Archive for the ‘Destinations’ Category

I recently had the privalege of attending the 2010 DOA Lures Outdoor Writer’s Festival in Jensen Beach.  The accomodations were provided by the River Palms Fish Camp and Cottages, which proved to be an excellent location this is centralized amongst the great snook fishery that the St. Lucie River had to offer.  The many fine sponsers in this event ranged from top manufacturers in the industry from Minnkota to Shimano.  Minnkota had a chance to showcase their Talon shallow water anchoring system, which was pretty impressive in my opinion.  I like the fact that everything is contained into one unit and is able to be unplugged and removed when needed. 

We also  got to test out a bunch of latest gear that spinning Shimano had to offer.  I got to fish the new 3000 and 4000 size Stradic Ci4 spinning reels and I was extremely impressed.  I will likely be replacing my Stradic Fi reels and adding the new Ci4 series reels to my arsenal.  The 3000 and 4000 Ci4 Stradics feature carbon fiber reinforcements, a bigger spool (2500 and 3000 have same body, but 3000 had bigger spool), and different handle knob.  I also had the pleasure of being able to fish the latest Stella 1000 on an ultra light G Loomis Trout rod.  The combo was refined, smooth, and extremely light weight.  I have been asked on many occassions if Stellas are worth the high price tag.  My answer is “definitely.”  Stellas are the flagship reels in the lineup and the top of the line reel in the industry.  The refinement in finish and smooth operation scream out Lamborghini Murcielago.  Catching a 5lb snook on this mini outfit felt like pulling on a fish twice it’s size… definitely lots of fun for catching smaller fish and plenty of power to cast a light DOA Shrimp a country mile.  I was also told to keep an eye out for Shimano’s new line of clothing and accessories as they will be releaseing an entire apparel filled with technical fishing clothes, rain jackets, and even lures amongst other surprises.  Starting with the launch of G Loomis’s new NRX series of rods, Shimano’s Terez rods and Ci4 reels, there will be great things to anticipate coming from Shimano/G Loomis in the next couple of years.  The new Ci4 Stradics will be released this September, while the NRX Series of rods will be released August 13th. 

The fishing was only bested by the comraderie.  We had a fun two days on the water.  I was fortunately paired up with my good buddy Capt. Eric Davis of the Vero Backcountry.  Capt. Eric and I fished together earlier in this year’s Maverick Boats Vero Backcountry Fly tournament.  This warm summer day, we were joined by a represntative from Shimano.  Our morning started strong as I pulled the hook on a big snook first thing while throwing a DOA 5.5 BFL.  We kept the streak going as we started pulling out plenty of snook and a few other surprises from underneith the docks using the venerable DOA Glow shrimp and DOA CAL shad tails.  I don’t know what the highlight of the day was as we caught about 30 or so snook, rescued a pigeon that was entangled in monofilament under a bridge, hooked some freshwater gar, and pulled the hook on a huge largemouth bass.  Despite the windy conditions and dirty water, I think we pulled off pretty well.  Upon returning to the docks, those who fished for bigger snook were successful bouncing the bottom with DOA Terroreyz and Shrimp as there were quite a few 40 inch class snook caught.  We had some bad ass BBQ that evening and then followed it up with a short fishing trip the following day.  Upon leaving the event, I was already looking forward to next year’s.  Thank you to Mark Nichols, DOA Lures, Minnkota, Shimano, and the rest of the sponsors for making these events happen. 

