This is where I'll post thoughts on fly fishing, occasional writing blurbs in progress that are unedited and unrefined, and even some photos that I especially like (which will also get posted on one of the Photos pages). I'll also post a notice here when I update a portion of the site (if you want to receive web site update emails (approx 1 per month) send me an email). This certainly won't be a daily blog, I don't have that much to say. However, unlike many blogs that post every day just to post, most of the times that I post I'll actually have something to say. I know, strange concept. The most recent posts are at the top, scroll down for older posts.

3/2/10
Check out the nicely done video on the effects of the January 2010 cold on snook in Florida, and the importance of healthy habitats to the recovery of the snook population. If nothing else, this should be a call to action for anglers to get involved in habitat conservation and restoration.

The saltwater recreational fishery in FL is worth billions of dollars a year, as much as the citrus industry. Do you think insults on citrus fields (like those done to coastal creeks and other habitats) would be tolerated? Not a chance. In many respects the quantitative data on coastal habitat degradation are available, they just aren't taken seriously by managers and politicians. For each piece of habitat lost, the capacity of the fisheries is diminished, as is the long-term economic value. Habitat protection is an investment in the future of the fishery, no different than investing in a 401k for retirement. Why is this so difficult to see? And the fault lies equally with the politicians who have no thought past the next election cycle as well as the many recreational fishermen who take no responsibility for ensuring the fisheries for those that follow in their steps.

2/27/10
In this update - a piece on How Bonefish Use Tides

Check out a very cool web site on research of the mechanics of fish movement. Things like how fish hold in moving water. There are some very cool movie clips on this site, the research site of James Liao of the University of Florida. And he's a fishaholic, too. Any angler worth his/her salt will take away something from these videos that will improve their fishing.

Cabin fever. Not a term you usually hear from someone in Florida, but there it is. Granted, the winter weather this year has been horrible farther north - in a historic fashion in some locations. But it's been bad here, too. I'm sure you've already heard about the long, deep cold in Florida in January that killed thousands of gamefish. Thankfully, those extreme days seem to be behind us for this winter, but the weather has been far from 'normal'. Today, for example, it rained and was 46 degrees F. Not fishing weather. To put it in context, our normal high for this time of year is 78 degrees.

There have been a few days here and there over the past couple months when the weather has been seasonally normal. I was able to get out on maybe two of them. The others occurred during work days that were too busy to call in 'sick'. And based on reports from the water, the fishing for those that have been out has mostly been slow. What a frustrating winter. Thus, the cabin fever, even here in Florida. I imagine that the first weekend of good weather will see an inordinate number of boats on the water, all full of anglers getting the dust off their fishign gear.

2/6/10
Some recent media coverage of Tribal Bonefish:
On Fishingjones
On This Is Fly Daily
On Bonefish on the Brain

Tribal Bonefish shirts and hats are now available

Thanks to the guys at Fish Schtick, they've posted an interview with me as a podcast, the link also has been added to the media page.

Also added, a page providing links to web site with interesting fly patterns.

2/3/10
Thanks to Stuart Patterson for the choosing the Big Ugly for his first fly tying column in the online Florida Flyfishing Magazine.

Thanks to the southwest Louisiana Contraband Fly Casters club for the invitation to speak at their annual conclave, and the great hospitality. And to Fred Hannie for the great hospitality.

1/24/10
In this update:
- I've posted a short piece on the recent cold weather fish kills in Florida, and why recreational anglers should use this as the excuse to get involved in conservation.

- More on the cold weather and the impact on fisheries, and a new addition to the media page detailed in the post from 1/17/10 below.

- I'm now on Twitter. Click here to follow me on Twitter.

- Ballcaps are now available on Tribal Bonefish. A great way to show your conservation cred.

1/17/10
The cold weather in Florida has done a real number on coastal fishes. How bad was it? The night temperature reached down to freezing along coastal areas three or four nights in a row. Amazing. Although they aren't targets for fly anglers, it was still disturing to see so many thousands of catfish dead and floating. The ecosystem may be shifted a bit for the next few years. Snook also took a big hit. The most recent estimates I heard were of >100,000 snook dead statewide. If true, this would be almost 7% of the total snook population in Florida. And this doesn't include the juveniles in the backcountry areas that have not been surveyed. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has responded by canceling the opening of the snook season due to open February 1. With the summer closed season, this means that snook can't be harvested until fall. Given the apparent severity of the snook mortality, and the time it will take state biologists to determine the extent of the damage, this is a good proactive, precautionary approach with the long term health of the fishery in mind. Bonefish in the Keys and tarpon statewide also took a big hit, though not to the extent of snook. The FWC has also closed these fisheries to harvest even though few tarpon are kept, and the limit on bonefish is only one per person per day (yes, it seems that some are still harvested in South Florida). Catch and release fishing for these species is still allowed. You can read more here and here and here. If estimates of the number of dead fish is correct, this rivals the big event of the 1970s.

I was over in Abaco for a conference and bonefish tagging during this cold spell, and there were some reports of barracuda and some snappers that succumbed to the cold. We were able to fish for and tag some bonefish, but it was cold until the sun warmed the flats. Unfortunately, after I left the second slug of cold weather appears to have killed numerous bonefish on Abaco.

I did not make up the photo below. Oliver (of Abaco Lodge) really is wearing a down jacket and ski cap, and those really are mangroves in the background. This is a flat on Abaco.

Believe it or not, we found bonefish - just a sluggish few at first, and then more (and on edge) as the flat warmed and the tide came in. We tagged five fish. Pretty amazing to fight a bonefish in this kind of garb.

I've added another link to the media page - a brief piece from the Baltimore Sun about Lefty Kreh and his involvement in Pirates of the Flats.

1/1/10
I added another travel misadventure story to the Travels and Tribulations page.

The Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Membership Sweepstakes has started. Enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win a Hell's Bay flats boat, rods, reels, and join BTT to do some good for the fisheries.

For those interested in the scientific research side of things, I have updted the Research page with my most recent scientific articles.

A nice piece about Pirates of the Flats, BTT, and my web site by Tom Sadler in the News Virginian.

The cool winter weather has shifted the fishing. The potholes and deep edges of the grass flats are loaded with some nice spotted seatrout.

Backcountry fishing is good when tide and weather are in sync. Sometimes you have to look closely to see the flashes of color on these backcountry fish. Below is a close-up of a snook fin.

12/26/09
Be sure to watch the new TV fishing series on ESPN2 - Pirates of the Flats. Beginning Sunday, December 27, 2009, the show airs every Sunday morning at 9am through the first quarter of 2010. It's not your normal fishing show.

12/18/09
I cleaned up the Media page and added another couple links.

12/13/09
A lot has been happened since the last update, and more is on the way. I can't boast a whole slew of new fishing stories, but I hope you'll like the new additions anyway.

I reviewed the conservation science content of the first three episodes of Pirates of the Flats, the upcoming TV fishing series on ESPN2. I am very pleased. And I've shown the episodes to a few family members (some who fish, some who don't). All have said the shows are great. The first episode will air on December 27, 2009, either 8:30am or 9am, on ESPN2. So either wake up early to watch it or set the TiVo or DVR to record it. Each episode gets better, so it will be interesting to see how things look when we get to the final episode - #6. The show will air throughout the first quarter of 2010 (January - March), so if you miss it the first time, tune in at a later date. You can see the latest review of Pirates here, which includes photos, the trailer, and some outtakes.

In case you haven't seen it, you can still find my article on bonefish in the current issue of This Is Fly online magazine. My article is on page 61.

I finally took the time to make this site PayPal-friendly. Books and flies can now be purchased directly and securely using PayPal, either using a credit card or PayPal account. Check out the Books and Flies pages.

Finally, we have been working on a new project, one we hope gains some momentum and helps the longterm outlook for our recreational fisheries. It's called Tribal Bonefish. Tribal Bonefish is a way for those of us who fish responsibly to show our colors, and to work toward educatiing other anglers to fish responsibly. It's a grass-roots effort, and one that we hope will gain momentum over time. Plus, much of the proceeds go toward recreational fishing conservation.

11/24/09
It's been a while since the last update. One reason for the long silence is travel, the research trip to Cuba, for example.

On the subject of travel, a number of travel location reports have been added, so check the Travel page for new links.

Also on the Travel page, the first in a series of stories of travel misadventures.

More media is out for the upcoming Pirates of the Flats TV series. This time in Garden and Gun magazine. A review of the series, photos, promo. See the outtakes on the media page.

I wrote an article on bonefish for ThisIsFly magazine, which is in the current issue.

10/25/09
New in this update: new travel page on fishing with H2O Bonefishing on Grand Bahama Island. The recent trip was for the Bahamas/Orvis Pro-Am Bonefish Classic.

10/12/09
Check out the new research trip that is being hosted by Andros South. This is absolutely fantastic fishing for bonefish. And Andros South will be contributing money to Bonefish & Tarpon Trust in the process.

