Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

Official G Loomis NRX Flyrod Launch in South Florida.

 08.13.2010

Location: Flyshop of Miami

8243 South Dixie Highway
Miami, FL 33143
(305) 669-5851

Time:  8:00pm-9:00pm

Come join me at the official launch of the new G Loomis NRX line of flyrods at the Flyshop of Miami on August 13th.  There will be horderves and drinks served for this event.  It took many years for G Loomis to finally release a new fly rod.  From what I have heard, G Loomis has implimented the latest resins and highest modulus graphit into their new NRX series of fly rods.  The top shelf components blend together to make this the most sensitive and lightest weight fly rod G Loomis has ever produced.  Will the new NRX top the old GLX Classic series of rods in line feel, light weight, and sensitivity?  Will the NRX be more powerful of the G Loomis Crosscurrent series?  Come and find out for yourself.  Feel free to contact me or anybody at the Flyshop of Miami for further details.  We look forward to seeing you all there.

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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

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Adding a lens adapter to my Kodak Playsport to get super macro and a wide angle view. This adapter cost under $20 and works on cell phone cameras as well like Iphones and Droids. What you think of the test footage shot in 720p HD? I say it’s pretty darn good considering it’s attached to a $150.00 video camera.

The installation is pretty easy. It comes with a metal ring that has a sticky side. You stick the ring on the phone/Playsport.  The lens is magnetic so you can put it on and off whenever you need it. Pretty cool idea. A lens cap and lanyard is also included.

The lens adapter can be bought for $16.99 plus shipping at USBfever

Youtube Link

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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

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Key Largo Conch House

100211 Overseas Hwy

Key Largo, FL

305-453-4844

It is tough to find good seafood in the Florida Keys.  Why, you ask?  Because with so many seafood restaurants and so much access to fresh seafood, it is hard to chose a place to eat at.   

I recently made a second visit to the Key Largo Conch House (http://www.keylargocoffeehouse.com) with my buddy Jeremy after a long and tiring day of tarpon fishing.  The first time I ate there was impressive, but the second time absolutely blew me away.  The atmosphere is a casual “Keys’y” laid back type feel, but not the touristy sand and island feel that just about every other restaurant has; the Conch House had more of a locals place feel to it.  The Conch House is nestled admist a forest of trees, hidden and discreet.  Don’t let the bushy “shack in the middle of the woods” outlook fool you though.  What lies inside is some of the best food, cleanest presentation, and best service around in Key Largo.  You feel right at home, comfortable, and not overwhelmed with that touristy feel like in most other restaurants in the Keys. 

This is the place to be if you like a quality home cooked quality meal.  The Lobster and Conch Ceviche is a must order item on the menu.  This dish is prepared with the freshest ingredients and spiced just right.  It is a refreshing dish to start your meal after a long day of being out on the water.  Couple this dish with the fried cracked conch appetizer and you have the perfect yin and yang.  The cracked conch is lightly breaded and with herbs mixed into the light breading and fried to perfection, not too dry, but not soggy with grease, just perfect.  The Yellowtail fish tacos hit the spot just right for lunch.  I had the Yellowtail Florentine last time for dinner and was very impressed.  The presentation was great and the taste was second to none.  It was definitely the best yellowtail snapper dish I had ever had.   If you crave deserts, they have a selection of home made deserts that are different each day.  The home made Key Lime Pie was the best pie I had ever had.  It was not too tangy, nor too sweet… the texture was smooth and I actually finished an entire slice of Key Lime Pie for the first time in my life.  The Conch House also offers a large variety of different teas and coffee, which they are famous for.  Being Asian, I have had just about every type of tea imaginable and I will admit that the Conch House offers some of the most amazing iced tea.  I will definitely be back to try the different flavor tea and coffee they offer. 

Visit the restuarants website at www.keylargocoffeehouse.com or better yet; next time you are in Key Largo, get in your car and drive down to the Key Largo Conch House for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  I guarantee you will be impressed. 

