More S. Goodwin

I did a feature for Spencer Goodwin for Blu Magazine this spring. Below is a link to a photo essay on the story. No text, but nice photos.
Goodwin photo essay

Steve Martin

Steve Martin and Edie Brickell are at the Mahaffey in St. Pete tonight. Got tix. Can't wait. Martin is incredibly talented --- good actor, great banjo player, great comedian. Looking forward to it. Never been much of a bluegrass fan before, but as I've gotten older,  I appreciate it more.

Barracuda Blues II

Just finished up the story for The Drake on barracuda in the Keys. Long story short, Cuda are getting hammered by commercial fisherman largely because there are no regulations on commercial harvesting.

“A lot of them shipped to Miami, the tropics and some of them go up north,” Keys guide Doug Kilpatrick said. “There’s no telling if they’re sold for fish sticks in a restaurant at the o’doeuvre bar or what they’re actually sold for. They are a white-meat fish and actually not a bad eating fish. They’re actually very good.”

What’s happened is the spear fishermen as well as the commercial fishermen are going out to the areas where these fish spawn in the spring and summer,” Kilpatrick said. “Then they come into the flats in the winter. All these fish that they’re spearing or catching on hook and line are basically sexually mature fish that are (going to spawn) in deeper water. We’ve seen a significant decline on the flats over the past 10 years. There’s NOOA data where $1.2 million pounds have been taken in the last 10 years.”

Barracuda Blues

Barracuda don't get the attention of bonefish or tarpon when it comes to flats fishing, but that's changing --- for all the wrong reasons.
The Lower Keys Guides Association has asked the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to grant the popular predator gamefish status, a designation that would eliminate the commercial harvest of the fish. The LKGA says that barracuda, because of their unregulated status, have been over-harvested by commercial fishermen. I'll have a story in the summer issue of The Drake. Below is a bit of info on the issue.

Lower Keys Guides Association

A Sparring Session on the Water

 Save The Tarpon scheduled a protest Sunday against the Professional Tarpon Tournament series on day one of the big-money affair in Boca Grande. The PTTS recently sued their conservation nemesis, so it's safe to say the two will never exchange Christmas cards.

I've put in a call or two to check in to see if everything remained civil and will keep you posted info arrives.

PTTS Protest

The State of the Glades

The Everglades gets a welcome sip of water. Here's hoping the progress continues and that the Tamiami Trail receives bridge work to revive needed water flow.

River of Grass

Time at the Vise

A few samples of my work

Tied a few flies. From left to right are three Deceivers, a Cockroach and a Toad fly. The Deceivers are for the beach snook; the Cockroach is for the tarpon; and the Toad fly is for tailing reds.

I tied each with a goal. For the Deceivers, I tried to tie sparse to make the profile as sleek as possible. The big issue was tying the tail feathers on straight. That's simply a matter of holding the fly against the shank of the hook with the off hand and being steady. It's the same deal with the Cockroach. You line the feathers up, get them straight on the hook shank and secure them. With the Toad fly, it's the same pattern I've been using --- except with smaller, lighter eyes. I'm hoping that a lighter fly will sink slower and not get hung up in the turtle grass. We'll see what happens next week with the new moon tides.

More Double Haul

Cathy Beck has a video out --- First cast to double haul. Bought it about a year ago. Watched it once. Didn't think much about it. I assumed --- wrongly --- that I was well on my way to double hauling --- no matter how big the rod or how stiff the wind.
I was wrong. ... again. I recently fished a 12 weight in a stiff headwind and felt as if I were throwing a javelin --- badly. Off balance and out of practice, I knew I needed additional work. Fishing for tarpon in a headwind is tough as hell for anyone, but it's doable.
I watched the video again and a couple obvious things stood out --- I cast too vertical. I went more three quarters with a low elbow and that allowed me to really keep --- and sustain --- a straight line rod path. Also I haul too early and often not enough. The key is to snap the line hand later in the stroke to maximize line speed -- and you have to snap. A gentle tug doesn't get the job done in the wind.

The Fort

Happy Birthday Fort Desoto. The Pinellas park treasure turns the big 5-0.

Protected from urban sprawl, there are few places like it left in Florida nowadays, particularly this far south. Here's more from the Tampa Bay Times.

A nice afternoon at the Fort

FD Park

Finding the Fish

I now have the utmost respect for those who sight fish. It's easier --- and more efficient --- to throw a spinning rod with an artificial lure --- or dare I say --- a piece of bait.

But to sight fish, you have to know where the fish and how to find them when the planets don't align. So it was last week at Fort Desoto during a late-evening, new moon flood tide. I went two days. Back to back. Missed my chances on both. Slow learner, I guess.

Day one, I was place conscious. Fished the same flat that yielded fish on the same exact tide a month ago. A stiff northwest wind made for an exceptionally low tide. I sought protection near any lee island I could find. Of course, that strategy didn't help much, because the wind blew hard no matter where I fished. I gave into the elements pretty quickly and chalked it up to one of those things you can't control.

