By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com More than a foodie, artsy, historical, and beach destination, the ancient city of St. Augustine, Florida is becoming renowned …
Light It Up! Bimini Beach Bash, Bonfire & Tournament
29 May 20145:08 PM
Come celebrate Summer with Guy Harvey & Bouncer Smith at Guy Harvey Outpost’s flaming hot party at the Bimini Sands Resort & Marina! We kick it all off at the Bimini Boatyard June 23rd 6pm and head east to South Bimini June 26-29th. This will be an event to remember! Spectacular Bonfires Friday and Saturday nights. For details call 800.513.5257 or Click the photo.
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![](mailto:?subject=Big Game Club Fishing Report&body=<a title="BBGC web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com" target="_blank">BIMINI BIG GAME CLUB</a> FISHING REPORT
CATCH: <a title="Wikipedia entry for Wahoo" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahoo" target="_blank">Wahoo</a>, <a title="Wikipedia entry for Blackfin Tuna" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfin_tuna" target="_blank">Blackfin Tuna</a>
LOCATION: <a title="Wikipedia entry for Great Isaac Cay, Bahamas" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Isaac_Cay,_Bahamas" target="_blank">Great Isaac Cay</a>, Approx. 20 mi. NNE of Bimini
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/wahooatnight.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-324" title="Wahoo!" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/wahooatnight.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>
Left the BBGC dock at 6 am only to be greeted by a 3 - 5 chop, with a swell on top of that. We made the decision to go anyway. Fortunately, the seas subsided once we were about 10 miles from Great Isaac. The sun warmed us up and the seas remained nearly flat the entire day. We started the hi-speed troll just east of Great Isaac and immediately got a double header. We boated one of those and 9 more while trolling between 150-350! We had over 15 bites and even caught a nice blackfin on the wahoo troll! https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/big-game-club-fishing-report/){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=Playing Tag with Roosterfish for Science&body=Roosterfish-- the hard-fighting, black-banded fish with the distinctive cock's comb dorsal fin--is one of the most sought-after recreational species in the eastern Pacific. Anglers happily catch them in the surf, from kayaks and in sport fishing boats along the coast from Mexico's Baja California to Peru using both live bait and artificial lures. They can grow to over 100 pounds, but they're not much good to eat so they've been spared from overfishing so far. But almost nothing is known about their life history, reproduction, and movements.
However, that is about to change.
Marine scientist/artist/conservationist Dr. Guy Harvey and daughter Jessica, project manager for the <a href="https://www.guyharvey.com/ocean-foundation">Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation</a>, recently completed the first-ever roosterfish tagging program in Panama.
The Harveys, together with guides and anglers in the third annual Roosterfish Tournament at Tropic Star Lodge in Pinas Bay, Panama, stuck 80 roosterfish with external streamer tags in three days. The tags bear the foundation's phone number and ask whoever recaptures the fish to report its GPS location and fork length. The crews also took some fin clips for DNA samples and sent them to the <a href="http://cnso.nova.edu/ghri/index.html">Guy Harvey Research Institute</a> at <a href="http://cnso.nova.edu/index.html">Nova Southeastern University</a> near Fort Lauderdale. And at the conclusion of the tournament, outdoors television host Mark Davis of "Big Water Adventures" and his team implanted Panama's first roosterfish with a pop-off satellite tag that tracks its movements in near real-time for about three months.
The Harveys also distributed additional tags to the Tropic Star fleet to continue the program throughout the year.
"There were no recaptures during the tournament, indicating the fish move around a bit and the population is quite large," Guy Harvey said. "This gives us a chance to study an animal that's not commercially exploited but is a very important recreational fish."
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/P8A3282.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4809" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/P8A3282.jpg" alt="" width="5760" height="3840" /></a>
The Harveys and their fellow tournament participants caught the roosters by bottom fishing with live bait on downriggers or working poppers on the surface in depths of 30 to 170 feet. More than 100 fish were caught and released in three days of competition.
