the sea.

Kim Fundingsland/MDN Mort Bank, left, and Mark Braun, both Bismarck, with a black tip shark about to be released in this Feb. 17 photo.

The following day a testy wind was blowing as the boat eased away from the dock. The forecast promised the winds would diminish somewhat within the hour, a prognostication that didn’t come true for half a day but never-the-less welcome.

The day started quickly with two hard-fighting Jack Cravalle landed within minutes of each other. Two barracuda, sleek and armed with an impressive set of long and sharp teeth, followed lures to the boat but didn’t strike. Exciting! One was very big and ornery appearing and would have provided quite a tussle on hook and line.

Braun broke a short pause in the action when he announced, “Here we go!” His fishing rod was bent nearly in half and his fishing line was quickly cutting through the water. The fish was too powerful to reel in. The battle was on! Patience turns the advantage from fish to fisherman, and Braun played the fish well.

The scrap ended with a cubera snapper, about 10 pounds, being lifted into the boat. Saltwater fish are powerful and fast, and the cubera was certainly no exception. Of the many kinds of snapper, it is the cubera that has a well-earned reputation as the hardest fighting of them all. Triumphant, and coming down from the excitement of the battle, Braun slumped into a boat seat immediately after photographs were taken.

“In North Dakota there’s nothing to compare it to that fights that hard and that long,” remarked Braun.

On day three a return to Trout Lake to begin the day was in order. The skies were partly to mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of rain. The ever-present kites, birds with impressive wing spans and tell-tale outline, were numerous and soaring higher than usual. Were they an indicator of impending weather? Later events would add credence to that possibility.

Bank worked a small jerkbait in the hopes of enticing a speckled trout or perhaps a snook known to frequent the area. Soon a small and colorful puffer fish followed his lure to the boat, more curious than aggressive but infinitely entertaining. When saltwater fishing you never know when a surprise will occur or what it might be, but the unique and different happens with uncanny regularity for even veteran anglers.

Once again the trout, though seen surfacing, were indifferent to several presentations. Again, a move was in order to what was hoped to be a more productive area. It was, despite the growing presence of darkening skies closing in and threatening heavy rainfall.

The changing weather may have had the desired effect on the fish. Bank had a trophy-sized snook follow a lure to the boat, then lay boatside for a moment to present a good look at a beauty of a fish. A few casts later, as the rain began to fall and the anglers donned protective rain gear, Bank hooked into a very feisty snook. It made a spectacular, thrashing leap at the front of the boat, putting on a show while throwing the lure at the same time.

No sooner had that fish slipped back into the water below when the rain poured down from above. So heavy was the rain that visibility was limited to the length of a cast. Then came a rapid rise in wind, yet all the while the fishing continued. Another snook was caught too. When the wicked downpour finally ceased there was three inches of water in a previously dry chum bucket sitting on the floor of the boat.

At sunrise the next day the wind was already gusting to 20 miles per hour and was expected to go even higher as the day progressed. Such wind over ocean waters makes boating and fishing very difficult, so the plan for the day was to find shorelines that offered protection from the prevailing wind and work them thoroughly.

One such spot, with the power pole holding the boat in place, suddenly came alive. Braun boated a sporty Jack Cravalle. Bank had a large black tip shark churn and roll and turn the water into a froth in pursuit of his topwater lure. Wild stuff!

Within minutes several other sharks were swirling near the boat, swimming quickly and too many to get a count. Several times their unmistakable outline could be seen in the water as they made a beeline for the shark bait, only to nudge it and turn away. As aggressive and dominating as sharks can be, sometimes they are spooked easily too.

In the midst of enjoying a lunch break in the boat one black tip broke the silence of the reel on the shark rod, ripping out line and causing the clicker to sing loudly. The toothy predator made a run for the nearby Everglades National Park but then turned back. Some quick reeling substantially shortened the amount of line the shark had previously taken. It was about a five footer that tired a bit sooner than expected. A long tool was used to safely remove the hook, the shark made a rapid exit, and the angler returned to his lunch.

One of the most sought after fish to catch, and one of the most difficult fish to land, is the signature of the Keys – tarpon. That point was driven home later that day. Not once, but four times. Yes, Bank and Braun watched four tarpon do their trademark thing and fly into the air immediately during impressive and explosive strikes. Many would say there’s nothing like it in the fishing world.

Tarpon are a special and spectacular fish. Memory makers. No question about that. The silvery giants are known for “one and done” as fishermen say, meaning that tarpon almost always throw the lure on their first jump. Seeing them is one thing. Catching them another matter entirely. Odds are always in the tarpon’s favor. Therein lies the fuel that ignites the fisherman’s passion to tangle with ‘ol “one and done” once again.