The 2008 Tarpon Season would have to be classified tough at best and to some non-existent. The first couple weeks of April were pretty good as summer like conditions produced a good flow of fish on the ocean as well as ample opportunities in the back. But since the cold front that hit the week of April 14th, fishing overall has been extremely poor.

I’ve fished two days (one with Rick Murphy and one with Honson Lau) and have had very few shots. Of course, today is a workday, and the wind has laid down considerably. I’m fishing both Friday and Saturday this week, so hopefully I’ll have a little something to report.

So, until then,
Tim (Flatsheadd@aol.com)

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Day 3 is in the books, and Grand Champions Ned Johnson and Pathfinder owner Captain Tim Klein are still celebrating. Ned managed to catch a 11.1 lb. weight fish to add to 9 releases (Most Release Award). Probably not coincidental, the last time the tournament was won with only one weight fish was in 1982 by Carl Navarre, Ned’s Grandfather. This along with the fact that Ned has come close in several tournaments made it a very special, first victory.

Maverick Mirage owners Thane Morgan and Captain Craig Brewer caught the biggest bone on the last day, bringing in a 12.2 lb. giant.

Tournament results across the board were marred by the cold front that seriously hampered fishing. Most teams reported getting only 2-8 shots per day. As usual, the shot count produced by Mark Krowka for me out-shined the rest of the field. On day 3 we had incredible, 22 shot fishing at giant mudding bonefish, some of which were on rays. I went 1 for 2 on releases, and hooked a single, huge bonefish off of a ray that crushed my fly closed. That fish, along with the break off on Thursday, would have won us the tournament as we believe both fish were seriously over 12 lbs.

But, the bottom line is this - despite incredible bad luck, I fished the worse tournament of my life and didn’t deserve to win. Simply pathetic and so bad that Marcy Krowka has convinced me to go see an eye doctor this week (something I’ve been putting off for about 2 years).

So, it’s tarpon season and I’ve racked my 9 and 10 weights. My 12 lb. leaders are tied and in the stretcher as this year I’m fishing the Don Hawley Invitational Tarpon Release Fly Tournament in June with Rick Murphy.

I’ll be reporting on all my practice days and hopefully get some cool video to go with it.

So, until then,
Tim (Flatsheadd@aol.com)

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The cold front that hit this past Monday really has put a hurt on the bonefishing for this year’s Keys Spring Fly Bonefish Tournament. After two days of extremely brutal fishing, only one weight fish has been caught, a 10.13 lb fish by angler Mark Richens fishing with guide and former angler champion Mark Cockerham.

Mark Krowka and I had only a 5 shot day in Biscayne Bay on Wednesday, followed by a 14 shot downtown Islamorada day 2. I fished poorly but did manage to hook a giant bone of at least 12 lbs. The fish broke off which admittedly was most likely the result of a wind knot (yes, a wind knot).

So, entering day 3, the tournament is wide open and anyone can win. We’re heading back to the bay as winds have shifted to the east and hopefully the big boys will be back feeding.

I’ll report on the final results this weekend,

So, until then,
Tim (Flatsheadd@aol.com)

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I finally got a copy of the video we made Christmas week while fishing with Frank Juliano and Jared Rascob. Fishing that week was just incredible with each evening filled with dozens of shots at tailing weight fish.

Filming bonefish action is certainly not as exciting as tarpon. They don’t jump, and sometimes the bite is not even seen. Not so with this fish - you can see on the video that he was a single, tailing in extremely shallow water. When he sees the white crab it is literally drilled into the sea grass.

The one thing that struck me while watching the video is how little I do during the “fight”. Big bonefish usually have 2-3 very strong runs of at least 100 yards. There is really nothing you can do to influence the time of the fight. Simply let them run, then wind it back in, let them run again, and wind it back in. Once they get relatively close to the boat and you are on the fly line, the key is to pull in the direction the fish is swimming. This is totally different than with tarpon.

You can see in this video how I pull sideways in the direction the fish wants to go. Also notice a real key in that Frank keeps spinning the boat in the direction of the fish. At the end of a fight, we keep spinning the boat and sometimes it may take up to ten 360s of the boat before the fish is netted. The main reason we do this is to keep the fish a distance from the boat until he can be planed up to the net. If you try to bring him close to the boat too soon, their tendency is to dive under the boat for cover. This can be disastrous.

I hope you enjoy the video - I know anyone who fishes for big bonefish will understand the rush.

