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Florida Keys Outfitters Newsletter |
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Greetings!
January brought the best of times and the worst of times to Florida Keys anglers and our natural resources. Severe
cold harmed much of Florida's
inshore fishery with snook taking the hardest hit. Recently though, fishing has been on the
rebound, and this past weekend's Swamp Guides Ball & Tournament with 38
teams brought encouragement that our resilient fishery will bounce back sooner
rather than later from the recent cyclical and natural cold spell. Redfish were
plentiful. Bonefish and snook were caught and released in reduced numbers
through the Florida Keys Fishing Guides Associations self imposed limit of one
release of each.
On the A+ side, Keys Sailfishing has been nothing short of
spectacular! The Islamorada Sailfly Championship encountered its best ever
sailfish catch on fly rod with 35 hookups and 18 releases over two days. The
Islamorada Fishing Club one day light tackle tournament took 17 sailfish
releases in one day to win!
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Sandy's Angling Tip of the Month
Always maintain control of the fly line with your line hand!
Only let it go after you have made your cast, hooked up, cleared your line and
come tight on the reel. This habit is
ingrained in every good flats angler I have ever known. Squeezing a few more
feet out of the cast by releasing the fly line fly line creates several obstacles
to success. Loose fly line jumping
around the rod butt; delayed stripping of the fly; inability to recast and loss
of distance control are frequent results. Keep your line in your line hand and
you will have more control and catch more fish.
Read More |
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New Product Highlight
This month we're highlighting the new Sage XI3 fly rod and we've had the opportunity to ask Sage's chief rod designer Jerry Siem for his thoughts on fly rod design, performance and the rod characteristics most important to saltwater anglers. Read what Jerry has to say about the XI3 and saltwater fly rod design. |
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Tournament Updates
Red Hot Sailfish Bite at Islamorada Sailfly
Twenty teams of passionate saltwater flyrod anglers came together from seven states across the US and Canada to compete in the Tenth Annual Islamorada Sailfly Championship in the Florida Keys on January 13th and 14th, 2010. A record year for the tournament brought 35 hook ups and 18 releases to 13 of the 20 teams during frigid weather and red hot Sailfishing. Continue reading.  
Swamp Guides Ball
The annual Swamp Guides Ball kicked off with a party Friday evening January 29. Thirty-nine teams of anglers caught snook, redfish and bonefish with an awards party following fishing. Lloyd Wruble and Ron Baker guided by Captain Steve Thomas won first place with a bonefish, snook and redfish slam. Capt Drew Moret guided Ken Brio to a slam to take second place. Islamorada Captains Mark Cockerham and Mark Gilman won the Most Redfish with 20. Total catch was 45 redfish, 4 bonefish and 9 snook. Good numbers of bonefish were seen but hard to tempt a bite. Lots of redfish less than 20 inches were also caught and released. The Florida Keys Fishing Guides Association runs the event and proceeds generated through the silent auction and raffles benefit the Don Hawley Foundation which assists Florida Keys fishing guides in times of hardship. Swamp Guides Ball (L to R) Captain Steve Thomas,
Lloyd Wruble, Terry Albury and Ron Baker
Upcoming Tournaments & Events:
The Backcountry Fly Championship - February 26 & 27, 2010 is a slam event. As of today there is one slot open! Contact Charlotte Ambrogio, (305) 664-2444 or email. The March Merkin Permit Tournament - March, 2010, Contact John Ain (303) 888-4546 The Florida Keys Fly Fishing School's first session of New Year is scheduled for the weekend of February 20, 2010. Learn saltwater fly fishing from expert instructors and acquire the skills, knowledge and confidence that would take months or years of trial and error accumulate. For more information call (305) 664-5423 or email us. Invitations have been sent to winning anglers of 2009 Qualifying Events for the Florida Keys Outfitters/IGFA Inshore World Championships. The inshore world championshipswill be held in Islamorada on July 13, 14 & 15, 2010. It is a multispecies tournament with outstanding guides and anglers during prime fishing time. ESPN Outdoors Saltwater Series will be on hand to film the event.
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Florida Keys News
Cold Weather ClosuresThe Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) temporarily extends closed harvest seasons for snook and establishes a temporary statewide closed harvest season for bonefish and tarpon. Catch & Release is OK! Read their press release. BTT Upper Keys Chapter MeetingBonefish & Tarpon Trust's Upper Keys Chapter Meeting and Research Update will be Monday, February 8, 2010 at 5pm at the Islamorada Fishing Club. This is a great opportunity for anglers and guides to hear about the latest research from Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, updates on their ongoing conservation efforts, and plans for the coming year. This is also a good time for members to provide feedback to BTT, and for concerned guides and anglers to become members. Since it's founding in 1998, Bonefish & Tarpon Trust has become the world leader in research, conservation, and education of bonefish, tarpon, and permit. BTT's mission is to support research to help understand, nurture, and enhance healthy bonefish, tarpon, and permit populations, and to apply this information to conservation and education. Steve Huff elected to IGFA Hall of FameSpecial congratulations are in order for the IGFA Board of Directors and Captain Steve Huff for his election into the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame this week. Steve, a dear friend for 35 years, is arguably the most respected skiff guide in all of South Florida. His contributions to the sport and guiding profession are unparalleled, Steve is also a founding instructor of the Florida Keys Fly Fishing School.
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Front row L to R: Steve Huff, Flip Pallot, Sandy Moret
Top row L to R: Chico Fernandez, Rick Ruoff, Stu Apte & Steve Rajeff
First session of Florida Keys Fly Fishing School, February 1989 |
Steve Huff today running way back in the 'Glades |
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Monthly Photo Contest
Congratulations to Craig Reagor of Ponte Vedra Beach for winning January's Photo of the Month. Craig shot his teammate Tom Moore hooked up aboard Capt Greg Eklund's 'Cloud Nine" during the Islamorada Sailfly. Craig will receive a $100.00 gift card from Florida Keys Outfitters.
Give us your best shot for February's photo of the month! Entries must be received via email, no later than 6:00pm EST the last day of the month. Please include full name and mailing address. Photos must be at least 300 dpi with minimum dimension of 3" x 5" (900 x 1500) and a maximum dimension of 8" x 10" (2400 x 3000) and submitted in JPG format.
The staff of Florida Keys Outfitters will review all entries and determine the monthly winner. Consideration will be given to originality, composition and image quality. Their decision shall be final. Photos submitted will become the property of Florida Keys Outfitters and used at its discretion. Winners receive a $100.00 gift card from Florida Keys Outfitters.
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We're anticipating plenty of great fishing opportunities in
2010. I hope you can take advantage of them in the coming year. Please call the shop or visit our online store for anything
you need. Hope to see you on the water soon.
Tight Loops, 
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