New Minnkota Talon

New Stradic 3000Ci4

they do eat from behind sometimes

Operation Pigeon rescue

Flounder caught on Stradic 4000Ci4, Teramar Rod, and DOA CAL

Snookzilla

Share on Facebook

As I hammer down paperwork and prepare some presentations for important corporate meetings this week, I thank God that I had the opportunity to make a 5 day trip up north this last week to take a short break from the madness ahead and relax on a short sabbatical.  The first leg of the trip brought me to meet with my buddies Capt. Will Le (Native Fly Charters) and Capt. Ron Wilter for a few days of redfishing in the Space Coast (Mosquito Lagoon, Banana River, Indian River Lagoon).  Capt. Ron had a little local private fish camp that I was able to stay at named “the Wack”.  While on the water, we had some tough shots at many weary and emotionally distressed redfish but we were able to capitalize on feeding some of these Goonie redfish using custom tied redfish flies, Sebile Topwaters, and various DOA plastics.   I would have to say, if it weren’t for being able to throw a full clear Monic Fly line, some of the redfish I hooked would not have been possible.  Besides the great time I had on the water, time off the water was great as well as I got to experience a little of what a surfing community was all about and sample some of the fine cullianry delights the space coast had to offer… think Mango Mahi, fried soft shell crab, crab meat stuffed blackened grouper, Oak cHill chowder (gator tail, clam, and red chowder fixins), and some local Italian dining.  The Space Coast of FL from New Smyrna Beach to Cocoa Beach offers a great inshore fishery for redfish and trout.  I can’t wait to get back…

I almost had my fill on the first leg of my trip but there was more ahead.  I left “the wack” after a few days of redfishing and headed to the big snook central of FL near DOA Lures headquarters.  Stay tuned for more…

Share on Facebook

According to several reliable sources, it is published that the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf has finally be capped off and the flow has gone from a small trickle to a complete stop this afternoon. The only thing left to hope for is that the cap will hold and final measures to completely seal off the leaking pipe will go through with success. Many lives in the northern Gulf coast have been impacted by the Oil spill that started April 20th. The recovery period will be along one but the road to recovery has begun with the end of the flow of oil. This is indeed a small light at the end of dark tunnel.

This is my first sigh of releif in the 85 strenuous days of watching the leak closely with just about every free second I had available. Luckily, the beaches and shorelines of my home waters in South Florida have not been impacted by this BP Oil Spill. Our waters are still pristine and full of life. With proper management and a movement towards a greener tomorrow, let’s hope we can avoid this same type of dissaster in the future.

From the Weather Channel:

BP: No Oil Leaking into Gulf from Busted Well
by The Associated Press , on Jul 15, 2010 4:00 pm ET

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A tightly fitted cap was successfully keeping oil from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in three months, BP said Thursday. The victory – long awaited by weary residents along the coast – is the most significant milestone yet in BP’s effort to control one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.

Kent Wells, a BP PLC vice president, said at a news briefing that oil stopped flowing into the water at 2:25 p.m. CDT after engineers gradually dialed down the amount of crude escaping through the last of three valves in the 75-ton cap.

“I am very pleased that there’s no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, I’m really excited there’s no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico,” Wells said.

The stoppage came 85 days, 16 hours and 25 minutes after the first report April 20 of an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 workers and triggered the spill.

Now begins a waiting period to see if the cap can hold the oil without blowing a new leak in the well. Engineers will monitor pressure readings incrementally for up to 48 hours before reopening the cap while they decide what to do.

Though not a permanent fix, the solution has been the only one that has worked to stem the flow of oil since April. BP is drilling two relief wells so it can pump mud and cement into the leaking well in hopes of plugging it for good by mid-August.

BP has struggled to contain the spill and had so far been successful only in reducing the flow, not stopping it. The company removed an old, leaky cap and installed the new one Monday.

Between 93.5 million and 184.3 million have already spilled into the Gulf, according to federal estimates.

Source:

BP Oil Spill Stopped

Share on Facebook

This great place is in lower Matecumbe and the food and staff are great. Highly recommended if you are down this way.

Kenny Smith
InshoreNearshore

Share on Facebook

June 25 2010

This is part 2 of the VLOG from Thailand. I shot this on the Kodak Playsport. You can see the white balance going crazy at one point trying to decide between the fluorescent light and the sunlight in the background.

Part 2 is when we flew into Lampang which is northern Thailand. In this region they sell bugs in the market. Some were good, some were ok, some had not taste at all. I must say however my favorites were the flying ants “mang mun” in thai. Most of them did not have much taste the ants were outstanding.

