Day 1 of the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show was a huge success for the team from Guy Harvey Outpost Ltd. Lots of fans of the Big Game Club – old and new – came by the Guy Harvey booth …
Fly Fish for Dolphin for Fun & Prizes in the Keys
7 Jul 201710:06 AM
So you think dolphin fish are easy to catch in the Florida Keys? After all, they are plentiful this time of year and don’t often refuse a bait– live, dead or artificial. So now let’s see what you’ve got: test your fly fishing skills against this colorful and tasty species in the inaugural Islamorada Dolphin Fly Tournament.
Held July 10-12 out of the Islamorada Fishing Club, a fleet of up to 20 boats with teams of three anglers each will vie for cash and prizes for both weighing and releasing offshore fishing’s most popular species.
The top prize will be awarded to the team weighing the six heaviest mahi over two days of fishing. Awards also will be presented for the highest total number of releases and for top junior angler. You may fish in your own boat or hire from your choice of Keys charterboats.
Tournament director Dianne Harbaugh says it’ll be fun— and a little tougher than just trolling baits.
“You don’t have to be a great fly fisherman,” Harbaugh said. “It’s not as technical as tarpon, but you still have got to be able to cast the fly. There are big fish out there.”
Entry fee is $1,200 per team. For a complete rundown on the rules and schedule, go to: www.islamoradaclassic.com/fly-dolphin-tournament/.
To book a room during the tournament at the Islander Resort, a Guy Harvey Outpost in Islamorada visit GuyHarveyOutpost.com or call 1-800-513-5257 for reservations.
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![](mailto:?subject=Successful First Day at the FTL Boat Show&body=Day 1 of the <a title="FTL Boat Show web site" href="http://www.showmanagement.com/fort_lauderdale_international_boat_show_2010/event/" target="_blank">Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show</a> was a huge success for the team from <a title="About the GH Outpost" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/aboutus.htm" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost Ltd</a>. Lots of fans of the <a title="BBGC web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com" target="_blank">Big Game Club</a> - old and new - came by the Guy Harvey booth at <a title="Bahia Mar web site" href="http://www.bahiamarhotel.com/" target="_blank">Bahia Mar Marina</a> to register for the BGC getaway, tell some fishing stories, and to meet the man himself, Dr. Guy Harvey.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/boatshoweblast.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-224" title="Bimini Big Game Club Giveaway" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/boatshoweblast.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>
In addition to Guy, many other Guy Harvey Outpost and Guy Harvey Inc. notables were in the booth today - Mark Ellert, GHO President; Chris Pollock, GHO Dir. of Operations; <a title="Dive Bimini web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/diving.htm" target="_blank">Dive Bimini's </a>Neal Watson; Steve Stock, President of <a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Inc.; </a>Sean Collins, VP of <a title="ARK Paddleboards web site" href="http://arkboards.com/" target="_blank">ARK Paddleboards</a>; and Doc Gruber, Director of the <a title="BBFS web site" href="http://www6.miami.edu/sharklab/index.html" target="_blank">Bimini Biological Field Station</a>.
Lots more in store for the remainder of the show, so come by the booth, meet the team and register for a chance to win the BGC getaway. Also, check us out on <a title="BBGC on Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/BiminiBigGameClub" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and follow us on <a title="Guy Harvey Outpost on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/GHOutpost" target="_blank">Twitter</a> for news and photos from the show. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/223-2/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Neal Watson to Lead Festivities Celebrating 50th Anniversary of Key Largo’s Pennekamp St Park&body=<a title="www.nealwatson.com" href="http://www.nealwatson.com" target="_blank">Neal Watson</a>, dive legend and operator of <a title="Dive Bimini's web page" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/dive-bimini.htm" target="_blank">Dive Bimini, a Guy Harvey Outpost Dive Center</a>, will head the judging team for Key Largo's first King and Queen of the Reef. A costume party and gala kicks-off celebrations at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, at <a title="Buzzard's Roost web site" href="http://www.buzzardsroostkeylargo.com/" target="_blank">Buzzards Roost</a>.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/guyneal.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-308" title="Guy Harvey & Neal Watson Announcing the Dive Bimini Partnership" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/guyneal.jpg?w=226" alt="" width="226" height="300" /></a>
The event is part of the Key Largo Chamber's observance of the 50th Anniversary for <a title="PSP web site" href="http://www.floridastateparks.org/pennekamp/" target="_blank">Pennekamp State Park</a>.
