Bones By Bicycle
Posted on March 31st, 2011
A cool little video short from Matt of This River Is Wild doing some DIY bonefishing somewhere on some island where we wished we lived.
Archive for March, 2011
A Passion For Tarpon
Posted on March 25th, 2011
A Passion For Tarpon is dense. I received a review copy a long time ago, August I think. I wanted to read through it before commenting. Seven months later, here are my thoughts. This book surprised me. Hearing some pre-press buzz back in early 2010, I had expectations of this being an ego showcase for Andy Mill, regarded by many to be the best tarpon angler in the world. But it’s not that at all. It features lengthy, unfiltered interviews with pioneers and legends like Steve Huff, Bill Curtis, Stu Apte, Sandy Moret, Tom McGuane and others. Steve Kantner, (the “Land Captain” and the king of Florida ditch fishing) contributed an essay on the history of chasing tarpon. Interspersed in between the historical chapters,…
Tagged: A passion for tarpon, Andy Mill, books
Gas Station Crack
Posted on March 24th, 2011
The gas station in town has a mart that sells a 20-ounce coffee for a $1.69. It’s got an urn that says Extra Bold. And it’s got shelves of free stuff you can mix in with the coffee. They have these creamer-packet sized shots of espresso called SToK. The label on SToK warns you to keep it to two packets a day. It started off small, but I’ve been doubling down in the Extra Bold. I get home and it’s either fire off 1,000 words or take apart a transistor radio. I tied some flies but had to wait on the epoxy until my hands stopped shaking. Highly productive, but the comedown involves sitting in a dark room listening to Mountain Jam.
Our Band Is Scientist Rock
Posted on March 20th, 2011
From our vantage point, the perigee moon wasn’t all that last night. I’ve been researching from 19th century textbooks for a project. Hard to read, but I’ve been drinking DHA milk so I’m smart as fuck now. But my posture’s shot to hell. My primary care physician told me last week the searing pain that’s been shooting down my leg is from my sciatic nerve, caused by typing. Stop slouching in chairs with your laptop and go walk, he told me. Done. Took the daughters to the State Park where two years ago the old trout stream was sentenced to death by way of infectious pancreatic necrosis, and the resulting cull-fest that ensued by decree. I saw fish. The surest reason as any…
Striped Bass Call To Action
Posted on March 18th, 2011
No sense rewording this bulletin from Stripers Forever, so I’ll just post it in full here: CALL FOR ACTION We apologize for the short notice on this Call For Action, but it is a chance for you to have a positive influence on how striped bass are managed. All indications and data suggest that the coastwide recreational catch of striped bass has been declining since 2006 – an eye-popping 70% drop in just 5 years. Add to that the poor spawning year classes since 2003, and the resulting lack of recruitment of young fish into the population, and the future does not look very promising. The striped bass population is being propped up by the good year classes of late 1990’s, plus 2001 and…
The Angler’s Palate: Cubans
Posted on March 14th, 2011
This is the suburbs, man, there’s no need to pack in supplies. Everything is just down the street. But ritual dictates a stop at the local convenience for a sandwich wrapped in cellophane. There are better, more proper, cuban sandwiches to be had but then you’d have to wait five, maybe ten minutes to have it made for you, fifteen if there’s a line. The bread’s not exactly cuban, but there’s the pork, ham, swiss, pickles and mustard. It counts. I’m not prone to superstition, but when I’m on the road in Florida, eating one puts me in the right place for the task at hand. Coming Soon: The Hungry Man. (A full hero loaded with three eggs, sausage, bacon, ham and cheese.…
Tagged: cuban sandwiches
Dispatch from the Brownline South
Posted on March 9th, 2011
Get your creep on and move down the shoreline in a crouch, hiding your profile from the beast tucked into the limestone bank, and then your backcast freaks an iguana that dives headfirst into the water. Everything splits. People are watching you from the parking lot. Why do you even chase these things? They’re not supposed to be there and they invoke diatribes about evil and your role in it. You just like to watch them chase undulating feathers. Bag limit? Unlimited. Some people are into the killing, leaving carcasses as a warning to the others. Even though they have no cerebral cortex and are incapable of heeding threats or doing anything other than what they do. At least eat it, brother. Supposedly…
Tagged: dead snakeheads, snakehead
Threat Level Orange
Posted on March 8th, 2011
The canals of South Florida had business that needed tending. Mark Hall of Fly Fish Florida Peacocks hooked us up. Corey Kruitbosch rolled through town on his way to the Keys and took pictures (his will be much better than mine posted here.) The fish got a little pissed off at being tricked. Corey also rocked a tilapia.
Tagged: Corey Kruitbosch, Mark Hall, peacock bass, tilapia on fly
Going Subtropical
Posted on March 7th, 2011
The car with the heavy tint windows started creeping behind me as I walked through the marina parking lot. The window lowered and a man in a Panama hat called me over. “Hey partner, want some lovin’ from the wife tonight?” He brandished a handful of jewelry. No, I’m good. I try not to buy gold or stereo speakers in parking lot cash deals. So he offered me the chance to buy into a time share. That was in October. Back in September I turned on the hotel tv to a live car chase through Miami that ended with tazers. I pretty much knew it would go down that way. Things happen in South Florida. Carl Hiaasen is a master of understatement. I…
