Welcome to the Outpost Travel Journal where the members of the Guy Harvey Resorts Pro Team provide you their notes, tips and images from the field. Read their entries to inspire you for your next travel adventure! # TravelInspired
Reel Time Florida Sportsman – Largemouth Bass A to Z
Captain George Gozdz provides you lessons and tips on Largemouth Bass A to Z on Reel Time Florida Sportsman featuring Camp Mack, a Guy Harvey Lodge, Marina & RV Resort and Lake Kissimmee!
Reel Time Florida Sportsman TV brings the most up to date fishing reports on the web, the fishing reports from the Florida Sportsman Forums, to the Big Screen.
Captain George Gozdz, host of Reel Time, reviews the hottest action in the state, based on the most current fishing reports on the Region Forums, then packs up his boat and gear to fish with the Florida Sportsman member who posted the best and most action-packed report. For more information visit www.FloridaSportsman.com
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com Eight-year-old Miguel had never caught a fish before Oct. 18. But thanks to Bass Pro Shops in Dania Beach, FL. and the International …
Catch & release still permitted during closure NOTE: This story was posted today on TampabayOnline.com by Special Correspondent Frank Sergeant The Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission ruled this …
Noah Cullen, a friend of the greater Guy Harvey Outpost family is missing off Key Largo. It is believed Noah was free-diving in the vicinity of Molasses Reef on Sunday. His plan was to photograph the …
The Big Game is On! From November 11-14, 2010, the Bimini Big Game Club will be hosting the 1st Leg of the 2011 Bahamas Wahoo Challenge. The BWC is the world’s premiere Wahoo fishing tournament and …
Hefty roosterfish towing your kayak like a water ski. Tussling with peacock bass all day long in a freshwater lake. Exploring a remote jungle wilderness with your paddle and a fishing rod. These are …
Victoria has longed to be a mermaid for her entire 30 years. Her favorite childhood movies were “The Little Mermaid” and “Splash”. But life intervened; she joined the U.S. Army, …
Killing for Conservation? Lionfish are incredibly fertile and have no natural predators in the Atlantic Ocean. Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) has been leading the fight against this …
The Big Game Is On! The 1st leg of the Bahamas Wahoo Challenge begins today at the Bimini Big Game Club! Capt. Ned Stone, Dir. of Program Development for Guy Harvey Outpost Ltd. , headed to the BBGC early …
26 Feb 2018
General
Bon Appetit
Conservation corner
Dive In
Got Photo
Get Hooked
Outdoor Adventure
SURF-UP
Travel Tips
![](mailto:?subject=Catch of the Day for Florida Foster Kids&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bass.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2960 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/bass.jpg?w=225" alt="bass" width="225" height="300" /></a>By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
Eight-year-old Miguel had never caught a fish before Oct. 18. But thanks to Bass Pro Shops in Dania Beach, FL. and the International Fellowship of Hunting and Fishing Rotarians, the little boy caught and released his first-ever largemouth bass in the lake next to the store.
Miguel, who used a live shiner on a light spinning outfit, explained his successful technique.
"I threw over there and then held tight," he said, nodding toward the lake. When it went under, I wind it up. It was wiggling a little bit. It was slimy."
After Bass Pro volunteer staffer captain Brian Leibowitz re-baited his hook, Miguel was ready to catch another fish.
He is one of 14 youngsters aged 7-15 from the S.O.S. Children's Village foster care neighborhood in Coconut Creek, FL. who got to spend the morning learning to fish in a target-rich environment stocked with carp, largemouth and peacock bass, and catfish. To really stack the odds, Leibowitz brought along dozens of live shiners in addition to containers of earthworms. He and fellow volunteers baited the kids' hooks and taught them how to cast, land, and release their fish alive.
"They're having a blast," said Genevieve Areson, the volunteer manager at
Children's Village.
It wasn't the first fishing trip for some of the youngsters; they have gone on deep-sea outings aboard local party boats. But this time, "these kids get to fish without getting seasick," Leibowitz noted.
Top fish of the day was a four-pound peacock bass caught and released by 11-year-old Nicholas. He was awarded a rod and reel for his accomplishment.
But nearly everyone caught at least one fish. The final total was 17 largemouth and four peacocks released.
The group worked up an appetite fighting all those fish, and celebrated afterward with lunch at McDonald's.
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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/catch-of-the-day-for-florida-foster-kids/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=FWC Decides Not to Reopen Snook Season on Florida’s West Coast&body=<a href="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/499.jpg"><img title=""Side-Liners" by Guy Harvey" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/499.jpg" alt="" width="450" height="282" /></a>
Catch & release still permitted during closure
NOTE: This story was posted today on <a title="TBO.com" href="http://www2.tbo.com/" target="_blank">TampabayOnline.com</a> by Special Correspondent Frank Sergeant
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission ruled this week that the snook fishing season will remain closed on the state's west coast, rather than reopening Sept. 1 as scheduled.