Joining Watson on the judges' stand will be <a title="Capt. Slate's Atlantis Dive Center web site" href="http://www.captainslate.com/" target="_blank">Spencer Slate</a>, <a title="Amy Slate's Amoray Dive Resort" href="http://www.amoray.com/" target="_blank">Amy Slate</a> and <a title="CRF web site" href="http://www.coralrestoration.org/CRF/index.php" target="_blank">Kara Nedimyer of the Coral Restoration Foundation</a>.
Entry to the contest is free and participants will be judged in two categories for costume and a 50-word essay on 'Why they feel worthy to qualify for this exalted position,' according to event coordinator Sue Finney.
The King of the Reef will be crowned King Poseidon, God of the Seas and the Queen of the Reef, Her Highness Amphitrite Goddess of the Seas. Prize packages for the winners will include VIP tickets to join Watson aboard the Grand Marshall Boat of the <a title="Key Largo's Holiday Boat Parade web site" href="http://www.keylargoboatparade.com/" target="_blank">Holiday Boat Parade</a>, which takes place the following Saturday, Dec. 11.
The Buzzards Roost gala begins at 6 p.m. with a champagne reception followed by a four-course dinner. Tickets cost $55 per person.
For reservations, call 453-3746. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/neal-watson-to-lead-festivities-celebrating-50th-anniversary-of-key-largos-pennekamp-st-park/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Bow to the Silver King!&body=Any day now, long lines of large silver gamefish with glittering scales can be seen making their way along Miami Beach from Haulover Inlet to Government Cut, and throughout Florida Bay and the Atlantic side of the Florida Keys. It's Tarpon Time--that bewitching season when local anglers and those from all over flock to South Florida in hopes of engaging in glorious battle with one of the hardest-fighting and most enigmatic fish in the world.
From now through about the end of June, wherever coastal water temperatures hit that magical 75-degree mark, schools of tarpon will aggregate in the annual marine version of the singles bar, looking to hook up, and then later head off to deeper water to spawn. If tide and weather conditions are favorable, they might just hook up with you too-- tempted by your offerings of live shrimp, crabs or mullet, or maybe a realistic fly pattern or swimming plug. But catching and releasing a tarpon is NEVER a given.
"Remember-- tarpon are a mystery," said veteran light-tackle guide Captain Joe Gonzalez of Miami, who fishes customers in his 18-foot Hells Bay skiff, "Funny Bone".
According to Gonzalez, March through May is prime time for pursuing tarpon in Biscayne Bay. In early winter, he said, the fish key on shrimp migrating through passes and channels on the outgoing tide at night.
In March, he said, "they're already moving inside the bay-- in the inlets, basins, channels, and around the bridges. If the weather gets nasty, they move offshore and go south, then you get another push of fish."
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/tarpon1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4598" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/tarpon1.jpg" alt="tarpon1" width="2100" height="1358" /></a>
Daytime fishing gets better, and as the waters warm and flush swarms of swimming crabs, it's time to use those silver-dollar-sized crustaceans for bait.
Gonzalez likes to fly fish for tarpon on the ocean side of the Biscayne Bay barrier islands all the way south to Key Largo.
"They're rolling and you can sight-fish for them in the basins and areas where they stage," he said.
There is nothing quite like sight-fishing for tarpon-- especially with a fly rod, since it's always a challenge to entice a wild animal to eat a man-made creation of fur and feathers.
You have to cast your bait very near the tarpon's mouth because it doesn't want to work very hard to catch a meal. Once the fish engulfs the offering, you must set the hook before it can spit it out-- a tricky business that goes wrong more than it goes right. When the tarpon realizes it has a hook in its jaw, it almost always jumps out of the water, and you have to see it coming and perform the maneuver of 'bowing to the silver king'-- pointing the rod down and toward the fish. If all goes well and you are still connected, you'll probably be engaged in battle for quite some time--either until you bring the fish up to the gunwales to be released or it breaks your line. Good luck.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Tarpon1-1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4599" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Tarpon1-1.jpg" alt="Tarpon1 (1)" width="4320" height="3240" /></a>
Biscayne Bay doesn't harbor as many tarpon during the spring as the Keys, Gonzalez says, because the waters of the island chain are a convergence zone for tarpon migrating from both the Gulf and Atlantic. But you might find Biscayne Bay to be less crowded with anglers than the busy flats of the Keys, and the fish tend to hang out in the bay into July-- after they've gone AWOL in the Keys.
