by Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com MacKenzie Overton of St. Petersburg was only 17 days old when she underwent a heart transplant. But today at age 20, she’s …
Free Family Fishing Clinic at the IGFA, Saturday Dec. 11th
10 Dec 20104:35 PM
Mercury/IGFA Free Family Fishing Clinic
From 11AM – 2PM on Saturday, December 11th at the
International Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum in Dania Beach
Stop by the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum in Dania (next to Bass Pro Shops) on Saturday, December 11th from 11am-2pm for a great day of fishing outdoors with your family. Mercury Marine will be on site with their pro team to teach kids and adults about getting started in the sport of fishing. KISS Country will also have a remote broadcast and will be giving away free prizes all day. Families can fish in the IGFA ponds, meet professional fishermen and enjoy a free lunch. The IGFA provides all the tackle and bait you’ll need! This FREE event will also include educational stations and face painting! Children will receive free admission to the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum while parents enjoy half price admission during the event. For more information, please call 954.924.4370.
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![](mailto:?subject=Free Family Fishing Clinic at the IGFA, Saturday Dec. 11th&body=<a href="http://www.igfa.org"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-339" title="IGFA Logo" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/igfalogo.jpg" alt="" width="154" height="108" /></a>
Mercury/IGFA Free Family Fishing Clinic
From 11AM - 2PM on Saturday, December 11th at the
International Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum in Dania Beach
Stop by the <a title="IGFA web site" href="http://www.igfa.org/" target="_blank">IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum</a> in Dania (next to <a title="BPS web site" href="http://www.basspro.com" target="_blank">Bass Pro Shops</a>) on Saturday, December 11th from 11am-2pm for a great day of fishing outdoors with your family. <a title="Mercury Marine web site" href="http://www.mercurymarine.com/" target="_blank">Mercury Marine</a> will be on site with their pro team to teach kids and adults about getting started in the sport of fishing. KISS Country will also have a remote broadcast and will be giving away free prizes all day. Families can fish in the IGFA ponds, meet professional fishermen and enjoy a free lunch. The IGFA provides all the tackle and bait you’ll need! This FREE event will also include educational stations and face painting! Children will receive free admission to the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum while parents enjoy half price admission during the event. For more information, please call 954.924.4370. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/free-fishing-clinic-at-the-igfa-saturday-dec-11th/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Guy Harvey Outpost’s Islander Resort Profiled in "Southern Boating" Magazine&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/islanderbeach.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2899 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/islanderbeach.jpg?w=300" alt="IslanderBeach" width="300" height="242" /></a>The following article appears courtesy of Southern Boating magazine.
“If it swims, I’ve caught it! How’s that for a one liner?” he chuckles. His white mustache is Tom Selleck-esque, and the sparkle in his blue eyes intimates wisdom, adventure… and a bit of trouble. Sitting in his office at the Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada, Florida—the walls covered with pictures of himself, friends, family, celebrities, and the fish he’s caught—Richard Stanczyk captivates me with countless tales of the sea in his 50-plus years as an angler, captain, guide, and owner of the marina. Stanczyk is a bit of a celebrity himself. He’s often credited for reinventing swordfishing and once caught seven of these gladiators in a single day.
I’ve come to visit to talk about Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts & Lodges (GHO) and their expeditions—organized trips for adventure-oriented travelers. The expeditions are a new product for the brand, created “given the time poverty prevalent in everyone’s life,” says Mark Ellert, president of GHO. There’s “Mako Mexico” to follow and tag a shark off Isla Mujeres; “Panama Trifecta Safari” for a chance to tailor your experience on three fishing machines; and “Fish Daze Islamorada,” a three-day adventure with Stanczyk to battle swordfish and tarpon. (More expeditions are available and some are in the making in Central America and the Galapagos Islands.) “I’ve had the pleasure of taking Guy Harvey fishing,” Stanczyk says. “We had a stellar day. We ended up catching four of these giant swordfish.”