The season has been closed due to a 2010 cold-kill, which wiped out tens of thousands of fish from Clearwater to Naples.
"This is a wise move," said snook guide Scott Moore of Holmes Beach. "I'm seeing big fish and a few slot (keeper-sized) fish, but no little fish — we're missing whole-year classes due to the winter kill, and we need to get more in the pipeline before we start taking them again."
The continued closure also was supported by the Coastal Conservation Association, which said that the number of adult snook on the west coast was down 20 percent after the freeze, and the numbers of juvenile fish killed was probably much greater.
The season will reopen Sept. 1, 2013, if the commission takes no further action.
Catch-and-release fishing for snook is permitted during the closure. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/fwc-decides-not-to-reopen-september-1st-snook-season-on-floridas-west-coast/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Can You Help Find a Missing Diver?&body=Noah Cullen, a friend of the greater Guy Harvey Outpost family is missing off Key Largo.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/noah-cullen.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-2105" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/noah-cullen.jpg?w=167" alt="Noah Cullen" width="167" height="300" /></a>
It is believed Noah was free-diving in the vicinity of Molasses Reef on Sunday. His plan was to photograph the reef for conservation purposes. His sailboat, Jubilee, was found sinking 7 miles off shore at around 2:30p Sunday afternoon near Dixie Shoal (25.03.8120 N 80.15.054w). He was seen aboard Jubilee around 1pm. The storm sail was up and the boat completely sealed. He's a young guy but a seasoned Captain/Diver who grew up on the water in the Keys. He's been missing 32 hours now. If you know anyone in the Upper Keys, please ask them to keep an eye out today on the water.
If anyone has any information about his whereabouts please call the US Coast Guard Islamorada at 305-664- 8077 or Miami 305-278-6700.
If anyone could survive in the water for over 24 hours, it's Noah! Thanks.
<a title="Miami Herald Article on Missing Diver, Noah Cullen" href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/05/4273381/rescuers-search-in-keys-waters.html">http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/05/4273381/rescuers-search-in-keys-waters.html</a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/can-you-help-find-a-missing-diver/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Bahamas Wahoo Challenge Coming to the Big Game Club!&body=The Big Game is On! From November 11-14, 2010, the <a title="Bimini Big Game Club web site" href="http://www.biggamclubbimini.com" target="_blank">Bimini Big Game Club</a> will be hosting the 1st Leg of the <a title="Bahamas Wahoo Challenge web site" href="http://www.wahoochallenge.com" target="_blank">2011 Bahamas Wahoo Challenge</a>. The BWC is the world's premiere Wahoo fishing tournament and is further indication that the legendary <a title="Bimini Big Game Club web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com" target="_blank">Bimini Big Game Club</a> has resumed its rightful place among the grand fishing tournaments.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/bahamaswahoochallenge2011.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-114" title="2011 Bahamas Wahoo Challenge" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/bahamaswahoochallenge2011.jpg?w=232" alt="" width="232" height="300" /></a>
<a title="Contact info for Tony Albelo" href="http://www.oceanpromotions.com/contact.html" target="_blank">Tournament Director Tony Albelo</a> provided the following overview of the BWC:
"The Bahamas Wahoo Challenge is approaching its fifth year of competition. Since 2006, the Challenge has attracted the best wahoo anglers in the world to the Bahamas for the best wahoo fishing in the world. Each year, teams come from across the U.S. and Caribbean to compete for the title. The Challenge is made up of three tournaments. Each event is an individual competition, but also adds points to the overall series. Teams can compete in one or all three legs.
In 2006 the fishing was red hot. The top fish for the series was a 95-pound torpedo weighed in by “Nothin’s Wild” out of Homestead, Florida. The following years all saw increased numbers of fish and fish size, likely due to new rules and regulations enacted by the Bahamas. As a tournament, the Challenge also adopted new rules reducing the fish count to four fish per team. These small efforts in concert have made a noticeable impact on fishing.
In 2008, the Bahamian-crew on “Zephyros” hauled in a 105-pound behemoth which is the largest wahoo taken in any tournament in the Bahamas. Fish in the 80+pound range are routinely caught in the Challenge as fishing continues to be improving.
For the 2010-2011 season, the Wahoo Challenge kicks off the Series in the most talked-about resort & marina in the Bahamas, The <a title="Bimini Big Game Club web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com" target="_blank">Bimini Big Game Club</a>. In recent years the Club has fallen into a bit of disarray, but recently the team at <a title="About Guy Harvey Outpost" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/aboutus.htm" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts</a> took the property over and has brought it back to its original splendor. In fact, it is better than ever! The rooms have all been completely remodeled from the floors up. Everything is new and has the Guy Harvey flair. If the excitement surrounding the re-launch of the Big Game Club is any indication of things to come, then this promises to be the best season of wahoo fishing yet."
