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…

Last week I traveled to the Everglades again, this time with Kat to celebrate her birthday, to fish with Steve Huff. As readership of these pages know, I spent a fair amount of time up there over the years fishing with Steve and a rotating cast of hopeful abettors for the six. In the end…

Last week Wes Smith came to town. For those of you familiar with these reports, that’s not surprising: he’s been committed to the fishing down here for some time, and in addition to being one of the best roommates Kat and I have ever had he’s also becoming a fisherman that’s fun to watch, both…

Last week John O’Hearn and I fished the Del Brown. We’ve fished this tournament for the last six years, and after deciding that our time in the permit tournaments was drawing to a close had the actually pretty fun experience of just fishing the event without worrying about how we were doing. Our prefishing day…

After the Gold Cup, I had an opportunity to spend a day on the water. I was invited to fish with Scott Collins by Todd Brown, a great guy and a fly tyer who is exactly my kind of fishing nerd. We went nearby where Ian and I spent our time in the recent event,…

Last week the Gold Cup wound up and down, starting Monday and finishing on Friday. After the Golden Fly in May that ended with a break down, Ian and I were happy to have a chance to redeem ourselves. Our prefishing was relatively dismal, still plagued by the wind and weather that’s been a hallmark…

Last week the 2021 Golden Fly tournament took place, and while it was a hard week of fishing for the entire field the competition was fierce as always. With wind in the high 20’s and a population of fish that has seemed to take its time in arriving, this year’s tournament was difficult for all…

Over the last few weeks, Ian Slater and I have been getting out a lot. We’re deep in preparation for the upcoming Golden Fly tournament, which is in two weeks and has felt much longer than that away for some time. We’ve been giving our attention exclusively to tarpon, which is normal for May, and…

Last week I had a pair of days scheduled, one with Nick Labadie and one with Scott Collins. After that I fished with Ian Slater and John O’Hearn. The weather has been cold, colder than we anticipated when we booked the days in the fall, and on each of the first two we decided to…

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…