Also, some new 'How To' videos on the media page

9/27/09
In this update:
check out the new Media page
False albacore make an early showing (text and photos below). Photos by Glenn Pittard.

Fall. The time of year in southwest Florida when there are a lot of options, and every day has the potential to bring something new. We don't get the fabled bait-blitzing schools of stripers and bluefish like they do in the northeast, but we do get some surface action that can be a lot of fun. Yesterday, Glenn and I headed out with the intention of finding some surface action for a change of pace. On the way out, it was just too calm to pass up a look at a good tarpon spot. We saw a few fish roll just as we arrived, but the action became sporadic and stopped with only a semi-good shot or two at rolling fish.
We moved on to the Gulf coast, and quickly got into a mix of ladyfish and small Spanish mackerel. Once that action subsided, we went in search of more surface action, and quickly found it. First, we found some very nice Spanish mackerel busting schools of small scaled sardines. Then false albacore made a visit, and were sporadically busting bait schools all around the boat, but not withing casting range. Drifting through the area, blind casting, we could see schools of Spanish mackerel swimming under the boat, and caught fish from many of these schools. Then, all of a sudden, a school of nice albies busted through, grabbed a fly, and the fight was on. A nice albie to the boat.
Action at this spot subsided, so we continued on, and came across more sporadic feeding, but nothing like the morning. While cruising in search of more surface action, Glenn spotted a large dark spot in deep water. upon inspection, it turned out to be a large, tightly packed school of threadfin herring, leatherjackets, and Atlantic bumper. The school was in an upside-down tornado, with the large end on the bottom, and was being tended by a couple of large bull sharks. As we approached the baitfish school, Glenn saw some larger fish flash on the surface, and as we got closer the larger fish bolted away, pushing a large bow-wake. We talked about it a bit, and figured it was probably a school of large jacks. We drifted past the school of baitfish, started the engine and circled upwind for another drift, and did this three of four more times. The school of mystery fish re-approached the baitfish a couple more times, each time getting the drop on us before we saw them, and bolting away once again. Although these mystery fish were definitely returning to the baitfish, we never saw them feed.
On the fourth drift, we anchored the boat upwind and within casting distance of the baitfish school, and soon saw the approaching school of mystery fish. From his perch on the poling platform, Glenn could see the dark shadow of the school as it circled at a distance, and then pushing a bow-wake. On their first pass, my cast at the front of the approaching fish spooked them, and they circled wide, but headed back toward the baitfish. This time I cast far enough ahead of the school to not spook them, had a few swirls on the fly, then a take. At first, I though I'd hooked a Spanish mackerel that was following the school of mystery fish - the way the school was behaving, the bow-wake coming from the school all indicated Crevalle jacks - but then the fish took off like a bat out of hell. The fish eventually stopped and I was able to work it back toward the boat. Hmmm. It's not fighting like jack. I get the fish closer to the boat. I don't see the big body of a jack. Holy $@#%, it's an albie! What a shocker. Either the mystery fish was a school of big albies that was orienting to the baitfish school for some reason, or the mystery school was a mixed bag.
In any case, two albies in a day is pretty good in this neighborhood. We don't get the large schools of albies busting the surface. Instead, we tend to get scattered, small schools of bait being sporadically busted by albies. It's generally not worth run-and-gun - they are up and down too quickly and very boat shy - and blind casting sinking lines has been only mildly successful. Word is that the fishery is a bit better 50 miles or so north, but that's a long boat ride. But maybe yesterday - very early in the season for that kind of albie action (typically a winter fishery) - is a good sign of a good albie season to come. Time will tell.

9/20/09
I've added a new page called Media. This page is where I will post links to coverage of my fishing, research, job, or conservation.

9/15/09
A quick update to report some coverage of conservation in the media:

• I was recently at the Fly Fishing Retailer show in Denver, working to develop partnerships between Bonefish & Tarpon Trust and companies in the fly fishing industry. BTT received a warm welcome, and new partnerships will be coming soon. While at FFR, I did a quick video interview with the folks at Fish Schtick (thanks for the coverage guys). Check it out here.
• I was also recently featured in the September/October issue of American Angler magazine, so pick one up at your local shop if they carry it. I should be able to post the pdf version in October.
• The new fishing series coming to ESPN2 - Pirates of the Flats - will debut on ESPN2 on Sunday, December 27, 2009. You can see the trailer here. We showed some additional footage at FFR last week, and it was extremely well received. You can see some photos and narration on Patagonia's Tin Shed - click on the door, click on Fall '09, click on Pirates of the Flats to see Val's photos and Bill's narrative. Cool stuff.

9/7/09
Once again, only one person correctly guessed the fish in the August Name That Fish photo contest. The photo is a macro shot of a tarpon scale from the lateral line of a tarpon. It was a tough one. The lucky winner will receive a black and purple toad, the pattern used to catch the fish pictured.

This month's contest photo is below. This fish is common in southwest Florida. Again, the rules - send an email with your guess of what fish this is to info@fishermanscoast.com. Deadline is October 7, 2009. If more than one person gets the correct answer I'll draw the winner's name from a hat. The winner receives the fly pattern that caught the fish.

*******

I dug up some files from a previous rendition of my web site, and put them in a new section called Cape Cod Flies.This is a collection of the flies that formed the core of my fly box when I lived in Massachusetts and fished Cape Cod in the late 1990s. I haven't fished on Cape Cod in four years or so (I took a number of trips up there for a number of years), but I'm sure these flies would be just as productive now as they were then.

*******

Tarpon season 2009 was pretty much a bust for me - I was either out of town, too busy with work, or the weather and my schedule didn't align. There's no making up for a lost season, but I've been able to take out some of the sting with some recent, late season tarpon. The highlight was last week, when a friend who had been trying to catch and tarpon for some time caught his first on my boat.

About a week ago I had a good day, a day that, in the sense of 'what have you done for me lately', made up for some of the lost days earlier in the season. As I trailered the boat home that evening, I called Keith, told him about the day, and asked if he was available to fish in two days.

We decided to do a dawn patrol, since the weather was supposed to be calm and the fish had been rolling well two days before. I think Keith had to get up at around 4am to make the drive to our meeting place, and then endure another 1/2 hour drive to the boat ramp.

We were the first ones at the ramp, quickly put the boat into the water, and were on our way. Ten minutes later I brought the boat off plane, shut down the engine, and coasted into the bay. We saw fish rolling immediately. For what seemed like forever, but was only about an hour, fish rolled just out of casting range. Then in the space of 10 minutes we each jumped a fish.

At about 8:30am, we were moving along the edge of a dropoff when a fish rolled 20 feet from the boat. Keith flipped his lure to the fish (yes, he was spin fishing, but we'll cut him some slack - it was his first tarpon!), and after just a twitch or two of the lure the fish took it and the line began to move. Keith pulled the line tight, but the line went slack. Before he could contemplate the implications of the lost fish, another fish picked up the lure and took off. At first I thought he had foul-hooked a manatee because the swirl and surge were so big, but after a run of 50 yards or so, the fish jumped - it was enourmous!. To make a long story short, Keith worked the fish as hard as the gear would allow, and we finally had it boatside one hour later. The fish was approximately 200 pounds, the largest fish to my boat by 50 pounds. Fantastic. What a first fish! Although they don't do the fish justice, a couple photos are below. The photo on the home page is this fish rolling near the boat. So, Keith, now what? Your first tarpon was 200 pounds, how are you going to top that?

The only negatives were that my hands weren't big enough to grab the lower jaw, so we had to lip-gaff that tarpon. That was a first for me. I also regret that I didn't get a better photo, but I didn't want to pull the fish onto the boat. In any case, this catch made up for a lot of the lost season.

The tarpon was too big to get more than half of it's body out of the water when it jumped.

8/1/09
In this update:
A recent extended stretch of west (onshore) winds blew a lot of sargassum (a floating brown algae) in from the Loop Current (a tropical current that starts between the Yucatan Peninsula and western Cuba, loops clockwise through the Gulf of Mexico, and exits through the Florida Straits (between the Keys and Cuba). For a couple weeks, the local beaches were full of sargassum. This got me thinking about Tripletail, which are often found hiding under floating sargassum (and other floating objects). So, as any responsible biologist should, I sorted through some of the sargassum searching for some examples of Tripletail prey. The photos and some basic info on Tripletail are listed here, as part of the Fish Facts section.

Also this update, the 'Name That Fish' contest proved popular, so here is the one for August. Below is a photo of a scale from a gamefish. Name that fish (send your guess to info@fishermanscoast.com). The winner gets the fly that caught the photographed fish. If more than one person guesses correctly, I'll draw the winner from 'the hat'. Deadline is August 28.

7/25/09
We Have A Winner! One person correctly identified the fish in the 'Name that fish' photo, which is re-posted below. It is a Sheepshead. Also below is a wider angle shot of a sheepshead. The winner will receive a newly tied fly of the pattern that caught the fish - the No-Look Fiddler, which is in the corner of the fish's mouth, and is pictured below. Check back next week for a new photo, and another chance to win a fly.