The Harveys said they plan to work in collaboration with the Pompano Beach, Fla.-based Gray FishTag research program which has tagged scores of roosterfish in Costa Rica and Mexico---including one satellite tag in Costa Rica that popped off after the fish travelled more than 37 miles in 16 days.
Jessica Harvey said the object is to establish a baseline so that fisheries managers can gauge changes in populations.
"These fish occupy the same territory of other jacks, snappers, and tuna," she said. "In a world where overfishing continues, if we get to a point where there's no more snappers and jacks for people to eat, they could turn to roosterfish. Guy Harvey Research Institute and Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation are always trying to fill in the knowledge gap, given it's a high-demand recreational fishery and not much is known about it.
"We've generated a lot of interest in learning about these fish. The more people learn about them, the more they care and the more people will be sustainable in their fishing practices."
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To learn more about the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and its research please visit <a href="http://www.GuyHarvey.com/Ocean-Foundation">www.GuyHarvey.com/Ocean-Foundation</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/playing-tag-with-roosterfish-for-science/){kind=link}
![](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/bimini-big-game-club-and-bonefish-bimini-announce-whatever-floats-your-boat-virtual-boat-parade-art-contest/&media=https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/bonefishlogo2.jpg&description=Bimini Big Game Club and Bonefish Bimini Announce "Whatever Floats Your Boat…" Virtual Boat Parade Art Contest){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Bimini Big Game Club and Bonefish Bimini Announce "Whatever Floats Your Boat…" Virtual Boat Parade Art Contest&body=Winning Submission Receives a Complimentary Two Night Stay at the Big Game Club
ALICE TOWN, BIMINI—JANUARY 7, 2011—The <a title="Wikipedia entry for bonefish" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonefish" target="_blank">Grey Ghosts</a> of <a title="Info on Bimini" href="http://www.bahamas.com/out-islands/bimini" target="_blank">Bimini</a> are beckoning!
For those who love fishing skinny water and have an artistic bent, the legendary <a title="BBGC web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com" target="_blank">Bimini Big Game Club</a> is putting out a call for online submissions for a virtual boat parade to be celebrated as part of the inaugural Bonefish Bimini Challenge—scheduled for February 25th.
The day’s events will include a ‘bragging rights” tournament with some of the world’s top fly fishing writers participating to be followed by a real parade that celebrates the 40th anniversary of catching the 16lb, 3oz monster bonefish in Bimini guided by the legendary Ansil Saunders. <a title="Vaughn Cochran's web site" href="http://www.vaughncochranart.com/artgallery/" target="_blank">Vaughn Cochran</a>, the fly fishing guru and marine artist who recently formed the Bonefish Bimini Outfitter operation at the Big Game Club with fellow artist <a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey</a>, has decided to also add a virtual parade— so everyone can participate.
Cochran, who has crafted an example as the lead boat in the virtual parade, is looking for entries in any media.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/vaughnsbonefishparadefloat.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-425 " title="Lead Float in the virtual Bonefish Boat Parade" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/vaughnsbonefishparadefloat.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="149" /></a>Artist and fly fishing guru Vaughn Cochran has created the design for the lead float in the virtual Bonefish Boat Parade. To submit an entry, visit www.biggameclubbimini.com.
‘So dream big…dream in color….get fancy, or keep it simple,” said Cochran, whose celebrated marine artworks are found in numerous collections. “ It doesn't matter - except to the judges.”
Entries are to be submitted with a white background. The winner will be announced in Bimini at the conclusion of the parade and the award ceremony for the Bimini Bonefish Challenge on February 25th. The deadline for entries is 5:00 PM EST on the 23rd. The winner will receive a complimentary two night stay at the legendary Bimini Big Game Club, a celebratory dinner for two, and a day of flats fishing.
Now, go to your studio and unleash that artist in you….and remember, Vaughn and Guy are looking over your shoulder!
Entries can be submitted by email in a jpeg format and will be displayed in an updated loop. Visit the Club’s website at <a href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/">www.biggameclubbimini.com</a> to submit your entry. Good luck!! https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/bimini-big-game-club-and-bonefish-bimini-announce-whatever-floats-your-boat-virtual-boat-parade-art-contest/){kind=link}
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