Vol. 3, No. 5 by Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Florida Fly Fishing O F -O F F nly lorida

nly ly ishing

www.FlaFlyFish.com

Vol. 3 No. 51

http://waterworks-lamson.com

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

What’s Inside? Enlightenment is the Key----------------------------------------------------4

Capt. Grassett’s Forecast for July------------------------------------------6 Sea Level Tempest Reels---------------------------------------------------14 Tips on Knot Tying and Connections----------------------------------- 21 Featured Fly Shop: Flying Fish Outfitters of Casey Key----------- 22 Review: Columbia Men’s Powerdrain Shoe-------------------------- 24 Flying Silver-------------------------------------------------------------------- 26 Review: St. Croix Bank Robber------------------------------------------- 32 Fly Fishing Florida Everglades-------------------------------------------- 40 First Tarpon on a Fly--------------------------------------------------------- 46 Grassett’s Snook Minnow------------------------------------------------- 56 SPECIAL HANDLING & CARE SUPPLEMENT------------------------- 61 • BTT Calls for Responsible Tournament Angling----------------- 62 • Catch and Release-------------------------------------------------------- 65 • Injury and Short-term Survival of Bonefish------------------------ 68 • Bonefish Catch and Release-------------------------------------------- 70 • Karma Being What It Is…------------------------------------------------ 73 Guide to Fly Shops----------------------------------------------------------- 78 Guide to Guides-------------------------------------------------------------- 81

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine Only Florida - Only Fly Fishing

A Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Conservation Blue Ribbon Sponsor

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine publishes articles about fly fishing in the Sunshine State. It is published on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in Dunedin, Florida. Editor & Publisher Edward C. Maurer Contributing Editors: Aaron Adams; Joe Mahler; Ken Morrow; Robert Morselli; Dusty Sprague; Capt. Jon Brett Contact: editor@flaflyfish.com (727) 798-2366 A publication of Edward Maurer Consulting, LLC. Copyright 2012 All rights reserved. Actions, activities, travel, techniques, etc. seen within are examples of what others do and participate in and should only be carried out by qualified individuals. The outcome of your activities remain your own responsibility. Properly wear and use all safety equipment. If you’re afraid of the water, stay away from it.

On the cover: A Tampa Bay tarpon trying to shake it off. Jon Brett photo

ED, WADING IN....

Enlightenment is the Key

Learning and awareness are key to the long-term health of the environment and its species Summer is hard upon us here in the Northern Hemisphere and with it comes an increased need to properly care for, handle and catch and release caught fish. In our special “Catch, Release and Otherwise do the Right Thing for the Fish” section (yeah, I know, it’s a mouthful) we offer articles written by marine scientists and world-class fly anglers who have the knowledge, education and experience to understand the impact we have on our fish and the aquatic environment in which they live. While it’s common for a publisher to add a disclaimer about content, “The opinions seen here are those of the authors...”, etc. Florida Fly Fishing magazine stands by, shares and supports those opinions we have published for you here. I’m sure after reading these articles and giving proper consideration to not only what is written, but to who wrote it, you will, too. If not, that’s okay, but we do hope it gives you pause to consider your actions the next time you’re on the water. And maybe, eventually, you, too, will become...enlightened. Ed Maurer, Publisher

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Join the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Today! BTT’s mission is to conserve and enhance global bonefish, tarpon and permit fisheries and their environments through stewardship, research, education and advocacy, as well as: • Serving as a repository for information and knowledge related to the life cycle, behavior and well being of bonefish, tarpon and permit. • Nurturing and enhancing bonefish, tarpon, and permit populations. • Supporting research on bonefish, tarpon, and permit behavior and life cycles, and on bonefish, tarpon, and permit fisheries. • Providing educational material to the public and fishermen • Working with regulatory authorities and the public to ensure that the laws protecting these species are enforced • Interacting with government agencies to assist in the management and regulations related to bonefish and tarpon. BTT is a group of concerned anglers and guides who want to preserve their way of life. Scientists working to answer questions about these popular and elusive gamefish. Bonefish & Tarpon Trust is this and more. It was formed in 1998 by a group of anglers, guides, and scientists in the Florida Keys who wanted to learn more about bonefish and tarpon in order to enhance their dwindling populations. Since then www.tarbone.org it has grown to include concerned anglers from over 20 countries, researchers from throughout the world, and guides committed to working with BTT in order to educate anglers and gather data while on the water. Our continued success can only be guaranteed by your generous support and that of your fellow anglers. Please help us in our mission by joining, Morrow fishing at Honeymoon and urging your friends,Ken guides, captains, and fishing clubs to joinIsland at www.tarbone.org.

Capt. Rick Grassettâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fly Fishing Forecast for July 2012

July is prime time to fly fish for tarpon in shallow water. Tarpon schools will thin out and decrease in numbers in the coastal gulf as the month goes by, but they will be aggressive. Also, keep your eyes open for tripletail and cobia when fishing the coastal gulf. Reds and trout will be active in shallow water early or late in the day. Look for catch and release snook in the surf or around docks and

bridges close to passes. This is my favorite month to fly fish for tarpon in the coastal gulf. With their spawning mostly behind them, they will turn their attention to feeding. Large schools will give way to smaller schools, doubles and singles by late in the month and a well placed fly almost always gets a look. Set up in shallow water and along edges of bars to intercept tarpon. Fly anglers should connect with a dark fly, fished on an intermediate sink tip fly line. Tarpon should b If they get finicky, going down in tippet diameter and fly size may one while fishing do the trick. As tarpon thin out in the coastal gulf, they will move to inside waters of Sarasota Bay where you may find them in many of the same areas where we find trout. Once they move inside, with their spawning completed, they feed more aggressively. Look for fish rolling on the surface early in the day and feeding in ladyfish schools. The same fly tackle that you use for tarpon in the gulf is good for the bay. You may also find them around bridges at night. They will cruise shadow lines and feed in lighted areas. You could lose a fly line when fly fishing for tarpon around bridges, so use a heavy leader for the best chance to control a fish. Snook season remains closed this month. Since the water is warm, use tackle heavy enough to catch and release them quickly with minimal handling. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find them cruising the surf, where you can cast a

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

small white fly, like my Grassett Snook Minnow, to them. They will be in the trough where the water meets sand and will usually be very close to shore. If you walk along the shore about 10’ from the sand you should have the best visibility. You’ll also find them around docks and bridges close to passes and in passes this month. The same flies that you use in the surf will also work around docks and bridges. Large snook may eat large crab or shrimp fly patterns on strong outgoing tides in passes late in the day or in the evening.

You may find reds feeding in shallow water early in the day. Since heat in shallow water is an issue this be a great option in the coastal gulf this month. Mark Moore, from IL, jumped this time of year, g the coastal gulf off Sarasota with Capt. Rick Grassett. the earlier in the day you can fish the better. Reds may leave shallow flats in the middle of the day due to warm water and return later when it cools down. Focus on mullet schools to find reds. Fly anglers should connect with wide profile baitfish patterns, such as Lefty’s Deceiver or my Grassett Flats Minnow, fished on a floating fly line with a 12’ or longer leader. When the tide is high, reds will roam over shallow grass flats close to mangrove shorelines and oyster bars. When the tide is low you may find them around docks, in potholes or the edges of shallow flats and bars. You’ll find big trout in many of the same places that you find reds. Early in the day is the best time to target big trout in skinny water. Many of the flies that I use for reds are also my choice for trout. Fly poppers and Gurglers may draw some big strikes in low light. One of the

largest trout I’ve ever seen caught on a fly was caught at dawn out of a mullet school on a Gurgler. Some of my favorite flats for reds and big trout are in north Sarasota Bay. You’ll also find trout on deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay. Fly anglers should do well drifting and casting ahead of the drift with wide profile bait fish fly patterns, like a Lefty’s Deceiver or my Grassett Deep Flats Bunny, fished on an intermediate sink tip fly line to find them. Any surface activity such as breaking fish, baitfish showering or birds diving may indicate the presence of fish. You might also find bluefish, jacks and ladyfish mixed with trout. You’ll need to add some larger diameter fluorocarbon (60 lb) or wire to the end of your leader when blues are around. When fish are “breaking” they are feeding on the surface. Even if it’s only ladyfish, if they’ll stay on the surface for a while they will attract larger predators such as sharks and tarpon. Some of my favorite deep grass flats in Sarasota Bay are the Middleground, Radio Tower and Marina Jack flats and Stephen’s and Bishop Point. Look for false albacore (little tunny), cobia and tripletail as a sidebar to tarpon fishing in the coastal gulf. Although there aren’t as many crab traps in the water this time of year, you may also find cobia and tripletail around channel markers or flotsam. You can use your tarpon fly tackle for cobia including the same flies. You may find cobia in the same places that you find tripletail and over structure or following tarpon schools, turtles or manatees. An 8-weight fly rod with a clear intermediate sink tip is perfect for tripletail and false albacore. I use my Grassett Snook Minnow fly for false albacore and my Grassett Flats Minnow for tripletail. This is my favorite month to fly fish for tarpon. There’s nothing like casting a small fly to a hungry, 100-pound or more fish in clear, shallow water, so that’s what I’ll be doing! However, if big game fishing isn’t for you, there will be plenty of other options in Sarasota Bay, the ICW or the coastal gulf. Whatever you choose to do, please limit your kill, don’t kill your limit! Tight Lines, Capt. Rick Grassett Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc. Orvis Endorsed Outfitter Guide CB’s Saltwater Outfitters-2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor (941) 923-7799 E-mail snookfin@aol.com www.flyfishingflorida.net and www.snookfin-addict.com

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

WATERWORKS - LAMSON VELOCITY NICKEL REELS

High quality, sensibly priced, made in America

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

The Waterworks - Lamson name has become synonymous with high quality fly reels at reasonable prices. In a market where even foreignmade reels are often priced higher than need be, Lamson continues to offer reels made in Boise, Idaho that have intelligent pricing. A case in point is Lamson’s new Velocity Nickel reel. Priced in the $250 $350 dollar range, the VN is a large arbor reel that demonstrates Lamson’s attention to function, quality and fair pricing. Lamson’s Velocity family has always represented value for money with large arbor, lightweight but durable reels that have excellent drag performance. With the introduction of Velocity Nickel, Lamson provides the discerning angler yet another first in this price range: a ported arbor to quicken line drying and produce the lightest Velocity ever. The Velocity Nickel is finished in the same beautiful Type 2 anodizing Lamson uses on its Guru. So you now have a choice in the Velocity line: Velocity Hard Alox for an incredibly tough finish, or the lighter and brighter Velocity Nickel. It is further accented with Lamson’s trademark burnt-orange anodized drag cassette. The Velocity Nickel maximizes the benefits of large arbor design by maximizing the arbor diameter-towidth ratio. The spool is large in circumference and wide so that line is stored in a shallow layer. The increased circumference provides a high retrieve rate and eliminates line coil memory. The wide, shallow line layer means there is little radius change as line is pulled from the reel resulting in constant The Velocity Nickel’s ported arbor quickens line drag torque during long drying and produces the lightest Velocity ever. runs, which eliminates

the risk of tippets breaking due to drag force gain when a large, fast fish first strikes or makes a sudden for the horizon. All the reels in the Velocity line share some important construction aspects that make these both extremely strong while being light weight. They seem to be designed more as an attempt at a hi-tech aerospace project than a fly reel. The first thing one notices before even picking up a VN is the great number of lightening holes in the spool. While holes seem to contradict strength, their presence contributes to stiffness because the edges of the holes create reinforcement perpendicular to the flat areas of the metal, much like that of ridges in a car body. These reinforcements add stability to the reel in all its planes and virtually eliminates flexing cause by the stress of a hard fight. If you’ve ever had a reel get out of round it’s because it failed materially and tried to collapse; it became less round. While the Velocity reels do have obvious “spokes” on their outer edges the need for such on the inner face is eliminated by these holes. Another important aspect of all Lamson reels is their proprietary drag system comprised of a drag cone that rotates with the spool that presses into a stationary cone within the reel housing. This system provides several advantages: -This is a sealed drag systems that is impervious to water, salt and grit. Unlike typical reels, the Lamsons drags won’t be harmed by using them in less than pristine conditions. -The mass of these conical drag elements is centralized which makes the spool’s rotating mass much lower and makes the reel more responsive to light drag settings. -Because the average radius of the contact surface is much smaller (being conical rather than disk-shaped), start-up torque is too low to measure. With other reels using flat drag surfaces it’s this start-up torque that contributes to breakoffs during hard, fast strikes. The Velocity’s clutch is also different than that of other reels. While most other premium reels rely on a pawl type clutch mechanism, these are often vulnerable to stress related failure, contamination and wear. All of Lamson’s reels employ a Torrington zero-lash roller clutch. This mechanism relies

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

on the locking effect of a number of ramps and rollers to achieve torque transmission. There are no “teeth” or “steps” to break off or wear out. And the zero-lash feature means instant engagement. This improves feel and eliminates “spike” that the reel, line and leader experience when a typical pawl clutch hooks up.