The original photo

A wider shot of a sheepshead

No-Look Fiddler

7/18/09
Two items in this quick update:
1) The 'name that fish' contest has proven tougher than I expected. Numerous people have incorrectly guessed Redfish. So I'll provide a couple hints. It's a species found on the flats in the subtropics, but is not usually mentioned as a target for fly rodders. It has crusher plates for crushing crabs and other hard-bodied prey. It's usually pretty wary. Scroll down for the photo.

2) The promotional trailer is now out for the upcoming 'Pirates Of The Flats' ESPN fishing series that highlights Bonefish & Tarpon Trust research. I'm biased, but it looks like they'r eputting together a great series. The series will air on ESPN2 beginning in January 2010. Click here to view the YouTube video.

7/3/09
As you can see from the front page photo, when my schedule, the tides, and the weather are on the same page, fishing can be good. In the latest update:

- I've added some new items to the Q & A section, more stuff dredged up from my files.

- I posted a new piece on Do-It-Yourself in the Caribbean for those traveling to 'non-destination' islands.

- Beginning with this update, I'm starting a 'name that fish' contest. Send in your guess of what fish is the focus of the macro-photo below, and I'll send the winner the fly I used to catch the fish. If more than one person guesses correctly, I'll draw the winner from 'the hat' of correct answers. The deadline for entries will be July 24 (no reason to rush it). One entry per person.

Name That Fish contest photo. Entries to info@fishermanscoast.com. Deadline July 24.

6/14/09
Guess what? I've been able to get out fishing a couple mornings over the past couple weeks! Good news - I've been seeing a lot of tarpon. Bad news - I've only been able to get one to eat a fly. Part of my problem is that I'm definitely not in the tarpon fishing groove, so I'm going through my standard fly patterns without the benefit of knowing how the fish have been feeding (or not), reacting to flies and boat traffic, etc. Still, nice to see those rollers and tailers.

New this update - I've added a Question and Answer page. I dredged through my web site emails and have posted some of the questions and my answers. I'll look in my records for more good questions, and will add new ones as they come along.

5/22/09
A bit more timely on the updates this time around. I've added a new piece summarizing some of my thoughts on the influence of fishing pressure and boating on gamefish behavior. This piece was instigated by some recent travel to locations that obviously don't have much fishing pressure or boat traffic. Two of these trips were to Abaco, Bahamas, and to Belize. I've also added long-overdue summaries of fishing at Turneffe Flats and Andros South. Keep an eye out for a couple new fly patterns. I'll add them to the Flies section soon.

4/20/09

Quite a long time since the last posting. My excuse? Too much work. Certainly not too much fishing...really, not nearly enough fishing for me lately. Between endless winds and a hectic work schedule, my fishing time has declined. Still, a recent day on the water in the Everglades with guide Kevin Mihailoff resulted in me and boatmate Jim Worden (Thanks Jim!) jumping one, missing one, and landing one tarpon. Some snook later in the day, too. Kevin is a great guide, and really knows the waters down there.

If you fish for bonefish, tarpon, or permit, you should be a member of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. I admit, I'm biased (I am Director), but the group is working hard to ensure heatlhy bonefish, tarpon, and permit fisheries. You should check out the first annual magazine-style research report to catch up on latest research. Cool stuff.

I haven't been very good lately at posting my presentation schedule. Thanks to Burnt Store Anglers for hosting me on my latest presentation. And also recently, the Backcountry Fly Fishers of Naples - great group.

Fly Fishing Addiction (certainly not a bad thing...just think of the things to which you COULD be addicted!)
The American Heritage Science Dictionary defines Delirium Tremens as “An acute, sometimes fatal episode of delirium that is usually caused by withdrawal or abstinence from alcohol following habitual excessive drinking or an episode of heavy alcohol consumption. It is characterized by trembling, sweating, acute anxiety, confusion, and hallucinations.”  While I don't mean in any way to trivialize the hell that such addiction must be, you have to admit that lack of fly fishing can bring on a mild case of the DTs. So it shouldn’t be much of a stretch for this to also be applied to fly anglers.  The only modification needed is to replace a few words with ‘fly fishing’.  The definition then becomes “An acute, sometimes fatal episode of delirium that is usually caused by withdrawal or abstinence from fly fishing following habitual excessive fly fishing or an episode of heavy fly fishing. It is characterized by trembling, sweating, acute anxiety, confusion, and hallucinations.” See, there are some heads nodding already – either from personal experience or from seeing others go through the DTs. Although I write this as tarpon season is beginning and I have very little time on the water so far, the fly fishing DTs occur across the fly fishing landscape. From tarpon to trout, striped bass to largemouth bass.   For some, the addiction is rather specific – like it is for me with tarpon. For others, it is fly fishing in general – if the fish will eat a fly and pull the other way, then it’s a quarry worth pursuing. In any case, the symptoms are similar, as is the cure - go fly fishing! I promise to take my own advice. Details soon...

New in this update, two new fly patterns:
- Slinky Fiber Gotcha
- Bunny Ugly
- A peek into the snook section of my fly box

2/14/09
Added - the Flies page has been reorganized to accommodate an addition - based on recent inquires, some fly patterns are now for sale. I may regret getting back into this, but tying a few patterns based on individual orders doesn't seem so bad (at least from my perspective at the moment).

Cold is relative
This is especially true for fish. Granted, I whine about temperatures in the 40s or 50s like folks up north whine about the 20s and 30s. But since I'm warm blooded, once I stop my whining I can put on more clothing or turn up the heat if I get too cold. Not so easy for a fish. They're cold blooded, first of all. And without opposable thumbs, a larger brain, and tools to make clothes and houses, they're not going to be clothing or housing themselves anytime soon. Their physiology is affected by water temperature. This, in turn, influences fish behavior, habitat use, diet, etc. For example, each species has a preferred temperature range in which they operate the best. As the water temperature gets farther and farther from that preferred range, either warmer or colder, the fish have to adjust. As the temperature warms, fish metabolism increases, and individuals must eat more to maintain this metabolism. If the fish have to also migrate or spawn in these warmer conditions, then they face even more of a challenge. Too hot, and the fish can become stressed and even die. Now think about the other end of the temperature spectrum - cold. As water temperature decreases, fish metabolism decreases. Response time, top swimming speed, the time it takes to digest food, all slow down. The response of fish to the extremes of their temperature tolerances are similar. What differs are the temperatures that different species can tolerate. Snook, for example, would likely die if they were placed in the cold waters off Cape Cod in summer, where striped bass thrive. The same would apply the other way - striped bass transported into the middle of the snook universe - the Caribbean - would quickly overheat and perish. Another consideration is the rate of the temperature change. Fish are best able to acclimate to temperatures toward the edges of their tolerance if the temperature changes slowly. IF the temperature changes rapidly, fish are less able to handle it. This is often the case in Florida during winter, when a strong cold front can drop the water temperature 10 degrees overnight. This is when snook, tarpon, and other tropical species suffer cold-kills in Florida.

So what brought on this monologue? A recent cold front, a couple actually, complete with strong winds and cloudy skies, has really put the snook, redfish, and spotted seatrout into a funk. Even when fish are spotted, getting them to eat a fly can be nearly impossible. On a recent afternoon, we made great casts to a number of redfish laid up on shallow, protected sand flats. They were trying to warm up, we were warmly dressed so were OK. The fly had to be cast very close to the fish to get it's attention (which took a few seconds), and then when the fish moved on the fly it did so in a lethargic manner and seemed unsure if it really wanted to eat (which not a single fish did that day). Forget finding active snook.

A couple days later, I was talking to some anglers down from the northeast. They were expressing their frustration with the tough fishing. It's Florida, they said, there are palm trees. Why are the fish not eating? Well, to the fish, it might as well be Alaska. It's just too cold. Of course, if those anglers had stuck around until this coming weekend, after it's been back in the 70s and 80s for a week, they probably would've found the fish more in an eating mood.

1/26/09
I forgot to add the date for my next Fisherman's Coast talk - at Backcountry Fly Fishers in Melbourne, FL. More details here

I've also posted information on upcoming Research Angler trips here.

A recent visit by Jason Elkins, head of the Orvis Fly Fishing Travel department, gave me the perfect excuse to get out on the water and just do some fishing. No seine nets or tagging gear. Just fly rods, poling the skiff across a skinny rising tide. The weather was perfect, great company. Here are a couple of photos of Jason's catches.