Guy Harvey—marine biologist, artist, diver, and conservationist—has come to embody the ocean lifestyle. Ellert saw the opportunity to create a lodging brand that would resonate with families and the salt life, and the Guy Harvey Outpost was born. Current destinations include The Bahamas; Isla Mujeres, Mexico; Dominica and Little Cayman Island in the Caribbean; and Isabela in the Galapagos—a project on the easternmost side of the island is also underway. In the U.S., GHO locations are only in Florida so far. The first was the TradeWinds Beach Resort in St. Petersburg Beach on the Gulf of Mexico. A new spot is set to open in this fall in St. Augustine on the Atlantic Ocean. A freshwater resort with RV campground and marina on Lake Okeechobee is also planned for 2017. Then there’s the Islander Resort in Islamorada—it joined the GHO brand in 2014—with unique access to the bay and the ocean.
The Islander Resort offers two locations: on MM 82 (Oceanside) and MM 81 (Bayside). With 114 guestrooms that spread across 25 acres, the Oceanside exudes the island resort feel that one expects in the Florida Keys. Past the reception area, pristine white sand paves the way—with scattered palm trees from which hammocks hang—to rooms with a screened front porch and full kitchen. Chirping birds and conservation quotations from famous characters accompany you while the salty sea tang lures you closer to the beach. The typical Jimmy buffet melodies hint of the two pools’ proximity and Guy’s Beachside Bar & Grill—Fish Daze participants get to dine with Stanczyk right here, a “truly memorable opportunity to hear Richard some incredible fishing tales,” says Ellert. (I second that.) the restaurant will cook your catch of the day—Harvey’s words on the menu remind you of ocean preservation just like in the rooms.
The Islander Watersports (IW) by the pier has water toys galore—all the GHOs do. There, Donna Warwas and her friend, Joni Taylor, are looking for fun while their husbands are out fishing on a Bud N’ Mary’s charter boat. “What do you have for women like us in their fifties?” Warwas, a petite brunette asks Jaime sanders, a tan and toned IW attendant. They settle for kayaking from the bayside (“it’s calmer,” says sanders) and a snorkeling trip to Cheeca Rocks Reef, a shallow site less than five miles away. Wave runners, sailboats, aqua cycles, and three 18 to 29-foot powerboats are also available. Sanders says she sends boaters to the sandbar right off Whale Harbor bridge on mm 83. “It’s ankle deep, the kids can snorkel and the dogs can play,” she adds. “There’s also the Alligator [Reef] Lighthouse. It’s only six feet deep and it’s St. Thomas [U.S.V.I.]-beautiful.” She advises using Whale Harbor rather than Tea Table Channel bridge on mm 79.1 to go from the bay to the ocean because the latter is lower. Rent a mooring ball on the Oceanside for boats up to 30 feet, or dock on the bayside complete with 14 slips (for boats up to 24 feet), fish cleaning stations and shore power—guests must stay at one of the 25 bayside townhomes to use a slip. There’s no onsite ramp but plenty nearby, and trailers may be stored on the Oceanside property by the Florida Keys Conference Center.
The bayside has more of a private property feel. Colorful two-story townhouses are lined up leading to the docks, the small saltwater pool and beach area. Standing aboard his flats boat, Daniel Brotzky, a husky red-haired man in his early 30s with an infectious laugh, is getting ready for another relaxing outing to the sandbar. It’s his fi rst time at the Islander and he’s beyond ecstatic, most likely due to his recent engagement (wedding scheduled for January 9th). “You’ve got everything you need—you’ve got your home feel with the townhome, the bay, the ocean… the markers are all right there,” Brotsky says. “It’s a beautiful dock with easy access and [the slip rental] is dirt cheap!”
Back at Bud N’ Mary’s, Stanczyk ponders the Islander. “I have a lot of respect for the owner David [Curry]. They’ve maintained what I call the ‘character’ of the Florida Keys, and when you go to the Islander… you find their own feeling of the Keys.” https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harvey-outposts-islander-resort-profiled-in-southern-boating-magazine/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Fall: Prime Time for Flats Fishing in the Keys and Bahamas!&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/9102.jpg"><img class="wp-image-2885 size-medium" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/9102.jpg?w=254" alt="" width="254" height="300" /></a>"Flats Slam" by Guy Harvey.