I had a big day with Mark Krowka this past Friday and will be reporting on that soon.

So, until then,
Tim (Flatsheadd@aol.com)

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This past week Larry Zarrella and I had the opportunity to spend 3 days with Rick at his Grandma’s house on Chub Cay. Northeast winds of up to 35 mph hit our face each day, as well as a consistent dark cloud cover. Conditions like this would normally spell disaster on your typical Bahamian bonefish trip, however, I must say, this was one world class experience that I won’t soon forget.

We boarded Rick’s Cessna at Tamiami airport at 8 am, and, after a short 40 minute flight, the dirt strip was in sight. A quick check through Customs and then a 20 minute ride to other end of the island brought us to Grammy’s.

Rick’s Grandfather built this house in 1972. It has stood the test of time and several hurricanes, and is perfectly situated on the lee side of the island, facing miles of white sand and grass flats that rarely ever see a skiff (in 3 days of fishing we never saw another fisherman). A Hewes Redfisher is kept at the house, and is luxurious by Bahamian standards.

What I really loved about this trip was the flexibility and that we weren’t tied to a “lodge schedule”. Andros Island Bonefish Club has for years been my favorite Bahamian destination, and I’ll continue to go there to fish with Rupert and Nick and chase those famous west side giants. But the feel at Grammy’s place was totally different.

The first day we ran literally 300 yards from the house to the “Grammy Flat”. Larry’s first cast produced a nice 9 1/2 lb. weight fish, and, two hours later, we had caught 10 bones from shots at singles, pairs, and schools. I waded, Larry stayed on the boat, and it was just an incredible start! Rick then insisted we run over to an inshore reef to catch dinner. On the first cast using a gulp shrimp I caught a 10 lb cubera, then Rick caught a 5 lb yellowtail, then Larry caught a nice 12 lb mutton - dinner is served.

After a great day of fishing the second day, we got back to the house, dropped Rick off to clean the night’s dinner, and Larry and I went back out to bonefish. Flexibility. The tide was huge in the morning, so we slept in. Dinner was fish, so we caught it. Snapper ala Kathy, fried snapper, ceviche, sashimi. The trip was just perfect.

The last morning, we woke to clear and sunny skies, and only a 15 knot wind. We took the time to make another incredible big country breakfast, and, knowing the tide would be falling at about 10 AM, we made the run out to one of the many big fish flats. Rick poled for about two minutes when the first tailer was spotted, then another, then another - to my amazement, the white sand flat that I was looking at, which stretched at least two miles, contained an uncountable number of bonefish. I’m talking hundreds, singles, schools of 50, 100, just unreal. We all jumped out and had one of the most incredible two hours of bonefishing I can ever remember.

I was also very impressed by the size of the fish on Chub. I did not catch a bone that didn’t take me into my backing. The fish there are typically 4-7 lbs., with the opportunity to catch big 10 lb. plus giants. Oh, and by the way, Chub Cay bonefish love the white crab. Check out the video of Rick’s skinny tailer. I think that fish is one of the longest bones I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, he was skinny. Catching a fish over 12 lbs on Chub is not uncommon.

Bottom line, I’ll be back. I’m already working on Rick. July(calm). October. This place is going to become one of my regular trips. Bonefishing as it should be - easy and fun, no stress. And fried mutton snapper.

This weekend I’m fishing with Charlie Johnson from Maverick on Saturday and Mark Krowka on Sunday. Hopefully, I’ll have something to talk about.

So, until then,
Tim (Flatsheadd@aol.com)

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I’m convinced now. The new Mirage is big time fishy.

Captain Duane Baker and I proved it on Saturday, going 5 for 7 on bonefish and catching two weight fish. All of this action took place in the afternoon on the incoming tide while the outgoing morning tide produced only a couple of shots. A bad combination of no wind and little current had us both discussing the possibility of us heading to the backcountry to look for poons. We knew the wind was suppose to pick up and eventually blow 10-15 mph out of the southwest. And it did, almost at the same time the tide turned.

The fish were mudding and tailing on grass flats in pairs and small schools. When the presentation of the fly was perfect, the generic brown fly was drilled.

I’m heading to Rick Murphy’s place on Chub tomorrow morning to wade the white sand flats that the place is known for. We’ll probably do a little sustinence sushi fishing in the snapper rich channels - I’ve packed the soy, wasabi, and ginger! I’ll be reporting on this trip at the end of the week.