No worries--it’s a Lamson!

Lamsons can handle being immersed in salt water or laid in the sand. With a completely sealed drag system, Lamson reels are impervious to water, salt and grit. What results from this dance of technology and style is a reel that weighs little (less than seven ounces for the Velocity 4 for 10/11 weights), functions flawlessly, is sealed against the environment, according to realtime reports seems to be highly bullet resistant if not actually bullet proof, is priced right and made in the USA. Let’s not forget it’s also a great looking reel with a soft pewter-like finish that will wear like iron.

See the entire Waterworks-Lamson line at http://waterworks-lamson.com

KEN MORROW: IT'S JUST FISHIN'

Sea Level Tempest Reels

Smooth and ruggedly dependable Lay into a twenty pound Striper on a fly rod and you’ve got a fight on your hands, right? Fly fishermen along the central and upper East Coast and out on the West Coast of the US have a reputation for being a hearty lot who demand rugged performance and durability from their tackle and gear. Rocky coastlines, rough weather conditions, hard-fighting fish, and barnacle-encrusted structures that place extreme demands on leaders and reel drags are the norm for saltwater anglers from these regions of the country. From the original

Korkers crampon-style sandals developed for jetty anglers in the Pacific Northwest to the best foul weather gear, many products in the history of American fishing trace their roots to the parts of the country where anglers head to the salt in pursuit of Striped Bass and Salmon. One of the bright spots in our move to Savannah was the prospect of immediate access to a coastal Striper fishery. Georgia’s coast occupies a unique location in the Atlantic marine ecosystem. The southernmost saltwater Striper fishery exists here alongside the northern range of good numbers of migrating Tarpon and even Manatees. You could

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

rightly say it is where cool meets warm. This geographical reality sent me looking for some new fly tackle. I needed some light Tarpon and Striper tackle that would handle both the one hundred pound class Tarpon we get here in the summer months and the thirty pound class Stripers anglers catch here in the winter months. A good reel would be critical. I always do a lot of research before making a major purchase. To me, a good fly reel is a major purchase. Anything that is going to cost me more than $200 is worth doing my homework for before I spend money. I want to avoid trialand-error if at all possible, and I hedge my bets against the odds by pouring over tons of literature and product reviews, Sea Level Tempest III Fly Reels come in glossy talking to both amateur and black, gold, and a beautiful blue. professional anglers whom I trust, getting my hands on as many of the products I’m interested in as I can, and comparison shopping for price via the Internet. My budget for a reel was $300, and I knew enough about fly reels to know that I was going to have to squeeze the market like crazy to get what I needed on that budget. However, recent advances in production technology and changing attitudes toward outsourcing in the fly reel sector have put some high quality reels just within reach. I still thought I might end up buying a used reel. A couple of months before the Striper season began, I stumbled upon a review of a reel that caught my attention. The review was from an amateur angler with decades of Striper fishing experience in New England. It was followed by comments from a few Striper enthusiasts out on the West Coast who were fans of Dan Blanton’s. They were all speaking very highly of a reel they all owned or had owned and wanted to purchase again - a reel that had just been reintroduced to the market by a new company with which I was a bit familiar. One of my good friends and top gun Boca Grande Tarpon guide, Captain Al White, had introduced me to Sea Level the last time we were Tarpon fishing together via his new stripping bucket. The bucket was a high quality and very handy large stripping bucket of foam construction, but these men were talking about the Sea Level Tempest III

fly reel - a reincarnation of the former Albright Tempest, a staple among budget-conscious Striper fishermen. These guys swore by them and were apparently glad to see that Ray Hutcherson, the owner of Sea Level, had bought all the rights to the Tempest reel and reintroduced it to the market. I ran a Google search for the Sea Level Tempest reel and found more reviews, Internet chatter, and the Sea Level website. Then I ran another search for Albright Tempest and got a lot more background on the reel. The reviews were virtually unanimously impressive: an economical workhorse more than capable for Stripers, salmon, and most anything else you wanted to throw at it. Many people were still using their old Albright versions on a regular basis with no problems and only routine maintenance. Folks told stories of dropping them down the rocks, backing over them with their pickup trucks, and other things you hope never to do to your fly reels, and picking them up and going fishing with them. They spoke of the huge fish they landed on them. They all spoke of the high value for the dollar spent, claiming the reel was comparable to reels sold for twice and three times the price. Going back to the Sea Level website, I found that the Sea Level Tempest III sells for $250...within my $300 budget. The Tempest III is a 9/10 weight fly reel machined from 6061 barstock aluminum with huge cork and draw bar adjustable disc drag. It is a large arbor design with spool dimensions of 3 3/8” x 1” and frame dimensions of 3 3/4” x 1 5/8”. The Sea Level Tempest III weighs 9.2 ounces and holds 200 yards of 30 pound Dacron backing according to the manufacturer’s specifications. However, I was able to put about 230 yards of 30 pound Dacron backing on with two different 10 weight floating lines and 250 yards with an Airflo Intermediate Tarpon 10 weight line without coming close to binding the line inside the frame. The Tempest III comes in black, blue, or gold hard anodized coating with an all-stainless steel internal construction. It has a very easy right/left hand adjustment that requires no disassembly. The reel also comes with a very nice neoprene reel case. Each Sea Level Tempest III fly reel is laser etched with a good

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

looking picture of a Striper on the frame. I ordered my Sea Level Tempest reel in black. I use it with my TFO BVK 9 and 10 weight fly rods, and I considered getting it in gold. It would look good, but it would also flash in the sun on bright days. I just don’t like that kind of stuff. So common sense got the best of me (as usual) and I went with function over form. The black anodized finish is very slick and glossy. The reel is far more handsome than I anticipated. I came into a little birthday money, so I also ordered an extra spool. Spools for the Tempest III sell for $125.00 each. Have you ever bought a reel...especially a “bargain price” reel...where the spare spools just didn’t quite feel the same as the original spool when you swapped them out? Maybe they didn’t slide on/off the spindle quite as smoothly, or there was something else just a bit hinky about how it sounded or felt compared to the spool that came on the reel. I’ve experienced this a few times. This didn’t happen with the Sea Level Tempest III. The spools fit and function identically. The Tempest III’s bearings are butter smooth, construction is rock solid, tolerances are plenty tight, and the drag is almost infinitely adjustable. I was extremely impressed right out of the box. By the time I had both spools rigged with backing and fly lines I could not wait to put this reel to the test! Before I could get out and chase Savannah’s Stripers I would put it to a test on a different species altogether. I do a lot of inshore fishing for Redfish and Sea Trout. So I kept the rod rigged and ready. Eventually, I got my shot and hooked up with a Jack Crevalle over ten pounds. He took off on a bruising run and put up a tremendous fight for his size, but he was no match for a 10 weight fly rod and the Sea Level Tempest III. He wore out quickly and I brought him alongside the boat. However, he had chewed through the 20 lb. leader and I lost the fly

right at the boat, so I don’t have a nice grip-n-grin picture of me, the fish, and the rod-n-reel to show you. The best made plans... Getting back to Florida in March, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Captain Al White, one of the best Tarpon fly fishing guides in Boca Grande, about Sea Level reels. Captain Al is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable big game fly anglers I know. He is also close friends with Captain Pete Greenan, another world-class Boca Grande Tarpon guide and member of the FFF Casting Instructors’ Board of Governors, and Dusty Sprague, another renowned saltwater angler who lives in the area and who has served on the FFF Casting Instructors’ Board of Governors. Captain White spends most of his waking hours chasing everything from Tarpon to Wahoo and Yellowfin Tuna on fly tackle, and has since the late 1950s. There isn’t a big game rod or reel made that he hasn’t used, and few that he hasn’t seen wrecked by a fish. He likes to say, “Not every fish you hook can be caught.” Captain Al uses Sea Level’s entire line of reels, of which the Tempest III is the “baby.” His Tarpon rods are outfitted with Tempest IV “Tarpon” reels during Boca’s world famous Tarpon The Sea Level Tempest III mounted on a Sea Level Seven Eleven fishing season. He told me in saltwater! that Captain Pete Greenan has begun to convert his reel supply to Tempest reels, too. He said that Dusty Sprague has at least one already, and he rattled off several other members of the who’s who of Florida saltwater fly fishing who had recently purchased Sea Level reels. Then we decided to put them to a side-by-side field test on a night Snook fishing trip. Captain Al had been hooking up to some massive Snook

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

recently; the kind of Snook that you get locked into a tug-o-war with and the fish slowly pulls his way back under the dock or bridge you just pulled him out of as you bear down with all you have and watch the reel grudgingly give up line in slow motion. These are the kind of Snook whose gill plates will cut 40 lb test leaders in the blink of an eye. These are the kind of Snook that can pull a boat around for awhile. He wanted me to have a go at them with my TFO 8-10 Mini-mag with a Sea Level Tempest III and a competitor’s reel in the same price category. Both reels are designed for 9 and 10 weight fly lines. When one designs a reel for 9 and 10 weight fly lines, a certain amount of “guts” is implicit in the requirements. Nobody uses a 10 weight fly rod to catch Bluegills or 12 inch trout. No reel used for a 10 weight fly line should have anything short of a true big game fishing drag in it. It has to stand up to large salmon, Pike and Musky, 100 pound class Tarpon, Cobia, Barracuda, and…yep…huge Snook. Captain Al and I took an impartial third party along named Dick, an amiable fellow who fished with a TFO BVK and…eh-hmmmm… Sea Level Tempest reel. He had lost one of these brutes a few nights before with Bass Rod – because not all of Florida’s famous game fish live Captain Al, and was quick to tell me that he guessed that fish had to be over thirty pounds. Conditions were perfect for hooking up to very big Snook. There was a very heavy tidal flow ripping through the docks and the bridge we intended to fish. A lot of dock lights were on. The night was pleasant. And we had heavy flies and fast sinking lines. To summarize, Captain Al and I both hooked up with three massive

Snook. I hit two under docks and one at the bridge. He hit all three under docks. We didn’t land any of those six. The largest Snook landed was by Dick, and came in around ten pounds. But let’s talk about the reels. The Sea Level Tempest IIIs, smooth and ruggedly dependable as you can imagine a reel to be, performed flawlessly. Under the enormous strain of these Leviathan Snook, they gave up line in slow motion – inch by inch – as smooth as butter. The drag control knob on the Sea Level reels is the nicest I’ve ever seen on any fly reel. It feels and works the way a good knob on a quality piece of equipment should. It’s not some under-engineered afterthought, the way it seems to be on so many fly reels. The blue Sea Level Tempest is just stunningly good looking by comparison to the blue used by most reel makers. It is a richer, deeper shade of blue that “pops” out at you. The reels are virtually silent. “Brand X’s” 9-11 weight large arbor competitor is flat black with a tiny drag adjustment knob you have to operate with two fingertips and the tip of your thumb. It is quite awkward. I had babied this reel after its few exposures to saltwater, and it had never had the drag tested by a fish of any significant size. It was 3 years old and had just been thoroughly cleaned, oiled, and checked before the trip. The drag was tightened all the way down and backed off one full turn of the knob…just like the other reels used that night. The first of the three big fish that I tangled with seized up the drag on that reel while we were locked in that “no one’s budging” phase of the tug-o-war. The huge fish gave a bit of ground and I took up a few turns on the reel. Then it pulled again, and the reel didn’t give back. The great fish’s lip stretched and he spit out the barbless hook. Even taking the reel apart afforded us no opportunity to free the drag. Now, this might not be your typical gear review. I didn’t write something along the lines of, “Buy this reel and land more and larger fish!” In fact, this article doesn’t contain a single example of a fish being caught attributed to the reel. Nonetheless, I think y’all get the point. I shoot straight. No reel, no rod, no fly line is going to magically make you catch more and bigger fish. Equipment selection is about playing the odds. You want to minimize the chances of failure and maximize your chances of success. But the role that tackle choice plays (rod A vs. rod B, reel X vs. reel Y, etc.) is perhaps 10-20% of the equation. The other 80-90% is you – knowledge, skills, and your ability to apply them well. But it is hard to sell stuff by telling you that. You can see the full line of Sea Level products (there’s a LOT more than just reels) at http://sealevelflyfish.com or you can call 877.616.0329 for more information!

