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 …
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=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=Guy Harvey and Vaughn Cochran Team to Create Black Fly Bimini at the Bimini Big Game Club&body=FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—OCTOBER 6, 2010—<a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey</a> announced today he is teaming with fellow artist, conservationist and fly fishing personality, <a title="Vaughn Cochran's web site" href="http://www.vaughncochranart.com/artgallery/" target="_blank">Vaughn Cochran</a>, to launch Black Fly Bimini, a Guy Harvey Outpost Outfitter operation.
Black Fly Bimini will operate out of the newly reopened <a title="Bimini Big Game Club web site" href="http://www.biminibiggameclub.com" target="_blank">Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort and Marina</a>.
In making the announcement, Harvey commented “this legendary Club overlooks flats abundant with bonefish and permit. Vaughn has the skills and passion to help us promote Bimini’s remarkable back-country fishery for its great fishing and mesmerizing natural beauty.” Commenting on the varied fishing opportunities his Bimini Outpost has to offer, and their spirited competition as renown offshore and back country anglers, Harvey is quick to add, “looking at Vaughn is a bit like looking in the mirror, so I’m sure glad he keeps his fishing to skinny water!
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/vaughn20cochran20with20bonefish.jpeg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-140" title="Vaughn Cochran with Bonefish" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/vaughn20cochran20with20bonefish.jpeg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="263" /></a>
Black Fly Bimini will organize all of the Big Game Club’s backcountry fishing programs, with on-site staff, operations and merchandising support. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Cochran and his fly fishing wife, Jean, oversee Black Fly Inc., a collection of enterprises featuring fly fishing merchandise, art and travel. The couple has recently opened Black Fly Bonefish Club, their newest lodge, located on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas.
“Hands down any day, for a pure adrenaline rush, the Grey Ghosts of Bimini can hold their own against the Man in the Blue Suit”, Cochran notes, referring to the Blue Marlin that is synonymous with Bimini’s reputation among off-shore anglers. “Now with the help of the island’s legendary bonefishing guides, we’re going to revitalize awareness of the great bonefishing that Bimini offers.”
In addition to featuring Guy Harvey sportswear and gifts, the <a title="The Outfitter Shop at the Bimini Big Game Club" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/the-outfitter-shop.htm" target="_blank">Outfitter shop</a> at the Bimini Big Game Club will feature Black Fly merchandise and fly fishing supplies, including assorted flies developed by Cochran especially for conditions on the Bimini flats.
About Vaughn Cochran
A Florida native, Cochran grew up in the art community of St. Augustine and earned art degrees in ceramics and painting at the internationally known and respected Art and Printmaking Department of the University of South Florida. Becoming one of the most respected fly fishing guides in the Florida Keys, Cochran later managed some of the legendary fishing lodges of the Caribbean and Central America, including Parismina Tarpon Rancho in Costa Rica and Turneffe Island Lodge in Belize. Along the way, he nurtured his artistic calling, and today his works are found in numerous private and corporate collections, including a recent one-man exhibition at the IGFA’s main gallery.
"Although I still enjoy painting the traditional fishing and seascape scenes that I'm known for, my newest work is in the pop style from earlier in my painting career. I started with pop art fish and have moved on to other images and icons of the fishing industry, he said." These paintings are now available as prints as are many of his more traditional scenes of the flats he fished on a regular basis.
With his quick wit and entertaining laid back style, Cochran is a frequent host and guest of various fly-fishing TV shows including the popular “Spanish Fly” with fishing pal, Jose Wejebe.
What started out as Vaughn Cochran's marine art gallery years ago has turned into one of the most unique destination fly shops in the U.S., Black Fly Outfitter, a full service technical fly shop specializing in saltwater flies, custom fly kits, fly rods, fly reels and clothing for tropical fly fishing destinations around the world.
The company’s sumi-style Black Fly logo adorns a complete line of fly fishing merchandise, gear and gifts. Original paintings, fine art prints, ceramic tiles and art pottery, Black Fly merchandise and additional T-shirts are available at www.vaughncochranart.com.
About Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort and Marina
Founded as a dinner club in 1936 in Alice Town, the island’s cultural hub, by Nassau entrepreneur and bon-vivant, Neville Stuart, the Big Game Club has over the last 74 years hosted world-class fishermen, major tournaments, international celebrities and tens of thousands guests looking to bask in the unique “Islands in the Stream” mantra made famous by author Ernest Hemingway who fished and lived in Bimini in the mid 1930s.
Today, the Big Game Club’s Outpost concept is designed to take the resort beyond that of a “fishing lodge (though admittedly a majority of visitors will be there for the world class fishing) to create an eco-destination attracting both fishing and diving enthusiasts while focusing on adventure travel, sustainable tourism and marine conservation.
The Big Game Club, which is located on the main navigation channel in Bimini Bay, currently features a 51-room resort and a 75-slip marina capable of accommodating boats up to 145 linear feet. By Spring 2011, a full service fuel dock will be operational.
