This is jack heaven!

Alright already! I will update my blog. I can't tell you the amount of emails I get from people wondering what I have been up to since I have not been updating this blog. For everyone that has been wondering where I have been, I have been fishing! This is my busy season and finding extra time to download photos, edit them and then try and come up with something creative to write about is hard to find. Trust me I am not complaining, I love it when I am busy, there is no other place I would rather be then on the water putting people on fish. I am going to keep this mostly to a photo posting since most of you don't read this anyway. A couple quick highlights from the last couple weeks and if I left you out I apologize, everyone I fish with is worth mentioning.

To start, I had another chance to fish with Michael Katz and his son Joey. Joey is 14 years old and is autistic. I think everyone should take a lesson from Joey. There is no one I fish with that can compare to Joey's attitude, not only does he get super excited about the fish that he catches, he is equally as happy and understanding when one gets away. We had a great day with big jacks and tunnies but, the most memorable part of the day was when Joey lost his tunny that we had worked so hard to catch and all he said was, "everyone has to have a story about the one that got away." That sums up Joey. Thanks for giving me the pleasure to share the boat with you guys.

I also had a chance to spend four full days fishing with Stefan and Silva Schuller. They came all the way from Germany just to fish for the giant jacks that we have off our coast. Stefan is one of the editors for Global Angler, a German magazine that covers fishing from around the world. Global Angler has been great to me, they have featured me in many articles and have published lots of my photos. I actually get a handful of clients from Germany and Austria because of the exposer they give me. Europeans are crazy about jacks and to sum up the trip I will leave you with the words I continually heard from Stefan, in his German accent. "This is jack heaven!"

I guess you get the idea, fishing has been pretty good lately.

Keep checking back and if nothing has changed that just means I'm fishing!

my guide service website http://stuartflyfishing.com/
my photography website http://pbase.com/stuartflyfishing

New found quest

I sent my buddy Rob all my photographs from yesterday and check out what he came up with! I told you the dude is creative.

Yesterday I set out on my charter like any other day. I was fishing with Alec Estes and his 10 year old son Thomas. We managed a few snook and jacks inside before we headed out of the inlet in search of giant jacks and whatever else might bless us with their presence. At first I must say I was a bit disappointed at the water clarity and the general color of the water. We have had a few days with some rough seas and that has a tendency to stir things up a bit but, other then the water clarity the beach was calm and I knew I should be able to find something. As I headed down the beach we did not see much of anything for the first few miles, then to add insult in injury a flats boat heading back to the inlet stopped and gave me the universal thumbs down sign and proceeded to tell me that nothing was on the surface and that everything was down deep. I didn't know who that was in the flats boat but it really didn't matter because I don't trust anyone's eyes but my own and after explaining that to my clients I pushed on. It could not have been more then a mile when I saw my first school of giant jacks, "you see what I mean?" I said to Alec. I had Thomas throw a topwater plug into the school and he instantly hooked up and after a few runs the jack had broke off, splitting my loop in half. So we relocated the school to give them another shot, this time we were denied and I had another boat sitting outside of me waiting their turn, I guess? Yeah right, let's get one thing straight, because I know some people that read this blog fish here, it is NOT okay to move into someone else's school unless you are invited in. It is just good etiquette. I should have a posting on just beach etiquette since we are getting into the season and every year it seems to be getting worse and worse. Okay, I am getting side tracked here, focus John.

Here is where the story get interesting, I know you were waiting for that. On my third attempt at the school I position the boat and wait for the school to come to me. This time I decide for whatever reason that I should get a pilchard ready, this is odd for me because I rarely throw bait at these guys but, I really wanted young Thomas to catch one. He was so excited to see the fish and had been a great sport all day. As the school got into range I saw a tarpon roll behind the school of jacks. I pitched the bait right in front of the jacks, handed Thomas the rod and explained to him that when I tell him to reel he needs to do so fast, we were using a circle hook. I saw the line jump so I knew the bait had been eaten but I could not tell by what? I told Thomas to start reeling and to be ready for the line to come tight. Once the line came tight the drag screamed and a 100 plus pound tarpon shot out of the water. Once again the fish gods were on my side. I must be living right, okay somewhat right! Thomas fought that tarpon very hard and did a great job before handing it off to his dad to end the fight. You see Thomas hooked it and fought it now he wanted to land it because his dad promised him a mount if they caught a tarpon. Alec, thinking it was early March probobly would have taken that bet anyday. If he had read my blog he would have seen that just last week we landed one, see it is good to actually read my blog not just look at the pictures. Either way they were both very excited, neither of them have ever even seen a tarpon before except on TV. Boy, if I had a dime for everytime I heard that.

During the fight I tried to do my best Pat Ford imaitation, in my opinion he has the best tarpon jumping shots around. As you can see by the pictures on this post I have a long way to go, however, considering the light I think I did okay. Here is where the new found quest comes in. I am now on a mission to get the perfect jumping tarpon picture. As I have written so many times before it is very hard to photograph while on a charter but, I think jumping tarpon shots are very doable. I have tried tarpon shots in years past but this is the first season that I have a camera with 6 frames per second and some more knowledge about photography. So stay posted and hopefully you will se the progress right here.

