Film Festival Part of Gulf Fisheries Symposium ST. PETE BEACH, FL— August 31, 2012—Legendary fisherman, artist and conservationist, Dr. Guy Harvey, will host a film festival at the Tradewinds Island …
Bimini Valentine’s!
1 Feb 201112:11 AM
Eat, Pray, Love, Dive…at the Bimini Big Game Club!
Enjoy a romantic weekend in the islands with that someone special. Spend Valentines weekend at the Club and receive a complimentary bottle of wine with dinner!
Then there’s 2 for 1 diving with Dive Bimini.
And since roses are hard to come by, you’ll receive 15% off all sportswear in the new Outfitter Shop so you can show your love with that special gift.
PS…we’ll leave the Pray part to you, but you’re in luck – there are lots of churches on Bimini to make up for misbehavin’ on Saturday night!
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![](mailto:?subject=Guy Harvey Film Festival Coming to St. Pete Beach&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/emma1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1430" title="Scene from "This is Your Ocean: Sharks"" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/emma1.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="225" /></a>
Film Festival Part of Gulf Fisheries Symposium
ST. PETE BEACH, FL— August 31, 2012—Legendary fisherman, artist and conservationist, <a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank">Dr. Guy Harvey</a>, will host a film festival at the Tradewinds Island Grand Resort on Saturday, September 15, 2012, in conjunction with the <a title="About the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Symposium" href="http://guyharvey.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/gulf-of-mexico-fisheries-symposium-announced-for-september-14-15/" target="_blank">Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Symposium</a>. Two of Harvey's award-winning documentaries will be featured along with trailers for his upcoming films. Admission is free but parking is limited and will cost $5 per car. The first film with be shown at 7:00 p.m. with the second showing immediately following an intermission.
In 2011, Harvey's documentary, <a title="TIYO web site" href="http://www.thisisyourocean.com/" target="_blank">This is Your Ocean: Sharks</a>, won the Macgillivray Freeman Conservation Award at the <a title="NBFF web site" href="http://www.newportbeachfilmfest.com/2013/" target="_blank">Newport Beach Film Festival</a> in California. It will open the Saturday night event. Also on tap for viewers will be Harvey's latest film, <a title="Preview of "Mystery of the Grouper Moon"" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AtFywQVR-I&list=UUK-ol6-5sVk_NcRHN1LtmOQ&index=7&feature=plcp" target="_blank">Mystery of the Grouper Moon</a>, which was filmed last year in the Cayman Islands.
"Grouper Moon is a very important project for us because it shows how science and art can work in concert to bring about responsible marine conservation," Harvey said.
Mystery of the Grouper Moon focuses on a reef in Little Cayman where thousands of Nassau grouper congregate each February during the full moon. The grouper, which come to the same reef from miles around, are there for their annual spawning. Conservationists in Cayman persuaded the government to close fishing on the reef during the spawning season to protect the fish when they are vulnerable to mass catches by local fishermen.
"I have a lifelong love affair with fishing," Harvey said, "and this film illustrates why there are certain times when we need to protect the species in order to have healthy and sustainable populations."
This is Your Ocean: Sharks is a bit of a love affair as well between a man and a shark. The star of the film is Emma, a 12-foot tiger shark that has been befriended by famed scuba diver, Jim Abernethy. Conventional wisdom has been that tiger sharks are ruthless man eaters and historically they have been one of the most feared sharks. However, Abernethy and Emma formed a bond during hundreds of dives and they sometimes bump nose to dive mask in a heart-stopping show of affection. Abernethy likens Emma to a "puppy dog" and the film reveals how shark and man can peacefully co-exist.
The TradeWinds Island Grand is a 20-acre resort located on the unspoiled white sand beaches of Florida’s Gulf of Mexico, with extensive meeting space, five pools, fine and casual dining, beach bars and nearly limitless recreation for both adults and children. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harvey-film-festival-coming-to-st-pete-beach/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Miami International Boat Show Events Feature Guy Harvey, Stu Apte, Wayne Bisbee & More&body=The Big Game Room proudly inducts Wayne Bisbee into the Big Game Room Hall of Fame
<img class="alignleft" src="http://www.miamiboatshow.com/lib/img/gallery/img152413270.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Recognized for his outstanding contributions to the sport of big game fishing. Wayne's long history of conservation spans 35 years and he is currently working with governments and private organizations alike in several countries do develop tourism, sportfishing and other aquatic activities as primary, economically viable industries. Wayne also founded Bisbee's Fish & Wildlife Conservation fund whose mission is to conserve, restore and manage fish, wildlife and their associated habitats through science, education and the optimal use of the latest technologies.
