Tarpon season ended, as it usually does, with the Gold Cup in Islamorada. As the largest and most competitive of the tournaments, its placement in the third week in June means that the bulk of tarpon season is coiled in its long shadow. When it finally happens tarpon season isn’t finished, but what’s left of…

Last week John O’Hearn and I fished in the Golden Fly in Islamorada. As seasons go in the lower Keys this one has been more difficult than seems fair, and seemed to make its way in to the tournament for John and myself. I’d like to congratulate Captain Rob Fordyce and Ryan Seiders on their…

I’ve been a relatively terrible blogger of late, and while there are plenty of reasons for this none of them are worth getting in to here. I’ve had four days of fishing this week, and with the Golden Fly next week looming larger each day it’s time to bring things up to speed. I’ve had…

Earlier in the week I had the pleasure of fishing with John O’Hearn on our first scheduled day of fishing since the March Merkin. We’ve shifted gears at this point to tarpon with the upcoming tournaments, and hoped these days would give us a chance to work on our fishing for the giant leaping herring.…

After the trip with Steve and Ian I spent a day on the water with Simon Becker. Kat’s been having some back issues, and after the first of two days she needed to take a break–I was substituted for Kat and ended up on the water for an unplanned day with Simon Becker. Given the…

After the March Merkin I fished with Ian Slater for a day. We had decent if unremarkable permit fishing, breaking off a fish that reminded me how lucky I was to hang on to the ones that mattered in the tournament. We were further beaten down by some idiot in a center console that approached…

It’s Saturday now, and I’ve had a week to recover after fishing a tough March Merkin. Fishing in any tournament is always a grind, though with the March Merkin it seems to always be a click above the norm. The tension of the tournament machine starting up is aggravated by the arrival of guides from…

After the two guest appearances I was excited about spending some time on the bow alone with John. As much as I love fishing with other people, doing the light line stuff and the like, when I do it a lot I miss spending the whole day on the bow with regular gear and just…

So continues my quest to get these pages current leading up to the March Merkin, which begins on Tuesday. The weather has been phenomenal, and I’ve lost myself in the fishing more than writing lately. I’m full of days on the water, most of which have ended with a few fish in the boat. I’ve…

After the Cuda Bowl I was ready to spend some time on the bow. I’d spent plenty of time fishing of course on the recent trip to the overseas, though as is currently being proven by some recent itinerant arrivals in our midst trout are a very different creature than what we’re after here. I…