In the Keys, you'll find tarpon in the channels beneath the U.S. 1 bridges; on the flats and channels in the vast back country; along the edges of ocean side flats; and there's usually big school right in busy Key West Harbor. Baits include pilchards, mullet, crabs, and pinfish.
One phenomenon peculiar to the Keys is the palolo worm hatch which usually occurs on the full and new moons of May and June during a falling tide in late afternoon.
When these magenta-colored marine worms start popping to the surface, tarpon gobble them to the exclusion of everything else. One Key West guide describes the fish as acting like they're on LSD. Double-digit releases on fly patterns that imitate the worms are common. Even if you miss all your strikes, it's a marvel to observe.
Tarpon charter openings are filling up fast. To book a trip with any Outfitter <a href="http://guyharveyoutpost.com/expeditions/expedition-adventures/tarpon-tango/">Click Here</a> or call the Travel Desk at 800-513-5257. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/bow-to-the-silver-king/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Lionfish Web Portal Opens for Business&body=Lionfish Web Portal Your One Stop Information Source
The <a href="http://lionfish.gcfi.org/index.php">Invasive Lionfish Web Portal</a> has been created by a team of scientists, resource managers, NGO staff, professors and Ph. D. students to create a single source to answer questions with credible information. The Portal features photos, videos, fact sheets, multimedia, class room resources and social media links. The information and sources have been vetted by the team.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/lionfish_header.png" target="_blank" rel="http://lionfish.gcfi.org/"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-2465 size-full" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/lionfish_header.png" alt="lionfish_header" width="1084" height="339" /></a>
Do you need to learn Lionfish first aide? Click the bright red What to do if stung button at the top of the page.
Are you interested in researching a particular aspect of the Lionfish invasion? There is a searchable directory of research papers.
Do you have a some cool Lionfish photos/video to share? Enter the Image or Video Contests.
Do you have a great Lionfish recipe you want to share? Enter the recipe Contest.
The Invasive Lionfish Web Portal partners include:
<a href="http://www.reef.org/lionfish">Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)</a>
<a href="http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/research/pollution/invasive/">NOAA, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science</a>
<a href="http://nas.er.usgs.gov">USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species</a>
<a href="http://www.conanp.gob.mx">Comision National Areas Naturales Protegidas</a>
<a href="http://craiglaymanlab.com">The Layman Lab at NC State University</a>
<a href="http://hixon.science.oregonstate.edu/content/research">The Hixon Lab at Oregon State University</a>
<a href="http://www.mona.uwi.edu/cms/dayne.html">The Buddo Lab at the University of the West Indies</a>
<a href="http://johnfbruno.web.unc.edu">The Bruno Lab at the University of North Carolina-CH</a>
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https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/lionfish-web-portal-opens-for-business/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Help Dominica Recover from Storm Damage&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/11919111_10153002949500868_3782364776200787833_n.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2911 size-medium alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/11919111_10153002949500868_3782364776200787833_n.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>
The small Caribbean island of Dominica is recovering from flooding and mudslides from Tropical Storm Erika that killed at least 20 people and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Your travel there will boost that process.
The historic Fort Young Hotel, a Guy Harvey Outpost expedition property located in the island capital of Roseau, was spared serious losses from the August storm and is open, fully operational and welcoming visitors. The resort's dive boat and dock took hits, but the dock has been repaired and a substitute boat is carrying divers to Dominica's scenic array of scuba sites. Banks, restaurants, bars, and shops in Roseau are open.
Visitors can reach Dominica's Canefield Airport-- located near the hotel-- via daily Winair flights from St. Maarten. They can book a Seaborne Airlines flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Guadeloupe, then take the Express Des Isle ferry to Dominica. There are also frequent flights on LIAT from Antigua to Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Lucia with ferry service to Dominica. Humming Bird Air operates out of St. Thomas/ St. Croix and Caribbean Helicopters from Antigua-- both with flights to Canefield.
Meanwhile, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association has launched a fund-raising drive to help Dominica's recovery. The association is asking member hotels to donate three- to seven-night vacation packages to be auctioned online. Proceeds from the auction will go into an account created by the Dominica Hotel and Tourism Association and distributed by a joint committee of the two hotel groups.
Call the Guy Harvey Outpost Reservations Office at 1-800-513-5257 for details about reserving a vacation at the Fort Young Hotel, fishing and diving packages, and so much more! Please also visit our website at <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com">www.guyharveyoutpost.com</a> for more information, photos and videos of all our exciting destinations!
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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. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/help-dominica-recover-from-storm-damage/){kind=link}
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