BILLFISH INVITATIONAL AUCTION ITEM: “DOCK, DINE, STAY & PLAY – PALM BEACH STYLE” Vacation According to early settler accounts, Palm Beach received its name from a shipwreck named the …
The iAngler family of recreational fishery logbook apps –including Guy Harvey Outpost’s iGHOFish–can be a valuable tool to help fisheries managers conduct stock assessments. That’s …
During this week’s Billfish Invitational tournament, Fred Garth, Editor-In-Chief of Guy Harvey Magazine, will be filing a series of dispatches from tournament headquarters at the Bimini Big Game Club. …
BILLFISH INVITATIONAL AUCTION ITEM: “Abaco Turtle Bones” Bahamas Bonefishing Adventure Everyone knows the Abacos are a long chain of islands that stretch across the Northern Bahamas – …
From late summer into early autumn, the flats of the Florida Keys are prime territory for scoring an inshore super grand slam of bonefish, tarpon, permit and snook– all caught in one day. And as …
The wreck of the MG-111 barge and the nearby pillars of Warrior Reef to the north aren’t very scenic as dive sites go– just a smooshed hull and a few tall vertical posts sunk 60 feet deep in …
Between beaching, fishing, touring and chilling in America’s oldest city, you’ve got to eat. And few destinations offer the rich variety, quality, creativity and all-around deliciousness of …
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![](mailto:?subject=Kids Dive Free with Dive Bimini!&body=<a href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-353" title="Kids Dive Free at Dive Bimini!" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/kidsdivefree.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="412" /></a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/kids-dive-free-with-dive-bimini/){kind=link}
![](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/billfish-invitational-auction-spotlight-dock-dine-stay-play-palm-beach-style-vacation/&media=https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/billfish-invitational-auction-spotlight-dock-dine.jpg&description=BILLFISH INVITATIONAL AUCTION SPOTLIGHT: “Dock, Dine, Stay & Play" – Palm Beach Style" Vacation){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=BILLFISH INVITATIONAL AUCTION SPOTLIGHT: “Dock, Dine, Stay & Play" – Palm Beach Style" Vacation&body=<a title="Billfish Invitational web site" href="http://www.billfishinvitational.com/" target="_blank">BILLFISH INVITATIONAL</a> AUCTION ITEM: “DOCK, DINE, STAY & PLAY - PALM BEACH STYLE" Vacation
According to early settler accounts, Palm Beach received its name from a shipwreck named the "Providencia." The ship washed ashore in January of 1878 with a load of coconuts and early settlers lost no time claiming salvage and planting the coconuts (which were not native to South Florida) in an effort to launch a commercial coconut growing industry in tropical South Florida.
Not long after, <a title="About Henry Flagler" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morrison_Flagler" target="_blank">Henry M. Flagler</a>, the millionaire industrialist and owner of the <a title="About the FECR" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_East_Coast_Railway" target="_blank">Florida East Coast Railway</a>, began buying acres of land on the island of Palm Beach. The buying spree transformed many early homesteaders into wealthy society, as orders had been given by Flagler to buy "at any price".
Some things never change! Bid high to win this package - for a century later, Palm Beach is still the seasonal home and playground of powerful billionaires, business moguls and sporting enthusiasts. For a weekend you’ll get to live such a lifestyle.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/pb.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-706" title="The Ritz-Carlton Singer Island, Palm Beach" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/pb.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="284" /></a>
Enjoy an unforgettable visit to Palm Beach for you and your sportfishing machine or motor yacht. Enjoy a romantic two night, three-day stay at <a title="Ritz-Carlton Singer Island web site" href="http://www.theresidencespalmbeach.com/" target="_blank">The Ritz-Carlton Residences</a>, <a title="About Singer Island" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singer_Island" target="_blank">Singer Island</a>, Palm Beach, luxuriating in an elegantly furnished oceanfront residential suite with full Ritz-Carlton amenities. Situated with a stunning pool patio stepping onto a sweeping beach, the resort is minutes from the legendary <a title="Rybovich Marina web site" href="http://www.rybovich.com/marina.aspx" target="_blank">Rybovich Marina</a> where the dockmaster awaits your arrival. Four days of dockage, including utilities for up to 100 feet, is an experience that will leave you wanting that bigger boat.