1/19/09

The first new posting of 2009. I haven't been fishing a whole lot, certainly not as much as I'd like to, but work is not all bad. We've been working a lot of days to tag juvenile snook for one of our ongoing projects. Most of the time we use seine nets to catch juvenile snook to tag (very exhausting), but sometimes the best method for catching snook to tag is with a fly rod. Really. When tides are too low to drag the canoe and nets way up into the backcountry, we hike into the backwaters with our rods and tagging gear.
I was able to get a day on Biscayne Bay chasing bonefish recently with Russ Fisher and Chico Fernandez, both of whom are Bonefish & Tarpon Trust board members. Chico brought along his camera and took some nice photos. I landed one and lost one bonefish that day. Not a bad day for Biscayne Bay bones on fly. I offered numerous times to take over the poling duties from Russ, but he declined. Really. Thanks to Russ for letting me stay on the pointyend of the skiff for the day. Chico took the photos below (that's Russ in the background of the second photo).

Chico is also putting together a trip to Turneffe Flats for June, and there are still a few spaces available. Chico is a great guy to fish with, a great teacher, and fun to be around. I'm sure it will be a great trip for thos elucky enough to sign on.

This month, instead of adding a new fly pattern, I've posted a photo of my standard bonefish fly selection (for what it's worth) for The Bahamas and Florida. The two bonefish in Biscayne Bay fell for a Bastard Crab.

I also added a link on the Flies page to Doug Rose's Lipped Popper web site. Cool design, and effective.

12/26/08
Unfocused thoughts:
1) In this part of the world (southwest Florida), mid-October through mid-May marks two things - stone crab season and sight fishing for tripletail.

Tripletail are found worldwide in tropical to warm-temperate seas, and are most often found in association with floating material. In the non-human influenced world, tripletail will suspend under or near floating algae (such as sargassum) or debris (tree limbs, etc). They are well camouflaged for these situations, mottled tan and brown. They often float on their sides, mimicing the floating sargassum, and feed on shrimp, crabs, and small fish that also live in association with the floating materials. In the human-influenced world, tripletail will hang out with just about anything that floats. In southwest Florida and some other regions, crab trap floats make perfect ambush spots. So from mid-October through mid-May, if the weather is good, I'll cruise along lines of crab floats offshore, looking for tripletail. Usually, a crab fly or shrimp fly does the trick, but sometimes a baitfish imitation works best. Once a fish is spotted, the key is to stay as far away from the crab float as you can - too close can spook the fish.

They are called tripletail because their dorsal and ventral fins are so long it looks like the fish has three tail fins.

While fishing today for tripletail, I was reminded of an important point, which I am passing along to you - make sure your flies are barbless. Crimp down the barbs on your flies. This is so if you happen to hook the line from the crab trap to the buoy, you can remove the fly. Pulling crab traps is hard enough work for the crabbers without getting a fish hook stuck in their hands, or fouling their winches when hauling the traps.

2) During a recent tarpon encounter with a friend, I was reminded of a pet peeve of mine - anglers don't put enough pressure on tarpon during the fight, and prolong the fight because of it. I can't tell you how many times I've watched anglers turn on their engine and follow a hooked tarpon, which does nothing but reduce the pressure the angler can put on the fish and prolongs the fight. Although I am far from an expert in fighting tarpon, here's what I do. First, I let the fish make it's initial run, then get back the line as quickly as I can. If I'm by myself, I crank the trolling motor on high, and catch up with the fish, gaining line as I go. If I'm with someone else, I either pole after the fish or use the trolling motor. Once I have half of the fly line back on the reel, and it looks like the fish has finished its run, I stop the boat. If I'm by myself, I drop my anchor, which is tied to the poling platform. If I'm poling someone else, I stick the pushpole in the bottom. This is the only way to get leverage on the fish, from a stopped boat. Sure, it takes energy for the fish to tow a boat, but once a boat is in motion, the energy required to keep it moving is considerably less. The only way, in my opinion, to really put pressure on a fish is from a stopped boat. From a stopped boat, down-and-dirty is really effective.

Like I said, unfocused thoughts.

11/23/08
In this update:
Recent Fishing, winter arrives early
Bonefish in Hawaii
Bastard Crab - new fly pattern

Winter arrives early
It's been almost a month of near-zero fishing for me, and during this time my local waters have transitioned from early fall to early winter fishing patterns. Redfish are enjoying the cool water and daytime low tides, snook are in the backcountry, and there are rumors of albies and bluefish off the beaches. This is definitely the winter pattern. I expect to get back into the local fishing with gusto in the coming weeks. Just before my fishing hiatus, I was able to get out in my kayak for a late day low tide. The redfish action was top notch. Conversations with a couple friends who are guides suggest that this action has continued and is the best redfish fishing in many years. I chalk this up to a good year for juvenile redfish a few years ago, and the decline in fishing pressure that has accompanied the economic downturn. Below are a couple black and white photos of redfish from that trip.

Bonefish in Hawai'i
The fishing I was able to do over the past month took place in Hawai'i. My wife and I took a vacation to the island of Kaua'i, and during our stay I was able to squueze in two fishing trips. I was invited to fly over to the island of Oahu for a day of guided bonefish fishing by Coach Duff and Dave Hill. It's only a 20 minute flight from Kaua'i to Ohau, so who was I to decline the invitation. I took the first morning flight on Hawaiian Air, and was picked up at the airport by Duff. After a 15 minute car ride, we were stepping onto Dave's boat. Now that's service!
My first impression was that there were more flats here than I expected. And each flat we fished held bonefish. Some flats we waded, others we poled. Flats ranged from sand to algae-covered sand, to algae-covered rocky bottom. We saw tailing fish, cruising fish, and even laid-up fish. All of the fish I saw were either singles or pairs. We fished flats on both sides of the island. The smallest fish I sighted was around 6 pounds, the largest probably 12 pounds. This despite the fact that it was mostly overcast to start, then rained. And, of course, it was windy. I saw many fish despite the fact that my search imge for Caribbean bonefish did not match the Hawaiian bonefish. Hawaiian bonefish are long and slender, and have an electric emerald-blue coloration. Alas, I did not catch a bonefish on Oahu - I spooked a couple with casts that were too close, had some follows, and probably missed a couple because I couldn't feel the take in the rough conditions. Welcome to fly fishing. My take-away impression - they have a good bonefish fishery on Oahu. Duff and Dave are good guides who will work to put you on fish and make sure you have a good time. I offer no photos from that day - the weather was poor enough that I left my camera in the car - but you can find plenty of photos at Duff's and Dave's web sites.
While fishing with Duff and Dave, I learned of a fly angler who guided for bonefish on Kaua'i, Rob Arita. You know what happens next - when I got back to Kaua'i I called Rob. A few days later Rob and I were wading on a backreef flat in search of Kaua'i bones. The Kaua'i bonefish flats were all algae-covered rock and dead coral. Wading depths were typically thigh to waist deep. Again, I had problems seeing many of the fish - a combination of their coloration and the dark, mottled bottom - but I was able to get good casts on numerous fish and landed one of about 4 pounds, all in a few hours. Fishing with Rob was fun and relaxing, and we only scratched the surface of the fishery there - we never even fished for blue trevally or giant trevally, which also patrol the flats.
Bottom line - if you are heading to Hawaii, or heading through Hawaii on your way elsewhere, it's worth taking a fly rod and contacting these guys to book a day of fishing.

10/14/08
It's been way too long since my last web site update. Travel, research, some fishing - collectively they are my excuse. In this update:

• A reflection on my beginning fly tying - First Flies
• A few photos from a recent bonefish trip
• A three part summary of a research trip to Cuba
• A handful of miscellaneous photos

In other news, starting with the December issue, I'm writing the Shallow Water World column for Shallow Water Angler magazine. The column focuses on fishing-related science and conservation. I won't be able to post them here, so you'll have to check out the magazine.

7/13/08
Another piece posted for your reading pleasure.

7/6/08
I've posted a new story based on a bonefish fishing trip many years ago.

A couple images from a recent day chasing tarpon.

6/21/08
Wow, it's been way too long since I've posted anything. I guess it really has been that busy. Plus, I have to admit, it's tarpon season, so if/when I do get time I spend it chasing those big silver fish. I haven't added anything to the photos section, it's all here on the blog. Maybe when things slow down this Fall I'll shift the new photos to their appropriate pages. Here's what's new for the June update:

Photos of tailing redfish
Grand Bahama Island bonefish
Choosing a kayak for fly fishing
Blabbing

Below are photos from recent on-the-water excursions. My favorites are the photos of tailing redfish at sunset, but I'm still not sure which of the tailing redfish photos I like the best. Do you have a favorite?

I think the next one is my favorite

I just returned from a week on Grand Bahama Island, on a trip sponsored by Orvis Travel. Jason Elkins, head of Orvis Travel, put together a trip to benefit the non-profit conservation group Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited. Some photos from that trip are below.

Sometimes it's a good idea to get out of the boat and wade.

Dark bottom, dark fish,...dark flies too

View from the bow

I like this one - you can see the barring on the fish's back.

On the trip I used an Orvis Helios 8wt rod. The rod cast very well, so much so that I overshot a number of fish.
Not a bad problem to have.