Saturday, February 14 Big Game Room Presentations (except as noted)
12:00 USCG - Suddenly In Command
1:00 Stu Apte Roast Legendary IGFA Hall of Famer Apte will roast in the hot seat with the heat provided by Capt. Rick Murphy, (<a href="http://www.sportsmansadventures.com/">Sportsman's </a>Adventures), Sue Cocking (<a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/outdoors/">Miami </a>
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/stu-apte-tarpon-short.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-2588" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/stu-apte-tarpon-short.jpg?w=660" alt="Stu Apte Tarpon short" width="660" height="536" /></a>
Hearld Outdoors Writer), Blair Wiggins (<a href="http://www.addictivefishing.com/" target="_blank">Addictive Fishing TV</a>), <a href="http://www.sportsmansadventures.com/"> </a>Chris Peterson (<a href="http://hellsbayboatworks.com/">Hells Bay Boatworks</a>), <a href="http://www.patfordphotos.com/home-static.cfm">Pat Ford</a>, Ray Van Horn (Gypsy Angler TV). Styled like the Fryar's Club and Dean Martin roasts, these well-known personalities will hurl playful zingers and one-liners at Stu before he gets his turn at the mic. This is not for the faint of heart as the repartee will be sharp as a wahoo's tooth.
2:00 <a title="Capt. Dan Kipnis" href="http://www.captaindankipnis.com/#!presentations">Dan Kipnis</a> - Global Warming - Our Changing Oceans
4:00 Justin Schnute - SUDS - In Depth Look at <a href="http://www.sudsdiving.org/">Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba</a> (SUDS) Program
430pm -7:00pm <a href="http://papaspilar.com/#/papaspilar/landing">Papa's Pilar</a> will host a rum tasting at the <a href="http://guyharveymagazine.com/">Guy Harvey Magazine</a> booth (#4401) near the south entrance
5:30 Guy Harvey Presents: Panama Paradise, his latest documentary in the Big Game Room. Dr. Harvey will discuss the movie and answer questions after the showing.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/panama-paradise-cover.jpg" target="_blank" rel="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/expeditions/pyfc.html"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-2577 size-full" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/panama-paradise-cover.jpg" alt="Panama Paradise Cover" width="571" height="399" /></a>
Sunday, February 15
12:00 USCG - Suddenly in Command
2:00 Justin Schnute - In Depth Look at Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba (SUDS)
3:00 Dan Kipnis - <a href="http://www.captaindankipnis.com/#!presentations">Global Warming - Our Changing Oceans</a>
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<a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/expeditions/isla-mujeres.html">JOIN the next Guy Harvey Outpost Fishing Expedition to Isla Mujeres Mexico.</a>
For fishing with <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/expeditions/pyfc.html">Guy Harvey Outpost in Panama</a>
For Fishing with Guy Harvey Outpost: <a href="http://www.ghofish.com/">www.ghofish.com</a>
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https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/miami-international-boat-show-events-feature-guy-harvey-stu-apte-wayne-bisbee-more/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Billfish Invitational Day 2 – Big Marlin, Big Whales and a Big Honor!&body=During this week’s Billfish Invitational tournament, Fred Garth, Editor-In-Chief of <a title="GHM web site" href="http://www.guyharveymagazine.com/" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Magazine</a>, will be filing a series of dispatches from tournament headquarters at the Bimini Big Game Club.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bbgcwhaleshark.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-750" title="Team Tag Line takes a break from billfishing to swim with a whale shark!" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bbgcwhaleshark.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="389" /></a>Team Tag Line takes a break from fishing the tournament to swim with a whale shark!
Bimini – day two on the water was as much of a Big Game as it was a Billfish Tournament. Six billfish were hooked and almost every boat saw fish for the second day in a row. Also, two boats came in with amazing stories of swimming with whales.
<a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey</a> spent the day riding with Tedd and Tammy Amberg on the Hillary Lynn where they had a front row seat watching an aerial display of a blue marlin on the vessel Southside, which was fishing nearby.
Three of the fish hooked were reported over 500 pounds and two of blues on the line were in the 200-300 pounds. Also seen were a tailing white marlin and several free jumping billfish.
“It’s been a good run of nice sized fish,” said Tournament Director Ned Stone, “and we’ve had good fishing. Of course, there’s always the challenge of getting big fish to the boat.”
