Down here along this peninsula called the Florida Keys, there are two big bodies of water to fish. There is, to the east, the oceanside (Atlantic); then there is, to the west, the bayside (Florida Bay), or what the locals call the backcountry.

To fish effectively on the oceanside, you need a big-bowed, seaworthy boat that will get you 10 miles out to the reef line and safely back. On a rare day, a small -boat angler can venture out to the reef in search of big yellowtail snapper or wahoo, but he’d best keep one eye on the water conditions. It can blow up fast out on the reef line.

So, the water you fish can really depend on the size of your boat, which is related to the size of your wallet. A $50,000 Grady White, 24 -footer with twin Mercury 200s will get you to the reef with peace of mind. Now in the backcountry, which is a vast labyrinthine array of mangrove keys and shallow, sandy flats, is another story. Although an angler of modest means can safely navigate the bayside in a Sears Roebuck boat, and find some fishing holes for snook and snapper near the mangrove islands, he really needs a powered up $20,000 to $30,000 “flats boat” to fish the bayside effectively.

Here’s why. The back country is, as mentioned, a navigational challenge of immense proportion. You don’t go anywhere in a straight line. The back country is fabled for its “skinny water.” Most mangrove islands are surrounded by shallow, unpredictable sand bars that extend for miles, and sometimes connect with other mangrove islands. Even at high tide, finding your way from one fishing spot to the next is tricky business. A boater unfamiliar with the back country can easily find himself and his boat high and dry and stuck in the mud.

You get from point A to point B by navigating narrow channels or “cuts”, which are marked by navigation markers that are mostly white stakes marking the entrance to a channel. The distance from one channeled mangrove island to the next might be, say, three miles. For a newcomer finding his way to a fishing hole on a flat-calm day, just locating a distant channel stake can be difficult.

Bottom line: Florida Bay, which extends all the way to Flamingo and the mainland on the edge of the Everglades Park, is a vast water body that can confuse any boater or angler unfamiliar with it. Most backcountry fishing guides have spent years getting to know the nooks and crannies, the channel cuts, and how to “read” the “skinny water.”

The so-called “Flats Boat” is as much a part of the backcountry legend as the Rangeley boat in Western Maine, or the Grand Lake Stream Grandlaker canoe in Washington County. A flats boat is, in one way, a racing boat. It is heavy, wide, and built close to the water, and the good ones don’t come cheap. Most are powered by 100-200 horsepower 4 stroke outboards. They are designed to go like the wind and skim across the shallow water. On any given day, a guide may travel 50 -100 miles to get his sport to good fishing spots. And, let’s face it, speed is part of the fun.

My son-in-law, Jacques Pauchey, a conch who grew up on the water in the Keys, is a highly competent backcountry boatsman. No matter how many times I share a day with him aboard his Action Craft in the backcountry, I never cease being slack-jawed by his uncanny ability to, not only spot fish and wildlife, but to always find the channel stakes while streaking across the flat water at 45 knots. Florida Bay is peppered with mangrove keys, and how he knows all their names or tells one from the other, even without a GPS, is a mystery to me. Earlier this month, near one mangrove, we photographed white pelicans, watched sea turtles, sharks and a manatee. Five dolphins played in our bow wake for a full five minutes. The surreal scenery, with the flat, sea- green water blending into the far horizon, was an added bonus.

If you plan to seriously fish the Florida Bay backcountry for the first time, hire a guide, no matter how competent you are as a boater or a navigator. Partly because of the expensive boats and big outboards required and the guide’s experience level, good backcountry guides don’t come cheap. But take my word on it. A full day of fishing and exploring this particular wonder of nature will leave you with a very special life memory — fish or no fish.

V. Paul Reynolds is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice Of Maine (WVOM-FM 103.9 and WVQM-FM 101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].