Youtube Link

Share on Facebook

D.O.A. Tournament

By Jose Chavez

Its 1:45 a.m. and I still have not had a minute of sleep. I sat at my desk wide awake recollecting the countless stories of gargantuan trout, monster snook and elusive redfish shared by my friends while fishing the DOA tournament. Considering that I was supposed to wake up at 2a.m. I decided to forgo a succinct nap and started moving my bags and equipment to the driveway to wait for Peter to pick me up. I was excited that in 4 hours I would try my luck in the great fishery I have heard about ever since I started kayak fishing in 2008.

Peter arrived right on time; we loaded the gear and were on our way. Peter claims that I was asleep before we left my neighborhood. After what felt like an hour nap, I was awakened by the halt of the car. Mud creek was the location we were fishing on the first day.

As soon as the doors opened we were greeted by a cloud of the resident mosquitoes which thought deet was a condiment. Fortunately they were not immune to a thermacell. John Lee and Mark Couch pulled into the parking lot. Mark opted to stay and guard the car (for Mark this means take a nap)

We put our kayaks in the water and started working our way out of a cove and along the mangrove line. There was a lot of action in the water. I could hear baits being crashed under the mangroves. After a couple of casts I found out that the commotion was being caused by a school of small jacks. We kept paddling on and ran into a couple rolling tarpon. A few casts were made but they were not interested. We paddled a couple miles without success other than a few small trout. The water quality was very poor and despite there being bait and mullet everywhere, after a few hours we decided to start working our way back.

As we drifted back to the car we came across a patch of clear water with deep potholes. A couple casts in the potholes resulted a trout a hair under 28 inches. That was the only decent fish I caught all day; a couple hours later we decided to leave and swing by the beach to check out a launch we had heard about. Peter and I were both interested in doing some fishing off the beach if the weather cooperated.

After a brief inspection we decided to give it a go ahead in the morning. We drove to the Palm River Lodge in Jensen Beach. We decided to stay at the lodge because it would be the venue for the captains meeting and weigh-in for the tournament. I have to say I was very impressed with the facility. The pool was definitely the highlight of the evening. It was nice to relax in the pool and sip on a beer and hang out with the crew. After the pool we went to grab some pizza at a local shop which ended up being a regular stop on the way back from fishing for the next couple of days.

Headed to the beach

On the way back we stopped at this tackle shop to get some info on fishing the beach. They were very helpful.

I don’t know if it was because I was really hungry but this place made some great pizza.

We woke up early Friday morning; Mark and John decided to fish locally inshore while Peter and I headed to the beach. We were greeted by a beautiful sunrise. The surf was rougher than the previous afternoon but we still decided to stick with the plan. Unfortunately it was a slow day of fishing. There were half a dozen boats on the water and we only saw one of them catch a small permit. As we moved back to the launch we noticed that the surf was rougher then what we are used to seeing on the west coast of Florida. Peter went in first and decided to walk his kayak in. I stored all my gear in the hatch of my Emotion Grand Slam and headed in. Peter radioed that the surf wasn’t as bad as it seemed so I decided to ride the waves in. I waited for a couple minutes for a lull in the surf. I saw an opening and I made my way in.

Enjoying the sunrise at the beach

After loading all our gear up on the trailer, we made our way back the lodge in Jensen Beach for the Captains Meeting. After a quick stop at the pizza joint and a dip in the pool we walked to the pavilion where Mark Nichols went over the rules. After the captains meeting, I definitely got a clear feel for the tournament. This is an event that’s sole purpose is for the participants to have fun. Mark did something that I have never heard before at a tournament, he asked the participants what they thought and was open to suggestions. I thought this was very cool.

Norm apparently forgot his rods in Tampa so his good friends were nice enough to present him with some tackle during the captain’s meeting so he would have a rod to fish the tournament with.

People came from all over the place to fish the tournament. This guy drove down from Illinois by himself; I think it was worth the drive because he caught a 40″ snook that morning.

After the brief meeting and inspection of the lures provided everyone headed back to their rooms to start rigging the rods.

