In 2004, a Miami friend of mine’s family were out on their porch giving out Halloween candy when a little black dachshund mix walked up and sat down with them. It was dirty, covered with fleas and had no collar. It didn’t seem like it wanted to leave so they fed it, washed it and let [...]
The Art of the Rod Storage
This article was contributed by Chris Ritter. He is a Miami born and raised, Harvard educated, architect and illustrator. He has a knack for designing highly functional, aesthetically pleasing, home improvement projects. He is also one of my best friends of almost 30 years and a great guy, with one of the sharpest minds and best wit of anyone I know. [...]
Exchanging Fishing Tips for Writing Tips with a Best Selling Author in Flamingo
I was recently lucky enough to take JT Kalnay and Dr. Al Brady into the Everglades National Park in pursuit of fish. It was one of the prettiest days of the year with perfect fishing conditions. They were thrilled to be back in the Everglades National Park. It’s always a special treat to fish with [...]
The Florida Keys Sawfish AKA Mud Marlin
I met one of my best friends while attending the University of West Florida in Pensacola over 20 years ago. Parker and I were in a class together and had a mutual friend. When we figured out that we were both South Floridians with the same passion for fishing, the transition from classmates to best [...]
Shrimping for Permit in Tavernier
One of my favorite past times is catching shrimp. Not only are they my favorite food, they are a heck of a lot of fun to catch. Subsequently, several of my friends and I have the shrimp fever. There is no exact science to when they run, but it only happens in the winter months [...]
Fish Points with Dad
My father and I have been fishing in South Florida together for as long as I can remember. His father fished with him from an early age as well. Their front yard was the beach in Tela, Honduras. Some of my father’s favorite memories were when they used to wake up, grab their rods, walk [...]
Salmon Fishing in Chicago: Who Knew?
I love South Florida. I was born and raised here and I will most probably die here. For a long time however, I looked for an opportunity to leave the heat, humidity and bugs of the summer and live somewhere different for a few months of the year. I considered Maine, Vancouver, Alaska and Colorado [...]
Angler vs. Sailfish vs. Shark
The guys I grew up and am still friends with are all avid anglers. As far back as junior high school, we used to skip class and go fishing. We’d load our gear on the back of our bikes and spend the day at our favorite spots around South Miami. We’d be sure to cover [...]
Spring Time Whale Shark in the Florida Keys
While fishing the edge of the reef with friends and family I had quite an interesting situation occur. We were easing along in about 120 feet of water looking to do some fishing. It was a perfect morning. The winds were light, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the water was a perfect aqua blue [...]
Out-classed, but Not Beaten by Tarpon in the Backcountry
I was fishing Flamingo with angler Hernan Cortes and his cousin Tony Carnot in one of Flamingo’s many productive shallow water bights on an absolutely gorgeous day recently. We were poling in 8 inches of water when I saw a large shiny tail fin flick and twitter on the surface heading in our general direction. [...]