- The only known adult Orca in the world
- IGFA event April 14th and 15th.. Jose Wejebe event
- Fishing TV show Spanish Fly host Jose Wejebe Killed in a plane cash in Everglades City, Florida April 6th 2012
- Only in Florida
- CCA Florida – Tampa Chapter Announces Twenty-Seventh Banquet, April 22, 2012
- Fly like a bird
- Biscayne Bay Estuary deep dredge threat
- A fish named “Ball Cutters”, yes it is exactly what you think!
- Rod Naming contest, Win 1 piece 12 wt Fly rods or Spinning rods, Deadline March 26th 2012
- Ladies Only fishing tournament in Sunny Florida, March 23rd 2012, Chix n Stix
Benzo
Tarpon Fly Reel Specs… Choose your weapon!!!
I often wondered why nobody has ever printed a side by side spec sheet of today’s most popular Tarpon fly reels. Perhaps it was printed somewhere and I missed it? Well, in any case, here is a spec sheet for all to use as a reference (no biased reviews, just hard specs).
Salvaging an evacuation…
Not too long ago, reports of epic bonefishing in the Keys brought my buddy Jeremy and I back down from my home in Miami for a day of fishing in some of my favorite bonefish haunts. Having been off the water for more days then I can care to want to remember, the only thing we were able to go on were some fishing reports, knowledge and experience of how these flats worked, and great expectations. There are times when that alone is enough, but this day was not one of them.
We slid my newly Mercury repowered Maverick 18 Mirage into the water and showed up in the AM, waiting out the light to fish a small flat on my favorite tide. The water was right, rays were present, sharks roamed aggressively, but after a detailed scan of the flat… nothing. We moved on looking for permit and found a change in terrain that may have caused a drastic difference in how some of these flats fished. We didn’t stick to permit fishing for long but waited around to see if there was a rouge tarpon that would swim down that ocean side shoreline in the Upper Keys. We waited for a couple hours… nothing. This prompted us to head in for an early lunch stop at a local restaurant by water. At lunch, we decided to stretch some fly lines out and bend a rod in the reliable backcountry sight fishing tailing sheepshead and redfish in gin clear shallow water. While doing so, we would wait for a different tide to resume our search for bonefish.
A quick run to the backcountry allowed us to sight fish several tailing sheepshead and a couple of decent redfish before we ran back out to the oceanside. Again we searched to find a great tide with empty bodies of water. This was an absolute total evacuation; one that I have witnessed before but none so discouraging. With the light starting to subside, we made a last ditch attempt to run back into the backcountry. I would have hesitated to do make the long haul had it not been for the new Mercury ProXs reassuring me that we would make it there, be able to pole around in skinny enough water to look for tails and wakes while still being able to make it back home with plenty of light to spare… we did just that. We crossed into the Everglades National Park boarder and spent the last hour of our day tossing flies at schools of redfish. With a 40mph cruise and 50+mph top speed, we made it back to the ramp burning very little fuel and avoiding the night time biting bugs.
The Maverick 18 HPX-V with the Mercury 115 Optimax ProXS is proving to be the perfect setup for my style of fishing. This setup is the perfect compromise of speed, stealth, fuel economy, and polability.
My favorite time of year is right around the corner so stay tuned for the chronicles…
Destin Beach on Fly
Imagine working your skiff down the beach sight fishing big redfish, ablies, and cobia in gin clear water. It’s a fishery that hasn’t really been exploited much by the media. I have yet to experience this but I have seen some videos of this type of fishing that really make me want to make the drive north.
Here’s another video from our buddies at Shallow Water Expeditions highlighting this great fishery… check it out.
Destin Beach Fishing from SHALLOW WATER EXPEDITIONS on Vimeo.
Chronicles of a Tarpon Junkie 2012… a New Year!!!
The clock struck midnight and fireworks lit up the dark skies in Key Largo. The usual Florida Keys crowd welcomed a new year in toasts, noise makers, and well wishes.
I started my first fishing trip of 2012 the following morning. Another year passed and we are now settled into 2012 looking forward to the next string of tarpon to flush down our coast line in the Florida Keys. The small windows that allowed for some pooning gave us a small tease of what is to come when the full swing comes around. As I sit in front of this iMac tying away, I stare up at my wall of fly rods and my 12wt immediately catches my eyes. I continue to become anxious as I get flashbacks of January 1st 2012. The miraculous even that took place that day still has me in awe as Tim and I experienced a taste of 2012′s laid up tarpon fishery. We hooked a bunch of fish that day and brought 3 to the glove. The cold fronts have since pushed the fish away as they await their turn to slide into spring time migration mode.
