This past week has been full of fishing with a fair amount of wind mixed in. A front moved through today, bringing with it a fair amount of chill–in April, we hit temperatures in the high 60’s. Before the front arrived I had a number of days on the books, the first of these with…

After the March Merkin I had the chance to fish a pair of days with Brian Helms in Islamorada. While driving that far to fish for a couple days bears its own gummy grin, it was worth it to see some new water and spend some time with Brian. Once again my booked days coincided…

A few weeks ago the 2021 March Merkin came to a close. Once again, it was marked by some of the toughest weather we can have this time of year. This came as no surprise, as this marks the seventh year that we’ve been on the defensive for this tournament. As such it felt normal,…

This week I fished a pair of days, one each with Brandon Cyr and Nick Labadie. Given Ian’s and my total concentration on tarpon fishing, it’s been hard to find time to devote to the thing that usually holds my attention until the end of March: the March Merkin. The tournament starts on Tuesday, and…

After the redfish extravaganza, Ian Slater and I had a pair of days scheduled to get into shape for our upcoming tournament efforts. We’ve been totally focused on tarpon, at the expense of permit, both feeling that our energy is best spent in that direction. Our first day of fishing was hard–there were but a…

After the three days of being beaten down by the January permit, I had an opportunity to fish with Captains Brandon Cyr and Nick Labadie in the Sugarloaf Showdown, the now-annual tournament to benefit the Guides Trust Foundation that the Lower Keys Guides Association puts on. The tournament had been moved to January after a…

Earlier last week I had the opportunity to fish for a three-day stint, each day with a different guide and in two cases joined by a special guest. Sunday I was invited by Wes Smith to fish with Ian Slater, and we left early with high hopes. The weather had turned to our favor, warming…

Yesterday I fished for the first time since the new year, and it didn’t disappoint. I had Ian booked for the day in hopes that we might get lucky with some warm January weather, and I was off by a day or two. The conditions were improving, however, after a long period of cold weather,…