Florida Keys Outfitters
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Greetings!

Florida Keys fishing in February ran the gamut from hot to cold, spelled brrrr! For those willing to bundle up and ride, anglers have done really well on redfish, seatrout, snapper and Spanish mackerel in Florida Bay and the Flamingo area. Captains Craig Brewer and Drew Moret reported some larger snook and plenty of redfish showing up on the flats in the Everglades National Park but not too many small snook.  
 
On warmer afternoons Captains Rob Fordyce and Bob Branham said Biscayne Bay bonefishing has been fantastic. Same word came from Capt Tim Klein about bonefishing near Islamorada on the warmer afternoons. This is very typical of our winter fishing in the Keys.
 
Whether Mother Nature is ready or not and whether or not the Great Recession is fading, we can sense anglers around the country are spiritually and emotionally over with both. In the past couple of weeks phones began ringing off the hook to book spring fishing and fly fishing schools. Calls also came from anglers gearing up for destination travel. The Keys are on the cusp of water temperatures returning to seasonal normalcy and my guess is the flats fishing is going to break loose like gangbusters!
Sandy's Angling Tip of the Month
 
Once located, lock in and maintain sight of a fish. Follow every move and learn to read the body language. Avoid diverting your eyes even for an instant. The mirror-like sides of many saltwater game-fish reflect the bottom color where they're found, once you glance away, it will be very difficult to relocate, especially if it's moving.  During periods of intermittent cloud cover, it's even more critical.

A nice snook creeps along the mangroves in the lee sunshine - dandy
target for a fly if you keep your eyes focused on Mr. Lineside!
New Product Highlight

Good polarized sunglasses are absolute necessities for seeing fish through the water, especially snook which are super stealthy. My preference is Kaenon's Hardcore which have large lenses, open bottom frame and have great color separation.... On top of all that my favorite NASCAR driver of all time, Danica Patrick of GoDaddy.com wears Kaenon's!


 
And now that you can see better, get ready for Spring Tarpon Fishing in the Florida Keys which is going to break loose like crazy with a few more degrees of higher water temperature. The hottest rod I have seen in years is the new Sage Xi3. For tarpon, my choice is an 11 weight which can slice the wind, land a fly softly and has the backbone to apply all 16 pounds of your 8kg class tippet. I have caught a few good sized sailfish with it this year and it was plenty of flyrod for the job!
 
A super deal on early season tarpon flies in a combination of six well tested and proven tarpon flies for $18.00 is a great buy. (Limit 3 per order)


Tournament Updates
 
The Backcountry Fly Championship held on February 26 & 27 had a full field of 30 boats and were right on the Mark! That is Team Mark Cockerham and Capt. Mark Gilman of Islamorada who compiled 80.5 inches of snook and redfish to win this 2010 slam event. Anglers are allowed to catch and release as many snook and redfish as they can over two days but scores are given for combined length of one of each species daily. 23 redfish and 3 snook were entered overall for points. Contact Charlotte Ambrogio for information on the 2011 event, (305) 664-2444.
Capt Mark Gilman (L) and Mark Cockerham (R) receive top honors from
 Backcountry Fly Championship Director Charlotte Ambrogio

The March Merkin Permit Tournament - March 15-18, 2010, John Ain (305) 743-3731 A full field of excellent permit anglers and guides will be fishing for permit with flyrods

Islamorada Sharkfly - March 24, 2010, Contact Mark Johnson (305)-852-5712.  This new event is filling up fast and is generating a lot of hum! Sharks are great targets for flyrod anglers and will receive points allocated by difficulty for releasing lemon shark, bull shark and hammerhead

Redbone Bahamas Series Baker's Bay Classic - April 9, 2010, Gary Ellis (305)-664-2002

Keys Spring Invitational Bonefish Fly - April 14-16, 2010, Bert Scherb, (888)-922-9920

The Florida Keys Fly Fishing School's next session is scheduled for the weekend of March 26th, 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.  Scheduled Instructors will be Chico Fernandez, Capt. Steve Huff and Sandy Moret. For more information call (305) 664-5423, email  or visit  Florida Keys Outfitters Fly Fishing School.

View a complete listing of this year's qualifying events for the Florida Keys Outfitters/IGFA Inshore World Championships. The Inshore World Championships will be held in Islamorada on July 13, 14 & 15, 2010. It is a multispecies tournament with outstanding guides and anglers during prime fishing time.  Check out the anglers to see who's going to be competing.  ESPN Outdoors Saltwater Series will be on hand to film the event! 
Inshore World Championships
ESPN Outdoors 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
For more tournament information see www.inshoreworldchampionships.com. 
 
Florida Keys News
 
Steve Huff, The Real Deal
Long time veteran Florida reporter Bill Sargent recently published a refreshing story in Florida Today "At a time when self-promotion seems to be the norm in the fishing sector, South Florida fly fishing guide Steve Huff is the exception. He doesn't advertise, he doesn't have a television show, cell phone, email or a Web site for that matter   Continue reading.
 
Bonefish Feature
As part of a state campaign "to elevate the awareness of bonefish as one of Florida's premiere game fish," the gray ghost will be featured both on the cover and in a feature article of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission fishing guide, to be released in July.
 
Congratulations to the Government of the Bahamas
The Government of the Bahamas has been under severe pressure from commercial netters to open their Bahamian waters for tuna net harvest. A plea from Bahamian, US and other nations' sport fishers convinced the government that the value of recreational angling and long term protection of tuna would provide much higher and longer term benefits to the people of the Bahamas.  The government has rejected the net requests.
Monthly Photo Contest

Just another pretty face!
 
Congratulations to Drew Klein of Islamorada & Colorado for winning February's Photo of the Month.  Drew will receive a $100.00 gift card from Florida Keys Outfitters.   

Give us your best shot for March'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.
 
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,