There are Phase II plans that will include a Guy Harvey Theater, guest lecture series and interactive sessions with Dr. Harvey and the Guy Harvey Research Institute at NOVA Southeastern Oceanographic Center and day trips to the Bimini Biological Field Station’s world-famous shark lab. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harvey-and-vaughn-cochran-team-to-create-black-fly-bimini-at-the-bimini-big-game-club/){kind=link}
 on iGHOFish/Angler Action App&body=By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost Staff Writer
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/12003343_10153153202118181_8912361262946941386_n.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2926 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/12003343_10153153202118181_8912361262946941386_n.jpg?w=225" alt="12003343_10153153202118181_8912361262946941386_n" width="225" height="300" /></a>Anglers throughout the world can enjoy their sport, win valuable prizes, and support sound fisheries management by entering the Guy Harvey Outpost "Fish for the Future" Tournament running through 2015.
Simply download the iGHOFish app available free on smart phones and Google Play. Then start fishing, log your catches, releases and even misses. You don't even have to catch a fish to win a prize in this cyber tournament; just log your trips. Keep tabs on the leaderboard at <a href="http://ghofish.com/">GHOFISH.com</a>
The app is powered by iAngler using software developed by the non-profit Snook & Gamefish Foundation's Angler Action program. All data gathered helps fisheries scientists and managers learn more about how many fish are being harvested, released, consumed by predators, or lost to broken lines or pulled hooks. The Angler Action program just logged its 50,000th fish and its information is used by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to conduct stock assessments for snook and redfish.
"The data is really starting to come in; the groundswell is growing," said Foundation executive director Brett Fitzgerald. "It's going to give a lot of credibility to recreational anglers that we've never had before."
One species where Florida fisheries managers are short on data is barracuda-- an important gamefish in the Keys and South Florida whose numbers have declined recently. The FWC adopted new recreational and commercial bag limits for the species that take effect Nov. 1. In Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Collier, Palm Beach and Martin counties, recreational anglers and commercial fishers will be limited to two fish per person per day with a daily vessel limit of six fish. The commission held off on imposing size limits, wanting to gather more data from fishermen (you) before considering any more management measures.
And if you need even more incentive to pay attention to cudas, the Snook & Gamefish Foundation will hold a catch-photo-release tournament Oct. 9-11 targeting cudas, snook, redfish, Goliath grouper, and largemouth bass. It's a fish-anywhere event with a $10 entry fee and a virtual captains' meeting and you don't have to be present to win. But festivities will go on all weekend long at Due South Brewery in Boynton Beach, FL. Valuable prizes will be awarded, including Guy Harvey swag. For more information, go to the <a href="http://www.ianglertournament.com/sgfs-october-fishfest-and-research-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tournament web site</a>.
No reason why you can't double-dip with the "Fish for the Future" Tournament.
*****
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/log-your-cudas-and-everything-else-on-ighofishangler-action-app/){kind=link}
 these late winter reds are somewhat persnickety and a little spooky by nature. So picking the right artificial lure to get a positive reaction (we call that a bite) is very difficult. But during these warm up periods with rising temps the redfish typically get a bit reckless. That's when an experienced angler can take advantage of what I call the perfect scenario .
So what lure is ideal for this situation? Well the truth is several offerings will get the job done including spoons, jigs, plugs and even flies. Because when redfish are actively hunting and devouring food... all lures are in play. But still I have a few favorites that allow for accurate casting in spite of windy conditions like the BTB Jig (root beer) with a split tail trailer. Or the Mirrolure Catch Jr (finger mullet look) with single inline hooks, which plays well in cloudy or windy scenarios. And lastly the trusty Aqua Dream Spoons (black color) it gets the call for many anglers including me. Remember spoons are great choices if the clarity of the water is somewhat turbid (dirty/stained). But again if the redfish are fired up, any lure could be the answer... even top water plugs!
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/alure-image-for-redfish-red-hot-blog.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-5007" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/alure-image-for-redfish-red-hot-blog-263x300.jpeg" alt="" width="263" height="300" /></a>
Additionally, don't use a long heavy leaders. Shorter leaders in the 20" to 24" lengths are adequate. Too much leader destroys the action on light weight plugs or pulls the jig down into the grass... creating a fouling issue. And unless your fishing an area inundated with lots of Oyster a 20lb. leader weight should do just fine in most cases.
Also consider, a small skiff or kayak is a huge advantage when targeting these low water redfish. The ability to be ahead of the grazing reds will allow you dozens of shots in comparison to the larger heavier boats more reliant on trolling motors getting to the feed zone a little later. I know it's more work to push pole or paddle into the skinny water (shallow) but that extra 45 minutes to an hour of fishing when the water is low, really pays off.
Here's what you really need to know and that is to focus your efforts on the warming trends later this month and the low incoming tides of course. It may be freezing in some parts of the U.S. this time of year but the light tackle action on redfish in Florida is "red hot"! https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/redfish-in-florida-is-red-hot/){kind=link}
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