So, until then,
Tim (Flatsheadd@aol.com)

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My new Maverick Mirage HPX-V is finished, and I had the opportunity to break it in on Maverick owner Scott Deal’s home waters of Vero Beach. Charlie Johnson and I splashed the boat and met Scott and friend Jim O’Conner on the water outside of his house. The plan was to get some good, running video of the new boat and possibly capture the ceremonial first catch.

While I don’t really want to go into details about my still inadequate video technology, all I can really say is thank God Scott brought his camera and captured the moment.

The boat is flat out amazing. Rigged with a 115 hp two stroke Yamaha, the boat did 57 mph at 5700 rpms. This was two guys, a full tank of gas, and no tweaking! I think this may end up being the fastest Mirage ever built.

And I think the boat is fishy. The first shot of the day produced a 12 pound redfish that absolutely drilled my Duane Crab bonefish fly. I thought the fishing overall was very good, with each flat producing several shots and everyone getting some fishing and catching time in. What really amazed me was the size of the trout - fish over 7 pounds are common here but they are incredibly finicky in the clear water. We also had shots at oversize resident snook that ignored our offerings.

On Sunday I had the chance to fish with Carlos Duncan from Houston, Texas. Carlos is a superb fly angler and past Grand Champion of the Golden Fly Tarpon Invitational Tournament. Our main goal for the day was to put a little bonefish slime on the new Mirage. Also, I have been talking to Carlos for quite some time about the ride of the Mirage - I wanted to show him what it could do.

Winds were blowing 15-20 knots out of the northeast, and when I turned right in Whale Harbor and out onto the oceanside on our way to Key Largo, Carlos asked, “Aren’t you going to run the back?” I ran to Key Largo in very rough seas at a comfortable 46 mph and we arrived dry and not sore. As a Whipray and Marquesas owner, Carlos was shocked, convinced, and is now joining the team. Oh, and he caught a bonefish. Great day!

I have several bonefish days coming up and will report on my practice for the Spring Fly.

So, until then,
Tim (Flatsheadd@aol.com)

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Tim’s 2008 Tournament Schedule
Questions? Contact me at Flatsheadd@aol.com

January 9-10, 2008: Islamorada Fly Sailfish Tournament, with Frank Juliano on the Lucky Duck

February 22-23, 2008: Backcountry Fly Championship, with Capt Eric Herstadt

April 16-18, 2008: Keys Spring Fly Bonefish Invitational, with Capt Mark Krowka

June 2-6, 2008: Don Hawley Tarpon Fly Invitational, with Capt Rick Murphy

September 17-19, 2008: Islamorada Fall Fly Bonefish Invitational, with Capt Duane Baker

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The first Backcountry Fly Championship was held this past week, and once again, Maverick Mirage owners shined. This invitational tournament targets redfish and snook and is a total inches, big fish format. One snook and one redfish can be counted each of the two days.

Nine teams caught both species on day 1. Amazingly, all nine of these teams scored both a red and a snook on day 2 to make this tournament extremely competitive. Going into the tournament, I figured it would take between 100 to 120 points to win. Sure enough, 5 teams scored over 100 points.

Mirage owner Mark Wolaver, fishing with Captain Chris Jones, scored 113.75 points to take home Grand Champion honors. Twin snook of 32.5 and 32.25 inches, taken off the same snag on consecutive days, helped take this team to victory.

I fished this tournament with Captain Eric Herstadt. We started the first day very slowly, and after failing to connect on an early morning redfish, we made the decision to make the two hour run deep into the Whitewater backcountry. We were confident with the snook, but knew the redfish would be the biggest challenge.

Eric poled the first bay for literally 200 feet, and I saw the red moving left to right in front of the bow. A simple 20 foot flip cast produced a classic eat and within minutes we were high five-ing to a 21.5 inch red. A moment later, a snook popped on the other side of the bay, Eric poled over, the snook pushed off, and I threw the chartreuse candy in front of him. Within minutes, a 28.5 inch snook was in the net. Twenty minutes since we had arrived, and we were sitting with 50 points! We upgraded the snook twice that day, once to a 29 inch fish, then finally to a 30.5 inch slob.

And even though a much bigger 27 or 28 inch red fell off the hook, we felt confident with our day. We left at 1:50 PM, giving us plenty of time to make the 80 mile run and get back to the Lorelei dock by 4:30 PM. The team of Jones/Wolaver had a terrific first day, scoring 60 points. Pre-tournament favorites Captains Dave Denkert and Mark Krowka (on the bow!) scored 55.5 points for a solid second place, and Eric and I held onto 3rd with 51.875 points.

