A fishes-eye view of a garden of sargassum reveals surprising beauty.Photo by Adrian E. Gray
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Sargassum patches and lines offer fly-rodders great promise for action. These floating, fish-aggregating blankets help concentrate offshore species popular among fly-fishermen.
Sargassum is a brown macro algae loaded with little air bladders, which keep it afloat. Depending on species and condition, sargassum can range from a bright yellow gold to a dark amber brown. This weed is the basis for much of the life found offshore in the deep blue. Countless species owe their entire existence to this floating plant. Over millennia, numerous species of fish, crabs, worms and shrimp have evolved specifically to live within this floating ecosystem. Such a rich abundance of life attracts hungry predators, and many species of fish come to sargassum to feed as well as to shelter within or around it.
