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 …
Use Guy Harvey Outpost’s New Fishing App for a Chance to Win a Guy Harvey Florida Fishing License
1 Sep 20158:53 PM
Be sure to set a reminder on your phone (or circle your calendar) for Sept. 5. On that Saturday, you do not need to buy a fishing license in order to wet a line in any saltwater body in Florida. You can fish from shore, on a boat, on a pier or a jetty in the ocean, Gulf, bays and canals license-free for that one day.
Here are several good reasons to take advantage: you can teach a kid to fish or introduce a non-angling friend to the sport at no extra cost, or –best of all– you have a chance to win prizes, courtesy of Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts.
Anyone who logs a catch of ANY fish on the Guy Harvey iGHOFISH app –(a free download on Iphone and Google Play)–will be automatically entered in a sweepstakes to win a one-year I DO! Guy Harvey saltwater/freshwater fishing/hunting combo license and a $50 Guy Harvey merchandise gift card. Also in this special, one-day tournament, your catch information will be instantly shared with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission through the IAngler program, which helps fisheries managers and scientists conserve and protect Florida’s saltwater fish stocks.
The license-free day applies to all saltwater recreational species such as crabs, lobsters, and scallops. But all bag and size limits and seasons still apply, so make sure you check out the regulations before harvesting.
If you don’t have a license and want to fish the rest of the year, you can purchase one online at myfwc.com/license/ or at any county tax collector’s office and some retail outlets.
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![](mailto:?subject=Use Guy Harvey Outpost’s New Fishing App for a Chance to Win a Guy Harvey Florida Fishing License&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/flfishinglicense.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2875 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/flfishinglicense.jpeg?w=300" alt="FLFishingLicense" width="300" height="200" /></a>Be sure to set a reminder on your phone (or circle your calendar) for Sept. 5. On that Saturday, you do not need to buy a fishing license in order to wet a line in any saltwater body in Florida. You can fish from shore, on a boat, on a pier or a jetty in the ocean, Gulf, bays and canals license-free for that one day.
Here are several good reasons to take advantage: you can teach a kid to fish or introduce a non-angling friend to the sport at no extra cost, or --best of all-- you have a chance to win prizes, courtesy of Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts.
Anyone who logs a catch of ANY fish on the Guy Harvey iGHOFISH app --(a free download on Iphone and Google Play)--will be automatically entered in a sweepstakes to win a one-year I DO! Guy Harvey saltwater/freshwater fishing/hunting combo license and a $50 Guy Harvey merchandise gift card. Also in this special, one-day tournament, your catch information will be instantly shared with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission through the IAngler program, which helps fisheries managers and scientists conserve and protect Florida's saltwater fish stocks.
The license-free day applies to all saltwater recreational species such as crabs, lobsters, and scallops. But all bag and size limits and seasons still apply, so make sure you check out the regulations before harvesting.
If you don't have a license and want to fish the rest of the year, you can purchase one online at myfwc.com/license/ or at any county tax collector's office and some retail outlets. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/use-guy-harvey-outposts-new-fish-app-for-a-chance-to-win-a-guy-harvey-florida-fishing-license/){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}
![](mailto:?subject=Bahamas Wahoo Challenge – Day 1&body=Day 1 of the <a title="BWC web site" href="http://bahamaswahoochallenge.com/" target="_blank">Bahamas Wahoo Challenge</a> has come to a close (though the <a title="Big Game Bar & Grill photo album" href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=10405&id=127094040665962" target="_blank">Big Game Bar & Grill</a> will likely be open late into the night!). Capt. Ned Stone sent this report from the <a title="BBGC web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com" target="_blank">Big Game Club</a>:
"Most of the anglers began the morning in pants and long sleeves, but were in t-shirts and shorts by mid-day as Friday eventually turned into a typical Bimini afternoon - beautiful and sunny with a brisk breeze.<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/hit20that_2606.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-271" title="Day 1's big catch!" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/hit20that_2606.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>
The fleet got off a bit before 0700 - though a few stragglers (who shall remain unnamed) left a bit later, no doubt a result of having too much fun at the party last night! Most of the group ran south and enjoyed the following sea. The fishing was great - <a title="Photos from the Bahamas Wahoo Challenge" href="http://www.facebook.com/BiminiBigGameClub?v=photos#!/album.php?aid=26901&id=127094040665962" target="_blank">check out some photos here</a>. Airborne is in the lead with 106.9 pounds, Shine On is in 2nd with 59.5 and Hit That is in 3rd with 42.2."
More reports and photos tomorrow, so be sure to check in with us here and on our <a title="BBGC on Facebook" href="http://www.facebook.com/BiminiBigGameClub" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a> and <a title="Guy Harvey Outpost on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/GHOutpost" target="_blank">Twitter feed</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/bahamas-wahoo-challenge-day-1/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Florida Chef Showcases Fishing and Fine Food on "Chopped"&body=<img class=" size-medium wp-image-2998 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/chefa.jpg?w=300" alt="ChefA" width="300" height="287" />By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost Staff Writer
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
When the Food Network's hit series "Chopped" premieres Dec. 3 at 8 p.m., four pastry chefs will compete to create sumptuous chocolate dishes for the host and judges. One of the contestants is Fort Lauderdale's Anthony Hunt, 39, corporate pastry chef for the Restaurant People group that operates popular eateries YOLO and S-3. But Hunt is unique--he's the only professional bass tournament angler ever featured on the show.
With the nickname "5oz" representing the margin by which he lost a tournament a few years back, Hunt is preparing to break into the bass fishing majors-- the Wal-Mart FLW Tour and the Bassmaster Elite Series-- in 2016. But he still keeps a foot in the kitchen and spends time with his four children aged 1-14.
