- 2012 Tampa Tribune Outdoor Expo, 2012 Frank Seargent show
- Cool deal, only 24 hours.. Lightroom 3 the best software for photographers was $249 now $69
- Yamaha Iphone App
- IF4, International Fly Fishing Film Tour, a special Saltwater Cut for us here in Florida.
- Very Cool trick try this it works awesome.
- Dragon Fly paddle boards in South Carolina Show this weekend.
- Real truth about SOPA
- Natural Laws
- Clay Dyer, can’t help but to be inspired by this guy
- Invisible to the Naked eye water proofing you iphone
New for 2012 the 25′ Contender Bay Boat
2.20.2012
The last few days I was attending the largest boat show in the east coast of the united states, the Miami Boat show.
One of the more interesting fishing boat I came across this year was Contender’s first entry into the Bay Boat market. At 25′ it is on the larger end of the bay boat spectrum no doubt.
I did take a test ride on the boat in 15mph winds and we manage top speeds in the 60′s powered by the Yamaha 300 and 3 people on board. (I hear top speed so far has been 64mph) With the stepped hull, getting on the plane was quite quick and did not really need the trim tabs at all.
Draft is reported to be about 13″ of water. With a 90 gallon fuel capacity and 10 gallon freshwater tank making a day on the water worry free at least on the range end. I thought the ride was nice , soft and as dry as any other bay boat I have ever been on.
The one knock I keep hearing is that the bow does not allow for easy trolling motor installation. Knowing this is their first two hull of the bay boat, I’m sure there will be many changes before the production one gets built. No doubt the trolling motor issue would be quick to resolve.
Here are some snap shots I took of the boat at the Miami Beach marina.
L.O.A.: 25′ 4″
Beam: 8’6″
Weight Dry: 2500 lbs
Deep V 15.5′
Fuel: 90 gallongs
Max HP: 350
Contender 25' Bay boat
bow conrteder bay boat
I don’t sell boats. No connection with the company. This was just a point and shoot camera.. one handed ..holding on for dear life of a 25′ bay boat running in a choppy shipping channel on boat show day.
People say it looks like it rides bad but I like to see you try to hold a camera with one hand and while holding a point and shoot with the other going 50 mph, going over chop. If your footage comes out tripod silky smooth I would be highly impressed.
RCI Optics NEW for 2012
RCI Optics is a new sunglass company that was founded and designed by a group of friends from Brevard County that have a passion for surfing and fishing. Having been in the sunglass business for a very long time, these guys have put in years of research to create a company that represents the East Coast surfing and fishing community, hence the name RCI which stands for “Right Coast Independent”.
The names of each frame(which is 100% Made in Italy by the way) will be named after surf spots and fishing spots that are most popular by locals. The 2 frames that are available now are the “Monster Hole” with a copper lens/gold mirror and the “2nd Light” with a grey lens/blue mirror. “Monster Hole” is a surf break outside of Sebastian Inlet that only breaks on bigger days and is known for it’s big resident sharks lurking around the line up and “2nd Light” is a popular surf spot in Cocoa Beach that produced world champs such as Cocoa Beach’s own, 11x World Champ Kelly Slater and a bunch of other local rippers. A 3rd frame which will be named the “Mosquito lagoon” is in the works and should be available by Summer of 2012.
The lens on these are like no other. I’ve owned a lot of different polarized sunglasses and these are by far the most technical lens that I’ve ever used. I tested the copper lens with gold mirror for inshore fishing the other day, it was the first time that RCI Optics have been field tested by someone that has to rely on polarized sunglasses for their success and I have nothing but great things to say about them.
Not a lot of sunglasses fit my face, I need a more wider, flatter frame and the “Monster Hole” fit as if it was a mold from off of my face. I wore them on the water for 8 hours straight and had no discomfort what so ever. The frames and lens are lightweight and was suctioned to my face all day. The copper lens lightened up the flats which made spotting fish a heck of a lot easier like an amber lens would do.
The most amazing thing to me about the lens is that they have a special coating that is permanently bonded which repels water, oils, dust, etc. When I tested the lens while out on a charter, the crosswinds were a good 20-25mph which sprayed us pretty good from head to toe with salt water while crossing the larger waters in my boat, normally I would have to wipe the lens after a ride like that in order to see, but with these lenses on RCI Optics, I did not have to do that. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to, it was because I didn’t need to. I realized by the end of the day that I haven’t cleaned the lens all day, which if I had my previous sunglasses on, I’d have to wipe them off every time they got sprayed by water.
