Since the March Merkin, I’ve been getting out with Ian Slater a lot to get some practice in before the tournaments. We’ve been working hard, catching fish at times and at others wishing for better attitudes. Last week we caught a nice fish that would have been a joy in a tournament setting that we…

It’s very likely that by now anyone reading this has heard from other places that the 2023 March Merkin was a grind for everyone. The fishing has been slow lately for permit, and the weather has been beautiful for the last few months, which pushed them offshore earlier than normal. The recent weather was also…

With the March Merkin starting Tuesday, I’ve been fishing very little as Kat prepares for the tournament with Doug Kilpatrick. Since the Cuda Bowl, in fact, I’ve only been able to get out on the water a single day. This isn’t much, but that’s about to change: once the tournament is over, I’m on relatively…

Last weekend the 2023 Cuda Bowl took place, and for the first time in a few years I fished it. It was fun to step back into the mix in this tournament, which has grown in both popularity and participation over the years. I fished it this year with Doug Kilpatrick, and while we didn’t…

Earlier in the month I had a trip planned in the Everglades with Steve Huff, and the idea was that Kat and I would go up there together and throw 4 pound tippet at snook. The ladies record, at 6.5 pounds, is a fish that is many times more available than the men’s record, which…

Last week I had a chance to fish with Brian Helms. Brian is a good friend, and I’d like to fish with him more, though the chances we have to get out are fewer than I’d like. Between the fishing I do in order to prepare for tournaments and his own with his clients, it’s…

My good friend Dave Skok just wrapped up a visit to Key West, fishing a day each with me and Kat and Aaron Snell. Prior to his arrival down here he spent three days fishing in the Everglades with Steve Huff, catching (unsurprisingly) the snook of his lifetime and (even less surprisingly) having the time…

Over the last month, I’ve been able to get out a fair amount. After the IGFA Permit Invitational wrapped up we were struck harder than anticipated by Hurricane Ian, which as everyone knows also hit the Fort Myers area much more severely. The consequence of the storm for us here was mild on a personal…

Earlier in the week I fished with Ian Slater, and while we got a late start we still gave it our all towards having some fun in the off season. We’ve been kicking around the idea of getting back into the tarpon record game, and as the only two records remaining that are more possible…

Over the past month or so I’ve been able to get out a few times, though not with the typical regularity. Still, there have been some fun times out there that are worth sharing. The first is a fish from a few weeks ago, fishing with Ian Slater. We’ve been using the lack of permit…

Last month I wrapped up fishing the Gold Cup, once again with Ian Slater. We fished hard the weeks leading up to the event, as usual, and when the tournament began we had a few things we felt were worth exploiting during the five days. Our only concern was that the concentrations of fish we’d…

Over the last week I fished in the Golden Fly with Ian Slater. The weather was as tough as I’ve seen it in a tournament, and the fishing suffered predictably. Our prefishing was spent hoping as much as fishing, and what few fish we threw at seemed disinterested in what we were asking them to…

Over the last few weeks Ian Slater and I have been in preparation mode for the upcoming Golden Fly tournament that starts on Monday. We’ve had our ups and downs, next-tos and nearlys, though we have been able to get consistent with our catching. We had been contending with some frustrating weather which seems to…

I know well that these reports have been lacking, and that’s a product largely of being busier than normal in the shop and at home. I’ve been diligently getting out there, though it seems with the pandemic pushing more and more people out of doors and into boats I’ve been far from the only one.…

While I have been fishing a fair amount, the weather has been tough and I’ve been struggling to get into the groove. Last week I fished with Ryan Bergeron, who invited me along for a day with Simon Becker. We found some tarpon early and then later looked for permit, and while we had a…

After the Merkin, I’ve started to fish. It seems odd not to write a Merkin Results + Our Fishing report, which has become a habit over the last 10 years or so, but a brief synopsis seems appropriate here: Kat and Doug finished in second, leading the rest of the field at the end of…

Earlier in the week I had a chance to get out for a day with Brandon Cyr. I haven’t had much fishing scheduled prior to the Merkin, but a day on the water was welcome in the middle of the dry spell. Our weather was far from perfect, and while the day prior Brandon reported…

Since Kat and I welcomed our baby, I’ve been able to get out a few days with some new people. As part of a writing project Monte Burke (of Lords of the Fly fame) came down to fish with John and me. We were talking more than usual, but this didn’t stop us from throwing…

In the middle of the draft of this report, which I had intended to finish last Monday, Kat and I welcomed our baby girl, Violet Vallilee Linville. She’s running us a little ragged at the moment, which will mean that these pages are on the back burner for a bit, but I’ll be back on…

Before the recent trip to Homestead to fish with Lincoln Rodriguez, David Mangum came into town for a few days of permit fishing with the usual cast of characters. We were only missing Ian Slater this time around, who’s schedule didn’t line up for our days this year. Before I started fishing, Kat and David…