"I'm working; I'm fishing. I'm pulled in 20 different directions," Hunt said.
With a high social media profile and Internet prominence on both angling and foodie sites, Hunt has been able to attract both fishing industry and non-endemic sponsors to further his tournament quest-- something that many would-be bass pros have had difficulty doing. He's as likely to get hits and 'likes' for promoting a chocolate maker as a plastic frog lure.
"No one's ever had a chef on board as pro staff," he said. "I can grab the two audiences at one time."
Hunt has been a professional chef for 15 years, but he has aspired to a professional bass fishing career since he was seven years old watching Larry Nixon catch the big ones on television.
The first step in his quest will be the FLW Rayovac Tournament on Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston January 14-16-- one of the qualifiers for the national tour.
To score a paycheck, he needs to spend a lot of prep time on the water.
"I approach it like a new lake every time I'm up there," he said of the 730-square mile Big O. "I go fishing like I've never been there before. I try to keep an open mind on what you're going to have to do to catch 'em. The 'home court' can hurt you."
Hunt is hoping for cold weather because he "fishes stronger" under those conditions. But he's ready for whatever.
Meanwhile, he's enjoying his time in the culinary spotlight on "Chopped".
"It's just awesome. I'm happy I made it," he said.
Now here's a delicious Chef Anthony recipe you WON'T see on the television show-- Swordfish Lollipops:
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. cleaned swordfish rectangles cut 1 inch by 2 inches
2 oz. chopped Italian parsley plus 1 tsp. kosher salt
2 oz. blackening seasoning
1 oz. ground fine black pepper, preferably dry table pepper, plus 1 tsp. kosher salt
3 tbsp. olive oil
8-inch skewers soaked for 1 hour in water
DIRECTIONS:
Skewer fish rectangles three quarters of the way into the flesh. Pat dry with paper towel. Roll the fish into each spice or herb to coat all sides. Sear fish in olive oil in a medium sauté pan on medium-high heat, flat sides down, for 30 seconds on each side or to desired done-ness. Remove from heat.
Slap on the sauce of your choice, such as homemade guacamole; lemon-garlic mayo; or classic sriracha.
EAT!
*******************
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.
********************
Share your photos, videos and experiences with Guy Harvey Outpost by hash tagging #OutpostAttitude to all of your social media posts. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/florida-chef-showcases-fishing-and-fine-food-on-chopped/){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."
******
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}
![](mailto:?subject=Art of the Dive/Portraits of the Deep Exhibition Scheduled At IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum in October&body=DANIA BEACH, FL—SEPTEMBER 22, 2011—A group of internationally acclaimed marine artists, including <a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank">Dr. Guy Harvey</a>, <a title="Wyland's web site" href="http://www.wyland.com" target="_blank">Wyland</a> and sculptor <a title="Kent Ullberg's web site" href="http://www.kentullberg.net" target="_blank">Kent Ullberg</a>, will be among the featured artists in the Art of the Dive/Portraits of the Deep traveling museum exhibition, scheduled to be on display at the <a title="IGFA web site" href="http://www.igfa.org" target="_blank">IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum</a> from October 1st to November 30th.
The exhibition, produced by <a title="David Wagner LLC web site" href="http://www.davidjwagnerllc.com/" target="_blank">David J. Wagner L.L.C.</a>, features work by leading artists who portray underwater life forms and habitat.
<a href="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/guy-harvey-bluerunner1.jpg"><img title=""Blue Runner" - Guy Harvey" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/guy-harvey-bluerunner1.jpg" alt="" width="405" height="297" /></a>"Blue Runner" - Guy Harvey
<a href="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/stanley-meltzoff-jewfish6sabbathreefworship.jpg"><img title=""Jewfish 6 - Sabbath Reef Worship, Belize" - Stanley Meltzoff" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/stanley-meltzoff-jewfish6sabbathreefworship.jpg" alt="" width="405" height="299" /></a>"Jewfish 6 - Sabbath Reef Worship, Belize" - Stanley Meltzoff
<a href="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/ian-coleman-caribbeanreefshark.jpg"><img title=""Caribbean Reef Shark" - Ian Coleman" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/ian-coleman-caribbeanreefshark.jpg" alt="" width="405" height="286" /></a>"Caribbean Reef Shark" - Ian Coleman
The exhibit features original paintings and sculptures and photographs by the world’s leading marine painters and sculptors. These begin with New York painter, <a title="Stanley Meltzoff's web site" href="http://www.silverfishpress.com/" target="_blank">Stanley Meltzoff</a> (1917-2006), who as curator/author was given his art-of –the-dive start with a commission from <a title="NGS web site" href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/" target="_blank">National Geographic Society</a> in the 1960s and who is now generally recognized as the progenitor of the series.
In addition to works from Stanley Meltzoff, Guy Harvey, Wyland and Kent Ullberg, artists and sculptors represented include Charles Allmond, Al Barnes, Renee Bemis, Eric Berg, M.J. Brush, Ian Coleman, Jean-Louis Courteau, John Kobald, Diane Peebles, Randy Puckett, Don Ray, George Schelling, Randall Scotts, Rachelle and Wes Siegrist, Mark Susinno, Fred Thomas and Ronnie Williford.
Mike Myatt, IGFA Chief Operating Officer stated “We are very excited and deeply honored to be the first venue of this truly incredible collection of art. This is definitely a show not to be missed.” https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/art-of-the-diveportraits-of-the-deep-exhibition-scheduled-at-igfa-fishing-hall-of-fame-museum-in-october/){kind=link}
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