John Lee showed had a great idea of cutting the pinch weight in half, attaching it to the front of the hook to create a weighted weedless hook.

Can you spot Mark? He blended in perfectly with the wall.

We woke up early the next morning and were on our way to try our luck at a different location then what we prefished. I went over the pointers that John, Mark, and Peter shared with me the night before as I paddled along to the mangrove line I planned to fish. After a couple casts I was hooked up to a monster snook. I never got a really good look at her other than a football sized head swooshing back and forth before she made a long run. After 30 seconds it was over, the line went limp. I reeled in my line only to find that she had worn through my 30 lb leader. I retied and kept moving on. The rest of the day proved to be extremely slow. I couldn’t even catch a trout. I saw some docks in the distance and decided to make the long paddle over to see if I could find any fish willing to cooperate.

Mark is well known for his naps on the water and the fact that he was fishing a tournament was not a big enough reason to stop a tradition of many years.

Here is John trying to sneak up on Mark to scare him, but unfortunately Mark heard him approaching and was awake before John got close enough to make his move.

I started working the docks without avail. As I kept moving on I spotted a push of water that appeared to be redfish. It only took one cast to confirm my suspicions resulting in a little redfish. I decided to make a few more casts to see if I could upgrade. A few casts later I had boated 3 more redfish all 18-19 inches. It was apparent that they were all the same size so I moved on.

I fished the rest of the day without any luck. Time had run out and it was time to go back to the weigh in. After stopping at the pizza joint and a dip in the pool, back to the pavilion we went to find that the raffle had already started.

We even saw a wedding proposal at the captains meeting! Fortunately she said yes! My wife would have killed me if I had proposed to her at a fishing tournament.

Mark then announced the winners, and it was obvious that it was a slow day of fishing with only one slam turned in.

After the winners were announced and pictures had been taken, Mark Nichols made an announcement.

With an embarrassed young man by his side, he proceeded to tell Ken Taylor that 3^rd place was being revoked from him because the young man at his side had been misinformed of the rules by one of the DOA staff and he had not turned in his over-slot fish because he was told that it was slot fish only.

More pictures were taken and everyone moved on.

After a brief nap I met up with a few of the guys. Jeff Harrell of FinaticDesigns.com and I made plans to hit the dock of the lodge. He managed to pull a nice trout from the lights.

It was a great event that I definitely plan in participating in next year

Share on Facebook

June 14th 2010

Since I have been back, every time I tell people I just got back the first thing they ask me was about all the unrest that was prevalent there the past few months. I was there for 10 days and did not see an single incident, saw or heard anything on the news. After a while I ask what was the deal with the “red vs yellow” shirt confict. They tell it is pretty much over with. When the demonstrator got violent last month they all got arrested and the leader surrender. I have to say from what I saw I did not have a reason to not believe them. I mean with the exception of the lack of tourist everything was business as usual.

I was in the northern part of Thailand for a bit as well. The northern part is where the red shirt was more popular and I have to say I did not see anything going on there either. The tourism was not doing well however. The hotel I was at had perhaps 6 guess in the entire place and we’re talking this place had hundreds of rooms. The service was great but there the guest were just not there due to the all the negative news these past few months. Same thing with most of the restaurants, ghost town. If you’re thinking about heading to Thailand it’s probably a good idea to get there before all the crowds return.

More photos I had a chance to edit from Thailand.

They didn’t have any cooked ones else I would’ve a least tried it.

Fresh water tiger prawns

slows shutter.. kinda worked.

While walking the streets at night, I almost stepped on this guy. He held still enough for me to take some photos.

High ISO as  you can see lots of grain.

the HDR, high contrast look. I think it worked will for this shot.

Not the best exposed shot but we were taking the mini bus up the mountain and I thought it was cool.

Share on Facebook

June 14th 2010

Well this is my first Vlog of my trip to Thailand using my Kodak Playsport. In this video, we’re walking the street markets. I also tried a few things including a dung beetle which I did not like very much.

