The Monster of South Point

Where we are

• 
  South Point (abandoned post office) — Matt's spot. The snook, the smugglers' meeting, the sleeping-bag night. (The real Smallwood Store sits at Chokoloskee's south tip.)
• 
  Everglades City — The mainland town; Rose lives here with her dad; Marge waits tables here.

Every place in the book, painted →

Fish in this chapter

• 
  Common snook Fishing royalty. The black lateral stripe is the tell-tale. Matt's 36-inch, 20-pound monster at South Point… Ch. 1Ch. 2Ch. 4Ch. 5 +2
• 
  Striped mullet The baitfish the Bagley Mullet lure imitates. Mullet 'splashing in the current' is part of the Everglades… Ch. 4Ch. 5Ch. 6Ch. 15
• 
  Pinfish Baitfish fleeing bigger fish at South Point. Ch. 4
• 
  Jack crevalle 'Aggressive jack fish darted frantically under the surface' herding baitfish at South Point. Ch. 4
• 
  Tarpon ('silver king') The trophy fish of South Florida and the tournament's main event. Old Scarface. Rose's 68-inch, 81-pound… Ch. 1Ch. 2Ch. 7Ch. 8 +3

Crew in this chapter

• 
  Matthew 'Matt' Creek protagonist Ch. 1
• 
  Daniel Walter Panther Jr. ('Uncle Dan') Matt's uncle, charter captain Ch. 1
• 
  Rose Matt's oldest friend Ch. 1

Critters in this chapter

• 
  Oyster bars The thing that scrapes the hull, holds the Sea Belle, cuts your line, and hides the redfish. Ch. 2Ch. 3Ch. 12Ch. 18

From the tackle box

Throwing a wake

A big fish moving just under the surface, pushing a ripple like a tiny boat.

Snook closed season

Snook spawn May–September; the book's Gulf-coast season is closed then and all snook go back.

Setting the hook

The upward yank at exactly the right bite. Too early and the hook flies out empty — Ch. 4.