Last week I fished with Steve Huff, locked in sick pursuit of the six pound tarpon record as always. Chad, our designated gaff man and spirit-lifter, was along as usual to lend his skills to our hunt. We started early on Monday morning, after breakfast, and headed out to find a fight. Our first day…

2020 fishing started for me with a great opportunity: spend a few days on the water as Ryan Bergeron’s guest, for a day with Simon Becker and another with Doug Kilpatrick. Ryan is a great friend and angler, and in the last few months we’ve been planning this trip to coincide with his travel to…

A few weeks ago I returned from fishing in Mexico with my family–both mom and dad, Kat (of course) and our Ocala cousins Jeanie and Scott. We had great weather for the time of year, and while we had consistent fishing the permit were in less than compliant mood. In total we fished five days,…

After getting home from Cuba I had some time off from fishing, and with two days off last week decided to get some hours on my boat in hopeful maintenance of its power for the fast-approaching tarpon tournaments. Ian and I set out to catch a permit, and on the first day we were unable…

Earlier this month I returned from Cuba, a last-minute stowaway on a trip from a great group of four guys that had set up the trip a year ago through BTT. Arriving in Camaguay, we took a bus down to the departure point for the mothership and piled in for a day’s run to where…

Last week I returned from three days of fishing in the Everglades with Chad. Joining me was Kat Vallilee, my wife, who’s only relationship with the Everglades is through me when I return with stories of lost giants on six pound test, many after fights lasting more than 10 hours and ending in all sorts…

Three weeks ago Kat and I returned from the Palometa Club, the first foray to Ascension Bay for us both. Joining us on this trip were Chad and Steve Huff, Doug Kilpatrick, Wes Smith and the outlaw Lawson Stiff. For me, someone that grew up reading about this fishery and the guides here, I was…

Since the Del Brown tournament I’ve been spending a lot of time on the water. There is always a lull in the summer when things slow down some, and I look forward to this time of year as season starts to weigh on me by the middle of July. This year has been no different,…

As promised, here’s a detailed report of the Del Brown this year. It’s worth wrapping our fishing up with the days that preceded it, as they seemed to make a nice arc, though as I’m sure I’ll discuss where that arc ended up is no place I’m satisfied with. Two weeks before the tournament I…

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…

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of fishing in the Cuda Bowl. Kat and I had traveled to New Zealand with my parents for nearly a month at the beginning of the year, and getting back home to the salt felt as good as I knew it was going to. Speaking of getting back,…