Here is what one of the designers from RCI had to say about the lens: “The Monster Hole is ANSI Z87.1 certified but by no means is it a safety glass. It is one of the most advance lens system out there. The Xiphos 4.0 lens treatments is a permanent application that is Anti-static (dust & stuff) don’t stick, anti-scratch, anti-water and anti oil or contaminants. It should hold up forever, but that needs to be real world tested.”
Lens test on Maui Jim’s polarize tester.
The lens took a T37 shape projectile traveling at 660ft per second at point blank and stopped it in its tracks.
Right now, the only shop carrying RCI Optics is Shady Characters Sunglass Emporium in Cocoa Beach, FL. and in Indialantic, FL. The website for the shops is www.opticflare.com and the RCI Optics website should be launched by March 2012. These 2 models that are out now retail for $240
Give the guys at the shops a call for more info on RCI Optics. I am proud to be part of the RCI Optics Team, with the technology in their lens and good sense of style, big things are coming for the future of this company.
-Capt. Willy Le
Native Fly Charters
www.nativeflycharters.com
I hunt fish hoodie, videp review.
2.13.2012
I have been using this hoodie by I Hunt Fish for a year now. I must say for our mild Florida weather this is a pretty well rounded hoodie. Very light weight, breathable micro fiber lined with wool like material. Front pocket and a bult in Orignal Buff.
It finally got cold enough for me to think about doing a quick video of the product. I know it is tough to see and feel apparel over the internet but to me this is a good choice for winter, spring and fall seasons in Florida.
Yak Attack mighty mount and panfish portrait combo. GoPro camera mounting system for kayaks and boats.
Second party of the Yak Attack video I shot with Jose C.
Excellent system for mounting POV cameras for your adventures. Easily removable and versatile. Hope to get some cool stuff on it soon!
24 Hours in Bimini
I got a call from a friend asking if I wanted to fly over to Bimini and fish a couple of days, then help take the boat back to Fort Lauderdale. The plan seemed simple, a little trolling for wahoo, some deep dropping for queen snappers, and maybe a little chumming for yellowtails. The only thing we couldn’t control was the weather. We knew a front was coming, and the trip may have to be cut short by a day or two, but I didn’t really care. Any reason to spend a little time on the other side of the gulf stream sounded good to me.
We arrived in Bimini about noonish on Friday and decided to drag some high-speed lures for an hour or so. No bites, the only thing that was being put in the boat was a little rain here and there. Without a reason to fight the elements we opted to head for the house and take a little lunch break and get ready for some afternoon yellowtailing. A few hours later we headed out of the channel and quickly noticed the wind had picked up and the seas were a little bigger. The guys on the boat were arguing about the size’ “They look 2-4″, “No, those are 3-5′s”, I just say they were, “hold on to the tower or rail or risk getting thrown out of the boat size”. Needless to say, when your yellowtail jig heads are skipping on the surface, the current is way too strong to fish for snappers. That would be the end of fishing for day 1.
Saturday morning didn’t look much better. The seas were still big and the forecast was calling for 9-11 foot seas in the stream. The wind was going to pick up and blow harder on Sunday and Monday. There would be no taking the boat back so we charted a plane to fly us out in the afternoon. As we sat on the couch looking out over the water we could see the front way off in the distance and the water was nothing but whitecaps. I suggested we go give it one last chance, heck we all had foul weather gear and the fish were already wet, what would they care. Besides, we had three hours before we were going to get on the plane. We grabbed four trolling rods and off we went. It didn’t take long before we had a double hook up. After a short fight we had wahoo in the boat and we headed for the house.
As I sit here and type this it almost feels like I never left my home, like it was all a dream. Maybe it’s due to the lack of sleep or the removal from the daily grind. Whatever it is, it puts a smile on my face. I was able to spend time with old friends and meet some new ones. Had some great food, good laughs, and shot a few photos along the way. That’s what makes life good!
Pathfinder 2400 TRS with Captain Jay Withers
2.11.2012
Shot this video of Captain Jay Wither’s new boat the Pathfinder 2400 TRS. As far as I know, Pathfinder is the #1 bay boat in Florida and they have added tons of new “fishing” features to this year’s TRS model.
pathfinder 2400 TRS
2012 Maverick/Back Country Cup, Fly Fishing Tournament!!
The Maverick/ Vero Back Country Cup
A fly fishing only all release “slam” tournament targeting redfish, snook and trout with the Grand Champion team determined by the highest total of inches as a combination of a single fish from each species scored.