The tournament has been blessed with sunny skies and light winds providing excellent conditions for sighting other big beasts. In the spirit of Guy Harvey’s passion for marine conservation and swimming with large marine animals, one team was able to get into the water with a pod of pilot whales and another team swam for a half hour with a whale shark.
Erik Akins and Robert Collins of the Last Dance Team spotted a pod of pilot whales and hailed Chris Peterson from the <a title="Hell's Bay Boatworks web site" href="http://www.hellsbayboatworks.com" target="_blank">Hell’s Bay</a> Hopper Team on the radio. Peterson’s team swam with the whales and said that they were eating a big blue fin tuna.
“One of the whales swam by with the tuna’s head in its mouth,” Peterson said. “Another had the body of the tuna. They were sharing the fish. It was pretty incredible.
Gaston Legorburu’s Tag Line team came back to the dock with stories and photos of swimming and riding a 16-20 foot whale shark.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/frankstribute2.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-745 " title="Presentation of the Frank Johnson Perpetual Trophy" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/frankstribute2.jpg" alt="" width="495" height="295" /></a>Left to right: Bill Shedd, Tim Choate, Shelley Johnson, Ed Pang, Frank Johnson, Mark Ellert, Guy Harvey, Charlie Forman, Kent Ullberg and Frank Johnson Jr.
The day ended with a fabulous tribute dinner for Frank Johnson, creator of the iconic <a title="Mold Craft web site" href="http://www.moldcraft.com" target="_blank">Mold Craft</a> soft head lures. Many stories were told, some not to be repeated herein, and artist Ed Pang presented his perpetual trophy to Frank which displays a bronze Mold Craft lure a top of a jumping marlin.
VIP guests in attendance were Tim Choate, Bill Shedd, Kent Ullberg, Guy Harvey, Charlie Forman, Frank Johnson, Jr., and of course Frank Johnson and his wife Shelley. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/740-2/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=World’s Largest Spear Fishing Tournament to be Held in St. Petersburg&body=By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost Travel Journalist
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
As many as 400 spear fishers from throughout Florida and the U.S. will gather in St. Petersburg Aug. 19-21 for the St. Pete Open-- the world's largest underwater hunting contest and one of the beach's biggest parties of the year.
Spearos will compete on scuba gear or simply dive down holding their breath using pole spear, Hawaiian sling, or spear gun to try to bag the biggest fish in each of seven categories. At stake are some $50,000 worth of prizes and trophies to be awarded at a huge public weigh-in party at the Magnuson Marina Cove Hotel & Resort.
"It's one day of intensive, bust-your-bottom spear fishing. Dive, dive, dive!" said Charlie Barnes, president of the St. Petersburg Underwater Club, which is putting on the contest for the 51st year. "We love the competition. We love the camaraderie and it's the biggest party in town."
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22449399003_8ec1ba2817_b-e1471009118288.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4188" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22449399003_8ec1ba2817_b-e1471009118288.jpg" alt="22449399003_8ec1ba2817_b" width="599" height="400" /></a>
Divers will fan out in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean hunting for mongo specimens in the categories of grouper; snapper; pelagic; hogfish; cobia/barracuda; lobster (hand-caught only; no spears); and sheepshead. New this year is a prize sub-category for lionfish. The tournament has no boundaries; however competitors must be in the weigh-in line by 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 20. Late comers will be disqualified.
Barnes, a veteran spear fisher himself, said the best strategy is to shoot fish in each of the categories, since only one fish per category can be entered. He said it's common for contestants to run 50 miles offshore to their hot spots, diving as deep as 200 feet in the hunt for big fish. Competitors must abide by all state and local fisheries laws, such as bag and size limits and closed seasons.
Entry fee is $100 per diver. Less than 300 slots remain open, so go <a href="http://www.StPeteUnderwaterClub.com" target="_blank">HERE</a> to register now!
For great deals from Guy Harvey Outpost, including the 'Suite Summer Saver Deal' at Guy Harvey Outpost in St. Pete Beach, visit our <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/specials/" target="_blank">SPECIALS PAGE</a> now!
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Sue Cocking chronicles the Guy Harvey Outpost travel and adventure experience in regular blog posts on GuyHarveyOutpostNews.com/. For 21 years, Cocking covered the full spectrum of outdoors adventure opportunities in South Florida and beyond for the Miami Herald, including fishing, diving, hunting, paddling, camping, sailing and powerboat racing. She is a certified scuba diver and holder of an IGFA women's world fly fishing record for a 29-pound permit.