With tarpon fishing tactics constantly evolving, both my arsenal, ammunition, and vehicle had to keep up with these changes as well. So I advance forward this tarpon season with new Nautilus Monster Fly reels, improved versions of last year’s flies, and more power at my stern.
Stay tuned…
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
An iPhone Photo Essay… Space Coast!!
There are several occurances in my world of fishing outside my daily routine that brings me to travel a long distance with flyrods in hand; the Palolo worm hatch in the lower keys during Spring, the big redfish that show up in Louisiana during the cold winters, the False Albies that show up on Florida’s Gulf coast in the Fall… niether of which I had a chance to take part of in 2011. I started this year’s travels right when my buddy Capt. Willy Le (www.NativeFlyCharters.com) informed me that it was time to make a trip North for the weekend. So I packed my gear, threw some warm fishing clothes in the Jeep, and decided to document some of this trip with my iPhone.
Fri, 6pm… check weather!
Fri, 7pm… Make fish food!
Sat, 4am… Departure from Miami!
Sat, 8am… take a boat ride!
Sat, 8:30am… fight Sea Monster, give fly line morning stretches, and try to break fly rod!
… and yes, that is backing
Sat, 8:45am… shake hands with Sea Monster!
Sat, 10am… catch a 38″ Redfish!
Sat, 11am… play with small redfisher until it is time to go!
Sat, 4pm… make quick stop at a local bass pond to use 5wt!
Sat, 7pm… Pho @ Wabi Sabi!
Sun, Noon… get a late start!
Sun, Afternoon… sight fish mega-trout over clear sand!
Sun, evening… back to the barn to make the 3 hour drive back to Miami!
Video + Report via Capt. Willy to come shortly… Stay tuned…
The year of the Redfish
2011 was without a doubt the “year of the Redfish.” After the massive freeze we had in the winter of 2009/2010, the the redfish population had bounced back incredibly. Days of 70+ sight fished redfish were a common occurance this past summer and reports of redfish being caught in all the islands from Flamingo to the Keys and even on occassion on the ocean side were not uncommon. This was the most incredible redfishing that I had ever seen in my life. We spent the last 2 days of 2011 on the Florida Bay flats catching good numbers of redfish on fly.
The cool morning runs called for jackets and sweaters.
It eventually warmed up enough to shed the thick clothing and do some dental work on redfish.
We headed back the second day on both Capt. Jeremy’s Maverick 18 HPX-V and Dr. Tony’s Hells Bay classic 16 Whipray. The warming weather brought out a more aggressive nature in the reds.
So ended another year of fishing around the Purple Isle. We will look forward to getting back out on the water to experience what the Keys and Everglades has to offer.
I would walk out the door the next morning to meet with a great friend and mentor to start the journey into 2012… only, the flyrods utilized this day on the Maverick skiff would be 12 Weights. There is only one thing that can possess a man to wake up after a long New Years Eve and make the long chilly run into the Everglades backcountry to pole around in what could be empty water… or was it empty?
Stay tuned for the next tarpon junkie chronicle. I would like to wish everybody a happy and prosperous 2012!!!
Redfish Topwater Fly porn… Shallow Water Expeditions style!!
The crew at Shallow Water Expeditions just did it again… another great production and more Redfish topwater porn!!! Check it out.
Gear Review: 2011-2012 Shimano Sustain FG
Shimano unveiled their new sexy black and silver clad Sustain FG earlier this year at ICAST. The new Sustain FG offers many new features such as X-SHIP, magnumlite rotor, rapid fire drag, and reel stand (a first for spinning reels). Along with these new features, all the old features we’ve come to love about Shimano’s premium reels are also found in the Sustain FG. This is a whole new Sustain that set’s itself apart from the rest of its family. The gap between Stradic and Stella is set in place by the Sustain FG and places it truly in the half way point between the two.
New Features:
According to Shimano “X-SHIP takes spinning reel technology to a whole new level. Anglers will experience increased gearing efficiency and power, providing for ultra-light handle rotation. By using a large diameter drive gear, moving the pinion gear closer to the center of the drive gear to provide 20% more power, and by supporting the pinion gear with two ball bearings, X-Ship provides a smooth, effortless retrieve, and also virtually eliminates the pinion gear twist and rotor flex common with most spinning reels when fighting a fish. As showcased in the Stella FD reels, and now also offered in the Sustain FG and Stradic FJ spinning reels, X-Ship provides anglers with smoothness right out-of-the-box.”
The magnumlite rotor use a new CI4 material that is stronger than that found in the Stradic Ci4 to reduce the Sustain FG’s rotor weight by half. This provides a stronger more solid feel, while retaining the reel’s smoothness and light weight.