Tom Rosenbaur, of Orvis, searching for bones

I put together some thoughts on choosing a kayak for fly fishing. I frequently have people ask me about how and why I chose my kayak (A Bimini, by Perception), so this piece is a summary of the types of things I thought about when choosing a kayak.
Selecting a kayak for fishing
I am not an expert on kayaks. I did put a lot of thought into purchasing a kayak a number of years ago, and I am often asked about kayak selection criteria. I’ve fished a lot from my kayak, and have determined that some of my initial criteria were good, others not so good. The first step in the process is to determine what kind of fishing you will be doing from your kayak. If you’re out in California and paddling out to fish the kelp beds, I can’t really provide any useful information. If you’re interested in fishing coastal shallows, the information below should be useful. I use my kayak to fish shallow saltwater flats (and occasionally freshwater ponds and lakes). Here are the questions to answer when selecting a kayak:

- What distances do you intend to paddle? I typically paddle away from the launch point for a while (20 minutes is typical) before starting to fish. I do this because I don’t like to fish around areas with boating/kayak traffic, and to get to areas that receive less pressure. Why is this important? The longer distance you typically paddle, the longer and more streamlined you want your kayak to be. If, as you paddle, the kayak’s bow swings from side to side, you are wasting a lot of paddling effort. In general, the longer the kayak the more your paddling effort goes toward pushing the kayak forward (less wasted energy). I’ve fished with friends who have shorter kayaks, and if we paddle a moderate distance to and from the launch point they are typically more tired than I am at the end of the day.

- Do you intend to stand to fish? I often will stand in my kayak, using the paddle as a push pole, This is a great, stealthy way to sight fish for redfish and snook that are laid up on shallow sand flats. Many kayaks are stable enough that they are pretty easy to stand up in. For other kayaks you need to rig or purchase an outrigger system that makes the kayak more stable. Although I am able to stand in my kayak, it’s only barely stable enough, so I made a small, detachable outrigger system with PVC pipe and Styrofoam floats. The materials cost less than $20.

- Do you plan to fish in areas where kayak position is important? For example, do you think you’ll be fishing along shorelines, or casting to cover along shorelines? I fish a lot along mangrove shorelines, casting into the cover provided by the mangrove branches that hang over the water. It’s important for me to keep the kayak in the correct position relative to shore (the correct distance, the kayak parallel to the shoreline). To control position, when I purchased the kayak I had the shop install a rudder that I can raise and lower. Using the foot pedal controls, I can steer the kayak left or right as needed. If I can get a drift going with the wind and/or current, I can stay parallel to shore at the desired distance. The rudder also helps to keep course when paddling in windy conditions. If it’s not windy, I usually paddle with the rudder in the up position because the rudder does create noticeable drag. If you fish in situations where you are casting to open areas or drifting across open areas, then a rudder is probably not necessary.

- Does the kayak contain sufficient dry storage space? My kayak has two hatch covers that provide access to plenty of space to store things I don’t want stored on the surface. I still put need-to-stay-dry things in dry bags, but storing them in the kayak is a grat way to make sure they stay dry and to keep the items out of the way. Dry storage space is also great if you plan to make longer trips and for keeping water containers out of the sun. If you only do short trips in fair weather, then dry storage is probably not that important.

- Does the kayak have sufficient topside storage space, and is the space easily accessible from your seat? How much gear do you need access to while fishing? Is there a place where you can mount a rod holder that is within easy reach from your seat? Will this rod holder location be in the way of fly fishing (will it entangle fly line)? Most kayaks have topside storage wells behind the seat. Make sure the well is large enough to hold what you need, and that you can reach it from your seat. (In most kayaks, the dry storage hatches are not easily reachable from the seat, and require stepping out of the kayak in shallow water or beaching the kayak to get access.)

Is the deck of the kayak immediately in front of the seat clear of things that will catch a fly line? While this can be overcome somewhat by spreading a towel across your lap and the adjacent deck area, you'll occasionally forget the towel, so a clear deck for fly line is essential.

- How heavy a kayak will you be able to lift onto your kayak rack or into the back of the pickup, etc? The biggest drawback to my kayak is that it’s heavy (65 pounds, I believe), so not the easiest to get onto the racks on my truck at the end of the day. I do have rollers on the back rack, so I lift one end onto the rollers and then push the kayak up from the other end.

- What kind of launch locations will you primarily be using? Easy, shallow-sloping shorelines close to parking or loading/unloading places are the best case scenario. In these cases, heavier kayaks are no big deal. But if you have to carry your kayak any distance or launch off rocky or steep shorelines, a lighter kayak is advantageous. In general, you’ll pay more for a lighter kayak. If you have more than a short distance from the loading to launch location, it may be worthwhile to purchase a set of wheels, available at most kayak shops.

- Might you fish in windy conditions? If so, avoid kayaks with high bows. A friend has a nice kayak, but the bow is a bit high and he has a tough time keeping course on windy days.

Other thoughts:

- Get the lightest, best paddle you can afford. It makes a huge difference during a long day of fishing and paddling. - Get as good a seat as you can afford. Many hours of sitting in a kayak can wear you out if the seat is not good quality. Good back support and some cushioning are desired. - On the paddling stroke, remember that you are pushing with your upper hand as much as you are pulling with your lower hand, with the center of the paddle handle as the central point of rotation. If you just pull with the lower arm, you don’t get as much power and you’ll tire out faster. - I use a 4 foot section of ½” PVC as an anchor when fishing shallow water. Just shove one end into the bottom and slip a loop of line attached to the kayak over the pole.

Blabbing
Although, as would many (most) fly anglers, I prefer to have fishing spots to myself, I know that this is a rare occurrence, so I'll willingly share a spot with respectful anglers. However, I strongly believe that an angler should have to work to find a fishing spot. Why? I think that an angler who does the investigative work to find a good fishing spot (the location, best tides, best approach, etc) has an appreciation for the location and the fish that can only be gained from working to find the spot. In contrast, I think that anglers who are given a spot tend to show little (bordering on extreme) lack of respect for the spot and the fish, not to mention the other anglers who might be there. More and more, I'm seeing the latter types of anglers - interested in making a score in the least amount of time. What I call the Disneyfication of fishing - drive/boat/walk to the spot, fish, go home. No thought of ethics, responsibility, respect for other anglers.... Unfortunately, although the WWW can be a great source of information for the investigative angler, it's becoming more and more common to find way-too-explicit 'kiss and tell' fishing reports on internet fishing discussion boards. I already have the dubious distinction of having two great fishing places ruined by the kiss-and-tell crowd - one redfish spot and one tarpon spot. In both instances, the fishing prior to the internet kiss-and-tell reports was outstanding. Although the fish are still in these locations (albeit in lower numbers), their behavior has changed - they are now wary and generally unreceptive to fly presentations. An angler new to the spot might think the fishing is fabulous, but I can tell you without hesitation that, in comparison, the fishing in these spots now sucks. I know others with similar experiences. I really don't understand the desire to kiss-and-tell, but in the end I think it's irresponsible.

I've recently noticed some anglers are trying to throw 'lurkers' off the scent by using code words to describe locations (presumably to tell their 'in the know' buddies where they were fishing. But the photos they typically post with the fishing reports show enough background that any boob with even a basic knowledge of the area can figure out the location (and the fishing report posters typically post their home fishing areas). Two suggestions to these guys - just email your 'in the know' buddies directly, and if you really must post reports, take a closer look at the photos before posting (and change the background if you must post photos.

I'm sure this posting will tick off some, and I can live with that. What it comes down to is this - I'm trying to promote a responsible fishing ethic for the long-term good of the sport, and I'm losing patience with people who don't respect the fishery, the fish, the habitats, or their fellow anglers. I'll go on forever about the fish, their habitats, their prey, how to present flies, etc (as this web site proves) but I'll never give up spots. And neither should you.

5/4/08
Around the World and Kicked in the Teeth
Well, not literally, but it sure felt like it at the end of the day. Doug and I covered a lot of water yesterday in search of tarpon, and were skunked. We didn't even have any shots at fish. We traveled so much because of a mixture of no fish and poor water conditions. Early on, we poled about 4 miles of great water, expecting to see strings of fish along the edge at any time, but we didn't see a single fish. I figured we'd find fish if we kept moving, so we spent the rest of the day running from spot to spot, often finding very murky and/or green water, impossible to sight fish. At one spot we did see a few rolling fish, but they were scattered, not staying up, in deep water, and the water was murky. So in the end, we saw fish in two spots, but it was way too murky in each of those spots, and the spots we found with good visibilty were empty of fish. We ran about 60 miles (not including poling). To add salt to the wound, on the way back we had to run quartering into a strong chop and stiff breeze, and Doug was on the bad side of the boat and got soaked. The positive was that we did all that running on only one tank of gas (6 gallons), and there's still a few miles left in the tank. Chalk that up to a light boat (Mitzi 15) and a 4-stroke (40hp Yamama). We ended the day drowning our sorrows in beers and fish sandwiches at a local watering hole.

5/4/08

Dawn

Photo taken during a recent dawn patrol for tarpon. Slow morning, only 2 small groups of tarpon spotted, two decent shots, no eaters.

