The early morning sun glistened like diamonds off the crystal, clear, shallow water flats near Key West, Florida. With rod in hand, fishing guide Greg Rahe carefully scanned the placid expanse through his Polaroid sunglasses in search of movement or lurking shadows. As he squinted in the poor light, he spotted a slight break in the glass-like surface. The delicate tails of two feeding bonefish made such a slight disturbance on the water that it could easily have been mistaken for a breath of wind. Nevertheless, the motion had not gone unnoticed by the seasoned fisherman, and he immediately poled his flats boat toward the tailing "bones".

When he was just the right distance, the experienced angler cast the small jig a few feet in front of the hungry bonefish. Instantly, the closest bonefish turned slightly in the direction of the artificial offering and attacked what appeared to be a small shrimp.

As soon as the angler saw the first twitch in his line, he immediately lifted his rod to set the hook. Power and speed are two traits that have made these "gray ghosts of the flats" famous, and this big "bone" was no exception! The first prick of the needle-sharp hook put the bonefish into "warp speed", and within ten seconds, the streaking gray fish had removed more than a hundred yards of line from the screaming reel. The battle had just begun. In fact, at least five breathtaking runs through the tiny mangrove sprouts and sparkling flats occurred before expert fisherman and guide, Greg Rahe, started winning the battle. As the weakened fish was reeled closer to the boat, it became spooked, and the reel again emitted that high-pitched sound as the fish headed toward open water.

Less than thirty yards into the run, however, something else exploded the calm surface, throwing salt spray in every direction, and the reel became silent. Rahe quickly reeled the dead weight to the boat and discovered that only the head was left of what had been a more than eight pound bonefish. The tiny jig was easily visible in the corner of its mouth, but the rest of the body had been severed just behind the head. The cut was so clean, it appeared to have been done with a meat cleaver, but this cut was made by the "bully" of the flats.....a giant barracuda!

With the ruthlessness of Osama bin Laden, and the swiftness of an air-to-air missile, the giant barracuda dominates the shallow flats near Key West, Florida. Nevertheless, during the colder months of the year, these 15 to 30 pound predators come into the flats from the offshore reefs, and open up a whole new world of sport fishing for visiting anglers.

One of the most exciting and unique experiences in the flats is doing battle with the explosive barracuda. These four to five foot long fish make hair-raising runs and cartwheeling jumps that will tax even the best tackle, and one doesn't soon forget mixing it up with the powerful "bullies" in the shallow Key West flats! These are fun times for Greg Rahe and his clients, but if one wishes to partake in this action, reservations are required. For bookings or more information, call Capt. Greg Rahe at 305-293-8088 or go to his web site at: www.flyfishingkeywest.com.