An Afternoon with the Bassmasters

Guess they're not called "Bassmasters" for nothing. This past weekend, the B.A.S.S. Bassmaster Elite Series kicked off their 2019 season about forty five minutes from my house in Palatka, Florida. The anglers ran down to nearby Lake George the past four days and put up some really amazing numbers.

I decided to head down to the event grounds in Riverfront Park on Saturday afternoon. The sponsors of the tour such as Berkley/Abu Garcia, Toyota, Carhartt, Power Pole, Mercury, Nitro Boats, and Academy Sports set up tents and gave away freebies while the anglers are out fishing.

Even though the anglers were competing miles down river, you can watch the actual fishing action live on a big screen, (with NFL style play-by-play & analysis) and then there's a weigh-in once they all come back to the stage area. Saturday was the "cut-down" day, as the top ten cumulative weights from the three prior days would compete on Sunday for the championship.

Now, I'm not really a fan of professional bass fishing, I kind of went out of novelty, but evidently Saturday was one of the more memorable days of bass fishing in recent history... The catching was pretty much rapid fire, and the St. John's River fishery produced some beasts.

Anglers bring back their best 5 fish for weigh-in, and there were several "bags" weighing in the high-twenties, and two well over 30 pounds! It was rare for somebody to come up to the scales with less than twenty pounds of largemouth bass, which is usually considered a good day.

In any event, here's a few photos from the weigh in. The largest bag was caught by Clifford Pirch at over 34 pounds. The day three leader was Chris Johnston with a weight total of over 75 pounds.

Clifford Pirch's huge haul

Patrick Walters also broke 30 pounds,
including the largest fish of the day at over 9 pounds

Amazingly, none of those anglers won the event. Veteran tourney angler Rick Clunn evidently had a HUGE Sunday and outfished almost everybody by 10 pounds to take home the trophy. Here's Mr. Clunn hoisting two from his 23 pound Saturday haul.

Despite some pretty crummy weather, it was a pretty fun way to spend an afternoon. There was a surprisingly large crowd at the weigh-in and there was just enough to do to kill the time in the lead up. While it's not a substitute for actual fishing, should you ever get the chance to attend one of these events... do it. It's always fascinating to watch people who are arguably the best in the world at what they do, regardless of what it is.

Bassmaster Elite Series Week

This week the Bassmaster Elite Series is coming to my neighborhood...

It's been a few years since the sparkle boats and logo-clad anglers of the B.A.S.S. circuit were in Palatka, Florida fishing the St. Johns River, but beginning this upcoming Thursday they'll be starting their daily runs once again.

Think I'll go check things out on Saturday morning/afternoon. The last time they were here there was a fun little fishing-themed festival down by the waterfront that served as a backdrop to the daily weigh-ins. It was pretty entertaining, and being what one might consider a "fly fishing trout guy," seeing the other side of the sport was a spectacle to say the least.

The weather looks great for the anglers, and if all goes well, you'll see a post from me early next week...

Three Highlights from IF4

Two Fridays ago, the International Fly Fishing Film Festival (IF4) hit Jacksonville, in concert with Blackfly Outfitters' Floodtide Festival weekend. The IF4 viewing was held at the Univerisity of North Florida and was brought to the area by Bullsugar.org (more on them at the end of this post).

While the turnout was respectable, but a little on the light side, the videos were phenomenal, and somewhat surprising to me, were very "trout and char" in nature. I probably incorrectly had it in my head that the videos shown were tailored to the locale, so I figured we'd be watching a lot more from the salt.

Either way, the content was phenomenal, and while the thought of a few hours of fish porn and grip n' grins might turn off some, pretty much all of the films had a story to them, and I'd say the large majority were free of bass-thumping or techno-driven soundtracks.

Three of my favorites were as follows:

Ty's Flies

A short film about a young angler who overcame a personal disability to become a first-class salmon fly tyer. This is the kind of story that tugs at your heart-strings, especially when he gets to actually go fishing for Atlantic salmon for the first time.