Rapid fire drag makes for a steeper drag curve. Turning the drag knob half way around will be the equivalent of making two full rotations with other reels. Light tackle snook fisherman and finesse bass fisherman will find this feature very useful as quick adjustments are needed to be made during a fight to pull a fish away from of structure. Every second counts when a big snook or redfish is dashing for the mangroves and you need to set the drag from light to tight to “D” for destroy. The entire drag system is sealed off from the salt, dust, and sand encountered in the fishing environment. As an added safety feature, once the drag is backed off all the way and the spool is pulled off of the reel, the drag knob will stay secured on the spool. To pop the drag off, push the spool down slightly and remove the drag knob before taking the spool off of the reel. This feature helps prevent accidents associated with dropping the drag knob in the water while changing spools, which can ruin a day on the water.
The reel stand will also be offered on the Sustain FG. This will be like a kick stand on the opposite end of the reel handle to keep the reel upright and the bail assembly away from the flat solid surface to bent bail wires and other damages to the bail system.
A list of features from Shimano:
• X-Ship
• New “Magnumlite CI4 Rotor” (1000-4000)
• Aluminum Sideplate
• Rapid Fire Drag
• New “Reel Stand”
• Paladin® Gear Durability Enhancement
• Propulsion® Line Management System
• Propulsion® Spool Lip
• SR® One-Piece Bail Wire
• Power Roller® III
• S®- Arm Cam
• Aerowrap® II Oscillation
• SR® Concept
• SR® 3D Gear
• SR® One-Piece Bail Wire
• 7 S® A-RB (Shielded A-RB) Ball Bearings (1000)
• 8 S® A-RB (Shielded A-RB) Ball Bearings (2500-5000)
• Aluminum Spool
• S® – Concept
• S®-Rotor
• S®- Guard
• S®- Arm Cam
• New Machined Aluminum Handle
• Direct Drive Mechanism (Thread-In Attachment)
• EVA Handle Knob
• WP Drag (Waterproof Drag)
• Maintenance Port
• Fluidrive® II
• Floating Shaft
• Dyna-Balance®
• Super Stopper® II
• Repairable Clicker
• Approved for use in Saltwater
• Rated for use with Mono, Flruoro and PowerPro® lines
The skinny…
I was blown away by the Stradic 3000FJ when I tested one of the field test models this past Spring. Earlier this month, I was presented the new 2011 Shimano Sustain 4000FG as a Field Tester to put through the rigors of our South Florida light tackle fishery. This Sustain 4000FG was combined with a G Loomis 7’9 Greenwater GWR930S spinning rod and 10lb red Power Pro braid (the red color pretty real sexy on the reel), making it a deadly all around combination for light tackle inshore fishing. I could throw half dollar size crabs at permit, medium to large shrimp at bonefish, jigs and DOA plastics to Redfish, and small plugs to snook using this outfit.
The Sustain FG combined many of the great attributes of the new Stradic FJ, Stradic Ci4, and Stella. Featuring an Aluminum body and side plates, the first thing I noticed about the Sustain FG was it’s absolute solid feel. The Sustain FG winds like a refined machine that set’s itself apart from other spinning reels and places it closer to the Stella, but valued in it’s own class just below Shimano’s flagship Stella. Thanks to the Sustain FG’s Magnumlite rotor, weight was reduced to 1/2 of regular graphite to provide for a much smoother handle rotation and smaller size rotor then the previous model (1000-4000 size). The Sustain FG is incredibly light weight. I spent days blind casting pot holes, skipping DOA Shrimp under mangrove overhangs, and ripping jigs through the surf without the worry of fatigue. The retrieve remains smooth and powerful through its coarse of time on the water, in both extreme heat and cool weather. The new drag system was redesigned to surpass it’s predecessors. This drag system feels smooth…REEEAALLLLYYYYY smoooooooth. The sound and feel of the Sustain FG’s drag is extremely impressive. We tested the drag against hard pulling spanish macks off the beach and speeding bonefish on the flats of Biscayne Bay. The sound of the Sustain FG drag zinging to the 100 yard dash of a big bonefish was a sweet melody that all anglers will appreciate. The melody is soothing, while the feel get’s the adrenaline pumping. I almost want to record the sound and make it into an alarm tone. Better yet, I’ll find myself replacing just about all my spinning reels with new Sustain FG reels. The word from Shimano is that the new Sustain FG will be available very soon; sizes SA1000FG size in January, SA2500FG and SA3000FG available in December, SA4000FG and SA5000FG available in February for dealers who have placed their orders early.