Going into day 2 Eric and I knew we needed a giant day to be in a position to win. We decided to make the first stop a flat I simply call, “The House”, as in redfish house. Duane Baker and I won the first Hewes Maverick Shoot Out on this flat, so, it certainly has great karma. The outgoing tide was perfect, the water absolutely slick, and there wasn’t a tail to be found. After 20 minutes of poling, we spotted a cruising fish that we suspected was our quarry. I made the cast, the fish ate, and when the red measured at 29.5 inches, we knew it was snook time. It was 7:30 AM, and we headed once again to the Whitewater backcountry to complete our day.

After two hours of looking and no scoring, the boat admittedly was getting tight. I messed up a couple of great shots, and the fish seemed more finicky than the day before. Finally, the ice was broken with a 16 inch runt, then a 21 inch fish, then finally, a nice 28 incher. We wanted to upgrade one more time, and Eric decided to make a quick 5 minute run to another system. We had about 10 minutes left when I saw the big, layed up log of a snook. The cast was perfect, he ate, and the fly came out. I cast back to him and he absolutely destroyed the fly. I stopped his strong run to the mangroves, and minutes later the 32 inch snook was in the net. We had 61 points, and knew it was time to go.

When Mark Krowka and I lost our bid to win the Keys Spring Fly Bonefish for the 4th consecutive year by 1 ounce, I thought it would be impossible to lose by that slim of a margin again. Sure enough, it happened again. Eric and I checked into the scorers table, and knew that it was going to be extremely close. Official scorer Diane Ambrogio read the total -112.875 points. We had lost by less than an inch, 0.875 inches to be exact. 25 boats, 2 days of fishing, 350 miles of running, and we lose by less than one inch! Amazing.

Win or lose, after a tournament I am normally totally fried. Not so with this one. The fishing was so good, and the format of this tournament such that it left me wishing it was 3 days. And Eric did an awesome job putting us in a position to win. Simply put, I can’t think of a tournament that I lost while still having so much fun!

I’ll be shifting my focus now towards April’s Keys Spring Fly Bonefish Tournament. I’ll be reporting on my practice days, as well as any poon sightings I may encounter.

So, until then,
Tim (Flatsheadd@aol.com)

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I had a great day on Florida Bay with friend and Grabber Screw magnate Mike Hamilton. While fishing with Captain Eric Herstadt, we had two simple goals: catch a big, laid up poon and capture that on video for placement on this blog. Mission accomplished - almost.

We pulled onto the first, no-name bank of the morning and I proceeded to show Videographer Mike the complexities of my new video camera. It kind of went like this: “Mike, red button is on/off, this button is the zoom, ok, here we go.”

As I sat on the bow with Mike on the cam, I gave a great introduction to winter, laid up tarpon fishing (”here we are, February 5th, winter time in the Everglades, wind is blowing 15 -20 out of the east, but water temperature is still warm at 75 degrees, we’re going to pole this bank looking for big, winter time laid up tarpon, blah, blah blah” I went on). Eric then proceeded to do what he does best - “Tim, ten o’clock, 80 feet, do you see him, faced away?” The poon looked pink as he laid facing the mud stained incoming tide.

I took the over the shoulder shot and the purple bunny fly landed about two feet in front of his face. Two subtle strips and the giant contorted his body about 90 degrees and inhaled the food nonchalantly. Three quick jumps going left to right 50 feet from the bow revealed a nice tarpon of close to 110 lbs. And then the fly fell out, but I was extremely excited - I had just shaken off the winter tarpon rust, and Mike claimed to have captured the whole thing on “Sportsman Adventure like” video.

I summarized what had just happened for Videographer Mike and then proceeded to switch places and give him the next shot. I rested on the console cooler, but really couldn’t wait to watch that video. I hit rewind and then play.

Like the bad luck that comes with catching the first fish you see in a day’s fishing, I guess the same applies to videography. The screen was totally blank - Mike forgot to hit the red button. We a few more laid up shots during the rest of the day, and I did manage to put another nice fish in the air. Of course, somehow, the red button was missed again. We’ll work on our technical skills over the next few months and hope to be able to make some nice additions to this blog. Meanwhile, Eric and I have the Backcountry Fly Championship coming up in less than a week. We’re practicing a couple of days before the tournament, and I’ll be reporting on our successes.

So, until then,
Tim (Flatsheadd@aol.com)

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