Seriously North

This movie makes me want to drop everything and go find some Arctic char. It follows some anglers' quest to find outrageously sized char, basically in the middle of nowhere up in the Arctic circle. The mix of desolation, extreme cold, and unresponsive fish all seem to want to derail the trip... until they finally crack the code in a BIG way.


Confluentus: The Merging of All Things

I'm pretty sure this was my favorite film of the batch because it was by far the most relatable. Anglers who strap on their backpacks, go off the grid and go find their own adventures... in this case, bull trout in wilderness waters. It shows you don't need to have a lot of money to have an incredible fishing experience, as long as you put the work in to make it happen.


Now I'm not sure if any of these films can be viewed in their entirety yet outside of the IF4, so I'm really just planting the seed by sharing these preview embeds. If the IF4 isn't coming to a town near you soon, I'm certain these will be made available to the public sometime in the future. Make a point to see them all, they're each fantastic stories in their own way.

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In closing, I did want to put out a little commercial for Bullsugar.org, especially if you're a Floridian reading this post. It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or Republican, the way water is being managed in the state of Florida is highly suspect, and that's being kind.

According to their website:

"Bullsugar.org is a grassroots organization founded by Stuart residents in August 2014 on the belief that stopping the damaging discharges to our coasts and restoring the Everglades is not a science or engineering problem. The science has been known for decades. Our problem is a political problem -- and it requires a political solution.

Using social media we are spreading the word that the only way to stop the destructive discharges and restore clean freshwater flows to Florida Bay is to acquire land in the EAA to reconnect Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades. The River of Grass has been dammed and diverted to both coasts. Until the flow is restored southward, all three estuaries -- east, west, and south -- will continue to suffer, impacting Florida's tourism & real estate economy.

Bullsugar.org aims to empower voters to take back our water and government. Future generations of Floridians deserve a healthy River of Grass and clean water."

Even if you don't align 100% with Bullsugar.org's stances & solutions, simply put, with general elections coming up in November, get educated on the issues and what each of the candidates stands for. As residents of Florida, we can and should do better.

IF4 Hits Jacksonville in September

Huh? Who knew...

The IF4 thing is coming to town at the University of North Florida on Friday, September 7th, hosted by Blackfly Outfitters & benefitting bullsugar.org...

Used to go to these (& F3Ts) back when I used to live up north. They were pretty frequent and didn't require multiple hour drives to get to (seems like everything is either in Orlando, Tampa, or Atlanta down here). Pretty psyched about this one being so close, haven't been in a while.

Looks like Blackfly is using it as the lead-in to their annual Floodtide Festival the following day, (which I also haven't attended in a few years).

Need to get my butt back into gear, right?

Glass (& Reels) Are Definitely Not Dead

"Pedal, pedal, pedal...
Man, this is taking much longer than it should... 
Are we there yet?"

There is this pond where I live that I drive by quite often. It's on my way to and from work each day, as well whenever I run errands that require I hop on I-95. It's a non-descript retention pond, "RP-79" I suppose is its android-like identity, and I've always wondered what sort of fish, be it species or quantity, lived there.

Passing it yet again on Friday after work, I finally made the resolution I'd go fish it this weekend. Decided to sneak the activity into my usual Saturday morning bike ride... about six miles to the pond and six miles back. No sweat. Until I started pedaling.

Sure, I go for rides more than double the distance regularly, however, they rarely have the anticipation of reaching uncharted (to me) water. Those six miles felt like twenty.

Finally reaching 79 at around 9:30 AM I found some shade, parked my bike, and strung up the trusty Cabela's CGR fiberglass 4-weight. It's on the short side for ponds at only six-and-a-half feet (I bought it for little trout streams), but it's one of my favorite rods to fish... especially when paired with a tiny Albright click & pawl reel that has also seen a lot of time on the water. I just couldn't leave the pair at home, they've both been with me since at least 2011.

See, I write about tenkara a lot on this blog, but I'm still a sucker for a medium to slow action fly rod and the sweet squeal of a stressed clicker reel. Glass & reels are definitely not dead to this fixed line angler.