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Is it pure coincidence or was the date of my birth 27 years ago planned by a higher being to fall right smack dab in the middle of tarpon fishing?  It only took 25 years after my birth to succumb to the obsession that is tarpon fishing. 

After a rough day at work on my birthday, I decided I needed some pampering out of town.  I needed some quiet and some alone time, but most of all, I needed to catch some tarpon in the process.  My buddy Capt. Rick De Paiva (www.saltwaterflyfishing.org) invited me to fish with him on the west coast this weekend.  I chose to take a mini-vacation and stay in Fort Myers for the next 3 days.  The plan was simple… drive over and fish with Rick and David on the first day, drive north to meet with my buddies Capt. Colby Hane and Sam Root on the second day for some filming, and wrap up my vacation with one last day back down south fishing with Rick and David again.   I did not shoot a single photo this last weekend but I did make a few casts with my fly rod. 

Day 1:

jumping a poon behind the boat lined in front of you... priceless

I met with Capt. Rick De Paiva and David McCleaf for a few hours of tarpon fishing in Pine Island.  We approached the tarpon highway and was third in line for shots at fish that would string through this particular avenue.  The day started with a slight trickle as the fish did not pour through hard yet.  The few fish that did swim through and make it to us were already swimming fast as they had been baraged by a number of flies before I could present mine.  When boat #1 left, we all shifted positions and we were now boat #2 at the spot.  The boat in front of us had caught a fish earlier, only increasing the anxiety within me as more fish would come through already spooked.  Finally, I had a break… a fresh fish had swam through, bounced off the boat in front of us and came at our boat hard.  I laid the fly in front of the fish and it garbaged my fly immediately, making a series of leaps right in front of boat #1.  What could be sweeter then that?  After catching this fish, we got back in line and was now being hit by clouds and limited visibility.  The fish continued to swim and I fed one more before we decided to end our day due to lack of light.  We made a quick stop at one of Rick’s local redfish grounds on our way home and like clockwork, tails were thrashing at the calmed surface of the water.  Rick handed me a spinning rod rigged with a DOA “key lime” shad tail and we managed a small redfish as well as a real big red before heading back…leaving the fish tailing.  Pine Island Sound proves again it’s great tarpon and redfish fishery. 

Day 2:

I awoke this morning and met with a buddy of mine for a quick breakfast before picking up another brand new 12 weight G Loomis Crosscurrent Pro-1 flyrod.  There is no doubt about it; the Pro-1 is the best flyrod for tarpon fishing hands down.  The only drawback is the inconvenience of a 1 peice rod for those who like to travel, but on the other side of the coin, the 1 peice design is great for tarpon water locals who don’t have to travel to outside locations on an airplane.  After picking up my brand new fly rod, I met up with my buddies Sam Root and Capt. Colby Hane in Sarasota for more tarpon fishing.  We spent a couple of hours on the water and had a few shots admist lots of boat and jetski traffic.  I managed to break in my new flyrod with an 80lb poon on my second cast of the day and Sam managed to catch the whole series from the strip strike to catching the fish on flim.  One image that will be burned in my memory forever was watching my fish launch itself 20 feet into the air when it ran up a sloping bar.  This was definitely the highest I had ever seen such a big fish leap.  Sam should have a short teaser clip of this series of events up soon.    

Day 3:

I headed back to Pine Island to meet with Capt. Rick and David to round out my last day on the west coast.  Winds were predicted at 5 to 10kts out of the East with lots of sunshine.  With lots of hope we hit the water to find 15 to 25kt winds out of the SW greeting us where we were to line up again to throw at more tarpon.   We had zero light as the overcast skies and monsoon-like rain hammered us through the day.  Battling out the tough conditions, we sat and chatted a little bit with reknowned artist Bill Bishop in his skiff lined up next to us.  Shots were tough but I fed 2 fish and caught one more to end my trip out west.  We ran through the thicket of storms on our way back but did manage to get home safe, a little damp, and satisfied with the fishing we had under such adverse conditions.  The 2 hour drive home allowed me to think back on the great times I had this last weekend.