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Share your photos, videos and experiences with Guy Harvey Outpost by hash tagging #OutpostAttitude to all of your social media posts. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/worlds-largest-spear-fishing-tournament-to-be-held-on-st-pete-beach/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Okeechobee: Hunters’ Paradise&body=A dwindling number of regions in fast-growing Florida have the vast open stretches of pasture, forest, prairie and swamp of Okeechobee in the Sunshine State's heartland. Though dedicated mostly to agriculture, those thousands of acres of undeveloped land represent Shangri-La to the outdoors enthusiast-- a haven for wild hogs, deer, turkey, alligator, ducks, quail, and other game.
A mandatory vacation stop for increasing numbers of hunting tourists is Little Lake Lodge-- a remote camp located about a half-hour's drive north of Lake Okeechobee operated by outfitter Bob Hayes. It is highly possible here on the lodge's carefully-managed acreage to bag a wild hog and a trophy Osceola turkey on the same day. I know this because I was here a couple weeks ago when it happened.
Well before dawn that morning, Hayes had escorted Tim and his nine-year-old son Hunter-- both of Chapel Hill, N.C.-- to a blind adjacent to a gobbler travel route in a nearby pasture that the guide had discovered during pre-season scouting.
While Hunter sighted his 20-gauge and the three listened to the woods' melodic waking sounds, Hunter's mom Julia and I boarded a swamp buggy back in camp with hog hunter Jesse of Rhode Island, his wife Elle and their guide, Logan.
Jesse, a lifelong hunter, wanted to celebrate his 30th birthday by harvesting his first wild hog which he hoped to turn into pork tenderloin, bacon and sausage for the freezer. Unlike Jesse's native New England where there are no hog hunting opportunities, Florida is riddled with the animals. Descendants of livestock brought here in the holds of Spanish galleons in the 16th century, the wild porkers are considered a nuisance by farmers and ranchers because they tear up pastures and destroy crops in their insatiable rooting for food. They are also very prolific.
"One hog will breed once every two months and have five to six pigs each time," said Logan. "They are multiplying faster than we can shoot them."
The five of us bumped along in the swamp buggy on a rutted dirt path into a pasture and Jesse loaded his rifle.
"Take your best opportunity," Logan told the hunter.
Good thing Jesse was ready because about ten minutes into the ride, we all spotted a black hog trotting along a fence line about 100 yards away. Logan gunned the engine to close the distance but, despite the noisy pursuit, the animal for some reason began running toward the buggy.
Jesse aimed and fired, dropping his quarry in its tracks: a sow about 150 pounds.
"I love hunting," Jesse said. "A lot of meat and you don't have to go shopping."
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/buggy.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4658" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/buggy.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1920" /></a>
After posing for pictures with his prize, Jesse and Logan loaded it onto the buggy and we headed back to camp where Logan would dress it.
Jesse seemed not quite able to believe the brevity of his hunt.
"I'm used to sitting in a tree stand and not seeing anything for days on end," he said.
Julia kept shooting anxious glances toward the camp's entrance gate. She had tried texting her husband and son to check the progress of the turkey hunt but had heard nothing.
Julia explained that this wasn't just ANY turkey hunt: the family has been spending all their vacation time for months to help Hunter accomplish his dream of a wild turkey grand slam-- bagging all four U.S. subspecies in a single year. The youngster, who's been involved in the sport since he was a pre-kindergartener, had so far taken two of the four: the eastern and the Rio Grande. The family was here to check off the Osceola-- found only in Florida-- and would then head to Nebraska to complete the slam with a Merriam.
A little while after we bade goodbye to a smiling Jesse and Elle, Hayes' pickup pulled up to the lodge and Julia rushed over to greet the party.
At first Hayes and his clients acted like they were disappointed, but then they began to smirk as Hayes opened a large cooler to reveal a hefty gobbler with at least a 12-inch beard-- a trophy by any measure.
"Oh Hunter, I'm SO glad!" Julia said, hugging her son.
Recounting the hunt, Hayes said they never had to use any calling devices to summon the bird. It just ambled by the blind on a well-worn travel route, and Hunter shot it from 20 yards.
The family drove back home that afternoon, planning to get the Osceola mounted and confident of completing their nationwide quest.
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Little Lake Lodge has no more openings for the 2017 spring gobbler season, but hunters are invited to reserve for next year. There are plenty of hog hunting slots open now. Call 954-448-0015. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/okeechobee-hunters-paradise/){kind=link}
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