The Guidebook
Critters
What Matt met that was not on the end of a line.
Teeth and feathers
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Brown pelican Bertha and Oscar; the hooked pelican Snapper carries to the door; the fish-head thief at Lostman's. Ch. 2Ch. 5Ch. 7Ch. 13 +1 -
Bottlenose dolphin The playful pair at Lopez River; the mother who rams the hammerhead and bites her calf free of the net. Ch. 3Ch. 16 -
American alligator The marina gators tourists get too close to; the grouper thief at Lostman's; Alligator Alley; the poachers… Ch. 3Ch. 13Ch. 23 -
Cottonmouth (water moccasin) The snake drawn to the lantern at Comer Key. Ch. 8 -
Sharks of the Ten Thousand Islands The 'Mako' on the beach at Comer Key; the hammerhead at the ghost net. Ch. 8Ch. 16
The islands themselves
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Mangroves Everywhere. The hideout at Pavilion Key, the storm tie-off, the overhangs where snook wait. Ch. 3Ch. 9Ch. 12Ch. 14 -
Oyster bars The thing that scrapes the hull, holds the Sea Belle, cuts your line, and hides the redfish. Ch. 2Ch. 3Ch. 12Ch. 18 -
Seagrass beds Rabbit Key's grass beds — 'grass bed fishing meant trout.' Ch. 7 -
Bald cypress 'Colossal cypress trees gnarled up out of the ground like giant twisted guardians of the realm' on the drive… Ch. 2 -
Banyan / strangler fig Two massive banyans flank Dan's front yard. Ch. 2