Tying on my favorite "prospecting" fly, a tungsten bead black leech pattern, it took no more than a handful of casts to get into a nice Florida largemouth bass. It would prove to be the kind you should hold with two hands, as not to stress the jaw. If only I had planned the hands-free photo a little bit better. I should take some tips from Justin Carf... or perhaps not...

Working around the perimeter of the pond in a counter-clockwise fashion yielded quite a few more bass of the smaller variety, as well as a few bluegills & sunfish. It had been raining quite a bit the past week, so the grass around the pond was very high, and the ground was extra swampy. Cast... squish, squish, squish, squish... cast... squish, squish, squish, squish...

The far side of the pond was really quite messy, lots of weeds, algae, and other muck, so I decided to switch to a topwater "Booglebug" to try to sidestep the underwater hazards. A couple small bass fell victim to the fluorescent yellow popper.

While they say "slow and steady wins the race," it might not catch the fish. By 11:00 AM, with the sun high in the sky, the bite turned off pretty much for good. There was nothing I could do to coax any action at that point, which was a bit of a bummer, but could do nothing to take away from all of the earlier fun.

So with that, I disassembled the rod, stowed the reel and flies, swapped my trucker hat for a cycling helmet, and hopped back on my bike for the six-mile return that was ahead.

Satisfaction now replacing anticipation, the pedal home went by in a flash.

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Fishing Fitness Footnotes:

• Date: 8/4/2018
• Current weight: 197 lbs ( -19 since start)
• Today: Aforementioned 12-mile bike ride
• Misc: Weight yo-yoed a bit during my recent vacation. Weighed 197 before I left, but 202 when I returned due to ample cruise-ship buffet & dessert lines. Took this week to get back to pre-vacation weight.

Saturday Video: Signaling Silver

Pretty sweet video "Signaling Silver" dropped the other day by BOTE Boards.
Definitely worth the 5-minute watch:

"This summer, we set out to Florida’s Nature Coast for an expedition tagging tarpon with Bonefish & Tarpon Trust and Florida Outdoor Experience. With a focus on protecting essential and historical tarpon fisheries before it is too late, we went not only for our enjoyment but for those generations to come. See the full story online now, in the latest BOTE Presents: Signaling Silver."

Please visit the BOTE website HERE for more information, photos, and awesome boards.

Did You See This New Tacky Fly Box?

The International Fly Tackle Dealer Show was held in Orlando a few days ago, and if you're into learning about the "latest & greatest" in gear a few months before it hits the market, checking out many of the social media outlets last week would have been a great place to get that head start.

In the past, I've used this blog (believe it or not) to get "media" credentials for the show, but I wasn't able to attend this year. The timing just didn't work out with my real job, which is a shame because this is the last year the show will be in Orlando. (It's returning west to Denver in 2019).

Of all the videos I watched, pictures I looked at, and posts I read, the one item that really caught my interest was the new waterproof Tacky Flydrophobic SD fly box. See, I'm a Tacky fly box junkie. I supported their initial Kickstarter way back when, and have religiously used one of their products (if not multiples) on each and every one of my fishing trips since. For something generally so overlooked as a fly box from the "tech" standpoint, that silicone insert was really quite the innovation.

If the print in that image is a little too small to read what's going on, this video from Field & Stream's Joe Cermele probably does the best job in explaining it.


So that's a pretty slick concept that solves the "wet fly" problem in which other waterproof fly boxes suffer. Depending on your level of disposable income, it may be a bit pricey, but I will say that I've never been let down by a Tacky box in the past.

I'll probably snag one of these when they hit stores... because I'm a sucker for cool stuff like this. Especially when it has a brook trout pattern on the lid.  Ha!

Recapping An Unusual Weekend...

Had a weird 4th of July week/weekend...

We started with the pre-requisite neighborhood fireworks (that never photograph worth a crap). Much like everything else, Fireworks are legal in Florida so my neighbors do it up every year. It was pretty much this sight in any direction you looked. I value my fingers, so I'm happy just watching.