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
Late summer/early autumn is prime time for flats fishing in the Keys and the Bahamas. With few visiting anglers and plenty of bonefish, you have the shallow, target-rich environment pretty much to yourself. And in the Keys, you'll also get shots at tarpon and permit, raising hopes of a flats grand slam.
Fall brings higher tides and cooler waters, expanding the territory of feeding bonefish that spent less time foraging on the flats in the searing summer heat.
You can sight-fish for them from a poled skiff or you can simply stake out up current from a sand-and-grass-dotted flat and wait for them to feed into the tide. By far, the best bait is a live shrimp with the tail pinched off fished on light line with a split shot for added casting distance. To better your chances, carry dozens more live shrimp than you need for bait, cut them into pieces and toss them out as chum.
The islands of the Bahamas present your best chance of catching and releasing a bonefish on fly rod. With seemingly endless shallow-water habitat and abundant fish of all sizes unaccustomed to encountering most fly patterns, the islands allow the novice angler to make plenty of mistakes, learn from them quickly, and eventually capture the prize.
Bonefish are fun to catch on the flats on any kind of tackle because of their warp-speed, drag-screaming runs after you hook them. Keep your line tight and a bend in the rod, and eventually you'll catch up to them.
Bonefishing is big business in the both the Keys and Bahamas, generating tens of millions of dollars in economic impact each year. In the Keys, anglers fishing the ocean sides of Islamorada and Key Largo can pretty much expect to encounter bonefish most days, but the fishery has suffered declines in the Florida Bay back country over the past decade. Anglers and guides want to know why and what can be done to reverse the trend. The non-profit Bonefish Tarpon Trust has commissioned a study by scientists from Florida International University to look into everything from water quality to prey availability to determine the causes and identify solutions. The researchers are also surveying and interviewing bonefish enthusiasts from Biscayne Bay through the Lower Keys to chronicle their experiences.
In the Bahamas, the government recently announced draft legislation that would impose licenses and fees on foreigners fishing for bonefish and require operators of fishing lodges to be citizens or permanent residents of the Bahamas. Bonefish Tarpon Trust-- in collaboration with scores of anglers, guides, scientists, conservationists and lodge operators-- countered with its own recommendations for a comprehensive conservation and management plan for the species. The government is mulling over those suggestions.
Completing the flats grand slam with tarpon and permit is more than doable in the Keys in early fall, especially if you use live bait.
The onset of cold fronts to the north pushes huge schools of forage fish such as mullet, pilchards, sardines and glass minnows south along ocean and bay waters in the Keys, with tarpon happily chasing and devouring them. These 'silver kings' are not as large as the monsters typically encountered in the spring and summer migrations, but they are sporty enough on 20-pound tackle. Your best bet for a spectacular experience is to use a live mullet hooked with a circle hook through the upper lip and rigged with a float along the edges of flats, in channels and around the U.S. 1 bridges.
Tarpon typically pile on the mullet, crashing, splashing and leaping while you hang on tight and let the fish have its way. The moment it lets up, you put the heat on it.
The experience is so addictive that a veteran Keys guide once said that if tarpon could only be found in the Himalayas, anglers and guides wouldn't hesitate to follow them there.
Permit, with an oval-shaped silver and yellow body and black sickle tail, is more common in the Lower Keys than the Upper Keys, but you still stand a decent chance of catching one in the northern regions.
These bulldogs of the flats rarely hesitate to gulp a live crab cast in front of their noses. But accounts are rampant of anglers making bad casts to the fish's tail only to have it whirl around and inhale the bait. For sight-fishing, the best locations are narrow strip banks along both the ocean and bay sides of the Keys with hard bottom and a strong current. Permit also can be found in channels and around bridges waiting to pounce on crabs sweeping by on the tide.
Trying to catch them on the flats with a fly rod can end up being a lifelong quest similar to the 100 Years War. Tame your bucket list to include live crabs, and you will not be disappointed.
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/fall-prime-time-for-flats-fishing-in-the-keys-and-bahamas/){kind=link}
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