The Flasher

I assume this Great Blue Heron was warming himself up and/or drying off. But it's a pretty good imitation of a flasher in a trench coat.

Updates, April 29, 2008
New photos have been added. I’ve changed the format a bit – as I add new photos, I’ll put them on the ‘New Photos’ page. How’s that for original? Then next cycle I’ll move the photos to their appropriate subject pages, and replace them with new photos. To see the new photos of this site update, go here.

A few new blog posts have been added below.

A link to the Best Practices for Bonefish Catch and Release brochure, recently put out by Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited, have been added to the Conservation page.

A new piece on bonefish research.

April 28, 2008
Bonefishing, South Andros
I recently returned from a week-long trip to South Andros, The Bahamas. Nice place – quiet, expansive sand flats and beaches, and excellent bonefish fishing. I stayed at the Andros South lodge (formerly known as the Bonefish Bay Club). Travel details – Lynx Air from Fort Lauderdale to Congo Town, a 15 minute cab ride to the lodge. Each morning, we took a 10 minute van ride to Little Creek, where we were picked up by the flats boats. It was then a 45 minute run either south or west to the flats. All of the flats we fished were wadeable, which was nice. We also poled some shoreline edges, where we generally saw the largest fish. Overall, the bonefish averaged 3 pounds, with plenty of fish 4 – 6 pounds. My largest for the week was approximately 8-9 pounds. I averaged 10 bonefish/day. Did some fly fishing for sharks and barracuda, too. Poppers on a 10 weight for those toothy beasts.

So why was I down in South Andros? As part of my research for Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited (BTU). I was down at the invitation of the lodge owners to sample some of the bonefish. I took fin clips from approximately 40 bonefish, and had some great conversations with the guides on topics such as – where do bonefish spawn, what habitats are used by juvenile bonefish, and why do bonefish grow faster in the Florida Keys than they do in The Bahamas and Caribbean (all of those topics are being addressed in research projects being supported by BTU).

Why fin clips from bonefish? At one point, it was believed only one species of bonefish (Albula vulpes) swam the Caribbean flats. Using genetic analysis, researchers have identified 3 species of bonefish on the flats. Unfortunately, we’re unable to tell them apart physically, so we have to use genetics to figure it out. So I cut small (1/4”) triangles of soft tissue from the rear of the dorsal, pectoral, or pelvic fin, and place them in small vials containing a preservative, then ship the samples off to a graduate student working on this for her Ph.D. PHOTO ppt slide So far, >96% of bonefish caught by recreational anglers (BTU sends fin clip kits with recreational anglers willing to participate in the program, let me know if you’re interested) have been identified as Albula vulpes, the species we’ve always known was there. The two other species have been recorded in Mexico, The Bahamas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Florida, and Belize.

April 27, 2008
It’s Tarpon season
The picture below is from a recent dawn patrol. Although there is a lot to be said for sight-fishing for cruising or laid-up tarpon during hours of high sun, there’s something about casting to rolling tarpon at dawn that makes my hair stand on end. There are considerably fewer boats on the water. It varies by day, of course, but it’s reasonable to get an hour or two alone at dawn. There’s no sight quite like the slick, pewter-colored water surface of dawn being broken by the dark back of a rolling tarpon, sometimes with the burnt orange glow of sunrise glistening off the large scales. Or the ‘bloop’ of a rolling fish unseen breaking the silence, instigating a quick backcast at an empty hole in the water. Plus, I’m only able to get out once a week for sight fishing for tarpon in high sun, but I’m able to get out many mornings before work during the week. The photo below I call ‘Waiting’, and is from a recent morning in Key Largo with Captain Steve Venini.

April 26, 2008
Another memory from the field While working as a graduate student at Virginia Institute of Marine Science, I crewed on a boat out of Virginia Beach that did recreational SCUBA and fishing trips (and some commercial hook and line, as well) to offshore artificial reefs. One summer I took the ride when they ran the boat from Virginia Beach to the Outer Banks. They ran the boat out of the Outer Banks for a month. Change of scenery. Rather than run straight down the coast, we took a couple days to take roundabout route out into blue water. On the way down we fished whenever we came across active fish or something floating that held fish. In addition to the fishing, the Captain wanted to check out a couple spots he’d marked on a previous trip as possible dive sites. The first spot we stopped was about 120’ depth. The water was pretty clear, so we could see the dark shape on the bottom that was the wreck. What wreck, I don’t remember, but the area off Cape Hatteras is full of shipwrecks. The captain dropped the anchor in the sand next to the wreck, and we geared up and jumped in the water. I was the second one down the anchor line. About two-thirds of the way down, I noticed that the first guy down the rope had stopped at the bottom and was coming back up. I thought he had gear problems, but when we met about 15’ from the bottom, he pointed toward the dark shadow of the wreck, and I immediately saw what concerned him – three very large lemon sharks emerging from the shadow of the wreck, swinging their heads side-to-side, humping their backs. Very aggressive territorial behavior. We headed back up the anchor line, keeping our eyes on the sharks the entire time, our spearguns pointed in their direction. As we made our way up the line, another diver was on his way down, speargun loaded and ready. He hadn’t yet seen the sharks. We made a signal that sharks were on the wreck, but he pretty much ignored us and headed down the anchor line. As we headed up, we watched as he got to the bottom. The sharks had stopped midway between the wreck and anchor line when we started back up, but came all the way over to the line when the third diver got to the bottom. As we hung on the anchor line at about 15’ depth, we watched the third diver make his way back up the anchor line, turning slowly to face a shark that circled 20’ away as the diver made his way up the anchor line. The shark broke off the stalk at about 60’ depth, and headed back to the reef. We pulled anchor and found another spot to dive.

4/6/08
Here's another memory (two actually) from sampling in the field. Both have to do with angry mullet. When living on St. Croix, USVI, one of the projects we had involved sampling mangrove lagoons for juvenile fish. One lagoon was very shallow, and mucky in some places. We were unable to do visual sampling because it was so shallow and murky, so we used seine nets instead. We'd occasionally get small mullet in the samples. These and other fish we would measure and release. As you know if you've ever been in a place that has mullet, when they're startled they often jump. Usually this isn;t a problem, but one morning a mullet must've been very poor at jumping or was just plain mad - it leaped from the water, cleared the net, and hit me square in the right temple. Nearly knocked me out. And it wasn't even that big of a fish. I hope the fish had a headache too.

Skip to more than 10 years later, sampling with a seine in mangrove creeks in Florida. A few mullet are trapped in the net, and start jumping to get out. This all goes well until one mullet that must've been a blood relative of the one on St. Croix, leaped from the water, cleared the net, and hit me square in the middle of my chest. It hit so hard that it bounced backward a couple feet and back into the net. Damn thing left a bruise, and I generally don't bruise. Just one of the hazards of marine science.

4/6/08
Should've stayed in bed yesterday, but it's tarpon season, so if there's a chance of finding tarpon there really isn't a choice. The forecast was terrible (winds S at 20, cloudy), but we figured we would have maybe an hour of calm in the morning before the winds picked up. And that proved true. And I remembered to take my coffee with me this time. All good so far. But after we'd launched the boat, as we were pulling away from the ramp, I noticed that my push pole was missing. Somewhere between my house, the gas station, and the boat ramp, the push pole had somehow fallen off the boat. Granted, the trip involves a couple dirt roads, but not so rough to expect to lose a push pole. So we tied off the boat, jumped in the truck, and retraced our steps. No luck. This was looking to be an expensive morning. Then we decided to check with they guy who monitored the county ramp near where we launched. As I leaned out the window to ask him if he'd seen a wayward push pole, he started laughing and pointed at the ground - seems it had popped off the boaton the dirt entrance road. Lucky. Damn lucky. The bad news is that all that searching had cost us more than half of the morning calm, and the tarpon fishing ended up being a bust. We called it quits at 10 rather than fight the 2-3 foot seas.

4/5/08
My posting of a recipe and photos of my version of the Gartside Gurgler (originated by Jack Gartside) inspired Jack to send me a couple photos of the original versions, and the text below. This was great for a couple reasons. First, it's a great example of how a pattern can be changed or personalized by different tiers, and still be very effective. Second, it's great to see that Jack also changes how he ties his flies over time. You can get Jack's instructions on the Gurgler and many other flies at his web site - www.jackgartside.com.

From Jack Gartside: "Although I tie dozens of Gurgler variations with both long and regular shank hooks, the two I'm sending you are what I call "Original-Style," one a long-shank bucktail Gurgler and the other a regular-shank marabou-tailed Gurgler. I rarely tie them up now using grizzly hackle; I much prefer white most of the time."

3/24/08
Stop by the Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited booth at the Federation of Fly Fishers National Expo, in Lakeland, FL this weekend. That's where I'll be. I'll also give a talk on Sunday afternoon, 3pm.