Tried a little fishing, but the rain foiled my plans. Went out locally (instead of the beach with the fly rod) due to some rainstorms on the radar. I still got soaked from head to toe by a sudden downpour... Guess one to hand is better than none to hand...

Did I mention we ended up in the ER on Friday night? Not me, my wife. She's okay, nothing life-threatening, but the aftermath kept us more or less in the house the rest of the weekend. I'm certainly not complaining, just very unexpected.

Oh, the folks in the room before us left this cartoon on the whiteboard. Looks like Street Fighter to me... Hadouken!

So hanging out in the house most of Saturday & Sunday, I did get to watch this YETI/catfishing video. F'n A that looks like crazy fun. Say what you will about their coolers and cups, YETI makes some captivatingly cool videos...


Closed out the weekend with a nice walk around the neighborhood on Sunday night (after yet another downpour). I was greeted by this...

So that was rad. Not as many fish as I had hoped for when I wrote last Monday's post, but I'll take it. I'm locked in the next two or three days as I'm off to Philly, then Atlanta for business. Downloaded two audiobooks for the travels. The first, I never read... the other, I started the physical book about 5 years ago but never finished. I'm excited about tackling both for different reasons.

Bring on the work week...

Quick Pond Hop To Start A Long Weekend

With this Memorial Day weekend's weather forecast not looking too good, figured last night was as good as any to try and steal an hour or two at dusk and go fishing at one of the neighborhood ponds...

The fishing was a little on the slow side, but passable. Caught a few bass like this...

And a few bluegill like this...

Those chunky "copperhead" bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus mystacalis) are damn good fighters on light tackle.

In any event, thought this picture summed up the evening rather accurately...

I made the mistake of not shooting my ankles, arms, and neck with bug spray... and damn if those yellow flies and mosquitoes weren't out tonight. I will say, if that ever happens to you, that Itch Eraser in the photo above works well, and the relief comes quickly. I got it in a Cairn box once upon a time, and this is the first time I've used it.

I dusted off the Tenkara USA Ayu II too... or should I say "as well"... I haven't fished that rod in forever, but it's a sleeper in my tenkara rod collection. Since I'm in the process of streamlining some of my fishing tackle, I might sell it, or I might hold on to it due to some sort of warped sentimental value because it's not produced or sold anymore. Whatever...

Oh, and you might have noticed those little metal tabs on my rod. I finally got around to attaching the line holders that Jean Santos skillfully engraved for me around the New Year. He lives in France and is a true artisan. Knowing I live in Florida, he even etched a largemouth bass chasing a kebari on the one holder. They're gorgeous in person, these zoom shots below don't do them justice... (and I really need to attach them properly, not with gross o-rings).

If you want to see more of Jean Santos' work, you can check out Isaac Tait's article in Tenkara Angler, Adam Trahan's article on Tenkara-Fisher, or Jean Santos' YouTube. This embedded video is a great start:



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Fishing Fitness Footnotes:

• Date: 5/26/2018
• Current weight: 208 lbs ( -8 since start)
• Current waist size: 38, but pants not quite as tight
• Today: Plan to ride bike in AM, walk Gourd Island trails after dinner.
• Yesterday: Walked after lunch... oh and fished for an hour!

Better Late Than Never...

Sunday... was a pretty good day.

I finally got out fishing for the first time in 2018. Wow, that took a long time.

This was the first fish of the year, a pretty undersized and gnarly bass. Not certain if you can see but it's got some sort of wound on its back (underneath all the muck).

Regardless, the weather was really nice (a bit windy, but I'm not complaining), and I brought about a half dozen cookie-cutter bass to hand, with the random bluegill or two thrown in for good measure.

More importantly, Sunday was also Lilly's 12th birthday. And I only bury this at the bottom of the post because I don't think she likes Dad writing about her on the blog much anymore, but man I love this kid so much...

Happy Birthday Lilly!