(<a title="Bimini Big Game Club on Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/BiminiBigGameClub?v=photos&ref=ts" target="_blank">Click here</a> to see photos albums of the newly remodeled & renovated Bimini Big Game Club)
To reserve your room and slip, call the <a title="Bimini Big Game Club web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com" target="_blank">Bimini Big Game Club</a> today at 800-867-4764. For more information on the BWC, visit <a href="http://www.WahooChallenge.com">www.WahooChallenge.com</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/bahamas-wahoo-challenge-coming-to-the-big-game-club/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Get Lost with Big Fish with Paddle Panama&body=Hefty roosterfish towing your kayak like a water ski. Tussling with peacock bass all day long in a freshwater lake. Exploring a remote jungle wilderness with your paddle and a fishing rod.
These are just a few of the heart-pounding outback adventures for you and your family to choose from with Paddle Panama operated by water sports wizard/adventurer Captain Hennie Marais, a Guy Harvey Outpost Outfitter based in Panama City, Panama.
A few years back, Marais opened Panama Paddle Center-- the Central American country's first-ever retail shop, club and outfitter dedicated to kayaking. Here you can buy or rent several different models of kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, get paddling instruction, sign up for races and fishing tournaments, and --best of all--arrange the kayak fishing vacation of a lifetime.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/kayak2.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4647" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/kayak2.jpg" alt="kayak2" width="1280" height="853" /></a>
For a remote wilderness experience, you might choose the "Lost Coast" of the Pacific near Bahia Honda. Stay in a thatch-roofed hut on the property of a local family and then paddle out to try to tangle with a roosterfish, big amberjack or Cubera snapper.
Or join Marais on a four-wheel-drive road trip along the "Tuna Coast" of the Gulf of Panama, overnighting in hostels and chasing yellowfins so big they drag your kayak on plane. Continue to the Darien coast to pursue roosterfish, big Cuberas and many pelagic species. More than 300 International Game Fish Association world records have been set in this region.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/kayak3.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4648" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/kayak3.jpg" alt="kayak3" width="5184" height="3456" /></a>
For a freshwater expedition, you'll want to head inland to Lake Gatun to enjoy non-stop peacock bass action. You can catch tarpon and snook in the adjacent Chagres River. The floating Gatun Explorer serves as your base camp.
These guided kayak fishing expeditions generally run four to seven days and accommodate up to four anglers.
For more information about Panama kayak fishing, email <a href="mailto:Hennie@paddlepanama.com">Hennie@paddlepanama.com</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/get-lost-with-big-fish-with-paddle-panama/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Killing for Conservation!&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/green-turtle-lionfish-haul-2014.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2068" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/green-turtle-lionfish-haul-2014.jpg?w=225" alt="Lionfish Derbies Work, 908 Dead Lionfish Cannot All Be Wrong!" width="225" height="300" /></a> Killing for Conservation?Lionfish are incredibly fertile and have no natural predators in the Atlantic Ocean. <a href="http://www.reef.org/">Reef Environmental Education Foundation</a> (REEF) has been leading the fight against this Indo-Pacific invader and after six years of Lionfish Derbies at Green Turtle Cay the evidence is clear: Lionfish Derbies Work! Lionfish now range from Brazil to North Carolina and beyond. They can live in fresh water too! The 908 Lionfish killed in this one day event was fewer than in previous years even with more divers and better weather. AND those fish that were killed this year were smaller than in previous years; another good sign. Lionfish Derbies will not send the fish back to the Pacific; they can however help local communities keep the population in check.<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/credit-ellie-splain.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2071" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/credit-ellie-splain.jpg?w=300" alt="Three Contestants for the Smallest Lionfish Caught. Photo Credit: Ellie Splain" width="300" height="200" /></a>Three Contestants for the Smallest Lionfish Caught. Photo Credit: Ellie Splain Click Image to Enlarge<a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/green-turtle-cay-abacos/overview.html">The Green Turtle Club</a>, a <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/index.php">Guy Harvey Outpost</a> Expedition Lodge hosted the event. For six years, REEF scientists have conducted a Lionfish Census before and after each event to assess the impacts of the Derbies. REEF estimates that had these 908 demons been allowed to roam Abaco waters for another year they would have consumed between 700,000 and 2.2 MILLION! Native prey fish.Congratulations and Thanks to REEF & to The Green Turtle Club for executing a great event for an important conservation mission!For more information on <a href="http://www.reef.org/">Reef Environmental Education Foundation</a> and other <a href="http://www.REEF.org/lionfish">Lionfish Derbies</a>.For More information on <a title="The Green Turtle Club" href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/green-turtle-cay-abacos/overview.html">The Green Turtle Club</a>For More information on <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/index.php">Guy Harvey Outpost</a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/killing-for-conservation/){kind=link}
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