Oh yeah, we did land the tarpon. An estimated 125 pounds and yesterday afternoon I meet Alec and his son Thomas up at New Wave Taxidermy to order their new trophy. Check out the website for New Wave, they are by far the most talented artist around when it come to fiberglass fish mounts. How great is it that you can get a killer piece of art for your house or office and still let the fish swim free. As a matter of fact, I decided to order my 40 pound permit that I have been wanting for the last two years. I also went to Stuart Photo yesterday and bought an additional battery grip for my D300 and now I have 9 frames per second. Pat better watch out, yeah right, remember I am just a guide with a camera and a computer. I am fishing with Pat the morning of the film tour so you can bet I will be picking his brain on tarpon photography.

Between all these photos and now the mount being made this could be the most popular tarpon I have ever had a client catch.

my guide service website http://stuartflyfishing.com/
my photography website http://pbase.com/stuartflyfishing

Fly Fishing Film Tour- Limited Edition event t-shirt from Bug Slinger

My buddy Rob McAbee http://bugslinger.com/ always amazes me with his creativity. A while back he told me he was thinking of designing a shirt just for our event in Stuart. My first thought was how cool can you make a shirt for a film festival? As you can see by the picture these shirts are awesome and better yet he is going to sell them for just $20. These shirts are 100% ring spun cotton and are very comfortable. They are a limited edition shirt with only 48 for sale, so get there early and get your shirt before they run out. The design was so good that we printed local posters for the event with his design. Just a reminder doors open at 6:00pm and the show starts at 7:00pm, ticket sales have been very strong so far so if you don't have your ticket get it now. The whole theatre is reserved seating. See you April 3rd at the Lyric Theatre

my guide service website http://stuartflyfishing.com/
my photography website http://pbase.com/stuartflyfishing

big game beware!

Spring has arrived and summer is knocking at the proverbial door and I couldn't be more excited. I love this time of the year, giant jacks, cobia, permit, tarpon, need I say more? To make it even better, this is just the beginning of the excitement, there will be months worth of great fishing ahead. Even though Florida is not as cold and dreary as most parts of the country we still get the winter time blues. You have heard me report over the last few months that the fishing is fun and we are catching trout, ladyfish, pompano, some snook and redfish but, it is now time to take your medication. This time of the year is not for the faint of heart, big nasty flies, big rods and the need for a reel with a good drag system.

My new Hatch 12 plus and my tarpon fly.

A month or so ago I was invited to be part of the Hatch fly reels pro staff and without hesitation I jumped on board. I must admit my decision would have been different just a few months earlier. I thought I was "in the know" when it came to anything in the fly fishing industry but man was I wrong. Apparently I have been spending way to much time on the water. You see just a few months ago I had not even heard of a Hatch reel, until my good friend Rob brought one down with him in late January. He had explained to me that they are the newest, greatest thing since sliced bread, and like anyone that hears such high praise of something I was skeptical but yet very curious. At first glance I was very impressed but like so many things in life you can't judge a book by its cover. The next morning Rob and I went out and we had his Hatch reel mounted on a 12 weight ready to go. I thought, "hopefully I can find something that will put this reel to the test!", well it wasn't too long before we found a nice school of tarpon and Rob was hooked up. The reel worked flawlessly even though the fish threw the fly on the second jump. The next day a cold front blew in and that was the end of the fishing, so Rob left the reel behind for me to use. For the next few weeks we were hit with front after front and I had no real opportunity to put this reel to the test. I would fiddle with it in the house and every time I was amazed at how strong the drag could be set but again I thought, "a lot of reels can be set with a heavy drag in the living room, how will it react when it has been heated up by a fish after a 20 minute fight?". Finally, some nice weather hit and I had my morning to hook up with some giant jacks. Wow! this reel rocks was my first response after landing a 28 pound jack. Okay, I'm sold, I have to get my hands on some of these reels. My buddy Rob shared my response with the owner of Hatch and the rest is history. I am now the newest member of the Hatch prostaff and I could not be happier with my decision. Hatch has been making reels for 4 years now and I just wish I hadn't been living under a rock all this time. Take the time to check them out I know you too will be as impressed as I am.

Here is a quick side note. I did not get into the details of their enclosed drag system, which in my opinion make this such a superior reel. For details contact John at Hatch 877-634-4343 or check out their website at http://hatchoutdoors.com/ he can explain it for better then me. I just know I can kick a fish's ass with it.

If the link above does not work it is because you are trying to view it in Internet Explorer, and they are trying to fix the problem. Here is an alternative link that will get you in on another page. http://hatchoutdoors.com/2008/pages/9plus.html

This tarpon was landed, I had to put down the camera to grab the fish.

