Though the fish weren't turned on as they often are on the flats out of Bud N' Mary's Marina in Islamorada, Florida Keys back country fishing was as fascinating as ever when I joined Capt. Rick Stanczyk for an hour of high speed running in his flats boat to Lake Ingram. Rick's farther Richard, a world class angler and longtime owner of Bud N' Mary's, was with us along with marina manager Stephen Byrd.  The "lake" we were running to was actually fresh water a long time ago before the Keys were heavily populated. Rick explained that the fishing there can be exceptional at times, but the next trip with the same conditions may be slow. We started drifting live shrimp on light jig heads in currents created by the drains between tiny mangrove keys, but the bite wasn't up to Rick's expectations. There were a few small spotted sea trout and mangrove snappers, and couple of larger fish broke off on the light spinning tackle. I got a good hit, and saw a large sandbar shark break the surface as my line went slack. Whether I hooked the shark directly, or it instantly nailed a fish just hooked remains a question.  Rick moved to mangrove passes, and our fortunes improved. Richard broke the ice with a black drum of about 4 pounds that was caught in a spot that often produces 20 pound and larger blacks. Rick and Stephen hooked hard-fighting redfish (red drum), and I released a 20-inch sea trout -- which is large for that area. I finally broke the snook ice with a small one, and then released a "real" snook  that ran out drag as I steered it away from the overhanging branches it came out of. Casting close to the mangroves without getting stuck in those trees is the key to success, but even those of us who have done it many times before end up with a cast to monkeys every so often. A couple more redfish and Richard's snook completed our day before the run back skimming over what seemed to be only inches of water. We saw a couple of tarpon swirl during the course of our fishing, but many more of those fish will be moving into the back country as spring approaches and the water continues to warm up from the recent cold snap. Capt. Rick Stanczyk  can be reached at Bud N' Mary's Marina (800 742-7945), where a fleet of flats guides  charter for back country, bonefish and tarpon fishing which only gets better as the season progresses. Contact Stephen Byrd at 305 664-2461 for accommodations at the marina both on land and aboard houseboats. Belmar party boats are reporting good blackfishing when conditions are decent -- and there are no wind forecasts over 15 mph so far this week. The Big Mohawk had some limits Sunday that were mostly on whitelegger crabs. The Ocean Explorer noted lots of bites that day from bergalls and eels, but enough tog to keep everyone at the rails. The Jamaica from Brielle had a variety catch on Saturday's 2 a.m. trip to far offshore wrecks which produced porgies, cod, pollock, ling, mackerel, bluefish and a big silver eel (conger). Those trips will be run every Saturday by reservation. Call 732 528-5014.