Proper Water Closet Adornment
Posted on August 16th, 2011
Tagged: bad cell phone photography, poon, silver king, tarpon
Posts from the “Florida” Category
Bonefish Tarpon Trust Symposium
Posted on August 11th, 2011
We’re big fans of the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust and are spreading the word about their upcoming Symposium. In their words: Two full days of presentations on cutting edge scientific research of bonefish, tarpon and permit from fisheries scientists around the world is scheduled, as well as panel discussions, fly casting seminars and tying clinics by some of the world’s noted flats anglers. On the final night an “Evening with the Legends” banquet will be emceed by author and angler Andy Mill, participants include; Joan Wulff, Bob Popovics, Lefty Kreh, Flip Pallot, Chico Fernandez, Sandy Moret, Rick Ruoff, Mark Sosin, Ralph Delph, Steve Huff, Bill Curtis, Stu Apte and George Hommell.
Tagged: bonefish, Bonefish and Tarpon Trust, tarpon
Cayo Hueso
Posted on August 1st, 2011
There was a bluegrass duo at the bar and after the 13th request for “Dueling Banjos” the guitar player jumped off the small stage and grabbed the requester by the throat. This is a place that flips switches. It’s where Wallace Stevens threw down with Robert Frost and tried to punk Hemingway. The guitar player’s response fell within acceptable parameters. But it was time to leave. The Canadian had built a pickle-fork flats skiff that ran 74 and he put in a foot pedal throttle, like a car. In the morning he intentionally ran over cormorants as we blasted across bayside waters from Big Pine. He hit a well known flat and killed the engine and trimmed up. We did not have a push…
Tagged: apocryphal half truths, barracuda, Big Pine Key, bonefish, Key West
Even The Bass Pile On Sometimes
Posted on July 13th, 2011
I Google Earthed the locale near my hotel. Water. Accessible water. Sometimes the satellites do not present the full picture. I took to Beta testing some bad-ass prototypes from WT. Prognosis? They cast well and swim well. Fish? What do you want? It’s Florida in July; 95 degrees in the freaking gloaming. Due time for paydirt. Field testing in the name of science builds an appetite. This is what you call a dynamic cuban sandwich. On to the hotel bar to cleanse the palate and hear the lounge act.
Tagged: cuban sandwiches, largemouth bass
Largesse
Posted on May 6th, 2011
Thank you for subscribing to two of the deadly sins, avarice and gluttony. Thank you for trying to eat the object making raucous splashes that doesn’t really look like food, just in case. Thank you for jumping.
Tagged: largemouth bass
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
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…