With a $200 gift credit, cap the weekend retreat off with a romantic dinner for two at Café Boulud, one of the most acclaimed dining destinations in Palm Beach. The creation of world renowned <a title="Daniel Boulud's web site" href="http://www.danielnyc.com/" target="_blank">French chef Daniel Boulud</a>, dinner at <a title="Cafe Boulud-Palm Beach web site" href="http://www.danielnyc.com/cafebouludpb.html" target="_blank">Café Boulud</a> combines contemporary appeal with his award winning style of “soulful cooking”. Café Boulud is the essence of Palm Beach cool. Before or after dinner, be sure to enjoy cocktails in the Lounge at Café Boulud. Located in the historic <a title="Brazilian Court web site" href="http://www.thebraziliancourt.com/" target="_blank">Brazilian Court</a>, rated the #1 hotel in South Florida for 2010 by Travel + Leisure magazine, you’ll never know who will be dropping in at the Ritz Carlton!. Donated by Ritz Carlton, Lionheart Capital, Rybovich Marine and Premier Sales Group.
AUCTION INFORMATION:
Tickets to nightly events of the inaugural 2011 Billfish Invitational are available for $150/pp. Price includes cocktails, dinner and participation in the auction and award presentations.
On-site auction is Thursday, May 19th at the Bimini Big Game Club. Online bids accepted through Midnight, Wednesday, May 18.
Please contact Capt. Ned Stone (<a href="mailto:nstone@guyharveyoutpost.com">nstone@guyharveyoutpost.com</a>) for details.
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/billfish-invitational-auction-spotlight-dock-dine-stay-play-palm-beach-style-vacation/){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}
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![](mailto:?subject=Billfish Invitational Auction Spotlight – "Abaco Turtle Bones" Bahamas Bonefishing Adventure&body=<a title="Billfish Invitational web site" href="http://www.billfishinvitational.com/" target="_blank">BILLFISH INVITATIONAL</a> AUCTION ITEM: “Abaco Turtle Bones" Bahamas Bonefishing Adventure
Everyone knows the <a title="About the Abacos" href="http://www.bahamas.com/out-islands/abacos" target="_blank">Abacos</a> are a long chain of islands that stretch across the Northern Bahamas - a lot of rock outcroppings, some infrequent settlements, miles of powder white beaches and a whole lot of world class bonefish flats. Welcome to the Abacos! This special vacation package offers four nights of dockage, five nights of luxurious accommodations and two days on some of the best bonefish flats to be found in the world.
Start and end your sojourn with two nights free dockage at the beautiful <a title="Old Bahama Bay web site" href="http://www.oldbahamabay.com/" target="_blank">Old Bahama Bay</a>, located at West End, <a title="About Grand Bahama Island " href="http://www.bahamas.com/grand-bahama-island/grand-bahama-island" target="_blank">Grand Bahama Island</a>, your main waypoint of entry to the Abacos, and a legendary bonefish destination. Break out the fly rod and practice up for the adventure ahead.....
From Old Bahama Bay, head east towards at the renowned <a title="Green Turtle Club web site" href="http://www.greenturtleclub.com/" target="_blank">Green Turtle Club</a>, established in 1964 on picturesque Green Turtle Cay, enjoying a two night stay in a Superior Deluxe room. Honoring the tradition of old English-Bahamian hospitality, the Club offers a quality of service and attention to detail that is no longer commonplace, finding a perfect combination of Out Island relaxation and sophisticated comfort. While in residence, you’ll enjoy a complimentary candlelight dinner overlooking White Sound Harbour , or if you prefer, inside in the elegant formal dining room.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bonefish1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-691" title="Bonefishing with Black Fly Bonefish Club" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bonefish1.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="345" /></a>
From the Green Turtle ferry dock, make your way by cab from Treasure Cay to Marsh Harbour, where you’ll be met by <a title="Capt. Clint Kemp's web site" href="http://www.secret-soul.com/" target="_blank">Captain Clint Kemp</a>, partner, manager and chef extraordinaire of the <a title="Black Fly Bonefish Club web site" href="http://www.blackflybonefishclub.com/" target="_blank">Black Fly Bonefish Club</a>, who will escort you and a companion to the southern reaches of Great Abaco Island for a three night, two day bonefishing bonanza. Spend two nights at the Black Fly Bonefish Club, the newest bonefishing lodging venture of flyfishing guru and Bonefish Bimini partner, <a title="Vaughn Cochran's web site" href="http://www.vaughncochranart.com/" target="_blank">Vaughn Conchran</a>, and your third night at the<a title="About Abaco Lodge" href="http://www.nervouswaters.com/LodgeDetail.aspx?ItemId=6" target="_blank">Abaco Lodge</a>, the newest property owned and managed by the luxury Argentine flyfishing operator, <a title="About Nervous Waters" href="http://www.nervouswaters.com/TheCompany.aspx" target="_blank">Nervous Waters</a>.