I’d like to thank all my buddys out west for their hospitality and for providing me with the media to help illustrate and pu this last weekend’s fishing into perspective.  Every coast of Florida has a truley spectacular fishery and the west coast from Sarasota to Pine Island has definitely shown it’s great potential for an phenomenal tarpon fishery.  The next few days will allow me to rest up a bit, catch up on office work, and continue to replenish the supply of flies I’ve spent out of my tarpon box.  There will be more to come so stay tuned… the season has just begun!!!

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DISCLAMER:

Let me start this off by saying that I’m not an expert on food nor do I pretend to be.  I smoke, dip, and drink often so my palate might not be in top shape or agree with some.  Also, I will not be reviewing restaurants by any means.  This will be more like a restaurant recommendation blog. Who wants to hear about crappy restaurants? It’s a waste of time and I don’t want to affiliate Saltyshores or myself with any negative vibes.  My goal is to help people experience some unique dinning that they would not have normally had a chance to visit.  Also, I am not and will not have any association to the restaurants I recommend.  If you have a restaurant that you would like to share or you have questions or comments you can email me @ Mike.Torregrossa@gmail.com

Siam Gardens Thai Restaurant

My good friend, and neighbor for a good bit of my life, is from Laos, and I was lucky enough to experience some of his mom’s home cooking growing up.  If you have never tried Loa food you are missing out. The food is full of flavor and is some of the best cuisine I have ever had.  Its simple food with many great flavors built on the freshest ingredients.  In my quest to duplicate my childhood memories for Lao food I have not been able to locate a Loa restaurant anywhere.  From what I have been told and experienced, Thai food is similar to Lao food, and there are many Thai restaurants available.  After weeding out the average run of the mill restaurants, I came across Siam Garden Thai Restaurant located in St.  Petersburg, Florida.

I have been dining there for the last 8 years and have loved ever dish I have tried.  The wait staff and the cooks are top notch and you can tell they put 100% into the restaurant.  You can’t go wrong starting off the meal with some spring rolls, papaya salad, and nam sob.

All the dishes are delicious. A couple of the best that I have tried are Garlic Chicken and Grouper Cheeks. Ultimately, I would recommend just going with whatever you are in the mood for. You can’t go wrong at this place.

Going there as often as I have, you get to know people and become friends.  The owner knows that I love to fish and suggested to me that the next time I catch a fish to bring it in and let them do their magic.  I have not looked back ever since. I don’t even think about cooking fish anymore.  I just clean and bring it to them.  Here is the deal if you want them to cook it up for you -make sure it’s cleaned and all the bones are removed.  Bring it to the side door located on the north side of the restaurant and tell the cooks how you want them to prepare it.  It may seem strange at first but believe me it’s worth the effort.

For me, if it’s a smaller fish such as a Flounder or mangrove Snapper, I just have them deep fry the whole fish or steam it.  Once you get over the appearance you will experience the best way to eat fish.  The skin gets so crispy and the meat absorbs all the spices and sauces.  I enjoy the deep fried fish served with a Thai Chili sauce and steamed with cilantro, lime juice, and hot Thai peppers.  It’s spicy but don’t worry you can chase it down with a Singha or a Beer Lao.  It’s cost eight dollars to have the whole fish fried.

For larger fish such as grouper I like to have them prepared as a meal.  First, they start off with a soup.

Then they follow it up with fish fingers served with a sweet/spicy sauce.

And for the main course they will fry serving size portions with your choice of sauce served with vegetables and Jasmine rice.

It don’t get better than that, fresh fish you caught prepared Thai style.  Its eight dollars a person to have them make the meal.  So if you’re ever in the mood for some great Thai food or you want your fish cooked for you give Siam Garden Thai a try.  You will not be disappointed.

