This is Part I of a 3-part report by Capt. Ned Stone, Director of Programs for Guy Harvey Outpost, following his participation in the Green Turtle Club’s 5th Annual Lionfish Derby. Filed by Capt. …
Swordfish Extravaganza II a Big Hit in South Florida
18 Oct 20102:47 PM
Kudos to Capt. Skip Smith and the Swordfish Club for the record breaking attendance at the Swordfish Extravaganza II event, which was held last week at the IGFA headquarters in Dania Beach, FL. Major names in the big game tackle business showcased their latest products for hooking up these behemoths, and key organizations produced informative seminars on the fishery. NOAA and HMS gave presentations on government efforts to rebuild “trust” with recreational fishermen, and highlighted the importance of reporting your sword catch so the USA can keep a valid tally in regards to our international quota.
Congrats again to Capt. Skip and the Swordfish Club crew for a great event!
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![](mailto:?subject=Swordfish Extravaganza II a Big Hit in South Florida&body=Kudos to <a title="Smith-Merritt Insurnace web site" href="http://www.smith-merritt.com/" target="_blank">Capt. Skip Smith</a> and the <a title="Swordfish Club web site" href="http://www.swordfishclub.org/" target="_blank">Swordfish Club</a> for the record breaking attendance at the <a title="Swordfish Extravaganza II info page" href="http://billfish.org/1356-swordfish-extravaganza-ii#continue_post" target="_blank">Swordfish Extravaganza II</a> event, which was held last week at the <a title="IGFA web site" href="http://www.igfa.org" target="_blank">IGFA</a> headquarters in <a title="Dania Beach, FL web site" href="http://www.ci.dania-beach.fl.us/" target="_blank">Dania Beach, FL</a>. Major names in the big game tackle business showcased their latest products for hooking up these behemoths, and key organizations produced informative seminars on the fishery. <a title="NOAA web site" href="http://www.noaa.gov" target="_blank">NOAA</a> and HMS gave presentations on government efforts to rebuild "trust" with recreational fishermen, and highlighted the importance of reporting your sword catch so the USA can keep a valid tally in regards to our international quota.
<a href="http://www.swordfishclub.org/"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-162" title="Swordfish Extravaganza II" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/sfii1.jpg?w=224" alt="" width="224" height="300" /></a>
Congrats again to Capt. Skip and the Swordfish Club crew for a great event! https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/swordfish-extravaganza-ii-a-big-hit-in-south-florida/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Today is World Oceans Day!&body=Today is <a title="World Oceans Day web site" href="http://worldoceansday.org/" target="_blank">World Oceans Day</a>, described by organizers as an event where "people around the planet celebrate and honor the body of water which links us all, for what it provides humans and what it represents". Visit the <a title="GHOF web site" href="http://www.guyharveyoceanfoundation.org" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation</a> web site and learn how the GHOF and like-minded organizations are working each and every day to protect the world's oceans and marine life.
<a href="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/694-2.jpg"><img title=""Nosin' Around" - Guy Harvey" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/694-2.jpg" alt="" width="420" height="265" /></a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/today-is-world-oceans-day/){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}
![](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=Fishing The Wild West in Florida's Ten Thousand Islands&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/eveg.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2943 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/eveg.jpg?w=300" alt="Eveg" width="300" height="225" /></a>By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
[Everglades City, FL--] Yes, the weather may still be hot, muggy, and buggy in southwest Florida's Ten Thousand Islands, but the fishing is what is truly smokin'.
Pending the onset of late fall/winter cold fronts, this remote region of jagged oyster bars, mangrove-fringed mud flats, and offshore wrecks and artificial reefs can be unmatched for rod-bending action and bountiful table fare.
Consider: on calm-weather days, anglers are free to motor 30 miles west of Everglades City into the open Gulf of Mexico to catch a limit of snapper, grouper, and whatever else deigns to stop by on rock piles, artificial reefs, and shipwrecks.
Or, those who prefer near-shore sight-fishing can battle big snook along the shorelines of most of those Ten Thousand Islands, especially the natural moats surrounding the mangroves and in the sloughs that ring the outside sand bars on lower tide stages. Redfish also are plentiful along those sand bars, as well as oyster bars and island moats. Large numbers of spotted sea trout patrol the sloughs and channels on higher tides and can also be found --(surprise!)-- on live, rocky bottom 10-12 feet deep several miles offshore. There's also a good chance of locating resident tarpon around island points and river mouths.
Fall is a great time of year to hunt for tasty tripletail, a mysterious fish found throughout Florida from near shore waters a few feet deep to miles out in the Atlantic Gulf Stream. But here in the Ten Thousand Islands, the search area is narrowed to crab trap lines strung a few miles offshore in the Gulf and dead tree stumps that have washed up in the shallows.
And there are several more species to be found cruising the region this time of year, including cobia, sheepshead, pompano, black drum, and Spanish mackerel. And don't forget sharks; they're pretty much everywhere and very satisfying to catch and release on all ranges of tackle. Lucky anglers might even catch sight of an endangered sawfish-- a very distinctive-looking member of the stingray family-- plying the flats or the sloughs, but they are closed to all harvest.
While it is possible to catch many of the region's fish on fly rod and on artificial lures such as plugs, jigs, and soft plastics, using live bait is far and away the best bet for closing the deal. Securing enough bait for a day's fishing is rarely a problem around the Ten Thousand Islands at this time of year.
Check out dimples on the surface revealing the presence of threadfin herring and pilchards. In open water, diving pelicans are very helpful guides. Mullet can be found schooling on the flats, especially in coves and creeks; single fish will be seen flipping for no apparent reason or else leaping en masse when chased by predators. Bait hunters finding no joy on the flats may find it necessary to head offshore to live-bottom areas to get what they need. Being able to throw a large cast net is a necessary skill. Caution: using live shrimp for bait will probably draw all kinds of unwanted interlopers such as ladyfish, blue runners, catfish, and who knows what.
Anglers not inclined to get wet and dirty throwing a cast net will probably do just fine purchasing live or fresh-frozen bait in Everglades City. A couple weeks before the Oct. 8 recreational red grouper closure, part-time Everglades City resident Lou Volpe and a companion caught their limit of four (and released 30 that were undersized), plus a dozen lane and gray snapper and a limit of eight sea trout using mostly dead finger mullet and pilchards on 'knocker rigs' where the egg sinker is next to the hook. The pair had a well full of just-caught pilchards, mullet, and pinfish netted by Volpe on his 22-foot bay boat, but they didn't really need all that live ammo. And despite fishing on a sunny, calm Sunday, they encountered perhaps four other boats the entire day.
Despite its proximity to Naples (45 minutes) and urban Southeast Florida ( 1 1/2 hours), the Everglades City-Chokoloskee region still has the feel of a fishing frontier.
Saddle up and check it out.
*****
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/fishing-the-wild-west-in-floridas-ten-thousand-islands/){kind=link}
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