The March Merkin just wrapped up, and it was quite the event. Last year set a standard of poor weather, and 2018 was apparently competitive by nature. What could be worse than last year’s weather? As it turns out, we only had to wait a year to find out. Our prefish day was on Monday,…

On Tuesday after I returned from the trip with Steve and Jason I spent a day on the water with Ian Slater. I’d been on a bit of a low-yield run with permit, after the two trips with Chad and Dave Skok, and was looking forward to ditching the 2lb in pursuit of just catching…

The day after the trip with Dave Skok and John boy, I drove to the Everglades for a pair of days with Steve Huff and Jason Schratwieser. I hadn’t fished with Jason since too long ago, and Steve and I were both looking greatly forward to spending some time with him. Jason is, in addition…

After the two tough days with John and Chad I fished another pair of days the following week. For these we were joined by our good friend and Strong Arm Merkin Mastermind Dave Skok. If anyone that reads these reports is unfamiliar with Dave, take a look at our gallery: nearly every photo on there…

After the tarpon extravaganza with Scott Collins I fished a pair of days with John O’Hearn and Chad Huff. Our target remained the 2lb permit record, and I made sure we had ample pre-tied tippets for what I was sure was going to be a great opportunity to put this record to bed. Regular readers…

Two weeks ago (or some other time, I can’t really remember) I fished with Scott Collins. We had a day on credit after missing a weather day in January when Jeff Audette was down, and we randomly selected one that on which we had no other obligations to give it a shot. The weather was…

Last week I was invited to fish with Doug Kilpatrick, as a guest of Wes Smith. Wes had three days booked with Doug and asked me to tag along on day one, which I was glad to do. We got ready in the morning and set forth for [redacted], hoping to find some shots at…

Over the weekend the annual Cuda Bowl took place, and I was invited by Ted Margo to fish with him and John O’Hearn in the spin division. I’ve fished this tournament in the fly division since its first year, and enjoyed a fair amount of success in it with John Benvenuto as well as Aaron…

After the day with Jeff and Scott, I traveled to the Everglades to fish with Steve and Chad Huff. We were once again hopeful that the weather would warm up enough for us to look for a tarpon, and after the last three trips rendered zero shots we were all hoping for a change in…

During our September trip to Punta Gorda (FL, thanks to Irma, instead of Belize as planned), Kat and I found some new friends in Jeff and Laurie Audette. Jeff and I worked together for a while during the blackout, when the status of our life in the Keys was unknown, and hatched a plan to…

Last week I returned from a three day trip to the Everglades with Chad Huff. Ian Slater accompanied us, in the event that we found ourselves in need of an extra set of hands, and we set out on Monday morning to see what we could find. A cold front of swollen proportion had just…

So this is report will get me current on these pages, especially since I’m not turning around to pick up the Bahamas trip that flew off during my winter break from writing these reports with constant regularity. I leave Sunday with Ian for a three day trip with Chad Huff in the Everglades, and the…

I’ve been a bad blogger recently, and have skipped over the Bahamas trip I took with my parents and cousins three weeks ago. I’m going to use the excuse of keeping these reports Flo-grown to get the party back on track with my recent trip to the Everglades with Steve and Chad Huff. I promised…

Last week I fished two separate days, one alone with Ian Slater and one with my good friend Michael Hetzel and Simon Becker. Ian and I enjoyed some typical fall fishing–too warm for the barracuda to be as playful as we needed, and too cold for the permit to be around in great supply. Had…

At the beginning of the month, Kat and I fished the Sugarloaf Showdown with Doug Kilpatrick. Over the last few years this tournament has become a fun way for the LKGA to benefit the Guides Trust Foundation, and with Irma’s recent taxation of both organizations it was a great way to get back to normal…

Chad drove down late last Sunday evening, and we tucked back directly in to our pursuit of the 2 lb tippet permit record. The last time I’d fished with 2# was with John O’Hearn a few weeks back, when a torrent of bad luck afflicted us on the four bites we were able to squeak…

Earlier in the week I fished for a day with Ian Slater and Joe Skrumbellos. We took my boat, which was slightly overkill for permit fishing, though we had to let the beast stretch its legs since it’s been idle since before Irma. I was looking forward to the day fishing with Joe, who has…

Earlier in the week I got out on the water for a day with Doug Kilpatrick–the number at the bottom of a complicated receipt. There was an eating competition involved, and a pick gaff, and somehow it ended up that Doug was going to take me fishing and that’s how it happened. We set out…

On Monday and Tuesday, I fished with John O’Hearn. It was our first day back on the water together since the days in August with Chad, when we had come perilously close to the 2lb permit record with a fish that was 4 ounces shy of the current record. Between then and now much has…

I’m sure everyone has heard about Irma and the damage that was done to the Keys. In places it’s worse than you can imagine, and in others it’s less than you’d think. Key West did incredibly well, without much of a storm surge, and while there are a lot of trees down it’s on the…