Thanks again for every one's support. The blog is getting almost 100 hits a day and the ticket sales for the fly fishing film tour are looking like we might be heading towards a sell out. I have not done a fishing report lately but I will keep it simple it has been good! I will let some of the photos speak for themselves.

my guide service website http://stuartflyfishing.com/
my photography website http://pbase.com/stuartflyfishing

Tickets go on sale today!

Today at noon the tickets should be ready for purchase at the Lyric Theatre Box office 772-286-7827 or online at http://lyrictheatre.com/ The show is April 3rd, doors open at 6:00pm and the show starts at 7:00pm. Tickets are $22. There will also be a bar available at the Lyric Theatre, drinks are not included in the ticket price. However, giveaways are included, your ticket stub will act as a raffle ticket for many giveaways like; hats, shirts, fly lines, flies, fly boxes, artwork, and I know of at least one fly rod being given away by Crowder Rods. I will remind everyone that this venue is reserved seating so get your tickets now to assure the best seat. Myself and Mike Holiday are hosting this event and I know I can speak for both of us when I say, thanks for your support and we can't wait to meet everyone at the event. Sorry for the short post but I am on my way out the door for my charter and I just wanted to post it here first.
John
ps. It is damn cold here this morning!


my guide service website http://stuartflyfishing.com/
my photography website http://pbase.com/stuartflyfishing

Time to knock the dust off!

It is time to start knocking the dust off those 12 weights, spring is knocking at the door and I am certainly going to let her in! Spring brings in the big jacks, permit, cobia, tarpon, and other critters that require heavy rods so get them ready.

Kathryn with her second big jack of the morning.


I just got my new Crowder Rods 10 weight and that rod is a rocket, I am extremely happy with the way Rob's new rods came out. I like to think I played a small role in helping him choose the taper and I think we hit it right on the money. He is also working on an 8 foot, 10/11 weight that is designed for fighting big fish and throwing big flies. I have a 12 weight being built right now and it looks like I might need it sooner then later. I will have a post dedicated to these new rods soon.

Here is her first one.


For many of you that have been fishing with me over the last ten years you have witnessed these big jacks before but, for those of you that have not fished with me there is no way pictures will ever justify what you see in person. I did my best to capture the excitment and the relentlessness of these fish. Yesterday and today I was on massive schools of the giant jacks and after wearing my clients out on these monsters they just wanted to throw the teaser plug, which gave me a chance to take pictures:) I have so many shots of these fish chasing the plug that I was not sure which ones to post so I picked about 10 of my favorites. I still have plenty of days open this spring, so book a day and experience this yourself!

Al with his monster, this was his first and the biggest 35 pounds on the boga!


Here are various shots of the jacks chasing the teaser.

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a final chapter and the start of a new one

The end of another good year!

Okay, the fly contest is obviously a success and I can't thank everyone enough for their participation, but I must post something about fishing every now and again. I thought I would share some stories and photographs from the last week of 2008 and the first week of 2009.

Life is good for Chuck

The fishing here in the winter is not glamorous but it is full of action and that is exactly what I had the final week of the year. Trout on the grass flats were as abundant as they get although not many large ones were caught, again loads of fun. It is amazing how hard a small trout can hit, they sure don't fight hard but the first punch sure is solid. On the sand flats, jigs and small flies produced ladyfish by the boat load and some pompano. Finally the beaches, where you can run over schools of mackerel and bluefish for miles, literally! The mackerel can be tough to get off the bottom some days but for the most part they are very cooperative, and the bluefish are always on the feed no matter what you throw in. I guess it would be unfair to say that we do not catch any quote, unquote glamorous fish because you can still catch plenty of snook in the winter and redfish. I apologize for the lack of ladyfish, mackerel, bluefish, etc. pictures but it is a messy job and there is no way I am going to grab my camera. Not to mention by the time I release one there usually is another one ready to be landed!

Doug Seaman and his son Will

I was fortunate enough to start 2009 with back to back redfish trips. One was with Gary Smith of Michigan, he has been fishing with me for the last 8 or 9 years and we have started the year together the last six. However, one thing was different this year, Gary did not have to rush back to see the University of Michigan football game. Sorry Gary I had to take that jab! On a serious note, Gary has fished all over the world and has fished for redfish all over the country so he is good at reading fish and making the right cast. This year Gary landed four redfish on fly, all on Borski sliders, and I believe we had six eat. Thanks Gary for another great start to the new year.

My blue tribute in honor of Gary's football team

Blue sky

redfish's blue tail

Borski slider and Gary's blue Tibor


My second day of redfishing was with Todd Austof. Todd is a very special client of mine, you see he is the guy that lets me use his Maverick HPX so I can do these trips. Todd is also from Michigan but his Michigan team did have a New Years game, I'll let you figure that one out. I could only think of one way to properly thank Todd for the use of his skiff and that was to put him on his first ever redfish! Mission was accomplished, Todd laid a nice cast into a school of about 20 redfish and one found his Borski slider a bit appetizing. Todd, thanks obviously for the use of the boat, but more for sharing that moment with me. I look forward to doing it again someday soon.

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