Captain’s Meeting: March 2nd, 5:30 pm at The Back Country, Vero Beach
Fishing: March 3rd, 7:00 am – 3:00 pm
Awards, Raffle and Food: 3:30 pm at Riverside Park, Vero Beach
Rules
1) Fly fishing only with single hooks (no chumming allowed)
2) Fish will be measured by inches and documented on a provided scorecard. Catches will be verified as needed by an angler supplied digital photo with the fish on a ruler provided at the Captains meeting. One angler from each team will be required to attend the Captain’s meeting.
3) Only fish caught while fishing from the boat stated on the registration card for that team will count.
4) Fish must be at least 18″ to be scored.
5) If no team catches all three species, the team with the highest inch total for any combination of the two species will win.
6) In the event of a tie, the team that recorded the winning combination of species earliest as verified by photographs will be deemed the winner.
Entry form can be downloaded here —> Entry Form
New “Lil Jon colors for 2012 Mirror Lure Lil Jon
2.10.2012
I know the Lil Jon were doing really well amongst my circle of friends that fishes south west Florida, but they tells me the Lil Jon are rocking and rolling all over Florida. Not only that they are starting to do really good in Texas as well. And like Mark of DOA was telling me, international sales has really picked up. Good to see local companies doing well in this economy.
Here’s the scoop folks. I was visiting the L&S/MirroLure factory yesterday to do a little factory tour video(coming soon). Mike T. was cool enough to show me the new colors they are coming out with specifically for the ever popular Lil Jon plastics.
New 2012 Lil Jon colors
“Lowlands & Sanibel Flats”
I will start off by saying this has been wonderful winter for redfishing! We have had a very mild winter with warm and windless mornings!
As every fly-fisherman does, I try and incorporate my everyday lifestyle around my addiction to fly fishing…We try and do anything and everything to surround ourselves with something that puts us on our favorite stream, river, ocean or flat. Even if it is as simple as listening to music that circumvents this lifestyle.
Everyone can admit that there is a song, album or artist that gets us going as the sun is rising and we are heading for water. This is also relevent after a great day on the water as you are returning to the reality of life’s strenuous feats.
I was fortunate enough to meet an upcomming rising artist, Jeremy Rizer, vocals and guitar of the band “Lowlands”, based out of Grand Junction, Colorado. This guy is a class-act in every way. Their sound, progressive country/blue grass with that comforting hint of Rock-n-Roll will put you instantly back on your roots. The hit song “Snow Road”, is worth the listen and you will quickly understand the potential this band has. http://lowlandscolorado.com/
http://soundcloud.com/search?q%5Bfulltext%5D=Lowlands
I believe there is a free download on their Facebook page if you “like” the page or view “soundcloud”. http://www.facebook.com/lowlandsband?ref=ts&sk=wall#!/lowlandsband?sk=info
As the past week went – wind was low as was the tide. We had a heavy push of fish concentrated in Charlotte Harbor that were will really willing to play. Steve Tubbs (Who happens to be best friends with lead vocalist Jeremy Rizer of “Lowlands”) and I used the means of Kayaks to pursue the shallow flats and stalk tailing schools of fish that really never stopped traveling through, even at high noon and high tide. There is something to be said about the strength of solitude when fishing out of a Kayak. You become your own team and are able to do as you please and just “fish”…..We had one of those epic days and placed ourselves in the right place at the right time. Its amazing how looking a your log from years ago, will actually hold true for patterning these fish for future years to come. We were able to capitalize with flies and DOA’s.
iPhone Fun!
You would have thought these two fish were the same…..Nope! This is how fast the fish were pushing in on us! If you look closely, you will see that these are different fish…This is how our fishery has strived this year. We are very fortunate to have such a play ground in our back yard.
It is now only a matter of weeks before we can start to see the large silhouettes of a silver fish laid up in their pre-season haunts! Let the season begin. Stay tuned for pre-season tarpon fishing is about to begin!
Yak Attack versatile camera mount system for kayaks, installation
2.8.2012
Today Jose C. came over and we shot a product installation video. This is a product by a company called Yak Attack. They specialized in making versatile camera mounts for Kayaks. The product was very simple to install indeed. We were done in 30 minutes even with all the videos slowing the process down.
This product is great to mount small cameras like the GoPro or Contour cameras. I am planning on installing one on the fishing Standup Paddle board very shortly.