3/24/08
I updated the site a little early this cycle because things are going to get very busy for me in the next wweek or two. The web site has been updated:
- photos are completely re-organized, and a couple new sections have been added.
- a new story has been added
- new book reviews on Fly Fisherman's Guide to Saltwater Prey have been added
- many new blog posts below, including recent fishing

3/23/08
The best thing about crappy weather is that it keeps people off the water. I am frequently of those people. However, as little fishing as I've done lately, even with a poor forecast for Saturday, I decided to head out anyway. Plus, I didn't believe the forecast - strong winds due to the fact we were between a high pressure and a front moving up from the south, thunderstorms and rain. It started out grey and a little breezy, but not bad. I started pre-dawn, headed to a favorite early spring tarpon spot. It was a little bumpy, but not too bad - I was able to see a couple tarpon roll. I didn't get any shots, and a handful of casts into where I thought the fish was holding got me nothing. I checked out a couple more early season tarpon spots, but saw nothing. By now it was 9am, and it was raining on and off. The few other boats that had been out early were gone. I had many square miles to myself. I drifted some flats on the incoming tide, and caught my fill of spotted seatrout. Then I tucked myself in along a series of leeward mangrove shorelines and sight-fished into mid-afternoon. Yes, even though it was cloudy, raining on and off, skies were dark enough that I was able to sight fish on the light bottom. This is something a lot of people don't realize - on cloudy days, sight fishing is possible if skies are dark enough to provide a dark background, or you can find a dark shoreline (both of which help to cut the glare on the water surface), and you can find some smooth water. As the day progressed the winds dropped even more, so the fishable areas expanded. Many snook and redifish on the flats, and I was the only one giving chase. Granted. my sight window wasn't huge, and I spooked a bunch of fish, but I was able to see enough to catch a few. Later in the afternoon, I headed back to that tarpon spot for another look. Sure enough, within a couple minutes a fish rolled in the slick, slate-grey water. This time I was able to get a shot. IT was brief (he spit the hook on the third jump), but it was a good start to tarpon season and a great end to the day. The only negative to the day - I left my cup of coffee sitting in the truck.

3/22/08

For some reason, the other day when driving to a meeting, I started remembering random days from years ago, mostly when doing field work for my job. As I remember these days, and actually type them in, I'll post them.

The first one that popped into my head was from a day about 10 years ago when I ws fishing offshore with Hector. This was when I was working as a biologist in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. We were searching for dolphin (mahi, dorado) for a study on stomach contents (dolphin diet). Flying fish are plentiful down there, and arae often the targets of feeding mahi, tuna, wahoo, and marlin. Hector has incredible vision. We called it Hectorvision because he could literally see birds diving on bait from many miles away. We'd be trolling, or perhaps running in search of feeding fish, and Hector would say 'get ready'. His 'get ready' meant to bring in the lines and hold on because we were going to run to the fish. And no lie - they were usually many miles away. We ran a Boston Whaler 222' Outrage center console with a bimini top, so we could cover the distance between us a the diving birds very quickly.

One day we were just coming into an area that had feeding fish - about 1/2 mile off the bow the action was very heavy. As we approached the feeding fish and diving birds, we spooked up dozens of flying fish. When the flying fish are spooked by the boat, they take off from the water as if being chased by a fish, and glide off, sometimes for quite a distance. For some reason, we both were watching a flying fish that came out of the water just before the boat ran over it. As the fish glided off to the right, a frigate bird dopped out of the sky and nabbed the flying fish out of the air. That was cool. With dozens of flying fish going in al directions, I don't know which was more amazing - that we saw the frigate bird grab the fish or that we were both watching the same fish. A few seconds later, we again were watching the same flying fish, as it veered off to the right, then turned left to fly parallel to the boat, about 30 yards from the boat. Then the fish banked strongly to the left, pulling a u-turn, and came full speed at the bow. Wordlessly, Hector and I each stepped to the side as the flying fish went speeding between us. Insane. That flying fish went between us, but also flew above the console and below the bimini top. Insane.

3/18/08
These came out a few weeks ago, just took me a while to post links to them. Reviews of Fly Fisherman's Guide to Saltwater Prey

Read the one posted on Fishing Jones
Read the review in the Daytona News-Journal

3/10/08
Well, the fishing gods smiled on me this past weekend. Believe it or not, it was fine with me that it ws blowing 25 knots with gusts to 40. A very cool music festival was within driving distance, and that's where I spent my Sunday. So a big 'thank you' to the fishing gods for making it a no-brainer to go to the last day of the 3.5 day festival (couldn't get to the other days). www.langerado.com. Best band of the day for me was the reborn Blind Melon. The new singer sounds exactly like Shannon Hoon. Man, they rocked. And a new album coming out - Sweet! www.myspsace.com/blindmelon. Unfortunately, the long-term forecast for this weekend looks just as bad, and I don't have another diversion.

Posted 3/3/08
Capt P and a handsome redfish

Posted 3/3/08
Web site updated: two new pieces on the Writing page, new entry to the Flies page, new photo sections (miscellaneous fish, fishing sunsets), some new redfish photos

Posted 3/2/08
Bad news for beer drinkers. It looks like the price is going up for that ice cold beer at the end of a long day on the flats. The price of hops quintupled last year, partly due to bad weather in the regions where most hops are grown. What's even worse, barley is now being used as a biofuel, which makes it harder to get and pricier (prices doubled lasat year) - yet another reason to conserve energy! Piling it on - aluminum is used to make the tops to beer bottles, and the price of aluminum is on the rise. The end result - looks like the price of a good beer may double in 2008. Ugh. And as if you needed more evidence that Budweiser (aka Buttwiper) and Coors (man, that stuff gives me a headache every time) are crap beers, their prices will likely remain unaffected by the shortages of quality hops and barley. Yes, I'm a beer snob. So what. Life's too short to drink bad beer.

A cold Belikin waiting at the end of the day is a very good thing.

Posted 2/15/08
I gave two Saltwater Prey presentations this week - the first to the Charlotte Harbor Fly Fishers, the second at the Ding Darling Wildlife Preserve bookstore (a book signing). Great turnout for both talks, and some good questions after each talk. Thanks to all for helping to make it happen. Next up at the end of March - Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers (Sarasota) and the FFF National Fly Expo (Lakeland, FL).

Posted 2/9/08
I originally wrote this while living near Boston, when I fished the sand flats of Cape Cod. It is just as applicable here in southwest Florida. I decided to dig this out after recent fishing experiences.

Flats Fishing Etiquette

I'll admit I was spoiled fishing the flats of the Caribbean. It was rare to see other anglers on the flats, especially fly fishers. When I did see other anglers, it was usually at a distance, or at the end of the day under a palm tree reflecting the day's activities over a cold beer. In the four years I lived in the Caribbean, fishing three or four times a week, I was crowded on the flats by another angler only twice (same guy both times).

Now that I am fishing the flats and shallows of New England, I find rude fishing behavior to be far too common. After talking to some of these folks and thinking this over, I've come to the conclusion that many of these anglers are ignorant rather than rude. Most of these anglers appear to be new to fishing (especially fly fishing) and have no experience on the flats. Following is a list of tips for wading the flats so that this style of fishing is productive and enjoyable for everyone. Of course, there are certainly a few pinheads, but they usually get what they deserve...no fish. The problem is, they usually impinge on my fish too.

1. Give plenty of space.
Fishing the flats isn't like sliding in between a couple of other anglers along a jetty, beach, or river. In those situations folks usually need only enough room for casting. On the flats, anglers are looking for fish that are cruising in shallow water. These fish are often spooky, and may swim a long way across the flat before reaching the angler. A flats angler needs a large portion of the flat to remain undisturbed so that the fish reach his/her sight-fishing station in a feeding mode. Fifty yards from another angler, especially 'down-sight' (see IV below), is not too great a distance.
2. Don't blind cast.
Fishing the flats is all about sight-fishing - spotting a fish and then casting to that fish. Blind casting may catch the occasional fish on the flats, but more often fish are spooked by the haphazard casting. If you want to blind cast go somewhere else. Sighting fish on the flats takes practice, so just because you don't see any fish doesn't mean they aren't there. Spooking fish on your section of the flats makes those fish wary towards everyone else as well.
3. Move slowly.
Even better, find a good spot and stay put. The more you move, especially if you are inexperienced, the more you will scare fish. On calm days, the fish will be able to feel the small wave pushed out by a fast-moving wading angler. Also, rapid movement makes noise that the fish can easily hear.
4. Fish within the conditions.
Use the sun, current, and wind to your advantage. 1) you should have the sun at your back; I prefer the sun to be just over either shoulder rather than straight behind me. 2) go with the current; most often the fish will be feeding as they head into the current, so you should be looking downcurrent. 3) use the wind; if you can accomplish (1) and (2) and get the wind coming over the back of your non-casting shoulder, you are golden. The portion of the flat in this golden zone (i.e., sun at your back, looking down-current, and with the wind behind you) is the 'down-sight' area referred to in section I.