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Tips on knot tying and connections

ON THE LINE WITH DUSTY SPRAGUE

• Choose knots best suited for the purpose • Use the correct tools e.g., nippers not teeth • Be able to see the knot • Tie in a well-lighted area • Use magnification if needed • Give yourself plenty of line to work with • Straighten material by stretching before you tie • Pulling through rubber can heat up material and damage it • Use gloves on heavy material • Use the number of turns-wraps-coils specified for the knot • Too few – knots slip • Too many – knots won’t fully tighten • Close knots correctly • Ensure no overlapping wraps or coils • Remove slack in spirals around standing line before closing • Moisten knots before tightening. Dry material can heat up when tightened See Joe Mahler’s or Lefty Kreh’s weakens material books on knots and their applications. • Tighten slowly and firmly. Jerking to close a knot heats up and weakens material • Use gloves when tightening knots in heavy material • Knots tightened correctly do not need glue • Trim tag ends carefully at a 45 degree angle • Test knots before and while fishing • Replace tippet and leaders when they show abrasion or nicks • Learn a few knots very well • Practice off the water • Practice using large-diameter material, e.g., shoelaces, old fly line, small cord dsprague01@comcast.net

Featured Fly Shop: Flying Fish Outfitters of Casey Key

820 Albee Road West, Nokomis, FL 34275 www.flyingfishflorida.com Flying Fish Outfitters began with a slogan: if fishing is your lifestyle, we are your store. In a matter of two and a half years, the store has become interwoven in the fabric of our community as a friendly, approachable resource. As a retail outlet for fishing & kayak supplies, many which are truly exclusive to our area (such as our fly fishing department items), Flying Fish Outfitters aspires to a much more personal approach toward everyone’s favorite pastime. The store offers a large assortment of pertinent, locallysuitable rods, reels and tackle (including saltwater fly fishing) items in a small, crowded but terrifically organized space. The store boasts the area’s most extensive selection of fly tying materials as well as advice with how to use it. Managing owner Shawn Zelek personally ties all the flies sold in the store and is on hand with willing advice for those who inquire The store has adapted an “open house” approach where customers are always invited to come learn or practice their fly casting or learn to tie a particular fly. We most enjoy introducing people to the art of fishing. Our hallmarks are the Saturday Morning Fishing Forums and the evening fly tying classes. These are offered to our community free or at a minimal cost and are tremendously successful in many ways. They exemplify our sense of community. These are achieved by inviting local fishing guides, marine scientists and other subject matter experts to speak or teach on the topic of their choice. Our tying classes take place evenings during the week and

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Sunday afternoons. Students pay a small fee and receive the materials and use of tools to learn to tie a variety of flies. The tying classes have a high demand yet because we are so limited by the small size of our store, we have to limit the class size to five. Events run every Saturday in season and intermittently year round. A visit to the store becomes a fun and social event for customers, all while they are learning and enhancing their techniques. Customers can bring their reels in and we will show them how to properly clean and lubricate them so they will last for many seasons. Rod & reel repair service is available on-site, with turnaround time generally taking one week. Questions are welcomed and we enjoy spending the time with our customers. Flying Fish Outfitters always spotlights conservation awareness and education as our top mission, offering on-site seminars and partnering with other groups to raise funds for such continuing efforts. Additionally, we cosponsor a number of local fishing tournaments and support many charities through creative fund raising. We serve as a drop-off site for a variety of non-profit organizations that rely on donations such as Sarasota-based â&#x20AC;&#x153;Save Our Seabirdsâ&#x20AC;?, a Venice-based animal rescue, and the Nokomis food bank at the holidays. Many of our customers donate necessary item such as blankets or food, which we deliver to the respective organizations. We do not collect funds for the organizations, just goods, and in turn, make charity giving convenient for the customer. It is good for the community and makes the customer feel good while contributing. The store presents unique opportunities to the consumer and community - something that Internet-based stores cannot. With that, Flying Fish Outfitters encourages consumers to turn to their local fishing stores and support business in their community.

To get your shop, or your favorite shop, featured here contact us at info@flaflyfish.com! 23

Columbia Men’s Powerdrain shoe They’re light, extraordinarily light Robert Morselli

As per the manufacturer: “This powered-up version of our original Drainmaker offers great fit and support. When your day takes you in and out of the water, you want a shoe that can tackle surf and turf equally well… The amphibious Powerdrain does just that with a fully drainable design that features a quick-pull bungee cord on the upper for great fit and side welds for great foot lockdown. Our new 3-layer system allows water and air to move easily through the shoe for quick-dry, barefoot comfort, while the Omni-Grip® wet grip rubber outsole delivers outstanding traction on slick surfaces. “ Unboxing these shoes was an odd experience. I thought for a moment that the box might be empty, but no, the shoes were in there, both of them, and they’re light. Extraordinarily light. I couldn’t resist weighing them on my kitchen scale. My size 11s came in at an astounding 262 grams per shoe. There’s something to be said for rapidly evolving materials technologies… The first issue that crosses my mind whenever feather-lite items are concerned is durability. While I haven’t tested the shoe over the long term, all of the product reviews I read mentioned nothing about

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

deterioration, and some reviewers have been using the shoe for as long as 5 months. On the foot they feel light, very comfortable – and solid. The Powerdrains feature three-layer construction and come with a reinforced toe cap and heel cup (they’re actually a beefier reincarnation of Columbia’s Drainmaker shoes). These are extremely versatile shoes. The Techlite and Omni-Grip materials, for shock absorption and griping ability in wet conditions, work exceptionally well on boat decks and equally well on smooth cement approaches and boat ramps. If you’re kayaking / rafting / canoeing / out on the skiff, you may want to give the Powerdrains serious consideration. They also perform well while wading and negotiating slick rocks or rocky shorelines. The entire shoe is ported like a premium fly reel, so water shedding is near-instantaneous – no sloshing when exiting the water. Three-layer construction means dry time isn’t optimal (overnight normally works), but considering the shoe’s overall comfort and grip features, this is still an optimal product - you’ll want to keep your Powerdrains on the entire day. Powerdrains sport a bungee lacing system: shoe on (or off) is lightningquick - no need for laces in a water shoe. Bonus: although not technically running gear, these shoes track really well on sand and pavement, and offer up a surprising level of lateral support. Like many other Columbia products, this shoe is eco-friendly: Waterproof Techlite is made with a molding process that reduces waste, keeping excess material out of landfills. Highly recommended. FEATURES • Combination mesh, TPU and EVA upper with a TPU toe cap • Techlite® midsole with drainage ports in heel and forefoot • Fully drainable footbed • Omni-Grip wet grip rubber with traction lugs Columbia Men’s Powerdrain shoe: $95.00

CAPT JON BRETT: VISUAL DYNAMICS

Flying Silver

The Keys offer some of the world’s best tarpon fly fishing but Tampa Bay certainly holds its own When most folks consider targeting the coveted silver king on fly in Florida, the first place that comes to mind is the Florida Keys, and for a good reason. Fly fishing legends such as Chico Fernandez,

Lefty Kreh, Sandy Moret, Billy Pate, Stu Apte, Jose Wejebe and others essentially created the obsession of stalking tarpon in the shallows of South Florida - while poling from their skiffs’ decks. Now a’days fishermen have not only platforms to pole from, but also one on the bow for anglers who are equipped with fly rod blanks made of the same high-tech materials used in unmanned aerial drones, large arbor reels, line tamers, flouro leader, and ‘specialized’ polarized glasses. Putting a tarpon in the air on fly is tough enough as is…it’s near impossible to imagine doing so back in “The Day”. Thanks to the originators’ passion and forward thinking, the sport of saltwater fly fishing has grown leaps and bounds in the past few decades, and continues to expand - attracting many from non-traditional fly fishing demographics. In my opinion, the widespread proliferation of social media, film tours, and online video has been instrumental in the influx of younger people like myself catching the fever. Each year, when late winter and early spring rolls around, I commonly find my mind drifting (while wading shin-deep water for tailing redfish) to the thought of massive schools of silver kings invading our beaches. What’s that saying…“You always want what you can’t have,” right?

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Not sure if it’s my ADHD fishing tendencies or what, but there is indubitably something about the anticipation of their arrival that causes an utter lapse in judgment, prioritization of tasks, and general insanity. Work…well, that can always wait until tomorrow. So far this season we have witnessed a strong bite on Tampa Bay’s surrounding beaches. We jumped our first fish of the season early April, and it has only gotten better since. This past week we finally got a break from the rain and West wind, so I hit the beach with a buddy for the first time in a week or so. The first boat to hook up looked like it had two youngsters (who couldn’t have been more than 15) which was very cool to see! Shortly after, my buddy Kyle put a good cast on a small wad of fish

lls a N Kyle silver y ng i a y b l f pa m a on t

barreling down right on him. I thought these fish were going to cruise on by, tossing us the finger with a smile, but the smallest one did a one-80 and surprised Kyle with an eat-and-miss. Now it was my turn. About five minutes after getting on the bow, I got a great first shot on a nice wad of daisy chaining fish in some deeper, dark water. After dragging the fly through them a few times, one finally decided it looked tasty enough to eat. It took him a minute to realize what happened, but once he did, the fish went crazy and it was on! After about a dozen jumps the fish tuckered out and I was able to get a leader touch less than 10 minutes in, and then with one swift tail kick he said goodbye. While The Keys do offer some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best tarpon fly fishing opportunities, Tampa Bay certainly holds its own. The beach fishing should be good through July and starts to taper down in August. While there are

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

still some beach fish around though September-October, they are few and far between, as most have moved into the bay or continued their migration. Tampa Bay does have resident tarpon that live here, and can be caught, year round - but April through July is the prime time to put a silver king in the air on the beach. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to see what it is all about, drop me a line or give me a call and make sure to ask about our video charters! Captain Jon Brett FishbuzzTV jon@fishbuzz.tv 727-804-0736 Check out FishBuzz TV tarpon action here! http://fishbuzz.tv/evolution-flying-silver

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

shake it

up, baby.

...

MORSELLI’S POV

St. Croix Bank Robber Sexy reel seat and all

If streamer fishing makes up part of your fishing schedule, then take note, there’s a new implement in the toolbox that’s designed and built just for you: St. Croix’s Bank Robber series, which comes in a #5, 6 or 7 - all models are 4-piece configuration. One of the tags that comes with this St. Croix rod reads “technology meets craftsmanship” – succinctly put, and a claim that bears out with each use. I normally dispense with the tech talk when writing about rods because (a) it’s boring and (b) tech specs are readily obtainable on the manufacturer’s website and literature included with the rod purchase. It is worth noting, however, that Bank Robbers are packed with new and improved technology essential for this type of product: 3M NSi nano silica resin (to better bind the carbon fibers that comprise the blank), high-strain graphite/carbon-matte scrim, the list goes on… and on… [definitely worth a visit to the St. Croix website if this is the kind of stuff that excites you] One cool bit of tech worth mentioning is the REC recoil guides, which flex considerably, yet retain their memory. According to the manufacturer literature, they’re up to 3 times lighter than regular guides, absolutely rustproof, and highly appreciated by anglers like me, who snag rods while traveling through wooded areas. Tech aside, the Bank Robber is a pleasure to cast due to its impeccably calibrated and balanced blank. The middle third of the blank provides just enough heft to cast large streamers without having to resort to those

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

extended, ‘bonefish-style’ casts and yet still feels light, even after hours of non-stop use. The market has been flooded with hi-powered sticks that will cast a bug one zip code over, except that most of these rods take the fun out of playing a fish. This isn’t one of those rods: it does have the horsepower to get big streamers out at a very wide range of distances, but the real highlight comes from the action imparted when striking and landing a fish – there’s a impressive degree of subtlety in the tip section, giving you the confidence to put a bend in the rod without fear of losing that bass, coupled with enough power in the lower 2/3 of the blank to pressure a stubborn customer. I even took this #6 out for some light-saltwater action - sorry, St. Croix - the rod performed beautifully under some high strain (the jacks didn’t seem to mind). There’s always that moment while you’re trying to persuade a tough fish to comply with orders and you hope your gear can handle the pressure – this rod will relegate that moment to a distant memory. I initially had my reservations about the tip section, feeling that it was too supple for the overall package, but by the end of day one, I realized that I had taken in more than one fish because of the enhanced strike detection. If you’re mostly used to new generation, super-fast rods, I suggest that you relax and slow down your cast when first using the Bank Robber and the rod’s characteristics will shine right through: distance and accuracy attained, with ease. Even small bass are notorious for break-offs, the supple tip section goes a long way in protecting tippets and leaders. Fewer break-offs… more landings. Anodized, machined-aluminum reel seat with built-in hook-keeper, super-premium grade cork handle and Flex Coat slow-cure finish (2 coats) are among the top-tier components featured in the rod series. For those interested in the rod’s lineage, St. Croix asked master angler Kelly Galloup to design the Bank Robber. Judging from his web comments, St. Croix delivered exactly what he asked for. Final note: kudos to the cosmetic surgeons for producing the sexiest, see-thru reel seat - ever. Comes with a rugged rod case and limited lifetime warranty. Highly recommended. Tested with Scientific Anglers Sharkskin GPX WF6F

