Ladies of the Night 



by Joe Brooks . . . paintings by Bernard Lippman 



INNUMERABLE bridges and causeways tie the twin cities of 

 Miami and Miami Beach into a Venice-like maze of natural 

 and man-made islands. These bridges offer a fine assortment of 

 spots from which to cast a fly into the waters of famous Biscayne 

 Bay. A keen ladyfish angler will have that whole layout mapped 

 in his mind. 



When the tide is on the outgo very late at night or in the early 

 hours of the morning, a jaunt after ladyfish means that you must 

 keep nightwatchman's hours and find yourself crawling into the 

 downy at 6 a.m. And judging from personal observation and 

 participation, there are plenty of anglers on this night shift. 



Ladyfish are particular, and with the tide pouring out, you 

 must toss your lure up into it and retrieve along with the tide 

 because that's the way the shrimp are coming. You must be sure 

 to make a fast retrieve: certainly as fast as the flow of the tide, or 

 even faster. 



Some of the best fishing found on the bridges in metropolitan 

 Miami is located immediately under the signs which proclaim 

 "No Fishing." And as sure as hominy and butter, smack under 

 those signs and spreading far out on either side, is the greatest 

 concentration of anglers. Many a time midnight motorists will 

 see a circle of anglers with fly rods pointing heavenwards, stand- 

 ing meekly about a blue-clad figure who waves his arms and 

 points at the sign. The crowd disperses, the cop climbs onto his 



26 