PRICE: Affordable

DRESS:  Causal

WEBSITE: http://siamgardenthai1.com/

ADDRESS: 3125 MLK Street N. St. Petersburg Florida 33704

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I picked up a nice little point and shoot camera last week. I took  it up to Destin, fl with me to cobia fish and had a chance to test many of the features in a saltwater environment.

It’s the Kodak Play Sport:

Kodak Playsport

It does 720p, 1080p video, 5mp camera, and the best part it’s waterproof to 10′!

Operation is super simple with just one hand. It does not have lots of options basically just turn it on and start taking photos or recording. It takes SD cards which are cheap and available everywhere.

About the size of an iphone it’s small enough to carry around everywhere and the contour of the camera feels pretty nice, not slippery like most camera bodies.

It has a USB port as well as lithium ion batteries so it last quite a while.  The latches are spring loaded so it forces you to lock it to keep the body water tight. Some of the older waterproof cameras didn’t have this and lots of them got water inside via operator error.

At about $150.00 for a waterproof still and video camera the Kodak Play Sport is a dream come true for fisherman.
There’s plenty of cameras out there that are waterproof, does hd, etc.. but the Kodak Play Sport, at $150.00 has pretty much all you would want in a water sport camera.

What it don’t have:

*Flash

Here are some samples of the Play Sports 5mp Camera. I did adjust the contrast and did some cropping.

I shot some video was it as well in mainly 720p at 60fps .. I gotta say I’m impressed for such an inexpensive camera. With the small sensor indoor and low light isn’t the greatest but then again the price is right.

You can get one off of Amazon or they have them in stock at your local Best Buys as well.

Here’s a short clip of the video quality. I shot it in 720p at 60fps. I did not do anything to the video besides just putting the clips together and adding music.

You Tube Link

The photos are pretty good for a $150 point and shoot that’s water proof.

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Exude – Cigar Mino

When Sam called to tell me he had some new Exude lures he wanted me to try, to say I was pumped is an understatement. I have been a big fan and die hard Exude user for some time. My personal favorites being the RT Slug. I have caught more redfish using the RT Slug in Arkansas Shad color than I can remember. In the past year I was turned onto the Exude Dart and it has quickly become my new favorite. Using the Gold Dart, I won a tournament sponsored by Paddle-Fishing.com last year and caught some of my personal best fish.

Exudes have always had that slimy feeling when you get them wet and these new lures were no exception. They are made with the same process designed to produce a scent trail while in the water. The new 4” Cigar Mino comes in 17 different colors, with the main feature being the over sized tail. My first thought while looking at that over size tail was this would be like other “swim” baits. I haven’t used those much, but the ones I have used I had great success with. Designed to be retrieved with a steady or stop and go action, the vibration of the oversize tail would provoke a strike. Most swim baits that I have used in the past are shaped quite different, usually very thick in the front and tapering down to the paddle tail. These new Cigar Mino’s are shaped more like other Exude lures, with an extreme oversize tail.

I did have somewhat limited success at first, but I attribute most of that to the fact we were just coming out of one of the worst winters on record. I was catching trout, but the redfish would not hit it, I think to the fast retrieve. At that time they were, and in some cases still are, keyed in on small crabs and shrimp, so chasing down a quick moving lure just wasn’t in the cards. But as the water has started to warm up and more bait is showing up on the flats, the redfish have been a bit more receptive. Casting out in front of this cruising redfish, it turned and quickly chased down the Cigar Mino in “Chicken on a Chain” color.

While the idea of a swim bait is very appealing, I have to say I was just a bit disappointed in the action of this new lure. With that oversize tail I thought you would really feel more action on the retrieve and that was not the case. I gave a few to some friends who also made the same comments. I even trimmed one down to see if it made any difference and the results were the same. However, I would use this lure a bit more in the coming months as the water continues to warm and the fish in our area key in on greenbacks and sardines.

If you haven’t tried any of the saltwater Exudes before, you need to try them.

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