Redington Clearwater Shirt and Versi-Pants

With hot weather on us it’s time to start looking at what new fabrics are available to keep you cool on the water. While there is a wide selection of tight fitting, collarless shirts I believe you’re better off, and cooler, with clothes that fit loosely to allow air flow between you and the fabric while providing maximum cover. Pay attention to most Florida guides, especially the older, more experienced ones, and you’ll see them wearing loose, long sleeve shirts and long pants, and it’s for a good reason—it works. Redington’s Clearwater shirt and Versi-Pants fit the bill very well by providing ventilation while keeping hot fabric from laying directly on the skin as much as possible. That shade and ventilation is enhanced with VersiWick™ fabric that wicks moisture away from the skin and allows it to evaporate and provide additional cooling. These are well made, as you’d expect from the folks at Redington and I’m sure I’ll get a few more of each long before this set wears out. One note—do pay attention to their sizing chart as Redington’s sizes seem to run smaller than competitor’s brands. Clearwater Shirt With lightweight fabric, modern design and pure function, this is an amazingly comfortable shirt. With vertical mesh venting along the back, you will be cool, even when its warm. 100% Nylon VersiWick™ fabric UPF 30+ VersiSun™ fabric Hidden zipper chest pocket Velcro pocket closure Vertical mesh venting Regular fit

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Versi-Pant Ideal pants for those looking for versatility in a cargo-style pant with quick conversion to shorts 100% Nylon VersiWick™ fabric UPF 30+ VersiSun™ fabric 1/2 elastic waist for added comfort Integrated belt loops Adjustable waist Zippered cargo and rear pockets for extra storage See the full line of Redington products at http://www.redington.com

Simms Rogue Hoody

Fishing in wet apparel can be rough. Accompany that boat spray or rain with a little (boat) speed and you’re cooling off at record pace. Simms has been keeping anglers warm and dry since day one, and all of their experience has gone into producing the Rogue Fleece Hoody ($99). The piece is packed with angler-friendly features: tailored a little on the long side, sports ribbed cuffs and waist, full center-front zip, and is Teflon coated for superior water repellence. What I liked most about this hoody is that, unlike most fleece apparel, it isn’t bulky. The fleece is either pressed or shaved down, so it provides warmth, but can be rolled up and easily stored in a glove compartment. The hand warmer pockets are large, comfortable, fleece lined and open ended – so car keys and fishing license will have to be stowed elsewhere. Tested in a heavy downpour and the outer fabric plus Teflon coating get top marks for doing what the manufacturer claims – inside stays bone dry. My one complaint is that Simms made the exterior (zippered) fly-box pocket a touch too small. It would have been nice to be able to get a medium-sized box in there – I suppose the pocket can be used for those keys and fishing license instead. Casting and movement has been addressed with ergonomically tailored shoulder panels, sleeves and hood – which won’t blind you when you peek back at your backcast - nice! Highly recommended. Available in charcoal or cammo. Simms products can be seen at http://www.simmsfishing.com

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Brad Lowman photo

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

www.jeffharrellart.com

Fly Fishing Florida Everglades with Capt. Pier Milito By Sabrina

My first trip fly fishing Florida... I consider myself to be the consummate multi-tasker, always figuring out ways to parlay one effort into an additional accomplishment or pleasure. I knew the moment my employer booked me into Miami for an IT Trade show that I’d be fly fishing Florida waters by the week’s end. I’ve only been to Florida a few times; primarily for business and a couple of times to board a city-sized boat, stuff myself on endless buffets and lose money in the casino on the way to warmer waters. Neither of these destinations provided me with information on a Florida fly fishing charter and who might be the best guide for the occasion. I turned to my close circle of friends – the 250+ Facebook anglers linked to me via Sabrina@ SheLovesFlyFishing.com Apparently there is one clear choice if you want a quality experience far beyond the bourgeoisie, bay-side voyage of a dirty vessel equipped with

Capt. Pier Milito

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

worn-out equipment and a gnarly guide who recently ran the boats at Disneyworld’s Pirates of the Caribbean. There is one name that comes up as the Guide to the Pros – Captain Pier Milito of FishingAdventureCharters. com , a U.S.C.G. Master Captain. The first impression Captain Pier made was a true indication of the day’s flow. A sparkling black, Toyota Tundra Crew Cab 4 x 4, “Venom” edition pulling an 18 foot, immaculate boat and tricked out trailer met me in the parking lot to escort me deep into the Everglades National Park. The last time I went out with a Guide I climbed into a busted up pick-up full of beer-cans, wet waders, Skoal cans, feet smell, and river gravel. I have to confess, a positive prejudice and respect was immediately established. Everglades National Park, the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States– much like I envision the African Serengeti. Though I couldn’t see them, I was fairly certain that Burmese Python, American Alligators, and Black Panthers were eye-balling me from the tall grasses. The pull-outs and entry points have cool names like Coot Bay Canal, Hells Bay, and Alligator Creek. Fly fishing Florida promised adventure. Our morning fly fishing Florida Everglades was draped in a luxurious velvet fog that coated my skin in a slick layer of moisturizing drops.

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Peeking through the gray curtain was a dreamscape; peeks of the tangled Mangrove’s beyond accented with breaching Porpoise and gliding Osprey. I was quickly immersed in an adventure that made me feel like I was going places and seeing things that perhaps only a handful of other humans had explored. “Plan A” for our Florida fly fishing charter was to hunt down a Tarpon – an unlikely target considering the recent cold-snap and water temperature,

but a lofty goal. That plan took us to some of the most picturesque waters I’ve ever enjoyed but as we suspected – no Tarpon. We quickly regrouped and moved on to “Plan B”; fish for any and all species and get as much personalized fly fishing instruction from Pier as possible. Plan B was a winner. The weather had deteriorated and I didn’t expect to catch any fish – I was perfectly happy with the scenery and boat ride we had already enjoyed. But the Captain came through - we managed to pull out seven different species before it was all said and done: Grouper, Snapper, Sea Trout, Redfish, Catfish, Black Drum, and one highly entertaining Blowfish. I can

only imagine what Capt. Pier Milito can do when Mother Nature cooperates! I used the end of our day to focus on the betterment of my casting which has been limited to short casts and low-weight rods. I had heard about Captain Pier Milito’s casting skill – at one time he was the fly casting instructor at Bass Pro Shops for over five years and presently instructs private fly casting lessons both on and off the water. He has instructed thousands of fly fishermen and women and I had him all to myself. My loops progressed from short and loose to long and tight and my knowledge of fly fishing Florida waters increased 1000 fold. Anyone lucky enough to get some one-on-one time with the Captain will be a better angler for the experience. Fresh water girl knows Rocky-Mountain rivers and chest waders, drifts and fast-water floats, caddis flies and hopper-droppers. Salt water guy knows Gulf-Coast channels and push-pole gloves, doubledigit rod weights, casts that would cover the better part of a football field, reels the size of wheels, and over-sized poppers. Fresh-water-girl and Salt-water-guy know that it doesn’t matter if the water you fish tastes like beers or tears. Feeling the tug of a Rainbow or the fight of a Bonefish on a fly rod stimulates very similar pleasure sensors. And lying on one’s back afloat on those tasty waters, watching the wind push the clouds around to adjust that etch-a-sketch in the sky… is God’s gift to both. Our thanks to our friend, Sabrina, at www.SheLovesFlyFishing.com (“Fly Fishing from a Woman’s Perspective”) for sharing this article with us. Ed.

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Dunedin, Florida Properties by Deborah Scott The Gulf of Mexico, Tampa Bay and Orlando at your fingertips

Looking north with the 2008 No. 1 Beach in America, Caladesi Island, in the foreground with Honeymoon Island reaching toward the horizon. The Dunedin Marina is Central Floridaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gateway to the St. Joseph Sound, the Gulf of Mexico and world-class fly fishing.

Located on the Gulf of Mexico between Homosassa and Boca Grande, Dunedin offers anglers the relaxed comfort of a top-rated small town combined with immediate access to the popular and highly productive St. Joseph Sound flats, tarpon-rich beaches of Honeymoon and Caladesi islands, fabulous Tampa Bay and the tournament-class lakes of Central Florida.

Deborah Scott

Realtor 727.204.0850 deborahsdunedin@gmail.com www.deborahscottrealty.com Van Hook Properties Inc. 949 Broadway Dunedin, FL 34698

First Tarpon on a Fly

I struck and reeled and he ran and jumped as I bowed. Thomas F. McCoy I have tried before, several times, three, maybe five times, to catch a tarpon. First was off Marco Island on a charter with bait back in the late 80â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. The wind and tide were wrong and the sky cloudy making it impossible to see so we moved back into the mangrove and caught sea trout which we lunched on dock side. The next time was while bone fishing off Ocean Reef on Key Largo as they cruised by, but the wrong gear, wrong fly and lack of concentration led to no hookups, although both Sue and I took some nice Bones. I think there was another time with a guide named Dick out of the Moorings on Islamorada in the 90â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as well. Two days - no tarpon. Then about three years ago I spent two days on the water off Cheeca Lodge focused on the big silvers and worked hard to present flies with line piled around my ankles on the fore deck of a 16 foot flats boat with a rolling surf and good wind working us over. We saw them, lots of them, maybe 100 or more. All day, at least as long as the light held high. I flailed away trying to launch a 60 foot cast from that deck in that wind and more often than not failed to reach the target. The few times I did it was either behind them or, a few times, right where it should be, only to be ignored. I recall at least four fish that day taking the time to look toward my fly but none had the courtesy to follow it or bite. So I have put in some time. They say tarpon on a fly is tough and up until this point I was living proof. Wednesday morning I met Brett at the La Siesta Marina, just across from the resort of the same name where we were staying, enjoying the warm sun, cool breeze and soaking in the pool in between grouper sandwiches and dolphin shows. Around mile marker 81 or so, as the Keys are marked..The wind was what they call freshening, straightening out the flags on the ocean side of the Key. I sensed another day of failed casts to fast moving targets was upon me but fought off such negativity in the hope that a positive attitude would make whatever was to happen a great experience. We motored out the back side and were soon on a drift aided by the long pole just south and west of the marina. Brett discussed the mechanics of the strategy:.You want

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

to put it in front of him, maybe 10-15 feet and slow smooth strip unless I say strip-strip-strip which of course means strip faster. When he bites (so positive was Brett that I agreed and nodded my head, okay, when he bites…) strip strike him. That is point the rod tip at the fish and pull with your stripping hand. Don’t use the rod tip to lift into a strike as with trout. It won’t penetrate the boney jaw - the flex of the tip will not provide enough power..Okay, got that. Now, he says, once he bites and you strike, start reeling in the line; get him on the reel. Okay, makes sense. Next he will run and let the drag do the work. Okay. Once he is running, he is going to jump and when he does he will throw the fly. In order to prevent that you need to bow to him, give him the line and the rod. Just thrust it all toward him as you anticipate the jump. Okay, but how will I know when he is going to jump? You’ll know. Once all that happens we settle in to a 30 – 45 minute fight of more runs, jumps and pumps. Got it? Sure, I think so. Maybe. Okay.. Fish on the right, 2 o’clock! Get up there! (Did I mention the little platform on the front of this tiny boat? It is about a 2 foot square although it is not 2 foot and not square. It is about 12 inches higher than the deck. It helps in the sighting of the fish and launching of the cast..There is also

“So I have put in some time. They say tarpon on a fly is tough and up until this point I was living proof.”