Your relaxing evenings will be punctuated by two days of world class backcountry fishing in the prized fishing grounds of Abaco, including Moore's Island and Gorda Key, with a half dozen distinct zones for non-stop, weather proof fishing action. Vaughn Cochran’s come a long way from his days playing bass guitar for Jimmy Buffet at night and fishing the flats of Key West by days. He’ll tell you hands down this area of the Abacos is second to none for great bonefishing and permit action, although famed outdoor angler and photographer <a title="Pat Ford Photography web site" href="http://www.patfordphotos.com/" target="_blank">Pat Ford</a> will tell you Bimini is without question the best for taking permit on fly...Sounds like Vaughn’s a winner either way.
Donated by Old Bahama Bay Resort, Green Turtle Club, Vaughn Cochran/Clint Kemp of Black Fly Bonefish Club and Nervous Waters/Abaco Lodge
AUCTION INFORMATION:
Tickets to nightly events of the inaugural 2011 Billfish Invitational are available for $150/pp. Price includes cocktails, dinner and participation in the auction and award presentations.
On-site auction is Thursday, May 19th at the Bimini Big Game Club. Online bids accepted through Midnight, Wednesday, May 18.
Please contact Capt. Ned Stone (<a href="mailto:nstone@guyharveyoutpost.com">nstone@guyharveyoutpost.com</a>) for details.
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/billfish-invitational-auction-spotlight-abaco-turtle-bones-bahamas-bonefishing-adventure/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Friends of Bimini: Your Invitation to the Billfish Invitational, May 18th – 21st at the World-famous Bimini Big Game Club&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bi-mayevite.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-597" title="BI.MayEvite" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/bi-mayevite.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="733" /></a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/friends-of-bimini-your-invitation-to-the-billfish-invitational-may-18th-21st-at-the-world-famous-bimini-big-game-club/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Prime Time for an Inshore Super Grand Slam in Islamorada&body=From late summer into early autumn, the flats of the Florida Keys are prime territory for scoring an inshore super grand slam of bonefish, tarpon, permit and snook-- all caught in one day. And as if that's not enough, anglers and guides routinely pile on with sea trout, redfish, tripletail, and others.
"Everything is available fish species-wise," said noted South Florida light-tackle guide captain Andy Thompson. "The options are pretty endless. You can sight-fish on the flats. You can fish the island moats, the channels, spin fishing or fly rod."
Thompson, who runs a 17-foot Hells Bay Biscayne skiff, fishes the entire region from Biscayne Bay south to the Lower Keys, including Flamingo and Chokoloskee in Everglades National Park. He's especially fond of September-October because water and air temperatures grow cooler, tides are higher and the flats are not crowded with other guides and anglers.
"The permit fishing in September/October is really good," Thompson said. "With bigger tides, the back country banks behind Islamorada get a lot more water in the fall and that allows those fish to feed."
The best bait is a live crab (or a crab imitation if you insist on fly fishing) cast to fish feeding on the edges of channels and along narrow, rocky strip banks on the ocean side and bayside of the Keys where currents are strong. Permit also can be found around shallow wrecks and the U.S. 1 bridges.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Andytarpon.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-4218" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Andytarpon-1024x768.jpg" alt="Andytarpon" width="1024" height="768" /></a>
Continuing the inshore superfecta with tarpon may also be easier in fall than during the peak of the summer spawn. Thompson says plenty of juvenile tarpon can be found along the ocean side islands of the Upper Keys and in Florida Bay near Flamingo. In October, he often finds a resident population of 100-pounders that are "laid up" and easy to cast to with a live mullet or Deceiver-pattern fly. But some of the easiest fish to target are the ones following the fall mullet run all along the southwest Florida coast.
The seasonal bait frenzy also occurs on the ocean side of the Keys where huge schools of pilchards can be seen swirling and flashing. Just about anything can be found harassing these forage fish -- tarpon, sharks, snook, and jacks, among others. Snook are also plentiful on the crowns of the Florida Bay flats on an incoming tide, and often accompanied by redfish. Thompson goes after them using primarily pearl-colored soft plastic jerkbaits such as the D.O.A. C.A.L., but topwater plugs also can be effective if there's not too much floating grass.
