Everglades/Flamingo 9/13/2013

Today I had the pleasure of fishing Flamingo (Everglades National Park) with long time friend Capt. Terry Hilker and what a great time we had! Launching from Key Largo we headed west and fished numerous spots on the way to the Gulf of Mexico where the beauty of the gulf awaited us with its white sand beaches and hungry snook. The day proved productive as we fought redfish, snook, trout and more under clear blue windless skies. Fishing Flamingo is always a treat and seldom does one leave this great fishery without seeing wild birds, flamingos, ospreys, manatees, crocodiles, and of course enjoying the great gamefish that inhabit these productive waters. I can’t wait to get back out there again next week!

September 7, 2013

Today I fished the Battle on the Bay tournament with angler Scott Warren. This was a great tournament and all proceeds go to autism research. We started by landing some nice trout with one sure to have us in a great position to take the trout division. Unfortunately, we missed winning the division by half an inch. Although most of us were dodging storms most of the day, we definitely got into bonefish. There were BIG 10 plus pound bonefish tailing on the west side of the bay but as we made perfect casts to ensure a double header, three comorants dive bombed the school of tailing fish! Urgh!! After the storms fizzled out the bay became slick calm and we were treated to plenty of schools of shallow water waking bonefish and redfish but they failed to react to perfectly placed crabs. The weigh in party was a blast and I definitely look forward to fishing this tournament again next year.

SaltLife Optics Review

Hi there everyone, for about a month now I have been using SaltLife Optics sunglasses and they have by far become my new favorite pair. With Zeiss lenses and top quality Italian frames, they truly are the “Rolls Royce” of fishing sunglasses. Sight fishing the flats everyday, these glasses actually help me do my job better. They cut glare like no other in the industry, do not distort the true color of the environment and colors “pop” creating a better contrast between fish and bottom, the lenses repel water with a RainX effect and are lightweight to the point you forget you are wearing them. Check them out at www.SaltLife.com and you can read my full review at below. Lenses: Visibility through these lenses is extremely sharp and the colors “pop” off the background. The color distortion was negligible with the amber lens which allowed me to experience greater contrast between fish and bottom. I noticed the glare is significantly neutralized which offers a great advantage while on the water. There is no lens distortion around the extreme edges of the lenses and found them light and very comfortable to wear. There were instances where I was poling slightly into the sun and the glare was very pronounced yet I was able to spot a school of permit because of the masterful work the lenses did in eliminating much of the glare. Salt spray comes right off the lenses due to the water repellent coating in the lenses which give them a RainX effect. Frames: The frames are light weight and have a nice modern look to them making them fashionable performance frames, very appealing. They have a soft, rubbery feel that molds to your shape making them very comfortable to wear. I like the oversized sides on the frame where they touch the temple as it looks good and it functions to block out peripheral light. One great aspect of these frames is how light they are allowing for all day comfort while on the water. I have been wearing the LaJolla frames and absolutely love them!

Fun Tournament Coming Up!

Hi there everyone, I have been busy helping organize tournaments down here in Miami and wanted to let you know of one in particular I have spent quite a bit of time on. It is the Crusader Family Classic Fishing Tournament and it has a unique format and plenty of divisions and prizes. For you locals out there, I highly recommend checking it out and participating as it is going to be a big, fun tournament. We are also working out the details for fishing seminars prior to the event. I will be conducting the inshore seminar. Here is the link for more details. www.DadeChristian.org Have a great day!

August 6th, 2013

On a guides day off, silver was not on the agenda. Rather, trout was the target of the morning. Nice, easy, fun trout fishing is what I needed. Conditions were slicked out and there were schools of jacks, bait schools of mullet and schools pilchards everywhere. It didn’t take long for the trout to start slamming the artificial shrimp I was using and hooked about a dozen fish in short order. Moving a little shallower the bonefish and permit were very active with plenty of schools moving through to the north. A short run back to the marina as the storm began to build confirmed it was a good move. Off to wash the boat.

August 3rd, 2013

My what a difference a day makes! Today the early morning calm evaporated and we started fishing at 7:00am with 10MPH winds. Getting to our trout spot, we quicky hooked several trout and were treated to some close up manatee encounters. I then took Tom and son Matt to the finger channels where we were treated to a steady supply of bent rods and peeling drags including some big 3lb mangove snappers and nice sized red grouper. As the end trip ended we had gone through nearly five dozen shrimp with only a few to spare. That is a nice day in Miami's hot Biscayne Bay!

August 2nd, 2013

Calm winds and HOT weather has been the summer pattern we are finally getting now in Miami. Today I had Dan and his son Andres on board for a full day of sight fishing for bonefish and permit and then some potluck fishing. We started with slick calm water and a school of mullet being destroyed by a host of predators. A few casts of a top water lure into the school later the lure gets whacked but no hook up and the school moves on and settles down, the predators having had their fill of mullet breakfast. About 100 yards later we start seeing permit cruising along the shoreline along with small tarpon. We had some shots but none produced a hook up. Moving on, we caught some trout and then fished the channels for a host of snappers and grouper ending the day with a nice variety of fish and some incredible opportunities at world class gamefish.