Youtube Link:

Share on Facebook

June 13th 2010

Friday I began the long journey back home from half way around the world. The last day in the Thailand was filled with running around getting a list of things friends and family asked for. We visited a market next to a river. I would expect the river to be totally lifeless considering how poor most of the people are here it would be fished out. On the contrary however. The fish was abundant and came up to eat out of your hands. The locals tells that it was because the market is next to temple so it is forbidden to harm wild life there. The fish apparently knows this because they were all over the place.

After dinner we were packed and ready to head to the airport. We were to fly out via Korean Airlines at about 11pm. Not knowing how the traffic was going to be we left early and got there at 9pm. We had an hour flight delay so flight out of Bangkok to South Korea was now midnight. We pass the time buying some wi-fi time, and cruise the internet which I have not done for for a bit. Apparently the US is the only airports providing free wi-fi for your laptop.

Five hours in the air we landed in South Korea for another 3 hour layover. I took this opportunity to get some much needed sleep. My brother law tells me I was snoring but I didn’t care. The 30minute nap I got was well worth it. This was to be the epic flight back to New York and for whatever reason I just can not sleep well while flying. I say epic because the flight leaves 11am S. Korea time, with the time zone changes and half way around the world we were not to land on US soil until 11am (yes 24 hours later) the next day! I think it came out to like 14 hours in the hair but that is a loooooooooong time to be anywhere much less a single economy class chair in a crowded airplane.

The flight was an eternity. If it wasn’t for the built in entertainment system I do not know what I would have done to keep myself busy. I must have watched 10 movies during the flight. My favorite was “How to train a dragon”. Next time I do this I will have to bring my ipad, ipod as they do have a usb charger as well. There were music, new releases, classic as well as foreign movies, board games, arcade games.

After landing in NY we had to go through customs. By the way, US customs does not like you to use you cameras in that area. I was told immediately to stop and delete what I had recorded. I complied quickly. I do not think it had anything to do with my video taking but I was sent to be interview more and not just walked through after checking papers like my brother and law. They asked me all kinds of questions but at the end all was good minus a small delay. I call tell looking around that room though, that some was being sent back or interrogated more and did not look very happy.

We are now on US grounds. No sleep and looking at a Wendy’s we at our lunch. I have been eating Thai or Korean food for the past 11 days and was ready to get some good American food in my stomach. It was the best hamburger I’ve had in a long time. We will need the energy for yet another 5 hours of layover before heading to Orlando as our final destination.

The New York airport was crowded old and dirty compare to the new Thai and Korean airport. I wasn’t very comfortable but was I was glad to be one step closer to home. I killed time charging all my gear(out of the country 220v was the power) and making phone calls and following up on emails and voice mails. I did not utilize my Verizon phone in “roaming mode” while I was away. It would’ve cost some crazy amount plus I really did not want to be attached to a phone the entire time I was in Thailand.

After almost another 1 hour delay we were off finally. 9pm we landed in Orlando and was greeted by my brother in law’s family. I’m not home just just yet. We drove to Lake Whales to drop him off then I had to make the 1.5 hour drive back to Tampa. This is cake to what I normally drive but if you count how long I have been up, I have been with out sleep for almost 48 hours now. I had to fill up on gas and down some energy drink.

The drive home(alone finally) gave me time to reflect on the trip and the long journey half way around the world. Though it was not meant to be, this trip will definitely be a life changer for me. I am fortunate enough to see the other side many never get a chance to. If you care to listen, I will share my perspective as this blog goes on. We are fortunate here, we are compare to most of the world.

I arrive in my driveway right before midnight. I should be dead tired and falling over from lack of sleep but I was not. Now to get over the jet lag…….

————————————————————
Eating Bugs:

While I was there I avoided most of the tourist hot spots. I leaned towards more of the local flavors. I didn’t want to eat at fancy restaurants I wanted street foods. I wanted eat things I could not eat back in the states. The exotic fresh fruits and strange types of meets and insects that they eat there.