a tall can into which you place your line which you have taken off the reel in preparation for the cast – so I no longer had to deal with wrapping line around my ankles.) Get up there. I hop up, somewhat unsteady. I normally have steady sea legs from years rocking on the Grady at home but age and a long winter have conspired to weaken those muscles that have served me so well for so long. But up I go. I see the fish. At least I see his tail. It is huge. He is huge. Brett says he’s sleeping. We pole into position and I launch my cast. Honestly I don’t recall how good or bad it was but I got a second one and I woke him up. He glided away to quieter waters. Wow – not an hour out and a shot at a monster already. I was feeling good, if untested. Brett got on the phone to check some other locations, to see if they were taken or how they were fishing.. We went out to the ocean side and found some choice spots already filled. The honor code of these guides not to dump on one another was impressive. We ended up east of an island anchored at the edge of brilliant, white sand; a clearing in the water. It was like looking a bright TV screen as the dark shapes moved across it in pairs and small groups as well as a few singles. They came from several directions and we took shots at a bunch but nothing but a few looks. We witnessed one group doing the daisy chain which is a merry go round affair of tarpon nose to tail circling around and around while progressing.in no particular direction, only to suddenly straighten out into a train of beautiful fish heading right at you. They say it is part of their mating rituals but I am not sure anyone knows for sure..The waves and wind were making it pretty uncomfortable and I abandoned the tower, casting from the deck and using the stripping barrel as a leaning post..After a bit we moved on. So far my record was

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

immaculate – still no tarpon had fouled my fly. We ran about a half hour to the west and came upon a spot where there was a long reef like structure that seemed to go for miles. We staked the boat, this time, near the reef and faced southwest along the edge. Tarpon highway Brett said. They will be coming along any minute now. The tide, or what there is of one, was about two hours away from the peak. The wind was blowing but the back water offered a more stable platform as I climbed back on to my parapet..I cast out my line and stripped it back into the bucket as before, holding the fly in my left and rod in my right. The rod was an 8.5 foot GL Loomis 12 weight; the fly, as I recall, a Tarpon Toad – green and yellow rabbit strips with a muddler-like head of green hair. The hook was big on a short shank and the barb was in place. We began to talk as you do when waiting for the action, about work and life and family. Brett is a pleasant guy to spend time with..Before too long he calls from his position, which is high above the engine, Tarpon approaching, way out there, maybe 300 feet..I point my rod and he offers corrections like a “sighter” to the gunner. More left, up a bit, there, d o you see him? No, not yet, not yet, not yet. Got him! He is at 100 feet and closing at a good c l i p . I am ready. I wait a bit more. 1 5 feet off his nose, says Brett. I launch, load and fire. Short..Reload, re-fire, shorter..He is passed..I take a few more casts and we determine my range. Brett adjusts the boat accordingly.We wait for the next one. Before long more come, three of them nose to tail in a train..As they close I launch and the first one passes unimpressed but the second takes a look. At least we found the range. We ready ourselves for the next..It is a

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

â&#x20AC;&#x153;He n e of r ver re ally esig nati able tire o d to n bu to g the t fin rab poin ally his m we w t ight y ja ere w...â&#x20AC;?

single..He sees the fly, he follows, HE BITES! The litany of steps is running through my mind, the foremost one being the bowing. I hooked him but I can’t recall if it was by strip as instructed or dumb luck. He ran, I bowed – but I also kept the line tight to the cork rather than releasing it and he was off as fast as he was on with the fly in his jaw. My first bite; I was getting closer. We went over the steps again. I confessed my error in the hope that a clear conscious would bring me more luck next time. Next one was a good size single and I was stripping smooth as he turned and violently attacked the toad only to miss it…but he turned his massive body and swirled at it again biting hard and breaking water. When the hook stung him from my strip strike he went to run and I went to let the line loose, begin to reel and simultaneously step down from my perch. In the process of all this maneuvering I was reeling and wiggling the tip while moving the barrel out of the way. By some miracle the fish went into a sulk at the very moment I noticed that I had wrapped the line, backing that is, around the tip. If he runs now he will probably pull the rod and me into the drink. I try to unravel it but cannot. I shove the tip to Brett who quickly undoes what looked like a permanent knot and my fish jumps and I bow. He is still on. He runs, jumps, runs and jumps and runs and jumps – and spits the fly. Wow. My heart is racing and my sore legs have forgotten their misery. I jumped another and then things quieted down as the tide was reaching its turn..I had experienced tarpon on a fly three times, finally. Next was to see if I could get one to the boat. I thought of it as a nice thing to happen but not as a requirement as my day was already one I will remember for a very long time. There were other fish that came by, including a permit that skittered away from my feeble attempt to hit him across my shoulder. A few sharks were cruising the area as were the barracuda. In the past I would have been tempted to feed the ‘cudas as they can be fun, but remembered that little good comes from a lack of focus in this type of fishing. Your opportunities come and go fairly quickly so better to hold your weapon at the ready until the real target of choice appears..And he did. I can’t recall the exact circumstances but a single came by, I launched and he responded. I stripped smoothly and he bit, I struck and reeled and he ran and jumped as I bowed. He was on and I was in the pit of the boat as Brett moved the barrel and set the boat a drift. He ran and I gave him the drag. Then I reeled down to him and pulled him in using the back bone of the rod. He jumped, I bowed, more than bowed really, I thrust the rod along with my body toward him. The hook held..We settled into a 30 minute battle of jumps and pulls. He would come up for air and Brett told me to deny him that breath by sticking my tip into the water and bending the rod. At one point he came near the boat and instead of running away again,

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

he decided to run under the boat. The rod was at full flex and I jammed it into the water up to the reel as Brett quickly backed the boat up. Nice maneuver! He never really tired to the point of resignation but finally we were able to grab his mighty jaw and haul him out of the water and on to the deck. Tarpon, at the boat, on a fly - Amazing. We took a quick photo and immediately went to work reviving him, by putting the boat in gear and running water through his gills until he kicked. When we looked up he had dragged us about a Âź mile from our stake..He was about 70 pounds, a modest size as the big ones go 150 these days. He fought like a bull. When I reached in to take the fly out the point was barely stuck in his tough bone-like jaw. It is amazing that it held at all, which is why they say only 1 in 12 tarpon hooked are boated. We went back to the stake and reset for the next one but I was still so elated I wondered why I would want the experience which was so fresh in my mind sullied with a another one. It was that good. The day was late, the tide had turned, the light was low and we called it a day. A great day..

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine supports the Adaptive Fly Fishing Institute, Operation Still Waters, Project Healing Waters, Casting for Recovery, Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, Coastal Conservation Association of Florida, Federation of Fly Fishers, The Snook Foundation, Ocean Conservancy, and many other fine efforts to enhance the lives of others and our environment.

daisy chain...round and round and round they go... w.... o kn dy o b o n p, o st ey th e er h w Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Grassett’s Snook Minnow

Shows up best when fishing lighted areas at night. A slim profile that matches a glass minnow’s Stuart Patterson In previous columns, we covered Norm’s Crystal Schminnow, and Steve Gibson’s D.T. Special Variant and now we will learn to tie Captain Rick Grassett’s Snook Minnow. With these three flies in your box you can be ready for any situation where snook are taking glass minnows or white bait on the beach, under dock lights, or on the flats. (Editor’s Note: All three of these were covered in Florida Fly Fishing Magazine’s previous format. Starting with the snook minnow, all three will soon be republished here. Ed.) Captain Rick Grassett, owner of Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc., is a full time fishing guide and outdoor writer based in Sarasota, FL. He has been guiding since 1990 and is an Orvis Endorsed Outfitter fly fishing guide at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters in Sarasota. Rick has been involved with fishery conservation for more than ten years. Captain Grassett is a past president, and current board member of the Sarasota Chapter of Coastal Conservation Association-Florida. Rick is a contributing writer for Florida Outdoors, West Central Inshore Angler magazines, and a member of the Florida Fly Fishing Magazine Pro Staff. Rick has also written articles for The Fisherman magazine, the Angler’s Guide, Orvis News and United Fishing Association’s web site. I recently had an opportunity to ask Rick about his fly. “Captain Grassett, what drove you to create the Snook Minnow? Was there a WOW moment, or an event on the water that caused you to create the fly?” “I created the Grassett Snook Minnow to “match the hatch” of what snook were usually feeding on, glass minnows and small shrimp, around lighted docks and bridge fenders in the ICW. It’s size is the same as most

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glass minnows and small shrimp and even though it looks like a glass minnow it can also be fished to imitate a shrimp by imparting short, sharp strips. I wanted something that wasn’t too bulky and would get down a few feet in the water column. I experimented with numerous materials until I found the right combination of materials and weight, which was the “WOW” moment.” “Why did you select the materials used in the fly? What do you believe are the important properties of the fly?” “I selected white as the color because it shows up best when fishing lighted areas at night. A slim profile that matches a glass minnow’s profile couldn’t be very bulky, so I settled on Estaz (or medium Ice Chenille) Grassett’s snook minnow compared to for the body with a white EP fiber tail with a few strands of pearl and/or night glow the real thing. flash-a-bou. The result is a small, slim profile, flashy fly of the right size that gets down deep enough in the water column to be effective.” “How did the fly get its name?” “The fly was originally called Grassett “Grass Minnow”, but its name was changed to Grassett Snook Minnow when it was picked up by Orvis a couple of years ago. I called it Grassett Snook Minnow because I primarily target snook with the fly.” “What species of fish have you caught with it?” “I have also been very successful with little tunny (false albacore), Spanish mackerel, blues, trout and even tarpon when they were feeding on glass minnows. It has become my “go to” fly for little tunny. I tie it on a larger hook when targeting little tunny and tarpon (Gamakatsu SC-15 or Owner AKI 1/0). Tarpon sometimes feed heavily in glass minnows in the fall, which is when it works well.” “Have you tied it in any other variations?” “I have tried other variations of tail and body materials. For a bulkier body, I’ve used medium palmer Chenille, which can then be trimmed with scissors to create a profile. For the tail, I have tried marabou for bigger flies and various synthetic fiber materials but I like EP fiber the best when

tying for snook or little tunny. I have also tried various flash materials and I prefer flash-a-bou in pearl and/or night glow.”

“How do you normally fish the fly?” “When snook fishing in the ICW at night, I usually anchor slightly up tide and a cast away from structure (docks or bridge fenders), cast the fly across the current and let it make a pendulum type swing towards the structure, stripping about 18” to 24” per strip at a steady rate. Most strikes occur as the fly swings when it reaches the structure or shadow line. Strips can be varied to short, quick strips when snook are feeding on shrimp. When fishing for other predators such as little tunny, Spanish mackerel, blues, trout or tarpon, the fly is cast and retrieved at various speeds and can be fished deeper in the water column by pausing longer initially and/or between strips.” There are a couple of other flies that I would like to mention 1) Grassett Flats Minnow-another similar fly designed for snook, reds and trout in skinny water. It is currently in the Orvis catalog and 2) Grassett Flats Bunny-another fly in the series that is designed to fish deep grass flats for trout, blues, Spanish mackerel and more. It has already proven to be very effective on striped bass in Chesapeake Bay and is expected to be a good freshwater fly for bass, etc.

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Captain Grassett was kind enough to provide his tying instructions, making my job pretty easy this month. Thanks Rick! Grassett Snook Minnow I developed this fly, also known as Grassettâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Grass Minnow, mainly for snook fishing around lighted docks and bridge fenders at night, but have also used it successfully for false albacore, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, trout, ladyfish and even tarpon when tied on a larger hook. It is sort of 1/2 glass minnow and 1/2 shrimp, lightly weighted to get it down in the water column. It has been in the Orvis catalog since 2008. Materials Hook: #4 Mustad 34007 hook (can also be tied on size 2 and 6 hooks) Eyes: Medium bead chain eyes (other options are small bead chain eyes for # 6 hook or x-tra small 1/50 oz. lead eyes for # 2 hook) Thread: Chartreuse thread Tail: Polar Bear or white EP (Enrico Puglisi) Fiber, Pearl Flash-a-bou (or night glow) Body: White or Pearl Estaz or Ice Chenille (Medium size) Weed Guard: 20# Hard Mason mono for weed guard, if desired (this fly rides hook down and is usually fished in deeper water but a weed guard will make it easier to get off of docks without snagging them). Tying Instructions 1) Tie bead chain eyes on top of hook just behind the eye of the hook. Lead eyes should be tied on the bottom. Lead eyes are used in very fast currents or following cold snaps when fish may be

deeper. This fly rides hook down and lead eyes tied on top will turn it on its side. 2) Wrap thread back to bend of the hook and tie on tail, kind of sparse. Tail should be about 1” long (total length of fly will be 2” when tied on a #4 hook). Put 6 or 8 strands of flash-a-bou, either pearl or night glow in tail.

3) Tie on Estaz or Ice Chenille at base of tail and wrap forward to just behind eyes and tie off. 4) Add weed guard of 20# Hard Mason mono (if desired). Cut about 2” long, flatten ends and twist ½ turn before tying each end on sides of head. Then cut to the proper length so it extends just past the point of the hook.