There is a lot more to sight-fishing on the flats, but this should be enough to get you started, and to keep you from infringing on other anglers.

Posted 2/9/08
I just updated the site, mostly new links, but also some new pics. More to come - as soon as I find time to sort through recent shots.

Posted 2/7/08
Recent self portrait

Posted 2/6/08
Random Thoughts: I recently heard someone say that many of the newer anglers don’t share location information, among other things. ALthough I wouldn't count myself as one of the 'newer anglers', I’m certainly one of those location non-sharers, so the comment got me to thinking about it. First, I learned the ‘non-share’ from my uncle, way back when. If we would come back to the dock with fish, people would always ask about where, etc. My uncle would either say we didn’t catch anything (if he could get away with it), or told them somewhere we weren’t fishing. One day, he set it up to prove to me that people would quickly ruin a spot if he told them where we were fishing. Back at the dock, he pulled out a nice walleye (we were fishing in Canada), and took it over to the cleaning table to fillet. When asked where he got it, he told them about a spot that was visible from where we stood. Sure enough, the next morning, there must’ve been 8-10 boats on that spot, making enough commotion that if there had been fish there, they were long gone.
Now, my outlook on this is a bit more developed (or so I like to think). I’ll talk to people forever about the how’s and why’s of fly fishing, situations, gear, flies, etc. But I NEVER tell people locations. Part of that is from my uncle. But now, it’s more a reaction to the instant gratification world that so many people live in. Although I’d rather have fishing spots to myself, if someone takes the time, makes the effort, does the work to research, find, and learn a spot, then more power to him/her. This person will appreciate the spot, behave in a responsible manner, etc. When it’s easy and with instant gratification, the sense of stewardship, responsibility, respect for other anglers is lacking 99% of the time. So although I somewhat understand the lament for the old days of sharing, the proportion of buttheads on the water is increasing even as the total number of anglers is decreasing. What can we do about it? Well, education is one way. Trying to get fly shops to share the how, why, situation, etc information, while not divulging too much in the way of spots is another.
This is something that has to be addressed if we're going to keep quality people in the fish business and fishing.

Posted 2/4/08
And then time stopped. Everything suspended in place. And with it, a suspension of disbelief. Gravity didn’t exist, and light stopped traveling. For an instant, since there was no time, light could not travel, and so the image stayed frozen – but continued to exist, alive.
And because light did not travel, and could not disappear into space, everything was clear. No soft edges. No blurs of motion. Every detail crisp and clean. Magnified.
And for this moment, there was no sound.  It was not an absence of sound, not a vacuum. The sound was still there, trapped by the light, caught in mid-stream, piling up behind an invisible veil of light.  Palpable, pressure building, waiting to explode. But for a moment, sound, too, was still.
And then time starts again, rushing past in a shock wave, blasting through with the force of light and sound bursting through time. It’s always the sound that escapes first, somehow slips through cracks in the veil of light. Briefly in the distance, almost gray. Then explosively closer. Then crashing through like a sudden hurricane. The switch was turned, and time starts again. 
In an explosion of sound and a shower of silver and white, the big tarpon crashes back into the water, that frozen moment of time disappearing through the hole in the water left by the crashing fish. Fly line hisses as it zips through the water.  The reel spins, screaming, at the speed of light. The big tarpon greyhounds off the bow, ever farther away. Time is back on its own terms, dragging us behind. And so it goes.

*****

This doesn’t happen always, only some fish, on some days.  But when fishing for tarpon it happens frequently enough to cause addiction, to keep us coming back for more.  Sometimes, soon after being hooked, a tarpon makes a first jump close to the boat. For most fish, it is the first spectacular jump of many, initiating a brief struggle between angler and beast.  But a few special tarpon are able to make time stand still, for just a moment, as they suspend themselves in mid-air to survey the madness above the water; skiff, wide-eyed angler, outstretched rod, jumping fly line. When time stands still, you have to wonder who is looking at whom. My guess is that with 50 million years experience swimming the oceans, in these moments tarpon have the upper hand.
There’s really no way to know how long the moment lasts. It doesn’t really matter anyway, to those encased in that moment. An hour would feel the same as a minute, as a second, as a day. In reality, it’s probably only a few seconds to those not involved, but who really knows. What I have noticed is that if you’re not involved, you are blind to it, locked out of that moment. Yet another nod to the tarpon in control.
I remember my first big tarpon jumped on the fly. I remember the fly, the place, the time of day, and how long I had the tarpon on before it spit the hook. But even more vivid are images of tarpon since that time. Tarpon that were special, who stopped time. Each of these moments is etched in my memory. If I’m lucky, before I die, before the images grow fuzzy, someone will invent a device that will allow me to download and print these images for others to see.
These images aren’t really part of a story.  How things got to the moment are pretty much immaterial. What happened after the moment is only peripheral.  That’s the beauty of these moments, each one comes on its own, without notice, and then ceases. Sure, with some thought I can recall the general story around the fish, but usually not much in the way of details. The image of the moment, on the other hand, stays clear.
I’ve noticed that some people try to recreate these moments, but that’s foolish. It can’t be done. Each event that time stops is unique, unreplicable. And if you pursue these moments, they will elude you. It’s best to let them happen, experience them when they do, and stow them away.

*****

These are a few moments etched in my mind, the ones that pop to the surface most often.

I am standing on the bow of the skiff, 12wt in my right hand, clear intermediate fly line in my left hand, a half-dozen coils of line at my feet. The rod is pointing toward 12 o’clock, fly line disappearing into the glassy water surface. I’m looking to the port side. Ten feet from the boat the fly line is angling up out of the water, fleeing toward the stern, water droplets framing it on all sides.  A tarpon, perhaps 110 pounds, hangs vertically, head skyward, tail five feet above the water surface. The tarpon is sideways to the boat, its eye peering back.  It is eye-to-eye with Doug, suspended motionless on the poling platform, white push pole trailing into the water off the starboard side. Doug’s feet are pointing forward, but his body is twisted left, facing the tarpon only 10 feet away.  It is mid-morning with clear skies, but the light is not bright. It is somehow clear but subdued.  The tarpon’s scales sparkle at the edges. It’s emerald-green back glows, injecting color into the water suspended in mid-air all around it. The yellow fly gleams in stark contrast to the shadow of the gaping maw.

I am standing alone on the deck of the skiff, between the center console and the bow’s casting deck, facing the bow. The wind is calm. The water surface is slick, but crossed with snakes of underwater streams carrying the tide seaward. To the left the streams boil all at once to the surface, then submerge. Small dimples mark the surface, revealing the locations of the paddle-like backfins of small crabs riding the tide seaward to spawn. Failing dusk light filters through a high ceiling of thin clouds, and bounces off thunderheads scraping the horizon, casting a burnt-orange glow.  The white deck of the skiff glows a soft orange as it drifts stern-first with the tide. Most of the 12 weight fly line is stripped off the reel, and 70 feet of it is scattered across the deck around my feet.  The rod points toward the bow, each guide catching the dusk light in sparkles of orange. The fly line is an extension of the rod, passing through a spot five feet above the bow, connected to a tarpon flying high enough to have wings. Suspended parallel to the water, it hovers eight feet in the air.  I look up at the largest tarpon I have ever hooked, its large scales each a glimmer of the fading orange sun, the black pupil of its massive eye the center of an orange orb. The brown, tan, and purple crab fly drifts inches outside of the tarpon’s mouth. Already, the tarpon is free again.

The tarpon’s head rises out of the water, so its eyes and jaw are exposed, mouth open. The blue-over-white deceiver falls into the dark cavern of the tarpon’s mouth, accompanied by two yellow-billed sprat (sardines).  A dark ball of sprat surround the tarpon, 20 feet on all sides, shimmering bits of silver in the dark green mass of panic.  The tarpon’s head is framed by a halo of clear water vacant of prey, and a crown of silver panic hovering above the surface. The yellow fly line lays across the water, undulating with the small waves bouncing off the beach, and runs onto the beach, across my right foot, and to the rod tip. I stand barefoot, in board shorts and t-shirt, only 40 feet away.

Time can stop other places on the ocean, too. Like during surfing or boogy-boarding.  There can be a moment, on a clean cresting wave, just before the top of the wave folds over, just as you are dropping in, looking down the face of the sparkling wave, when there is no sound, there is no time, a moment of perfection.  But these are images for another day.

Posted 1/17/08

Just finished fishing 3 days with the crew for an upcoming fly fishing show (Dollar Wise Fly) on Versus. The crew - Conway, Justing, and Matt. I think it will start airing in February. The episode I helped with should air in April. It was a tough three days - immediately after a cold front, and about 10 days after a severe cold front that caused large-scale fish kills. Over the 3 days, though, we managed to get Conway the local grand slam - tarpon, snook, redfish, trout. On the third and final day, we had a local reporter out with us to do a story. You can see the details here.

All material copyright Aaron Adams 2009 and beyond, unless otherwise noted.