Catching and releasing a bonefish is not as tough in Florida Bay as in recent years, according to Thompson. While their numbers are down considerably from the 1980s, Thompson says the torpedo-shaped silver speedsters are starting to recover.
"There's a lot of little fish in Florida Bay," he said. "The 2010 freeze put a hurtin' on them. But just this year, I started to see good numbers of them again around Rabbit Key and the Arsenicker Keys. There's a whole new class of fish showing up. It's encouraging."
The guide and his customers target them with live shrimp, small crabs, small skimmer jigs or shrimp-patterned flies.
To book a fishing trip with Thompson, go <a href="http://www.saltairoutfitters.com" target="_blank">HERE</a>. To book your stay at the Islander, a Guy Harvey Outpost in Islamorada, visit the <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost web site</a>.
<a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/dive-packages/"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-4200 size-full" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ad.jpg" alt="ad" width="737" height="301" /></a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/prime-time-for-an-inshore-super-grand-slam-in-islamorada/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Diving with Goliaths off Jupiter&body=The wreck of the MG-111 barge and the nearby pillars of Warrior Reef to the north aren't very scenic as dive sites go-- just a smooshed hull and a few tall vertical posts sunk 60 feet deep in the sand off Jupiter, FL. But for the opportunity to visit with some really large marine creatures-- some of them the size of Mini Coopers --there's no better place to visit in Florida right now.
Beginning with the August new moon, and likely through early October, scores of huge Goliath grouper hang around these motley artificial reefs getting to know one another and perpetuating their endangered species. They station themselves up- and down-current and inside the structures, occasionally making booming noises that sound like submerged bass drums. If you refrain from chasing them and remain stationary on the bottom, they may approach closely enough for you to shoot some amazing photos and video.
On my recent dive, I quit counting the gigantic fish at 50. They were cautious around me, but not spooky. One hovered inside the MG-111 about four feet away from me, opening and closing its wide mouth as I watched. As if that weren't enough live entertainment, a five-foot Southern stingray glided by overhead. And at the Warrior Reef, a really large loggerhead turtle sat calmly in the sand while a small, tagged green turtle nibbled on sponges. All around them milled more Goliaths. To call it an epic dive is a vast understatement.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DSC1783.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-4258" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/DSC1783-1024x598.jpg" alt="Credit Alan Cegan" width="1024" height="598" /></a>Credit Alan Cegan
Florida State University research scientist Dr. Chris Koenig and his colleagues have identified some 20 Goliath grouper spawning sites off Florida's Atlantic and Gulf coasts-- including the one I visited. Most of them are wrecks and rocky outcroppings extending from Fort Myers south to the Dry Tortugas in the Gulf and from Jupiter south to Boynton Beach in the Atlantic. The Jupiter wrecks are the prime hot spots for viewing-- easily accessible located only a few miles offshore.
Spawning, Koenig says, takes place late at night during new moon phases from August through October. Goliaths travel from as far as 300 miles away to join these aggregations and most depart when spawning is over, leaving a few stragglers year round. Koenig and colleagues have collected millions of Goliath eggs in their nets around the reproduction sites and hope someday to rear them so fish can be stocked in areas where they are heavily depleted.
The seasonal Goliath dive tours are an important economic driver for local businesses whose owners are vehement advocates for the gentle, mottled-brown fish. Goliaths have been protected from all harvest in Florida since 1990 when they were nearly wiped out by overfishing. In recent years, their recovery has prompted some hook-and-line and spear fishers to urge managers to re-open the fishery, but that's not likely to happen anytime soon.
The most recent scientific stock assessment that might have led to a re-opening flunked peer review because it was inconclusive--lacking baseline information on Goliaths before they were hammered to near extinction in the 1970s and '80s. Another potential obstacle to resuming harvest is that larger animals show high levels of mercury-- a toxic heavy metal that can cause an array of health problems in humans who consume it. Koenig says Goliath mercury levels are so high that the fish themselves get sick and die of it. And, he says, the species is still threatened by poaching, recreational catch-and-release fishing, and bycatch in the bottom longline commercial shark fishery.
So, for right now, it seems the function of the Goliath grouper is to be the star of underwater safaris and video documentaries like the lions of the Serengeti. Take the plunge to see them before they split for the season. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/diving-with-goliaths-off-jupiter/){kind=link}
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