5) Finish fly by making the head of the fly and coat with Flexament. Be sure to tie up a few of Captain Grassett’s Snook Minnow flies and hit the water! Who knows, you might just end up with a few bluefish in need of a smoked bluefish dip recipe. Also, if you are in the Sarasota area and looking for a guide, please give Rick a call at (941) 9237799.

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The lip-gripping devi ce caused mouth inju ries to 8 0 % of b on ef is h restrained in the wat er and 100% of bone fish held in the air.

d catch an e h t , y l Sad es of some ic t c a r p e s relea shery are fi n o p r a t in the survival g in s a e r c e d likely d tarpon an d e s a le e r of u r t a il e d in c e b ld u f sho the ethic o o t e c n e r defe le fishing. responsib

Catch, Release and Otherwise do the Right Thing for the Fish A special catch and release and proper handling supplement to Florida Fly Fishing High Temps = Low O2 Warm water contains less oxygen than cold. When fighting a fish in warm water keep the fight as short as possible to avoid over-exhausting the fish. Under those conditions fish also nee d to be revived longer. Consider using heavier tackle to keep the fight short.

It’s a Jaw dle Not a Han by th e lo w er Do n’ t lif t a la rg e fis h tive tissue isn’t jaw. Since their connec weight, lifting designed to hold their tear muscles large fish by the jaw may g, and make that they use for eatin eat after being it difficult for them to released.

Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Calls for Responsible Tournament Angling Responsible Catch and Release is Essential

The use of catch and release as a conservation tool to ensure healthy recreational fisheries for the future has become standard throughout the world of recreational fisheries. The catch and release ethic is especially apparent in the world-class tarpon fishery of Florida, where virtually all tarpon are released. However, catch and release is only a valid conservation tool if it is practiced correctly so that most fish that are released survive. Sadly, the catch and release practices of some in the tarpon fishery are likely decreasing survival of released tarpon and should be curtailed in deference to the ethic of responsible fishing. Research on catch and release fishing generally shows that the amount and type Sadly, the catch and of handling of fish after being caught and release practices of some before being released is an important factor in in the tarpon fishery are determining the fish’s likelihood of survival after likely decreasing survival release. In general, fish that are kept in the of released tarpon and water and handled minimally do best, while fish should be curtailed in that are handled extensively and exposed to air deference to the ethic of for long periods of time don’t fare well. responsible fishing. Despite the availability of tarpon harvest tags in Florida (each $50 tag allows the harvest of a tarpon), the harvest of tarpon in Florida – whether by individual anglers or by tournaments – has declined to nearly zero in recent years. This is great news for tarpon: tarpon are late to become sexually mature (approximately 8 – 12 years old) and can live a long time (potentially to 80 years), which makes them especially susceptible to harvest. This makes it even more important to use proper catch and release practices when fishing for tarpon – so we can continue to enjoy the best tarpon fishing in the world. Some mishandling of fish during catch and release is simply a matter of an angler not knowing about proper catch and release handling practices. This is why Bonefish & Tarpon Trust expends significant effort educating anglers about proper catch and release practices. This education effort by BTT and others is paying off with improving catch and release practices by recreational anglers. Unfortunately, in other instances proper handling practices are purposefully not followed, which is a real cause for concern. Given the overwhelming support for catch and release of tarpon, it is puzzling why anglers would engage in practices that very likely cause high

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mortality of tarpon after release – the towing of caught tarpon to a weigh station as part of a tournament. Although data on the effects of towing tarpon are scant, the preliminary data that do exist suggest that towed tarpon exhibit much higher levels of physiological stress than do tarpon that are caught and released but not towed. Moreover, since we know that, in general, more handling time equals lower survival for caught and released fish, it makes sense that increasing the handling time by towing and weighing tarpon will likely decrease survival. The responsible and prudent approach is to reduce handling time, and therefore not engage in towing of tarpon prior to release. The requirement for a weigh-in is especially puzzling given that accurate weights can be obtained by applying measurements of a fish’s length and girth to a formula that is specific to tarpon. This formula, created by University of Miami scientists based on measurements of hundreds of tarpon, is accurate to within a couple of pounds. Bonefish & Tarpon Trust has this formula available via an iPhone app or water-resistant weight conversion cards. This letter is not a statement on tournaments, but is instead a call for all tarpon anglers to follow catch and release practices that maximize the survival of tarpon after release. This should be the goal of all recreational tarpon anglers, and especially of entities that host events that rely on a healthy tarpon fishery. In closing, a tip of the hat to the highly responsible, talented guides of Boca Grande Pass who practice good catch and release, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s ongoing tarpon conservation research, each contributing to a sustainable fishery. Sincerely, Aaron Adams, Ph.D. Director of Operations Originally published in the Boca Beacon on June 8, 2012, this letter was submitted to us by the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust. About Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Bonefish & Tarpon Trust is a non-profit, science-based conservation organization dedicated to ensuring that bonefish, tarpon, and permit populations, and the fisheries they support, remain healthy and helping to restore the fisheries that have declined. BTT accomplishes this mission by funding conservation-focused research; working with local, national, and regional resource management agencies to improve regulations to protect these fisheries; and funding and conducting education of anglers and the public. BTT uses scientific findings to advocate for fisheries conservation and works to ensure coastal habitats used by bonefish, tarpon, and permit are protected. For more information visit the BTT website at www.tarbone.org.

5x7 postcard

How Much Does that Tarpon Weigh? Increase the chance of your tarpon surviving after catch and release, and save yourself the time and effort of weighing your catch. Simply measure the length and girth of your tarpon while it is in the water, and use this card to calculate the weight of your fish.

Bonefish & Tarpon Trust is a 501.C.3., not-forprofit organization committed to sustain and enhance bonefish and tarpon fishing around the world. This mission is pursued through research, education, rehabilitation, regulation and regulation enforcement. To support tarpon conservation please visit us at www.tarbone.org.

BONEFISH & TARPON TRUST 24 Dockside Lane, PMB 83 Key Largo, FL 33037 Help Protect Tarpon, Join BTT

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Available as an iPhone app at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tarpon-master/id482489315 Atlantic Tarpon (Weight in Pounds)

Source: Jerald S.Ault, University of Miami

Dorsal Girth (inches)

Fork Length (inches)

How to use the chart:

Fork length = from the tip of the snout to the fork in the tail Dorsal girth = circumference around the fish just in front of the dorsal fin. In the example on the chart: fork length = 83”, dorsal girth = 42”, weight = 210 pounds (± 3%)

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Catch and Release

Responsible catch and release fishing is effective conservation Aaron Adams Catch and release fishing is the standard for many fisheries. In Florida, for example, it is estimated that approximately half of all fish caught by recreational anglers are released. However, only responsible catch and release fishing is effective conservation. Catch and release can be an effective and valuable tool in fisheries conservation, but it is essential to practice responsible fishing and fish handling techniques for catch and release to be effective. Here are a few tips that should help increase the survival of your released fish. Hopefully, many anglers are already using these techniques. First, use steel or bronze hooks. They are less toxic than cadmium coated hooks and dissolve faster than stainless steel hooks. Use pliers to pinch down the hook barbs on your lures and flies. By pinching the barb you reduce the amount of time needed to handle the fish, and less handling time is better for the fish. Don’t worry about the effect of barbless hooks on your catching – plenty of research has shown that pinching the barbs does not increase the loss of fish. Fish Handling In addition to choosing the best terminal tackle, how the fish is handled can have huge effects on survival. The best approach is to never remove the fish from the water. While keeping the fish in the water, remove the hook. If the fish doesn’t swim off on its own, it may need some recovery time. Gently hold the fish under the head and base of the tail until it’s regained the wherewithal to swim off. If there are sharks present, some recovery time in the live well may be beneficial. If it is necessary to remove fish from the water, be sure to wet your hands first. This reduces the amount of slime removed from the fish – slime that is important barrier against infection. Never use a towel to hold a fish, even if wet – too much slime is removed.

If you want a picture of the fish, or need to weigh it for a tournament, it is best to support the fish’s body from underneath, near the head and the anal fin.

Some more specific tips: Although it is tempting, don’t lift a large fish by the lower jaw. Since their connective tissue isn’t designed to hold their weight, lifting large fish by the jaw may tear muscles that they use for eating, and make it difficult for them to eat after being released. If you want a picture of the fish, or need to weigh it for a tournament, it It’s a Jaw is best to support the fish’s body Not a Handle from underneath, near the head Don’t lift a large fish by the lower and the anal fin. jaw. Since their connective tissue isn’t Keep away from the gills – the designed to hold their weight, lifting filaments of fish gills are thin, large fish by the jaw may tear muscles fragile structures. They must that they use for eating, and make be thin to allow the exchange it difficult for them to eat after being of oxygen and carbon dioxide released. between the water and the tarpon’s blood. Damage to these structures can be damaging to the tarpon’s chance of survival after being released. Even with best intentions, by placing your hands under the gill covers to lift a fish you run the risk of damaging the gill filaments, so this practice is best avoided. Help the fish recover before release. Fish gills are designed for water to flow in the mouth and out through the gill covers to maximize the amount of oxygen that is transferred from the water to the blood, and to maximize the carbon dioxide that is transferred from the blood to the water. When helping a fish recover prior to release, it is best to orient the fish so water passes into the mouth rather than swish the fish forward and back. Facing the fish into a current or holding it alongside a slowly moving boat are good strategies. For smaller fish, it is most important to reduce handling time and keep them in the water. For these fish, a boga grip or similar jawholding device can be used to hold the fish in the water while the hook is removed. However, even for these smaller fish it is best not to dangle them in the air. And some recent research on bonefish has shown that using a lip gripping device on fish that are still active can cause major damage to the jaw. We prefer not to use these devices. Where to Fish It may seem obvious, but to many it apparently is not. As a general rule, don’t fish in areas where a lot of predators are present. Research in the Bahamas, for example, showed that survival of released bonefish was very high (more than 95%) in areas where sharks were not present, but dropped significantly (to just 60%) when sharks were present. The same

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can probably be said for other species. So if predators show up to spoil the party, move along to another location. Photographing Your Catch With the accessibility and quality of digital cameras, we are taking a lot more photos of our catches. One common mistake is to take the fish out of the water, then get the camera ready, then take the photo. It’s best to keep the fish in the water until your fishing partner has the camera ready for the photo. Before taking the photo, decide where the subject and photographer will be, and get everyone in position before the fish is removed from the water. When holding the fish, support it with wet hands under the head and the anal fin. Research on bonefish has shown that 15 seconds is the maximum time to expose the fish to air, and this is probably a good rule of thumb for other species. Bonefish & Tarpon Trust has produced a great brochure “Best Practices for Bonefish Catch and Release” that provides a great guideline for catch and release fishing for other gamefish as well. You can download it at http://www.tarbone.org/images/stories/bonefish_brochure-inside.pdf -----------------------------------Always one to walk the walk, as a researcher at Mote Marine Lab, Aaron studies gamefish and their habitats so resource managers have the information they need for fisheries conservation (http://fishermanscoast.com/research/FHE_ summary.html). And as Director of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust since 2006, he oversees research and conservation programs on bonefish, tarpon, and permit that are essential to the long term health of these fisheries. This article was previously published in Florida Fly Fishing Magazine and is worth rereading every year. Ed.

http://www.tarbone .org

An Evaluation of the Injury and Short-term Survival of Bonefish as Influenced by a Mechanical Lip-gripping Device Used by Recreational Anglers Anglers should use caution when using mechanical lip-gripping devices Andy J. Danylchuk, et al.

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Note: While most fly anglers intend to practice good methods of catch and release, many of us fail by accident if only due to a lack of knowledge. A lot of us have resorted to using mechnical lip-grippers on all fish, especially those that would otherwise injure us were we to grab them by the jaw barehanded. This short version of the full study is a real eye opener. After reading this you may want to reconsider how you use that jaw-grabber. You can read the study in its entirety at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ S0165783608001781 Mechanical lip-gripping devices are becoming popular among recreational anglers as a means of holding fish for hook removal and photos prior to release in an effort to minimize scale or slime loss from handling. To date, however, there has been no actual evaluation of the consequences of using such a device The lip-gripping device on the health and survival of the fish. Using caused mouth injuries wild adult bonefish (Albula spp.) as the to 80% of bonefish test organism, we assessed the impact of restrained in the water a commonly used mechanical lip-gripping and 100% of bonefish device on fish injury, behavior, and survival in held in the air. a seawater laboratory. Upon further review, this sentence would be more accurate if it read â&#x20AC;&#x153;A detailed assessment of injury and short-term (<48 h) mortality was conducted for bonefish handled with a mechanical lip-gripping device for 30 (seconds) either while being restrained horizontally in water or held vertically in the air. A control group was also handled, but only with bare hands. Although no fish died after 48 (hours), the lip-gripping device caused mouth injuries to 80% of bonefish restrained in the water and 100% of bonefish held in the air, always when fish thrashed while being held. Some of the injuries were severe (40%) and included separating the tongue from the floor of the mouth, creating tears and holes in the soft tissue of the lower jaw, and splitting the mandible. Anglers should use caution when using mechanical lip-gripping devices for bonefish, at least until additional studies are conducted to help tease apart howthe risk of injury using mechanical lip-gripping devices on less exhausted individuals compares to the risk of post-release mortality for fish exercised to exhaustion.