I must have sampled 10 different type of insects while I was there. From Dung Beatles, silk worms, flying ants, rice roaches, crickets, inch worms, I even tried the eggs horse shoe crabs. Most of the bugs didn’t have much taste at all after it got fried. My favorites were the flying ants.  The local names is “mang mun” this translates to “oil insect”. The bug has oil bladder, which has an excellent taste as the gland explodes in your mouth.

Share on Facebook

Tarpon and Bonefish are two of the most sought after species by fly fisherman from Biscayne Bay to Key West.  We hold a very special fishery here where we don’t have the fish that are easiest to catch, nor do we have the biggest population of either of the two species here, but what we have here in South Florida are some of the worlds biggest, toughest, and most challenging bonefish and tarpon.  As a guide in Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys, it always brings a smile to my face on days where I have seen my anglers from various experience levels conquer their firsts.  Because I don’t guide full time, I get to spend quite a bit of time on the bow as well on my off days and study and learn these fish from the angler’s point of view.  This aids in helping me coach the marksman on the tippy end of the skiff in delivering their presentation and finally sealing the deal. 

In recent weeks, I guided two incredible anglers to their first tarpon and bonefish on fly.  In the few recent days, I was able to accomplish the same again with another two anglers, but this time, these two anglers were not locals.  My buddy Capt. Willy Le of Titusville caught his first big tarpon on fly on the bow of my Maverick Mirage.  In the days to follow, I then guided a Noweigian angler from London to both his biggest bonefish and his first tarpon on fly (before this day, he had only saltwater fished in Mexico).

It’s a great feeling to be the man on the watch tower when you have anglers who can listen and get it done… but then again, there is a part of me that would rather be on the pointy end of the skiff most of the time.  This is where guide becomes angler, fish becomes teacher, and fly tackle is put to it’s rounds.  All the coaching and directing I’ve done from the watch tower comes into question at this point.  This gives new definition to practicing what I preach…

My buddy Dr. Tony and his father joined me for a day of tarpon fishing recently in the upper Keys.  Tony’s dad brought the HD Video camera and was able to capture some great footage of lots of tarpon, lots of frustrating moments, and moments of victories.  Our afternoon of fishing was great as we threw at singles, pairs, and giant hoards of big tarpon travelling up and down the ocean side of the Keys.  We started off with lots of tough shots into a strong breeze at fish that were snuffing our presentation on every good shot.  A quick fly change and adjustment in presentation was key and I finally hooked a rather large tarpon throwing into one of the biggest strings of tarpon I had ever seen in my life.  The victory dance ended before it began as the silver beast leaped several times into the air while I was clearing the flyline and had the last loop of line wrap around my watch.  It was a quick death for my brand new monic fly line as the watch cut right through the fly line in one loud “SNAP”.   I made up for this the next round as I hooked and tamed one shortly afterwards.  Tony hooked another fish minutes later that made for Miami and never looked back.  We tried to chase but the fish was still ripping line off of Tony’s reel like as if we were sitting still.  I didn’t manage to shoot a bunch of photos but I did manage to shoot a couple shots.  Our main focus was on shooting video so stay tuned for some raw footage from this day.

Bonefishing isn’t the greatest this time of year as days are very warm and shots are limited to the cooler hours but knowing how to work with this can lead to some pretty good fishing.  It also helps when you are fishing with one of the world’s best bonefisherman (Tim Mahaffey).  Office work was a pretty slow week so my buddy Tim and I decided to take off for 4 hours during the middle of one day and do a little bonefishing in Biscayne Bay before having to return to our land locked duties.  In the short time we fished, we managed to catch 4 decent bonefish on fly, one of which was close to double digit status.  On this day, we fished with Monic full clear fly lines which gave us the edge when the water was ultra clear, winds were low, and the sun was high.  Fishing with full clear fly lines do take a little bit of getting used to, but because you now to read the fish in relation to where your fly landed, it does force you to become a better angler.

Days are getting longer and temperatures are getting warmer, but the fishing is as always… AS GOOD AS EVER!!  Stay tuned for more of the good stuff…

Share on Facebook