A couple of my buddies, however, were a little more persevering and pushed the deeper on to the flat in deeper, but unprotected water. They found fish. I worked on my casting.

Lesson learned, right? So I thought.I fished the next day determined not to repeat my mistakes. I strayed deeper on to the flat, even though the northwest wind continued to blow. The water level was low, so low that the tips of the turtle grass poked above the surface. That was a telling sign, but I was confident that the incoming --- and the fish --- would find me, if I stayed positive.

A few fish tailed on the outgoing, not long mind you, but enough to keep me interested. So I waited and reminded myself to be patient, that the fish would come to me. An hour passed, then another 10 minutes and the afternoon sun descended below the horizon.

I had about 10 minutes of light left. Not much time to fish, but just enough time to make a run past the tips of the grass to even deeper water. I paddled for a few minutes, much farther than I had before.

The tips of the grass began to fade as I found knee-deep water and I found the fish, tailing away.  Moral of the story. If the tide doesn't come in, you have to find enough water to keep the fish happy. The fish won't come to you; you have to go to the fish.

With evening tailers, the window for quality fishing is narrow. Exploring isn't an option. One miscalculation and you're probably done. That's why it's important to invest time on the water. The more experience you have, the better decisions you make on the fly.

This Is Getting Ugly

What started as an internet feud  has spilled into a court room. The Professional Tournament Tarpon Series has sued Save the Tarpon, a conservation group that has criticized the PTTS and its fishing tactics in Boca Grande Pass.

The PTTS claims STT has hurt its ability to generate advertising revenue and now seeks injunctive relief to silence its most vocal critic.The STT maintains the PTTS uses a public resource for private financial gain while endangering tarpon, which they say have been snagged, gaffed and dragged to the beach to be weighed.

Round two between the two foes is set for early June in Lakeland when the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will discuss proposed regulations for tarpon fishing Boca Grande Pass.
 Save the Tarpon Lawsuit

One Thing You Should Never Forget

Odd to have a photo of a mini-flashlight on your blog

right? Maybe so.

This is probably the one thing you do not want to leave behind when fishing the late afternoon/evening tides. Left mine behind yesterday in a separate bag. Big, big mistake.

I'm loading up, need a little extra light to make sure I've got everything secured and in order. I turn on my headlights for a few minutes. Then I'm ready to go and, what do you know, I've got a dead battery sitting on the side of the road near Fort Desoto in the pitch dark.

I call AAA and this is where it really gets interesting. AAA uses addresses and landmarks to send out its trucks. At Fort Desoto, it's mangroves and stars. That's it.

For a good 10, 15 minutes, I had to explain that there was no address or landmarks. After some convincing, I go the AAA rep to use Google earth. She now knows the difference between Sawyer Key and Listen Key --- and launches for each.

I'm going back this afternoon. The wind is supposed to subside, which means the bugs will be ferocious --- they weren't Tuesday, thankfully --- and I'll have my flashlight. I'll even keep an extra in the glove box, because if you think you have enough juice to keep your lights on, you probably don't.

Joining the Team

Got accepted to join the Florida Outdoor Writers Association. Seems like a good group.

FOWA

The Path to a Straight Line

Tight loops. Everyone wants them. Not everyone has them. A lot of it, IMO, hinges on the momentum and a straight line rod tip when casting. Davin Ebanks has a great video about this. The lower the elbow the straighter you can make the path of the rod tip. It's simple physics.

Fly Casting Tip #1: Keep Your Elbow Low from Davin Ebanks on Vimeo.

Words of Wisdom from Lefty

Sorry for the delay in posting. Had technical issues for a day or two when an industrial truck snipped the cable connection that runs across the street in front of our house.
The above videos are from Lefty Krey, fly casting guru and one of the best teachers I've seen. The vid on top shows how to use your body, not just your arm, when you fly cast. This important for anyone making the transition from freshwater to salt, where the casts are longer and the rods are heavier. Casting with your arm doesn't get it done. You need momentum to get a big stick moving. Using your body helps avoid fatigue and improves overall form.
Video two shows how to fix a tailing loop, a big nemesis of mine. Lefty's message: Extend the casting stroke. Scrape the thumbnail on the ceiling for a straight path of the rod tip. Easier said than done.

A Little College Football

Before I decided to focus on the outdoors, I was a traditional sports writer. I covered the Florida Gators. I revisited my past Thursday when I wrote about Will Muschamp's visit to Tampa for the Gainesville Sun. I won't bore you with the details, but one of the things Muschamp stressed was the development of quarterback Jeff Driskel in the offseason. “It’s huge, not just from the standpoint of Jeff. Obviously the quarterback position is key --- him continuing to mature and grow in the role of being quarterback at the University of Florida,” Muschamp said Thursday while addressing the media before an appearance at the Tampa/Pinellas Gator club. “Again, I’ve been nothing but pleased to this point of how he’s attacked the offseason mentally and how he’s worked.”

Paddleboarding for Reds

Good stuff. I can't wait until late summer/early fall when the flood tides hit Jax and St. Augustine.

Fly Nation Season 2 - North Florida Trailer from Vantage Point Media House on Vimeo.