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Contributors to this study are: Andy J. Danylchuk a,b, Aaron Adams c,d, Steven J. Cooke a,b, Cory D. Suski a,e a Cape Eleuthera Institute, Flats Ecology and Conservation Program, Cape Eleuthera, Eleuthera, The Bahamas b Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada c Bonefish & Tarpon Unlimited, Key Largo, FL, USA d Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA e Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA

Injuries sustained to bonefish using a mechanical lipgripping device. (A) A perforated tear in the tissue posterior of the mandible and extending parallel along the isthmus. (B) A bonefish with a broken mandible. (C) A non-perforated wound on the inside of the mouth posterior to the mandible. (D) A wound similar to that visible in (A), however no perforation was made by the mechanical lipgripping device.

Source: Danylchuk, A.J., et al., An evaluation of the injury and short-term survival of bonefish (Albula spp.) as influenced by a mechanical lip-gripping device used by recreational anglers, Fish. Res. (2008), doi:10.1016/j. fishres.2008.06.001

Bonefish Catch and Release

These good handling rules apply to all fish Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Although catch and release fishing is a valuable conservation tool that can lead to more and bigger fish in the fishery, just because a fish swims away doesn’t mean that it lives to be caught another day. The tips below for increasing the chances that a released bonefish survives are based on scientific research focused on bonefish. Be a responsible angler - use Best Practices for Bonefish Catch and Release. Hooks: High Temps = Low O2 • Hooking location and time needed to Warm water contains less remove a hook affects survival rates oxygen than cold. When • Always use barbless hooks fighting a fish in warm • When fishing with bait, use circle hooks water keep the fight as Fight Time: short as possible to avoid • Shorter fight times increase survival over-exhausting the fish. because a fish fought to exhaustion Under those conditions is more vulnerable to predators. fish also nee d to be Conversely, a bonefish reeled in too revived longer. Consider quickly may thrash about, increasing its using heavier tackle to chances of injury. keep the fight short. • Tackle should match conditions and the size of the fish so that the fish can be landed quickly, but not until their head can be lifted slightly above the water surface and their movements controlled. • Always land a bonefish before it is exhausted and loses equilibrium when released (cannot swim, nose dives, or rolls over). • If a bonefish loses equilibrium after you land it, revive it until it can swim upright, then shorten the fight time on future fish. • High water temperatures may negatively impact If you have to handle a fish, use clean, wet hands and bonefish survival after gently support it from beneath the head and belly. Nets, release; in warmer water, mechanical lip-gripping devices, and wet cloths can cause reduce fight time and injury. handling time.

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Handling: • Minimize handling of all fish; slime and scales can be removed or damaged with excessive handling, thereby greatly increasing the risks of infection. In addition, recent research has shown that mechanical lip-gripping devices can cause damage to mouth tissue if the bonefish struggles against the device, so their use is best avoided. • Use hemostats, pliers, or a hookremoval tool to quickly remove the hook while keeping the fish in the water, and have your Avoid exposing bonefish to air, even when taking a photo. pliers ready If you must remove the bonefish from the water, limit it to a and available to maximum of 15 seconds. facilitate a quick release. • Touching the gills can cause damage and impair the ability of a bonefish to breathe. • If a lip-gripping device is used, it’s best to use them only to restrain a calm fish in the water while removing the hook. If a fish’s weight is desired, attach a sling to the device, and cradle the bonefish in the sling rather than hanging the fish vertically by the jaw. Predators: • The survival of released bonefish decreases severely when predators such as sharks and barracudas are abundant because these predators often attack a bonefish soon after it is released. In fact, fish that lose equilibrium are six times more likely to be attacked by predators. • When predators become abundant and appear to be attracted to your fishing activity, consider moving to another fishing location. • If you have caught a bonefish and potential predators are near, if you have a livewell consider using it to hold the fish for a short time and release it some distance away. For more information about proper fish handling and good resource management in general, visit the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust web site at www.tarbone.org Florida Fly Fishing Magazine is a Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Conservation Blue Ribbon Sponsor

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Brad Lowman photo

Karma Being What It Is…

“What you put out there will come back to you and sometimes in the most unexpected ways.” Kathryn Maroun I’ve been spooled twice in my life. Shocking experience both times. Makes for great dinner conversation. Once on the Eagle River in Newfoundland, I was spooled by an Atlantic Salmon. Smart fish, turned around and went back from whence she came. She took to the falls for her escape and headed back to the ocean. We were fishing only a few miles from the mouth. I thought the Leaper would break me off when she got to the end of the backing. Problem was, the fly shop didn’t actually tie my backing to the spool. An Arbor knot is not a lot to expect. Priceless look of surprise on my face, I was told, at the moment when the line, unceremoniously rolled off the spool and detached me permanently from my “bragging rights”. “Down the pond”, went my new fly line, new gel spun backing and the trophy fish. The big fish are the females that time of year. I practice catch and release, but not usually so early in the catch portion of the exercise. Surely we could find 90 feet of colorful floating line attached to 40 pounds of Silver? Unable to find my kit and admittedly shaken, I headed back to the lodge. I said I would walk back so my fishing partner could continue fishing. (I must have been in shock because I forgot we were standing on an island.) My knees shake to this day when I recount the tale. The second time I was spooled, I was fishing for the duo of Ted Williams “Big Three”, the Tarpon. The Silver King was indeed the smiling fish. He swam away with everything except my fly rod. He effortlessly wove through the log-jam forest. He was an unstoppable train. A battle of wills was fought for a tiresome 45min. The last five minutes, fought, knowing full well, that he was headed for the sunken forest located along the powder white shoreline. I felt like a prize fighter who just got the first mighty blow to the chin, landing him on

the mat, supposing he may not come back from this. It was clearly his intention, to my horror, to break me off. No amount of pleading, swearing or grunting would turn this train around.

Taken during that very battle. Notice the white sand beach in Boca Grande, Florida.

I’m sure that I wasn’t the first angler that the Megalops had played with in this way. He was after all, smart, old, big, and experienced. The hook up is what I love. The fight is just a lot of work. Some people jump the fish and then break them off. (I don’t think it’s okay to leave a hook and tippet in a fish.) We decided to re-group and have some lunch on the beach since we couldn’t find my fly line.

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Florida is famous for its white beaches and emerald green waters. I fell in love with the area as a child, when like so many snow birds, we would fly in to escape the never ending Canadian winters. The Sunshine State is perfect for shelling, building sand castles and sportsfishing. I still find childlike pleasure from those simple activities today. At that time, much of the sand that made up Florida’s beaches was made from quartz crystals. The weathering process is what produced the white sands. It started with erosion high in the Appalachian Mountains. The particles became even smaller as they were transported to the sea via America’s great rivers. They end up in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. Currents and waves helped deposit the fragments to form beaches etc. The quartz, along with shell fragments, coral, limestone, fossils and organic matter, produce some of the purest, whitest sand I had ever seen. Today that sand is mixed with plastic of all shapes, colours and sizes. The sand composition has changed into a super building material almost as strong as concrete, it would seem, because of the addition of plastic. Don’t laugh… A UK company called i-plas has invented a building material made from recycled plastic that could replace concrete, steel and timber. These days I collect more sea garbage than treasures on my beach walks no matter where I am in the world. In 1975, the National Academy Of Science estimated that 14 billion pounds of garbage was being dumped into the ocean every year. That’s such a crazy number that it’s hard to wrap my head around the idea of 1.5 million pounds of trash per hour was being dumped in the water. During the 1993 coastal cleanup, over 3.1 million pounds of trash was collectedmore than half of that was plastic. The Center for Marine Conservation aptly named the top 12 repeat offenders the “dirty dozen”. They are: cigarette butts, paper pieces, plastic pieces, Styrofoam, glass pieces, plastic food bags, plastic caps and lids, metal beverage cans, plastic straws, glass beverage bottles, plastic beverage bottles and Styrofoam cups. The fact is, that with the exception of a small amount of plastic that has been incinerated, virtually every piece of plastic that was ever made still exists in some shape or form and a great volume of that is turning the ocean into a plastic soup.

Plastic comprises up to 90 percent of floating marine debris. This plastic persists in our waters absorbing toxins and entering our food chain, as smaller pieces are mistaken as food by fish. In turn, people eat the fish. There are 2.7 million fishing licenses sold annually in Florida. This Bioaccumulation is fat-soluble and builds up in our tissue. The toxicity causes cancer, reproductive impairment, birth defects, neurotoxicity, immune suppression and birth defects/impairment. I’m not saying don’t eat fish. I’m just saying “you are what you eat”. I think we had better pay more attention to and take better care of our food supply and the environment in which it grows. I have found MIT’s Dr. Joe Thornton to be a great resource. To learn more about this issue, I recommend that you check out his book, “Pandora’s Poison”. The amount of plastic produced from 2000-2010 exceeds the amount produced during the entire last century. It is estimated that 100,000 marine mammals and up to 1 million sea birds die every year after ingesting or being tangled in plastic marine litter. Clearly we need to reduce our plastic footprint starting today. Use cloth bags instead of plastic. Refuse single serving packaging. Carry reusable utensils like they often do in Japan. Reduce the use everyday plastics like plastic lunch bags. Bring your own mug with reusable lid to the coffee shop. Go digital. (I have stopped producing dvd’s for my fishing show “whatacatch.net”). Don’t consume so much. Ask yourself when you buy something; “Is this helping to build the type of world I want to live in?” Recycle. Collect garbage when you see it to prevent it from being washed into the drain system and into our oceans. Tell others about the clear and present danger. The summer after the Salmon spooled me, I went back to fish the Eagle

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

River. To my astonishment, the guide handed me my forgotten flyline with the leader still attached. Out of sight, out of mind like so much garbage in our oceans. Apparently an angler from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, who I happen to know, caught my flyline along with his fish sometime after I had long left the province of NFLD and Labrador. He had heard the story of my mighty fish navigating to the falls with my fly line in tow. It was, after all, big news that summer. So he brought the fly line back to the lodge with him so it could be returned to its rightful owner. Very good of him actually, fly lines are expensive. Like all plastics…they are never really gone. I still find childlike pleasure from the simple activities I mentioned earlier; sand castle building, shell collecting and sportsfishing. However, as I grow older I realize that there are a lot of problems in the world and it is my duty to use my voice and my heart to help create change.

Tight lines and quick releases and please remember to properly dispose of leader material, it is a good first step in the change that we so desperately need. Kathryn Maroun is a world-class fly angler. Her fishing tv show, “What a Catch!” follows her adventures. Watch fishing video highlights from her fishing adventures, find tv show times and networks on www.whatacatch.net. Find out the latest news from Kathryn and stay in touch with her through her blog, Facebook, Youtube and Twitter.

Stop, shop, and let them know you found them here! We have them all mapped out for you at http://g.co/maps/43vy4 BOCA GRANDE: Boca Grande Outfitters http://www.bocagrandeoutfitters.com/ 375 Park Ave., PO Box 1799, Boca Grande, Florida 33921

KEY WEST: Saltwater Angler http://www.saltwaterangler.com/ 243 Front Street, Key West, FL 33040-8371 (305) 294-3248

MIAMI: Fly Shop of Miami http://www.flyshopofmiami.com 8243 S. Dixie Highway, Miami, Fl 33143 (305) 669-5851 We offer you top name brands, excellent service and expert rigging of tackle for all saltwater fly fishing situations. Find a full range of saltwater & freshwater fly fishing equipment and clothing for Florida and worldwide destinations. Buy top name brands including: Sage, Loomis, Thomas and Thomas, Winston, Temple Fork Outfitters, Redington, St. Croix, Hardy, Tibor, Nautilus, Abel, Ross, Shimano, Scientific Anglers, RIO, Cortland, Fishpond, Simms, and Ex Officio.

