March 13, 2011
At Jensen Beach, Florida
The Indian River Lagoon, stretching 156 miles from the New Smyrna Beach area south to the Jupiter Inlet below Stuart, is not truly a river, but a massive estuary along the Atlantic coast, rich with fish, bird, mammal and plant species. In fact, it is one of the great estuaries in the U. S. Much of it is only a few feet deep, but it is at least a half-mile wide and sometimes 5 miles wide, a place where fresh water meets salt. I often think Marcia Lapham-Foosaner knows this long ribbon of water as well as anybody, certainly the area she most often plies between Fort Pierce and Stuart.
Marcia is a fly-fishing guide, and many if not most days she is on the water in her 18-foot flats skiff, often with a client, sometimes just fishing by herself. She knows the winds, the tides, the seasons, the feeding patterns and places; she always gets fish.
I joined Marcia on the water the other day with Sam Fried, a friend of mine from Connecticut who now spends winters in Fort Pierce. The wind was a little more than we might have preferred, but the day otherwise was warm, mostly sunny, and comfortable. In other words, beautiful.
One of Marcia’s specialties is fly-casting for pompano, a species that is reasonably plentiful in the lagoon and provides great sport. Marcia pioneered fly-fishing for pompano, far as I can tell, recognizing years ago that pompano are fun on a fly rod and can be taken in shallow water, often with flies that imitate crabs or shrimp. An outing with Marcia often goes like this: she approaches a flat or bar in her boat, scanning the water for signs of fish, anchoring the boat when things look right. Now, hop out of the boat, in waders, and cast, cast, cast. Sandy, open pockets within beds of seagrass many times will hold a pompano. She’ll point them out if you don’t see them.
Everyone seems to know her or of her, and, not surprisingly, I guess, just below the Ernest F. Lyons Bridge at Sewall’s Point is a flat named for her; Marcia’s Flat. She is not only a regular on the lagoon, she is a fixture of the flats. She keeps a close eye on the health of the seagrass beds, which suffer if freshwater discharges into the lagoon are excessive, as they can be at times.

Saltwater fly-fishing guide Marcia Lapham-Foosaner and angler Sam Fried with his first pompano. Click to enlarge.
Pompano are fast fish – sometimes skipping across the surface of the water when spooked – and powerful for their size. They are oval-shaped, with a deeply forked tail, with bright silver sides and a yellow wash to the belly and throat. They are one of the most desirable food fish in Florida, commanding absolute top dollar in the fish markets and restaurants. After a half dozen outings with Marcia, my sense is they tend to run 1- to 3-pounds in the lagoon, though fish over 5 pounds are taken. On a fly rod they make powerful runs. I caught a 5-pounder last year that, when the hook was set, took off on a reel-screeching run of what had to be 20 yards, maybe more.
The three of us spent the day fishing the shallows off Sewall’s Point, upriver of one of the lagoon inlets. Sam lobbed a fly into one of those sandy pockets in the seagrass and, sure enough – wham. We ended up with about a dozen fish, mostly pompano, but some blues and jacks among them, too. Sam took two pompano home for dinner.