Attention Guides and Fly Shop Owners and Managers

Join these fine guides and fly shops as part of our listings pages. We offer the information listings you see here as well as interactive maps to help your customers locate you when they are traveling or planning a trip. For more information, email us at info@flaflyfish.com or call (727) 798-2366 today!

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

NAPLES: Mangrove Outfitters http://www.mangroveoutfitters.com 4111 E.Tamiami Trail Naples, FL 34112 239-793-3370

NOKOMIS: Flying Fish Outfitters www. flyingfishflorida.com 820 Albee Road West #1, Nokomis, FL 34275 (941) 412-4512 Flying Fish Outfitters is more than a storeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it is a full-service shop that helps you have an excellent day on the water. We carry a diverse selection for the fly and spin angler, and our specialty is providing our customers high quality products for any budget. Our ever-expanding selection of fly tying materials includes all the locally desired products but we are also happy to special order other items for you as well. In addition to supplying rods, reels, lines and etc., we are committed to education and offer a variety of programs - most free of charge. Please visit us in person 7 - 7, 7 days a week

Orlando: Orlando Outfitters http://www.orlandooutfitters.com 2814 Corrine Dr., Orlando, FL 32803 ph: 407.896.8220 fax: 407.896.8244 tj@orlandooutfitters.com

Sanibel: Norm Zeiglerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fly Shop http://normzeiglersflyshop.com 2242 Periwinkle Way, Unit 1, Sanibel Island, FL 33957 239-472-6868 We are a full-service fly shop offering the finest fly fishing equipment, apparel, flies, books, artwork, and accessories. We feature Sage, Redington, Rio, Seaguar, Umpqua, Temple Fork, and other top brands. Our flies are tied by local experts. We book guided charters for fly, spin, and conventional fishing. We offer fly casting instruction. We also carry a wide selection of spinning gear and bait. Our most important product is information. We will send you to the best spots and provide you with the best flies.

You, too can be part of Florida fly fishing magazine, here’s how! Writers and Photographers Guidelines

This is the preferred way of submitting copy [articles, etc.] and images [photos, etc.]. The easier it is for us to use them, the more likely it is we will! ALL submissions MUST be your original work or submitted with written permission of the creator. Old, historical works are very welcome but you need to inform us about their source. Upon submission you have, for all intents and purposes, certified that what you have sent is your intellectual property or of a historical nature. Copy: -12 point, Times New Roman, left-hand justified ONLY. No fancy formatting, etc. that I’ll just end up undoing anyway. -News pieces: 300 – 500 words -Articles: 500 or more words. Pieces that are more than 3,000 may be serialized—run in consecutive issues. Please tell me you’d like to consider that for your longer article. I’m very open to the prospect for worthwhile topics. -How-to, technique, fly tying articles: make these photo-heavy with explanations for each photo or diagram. -Travelogues: Include plenty of photos, etc. Consider including links to Google Maps. -If you have a particular placement for an image within the document, place its file name in brackets [redfish.jpg] where you’d like to have it placed. -By lines include your name and your town so we know where you’re from. Images: [ALL images—Includes photos, scans, diagrams, etc.] -100dpi, 1200 px wide minimum. Larger is better! I reserve the right (unless you specify otherwise) to edit images as needed. -Color preferred, but B&W, etc. are a welcome change when appropriate. -Large, crisp images are preferred to small ones. I limit image sizes in the publication, but large ones I can to reduce produce better quality. -Name each file, then provide important info and captions in a separate, clearly labeled document. If the images accompany an article, etc., list the info at the end of the document. For example: redfishing.jpg; photo by Joe Doe; woman in blue is Deborah, man in green is Ed Please email ALL inquiries and submissions to: editor@flaflyfish.com

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Give them a call, go fishing, and let them know you found them here! Find them on the map at http://g.co/maps/pw2ca AMELIA ISLAND: Capt Lawrence Piper http://theanglersmark.com (904) 557-1027 lwpiper@comcast.net

BOCA GRANDE: Boca on the Fly - Capt Al White http://bocaonthefly.com (941) 830-1375

COCOA BEACH: Cocoa Beach Fishing Charters - Capt. Doug Blanton 321-432-9470 captdoug@indianriver.cc

JUPITER: Capt Ron Doerr, Bite Me Charters http://captainronbiteme.com/index.html (561) 5125560 fish@captainronbiteme.com Come fish for a variety of species on fly. We have the resources to catch up to 15 different species a day, to include Spanish Mackerel, Kingfish, False Albacore, Snook, Jacks, Sharks, Dolphin, Pompano, Black Fin Tuna, Cobia, Tarpon, Blues, Sail Fish, and more! I run two boats, a 32’ Twin Vee accommodating up to four flyrodders at a time and an 18 foot Egret for near shore and back waters.

MIAMI: Capt. Carl Ball http://awolfishingguide.com Home: 954-565-2457 Boat: 954-383-0145 CaptBall@awolfishingguide.com

ST PETERSBURG: Capt Jon Brett - FishBuzz TV Charters

http://fishbuzz.tv/ jon@fishbuzz.tv 727-804-0735 Jon started fly fishing at the age of 12, and currently serves as a field tester for the Orvis company’s saltwater fly fishing division, and the Gulf Coast Director for the Snook and Gamefish Foundation. Whether you’re interested in a fly or spin fishing trip, Jon’s skill and passion is all about stalking highly coveted saltwater gamefish in the shallows, such as; tarpon, redfish and snook.

RUSKIN: Capt John Hand http://www.redfishlandingguideservice.com Phone : (239) 842-7778 Fax : (866) 592-1149 Email : tomatoesjh@yahoo.com

SARASOTA: Capt Rick Grassett, F3M Pro Staff

http://www.flyfishingflorida.net Email snookfin@aol. com (941) 923-7799 Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc. is your one-stop shopping source for quality, shallow water light tackle and fly fishing adventures. Capt. Rick can provide guides and accommodations for any size group.

ST PETERSBURG: Capt. Pat Damico, F3M Pro Staff http://www.captpat.com Email: pat4jaws@hotmail. com 727-360-6466 My base of operation is the St. Pete Beach area of Tampa Bay and I can trailer my 17â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Maverick flats boat to other areas as needed. My boat is equipped with both spin and fly fishing gear should you choose not to bring your own.

TARPON SPRINGS: Capt Rodney Ristau http://fishtampabay.net (727) 838-3780 captainrodney@fishtampabay.net Port Tarpon Marina 531 Anclote Rd Tarpon Springs, FL 34689

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Meet the Editorial Staff Aaron Adams - Environmental Aaron has long been an advocate of the philosophy that information is key to success. This is the primary motivation behind his effort to translate fish science into terms that anglers can use. You can benefit from this effort through his articles in this magazine as well as his books: Fisherman’s Coast and Fly Fisherman’s Guide to Saltwater Prey, and his chapters in Chico Fernadez’s book Fly Fishing for Bonefish. http://fishermanscoast. com. Aaron promotes this philosophy through his work with Tribal Bonefish – a movement toward creating responsible anglers. http://tribalbonfish.com. As a researcher at Mote Marine Lab, Aaron studies gamefish and their habitats so resource managers have the information they need for fisheries conservation (http://fishermanscoast.com/research/FHE_summary. html). And as Director of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust since 2006, he oversees research and conservation programs on bonefish, tarpon, and permit that are essential to the long term health of these fisheries. http://www.tarbone.org. A note to the reader: many of Aaron’s photos seen in Florida Fly Fishing Magazine are available for purchase at http://www.fishermanscoast.com/photos/stock_photos.html Dusty Sprague - Casting Dusty’s passion is teaching fly casting and shallow-water fly fishing. He began fly fishing in the late 1950’s; tying flies and teaching fly casting in the 1970’s; and guiding in the early 1980’s. He has fly fished for fresh or saltwater species in much of the lower 48 states, Belize, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Canada, and has guided in Alaska. He is a senior instructor for Ascension Bay Bonefish Club in Mexico and has conducted saltwater fly fishing schools and hosted groups in pursuit of shallowwater species in the Bahamas, Mexico, and Belize. He is the former manager of two fly fishing shops and a fly fishing guide service at the Broadmoor, a five-star resort hotel in Colorado Springs. He has been a featured presenter of fly casting demonstrations at numerous fishing shows and has appeared on NBC’s Today Show and ESPN’s Fishing Across America. Dusty is a Federation of Fly Fishers’ Master Certified Casting Instructor and serves on the Casting Board of Governors of the FFF’s Casting Instructor Certification Program. He is a member of the Scientific Anglers Pro Staff.

Capt Jon Brett - FishBuzz TV Videos Captain Jon Brett is the director of FishBuzz TV and has teamed with Florida Fly Fishing Magazine to provide our videos. Jon is a 3rd generation Floridian who’s grown up fishing the Tampa Bay area. After graduating from Rollins College in 2006, he started FishbuzzTV, which provides web marketing solutions to an array of marine industry companies. During BP’s Gulf oil disaster, Jon worked as an on-theground producer for the National Wildlife Federation and the Ocean Conservancy. After spending a few months in the tainted Louisiana swamp, he was anxious to return home and get back to fishing Florida’s healthy and dynamic fishery. Jon started fly fishing at the age of 12, and currently serves as a field tester for the Orvis company’s saltwater fly fishing division, and the Gulf Coast Director for the Snook and Gamefish Foundation. Whether you’re interested in a fly or spin fishing trip, Jon’s skill and passion is all about stalking highly coveted saltwater gamefish in the shallows, such as; tarpon, redfish and snook. Joe Mahler - Illustrator A native of Indianapolis, Joe Mahler has spent his life fly fishing for “anything with a tug” and teaching others to do the same. He is the author and illustrator of “Essential Knots and Rigs for Trout”, Essential Knots and Rigs for Salt Water” and most recently illustrated “Performance Fly Casting” by Jon Cave. In addition to Florida Fly Fishing Magazine, Joe’s articles and illustrations appear in magazines such as Fly Fishing in Salt Waters, Salt Water Sportsman, FLW, and American Angler. Joe is the creator of the popular fly pattern “The Strawboss” for use in both fresh and salt water. He lives in Southwest Florida and is currently a member of the Sage Pro Staff. Some of Joe’s fine work can be seen here in Florida Fly Fishing Magazine. Ken Morrow - Fly Fishing Ken Morrow is a Certified Adaptive Fly Fishing Practitioner who serves as the President of the Adaptive Fly Fishing Institute, Inc. With over three decades of fly fishing and paddle sports experience, Ken specializes in fly fishing instruction and opportunities for people with a variety of disabilities. The adaptive sports philosophy of helping participants to achieve the highest level of independent function they can without compromising their safety drives Ken’s approach. He has been featured in award-winning films like “We All Live Downstream,” on TV and in print from ESPN’s Outside the Lines to Florida Sportsman Magazine, is a frequent conference and event presenter, and has held a number of staff writing and editorial positions as an outdoor journalist. Mr. Morrow is a member of both the Freedom Hawk Kayaks and Navionics pro staffs and the Peak Pro Fly Tying Team. Before moving to Florida, he served as a member of the board of directors of the Gulf Coast Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers and founded both the Adaptive Fly Fishing Institute and the Heartland Region of Project Healing Waters.

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine

Robert Morselli - Fly Fishing Robert is the research director for the television show How It’s Made (Discovery Channel), seen worldwide, in 180+ countries. The show is translated in over 20 languages and reaches an international audience of over one hundred-million viewers per week. As team lead (way back in the 90s), Robert created award-winning websites for General Foods, Lipton (soup) and Hummer vehicles. “My creative portfolio is diverse by intention, I insist on that because diversity is what drives me – and fly fishing is a foundation, in a sense. Not a day goes by that it doesn’t cross my mind in one form or another. People who are completely absorbed by fly fishing will know exactly what I’m talking about, and I try to convey that affection every chance I get – to fly fishers and non-fly fishers alike.” Ed Maurer, Publisher After retiring from the US Air Force Ed conceived the idea of publishing a magazine about fly fishing in his home state of Florida. It took a decade for computer technology to develop to the point where Ed could effectivly produce a magazine without the prohibitive cost of print publishing. It took a couple more years for both technology and Ed to advance to a nexis where an effective, attractive and hopefully stimulating Florida Fly Fishing Magazine could be published in the format you are reading it in now. “I owe a lot to the many folks like those on our editorial staff, past staff member Stuart Patterson, tech advisor and mentor Bernadetter McCarthy and the many other friends and contributors who have given of themselves to make this effort successful,” said Ed, “and much of the thanks goes to my wife, Deborah for her constant support, encouragment and eagle eye.”

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine