Weekly
Report:
This past week has been anything but slow. The weather has been blowing and the rain has been coming down. With all of this the fishing has been good but not great. This past week gave me the chance to run into some old friends as well as make some new ones.
My week started out on Wednesday doing some pre-fishing for the upcoming Boy Scouts Backbone Tournament. I ran from the Key Largo area across to Flamingo fishing my way across. With the wind blowing over twenty from the northeast I felt this would be a good time to go. After making my way west I was able to push my way up onto a small flat and before I was even ready I was seeing Redfish. After missing the first two that came by I was able to hook up with a nice 22-inch red. I felt that with pre-fishing I did not want to keep a fish this small. Next I broke out my fly rod and worked on getting a red on a spoon fly. With the wind blowing I had to stake out. It was not long before two redfish worked their way close enough for me to get a cast off. This redfish saw the fly and rushed over to it and jumped on the fly before I knew what had happened he was off and running, after a short fight I was able to land this nice 24-inch Redfish. I was able to release him to fight another day and go on with my pre-fishing. I saw enough reds to help me with the upcoming tournament. As the wind shifted east and picked up to well over twenty I knew this was going to be a long run home. The day ended well and I got home safe.
Thursday morning would find me doing some guiding out of Ocean Reef Club. With the Tournament on Friday the tournament committee ran a days fishing for all the press that was going to be there for the fishing over the weekend. I had the honor of guiding one of the most well know writers in the Florida Keys Dave Whitney. I meet up with Dave at around 7:30 am and we departed the dock at 8:00. After working our way north with the wind blowing and the rain coming down from time to time I wanted to be in a place that would give us the best shot at finding fish. It would not take more than thirty minutes before we were able to find a school of three large Bonefish working the edge of this flat. As Dave waited and the fish worked their was towards us, Dave did just what I told him to do and we were able to land, tag, and release a very nice nine pound Bonefish. I will be posting the pictures of his fish in the gallery over the next couple of days, so check it out. Thursday night would find me at the Ocean Reef Club attending the Captains meeting for the Boy Scouts Backbone Tournament. After meeting with everyone from the tournament committee I was able to run into some well-known fishing friends of mine. Stu Apte was there to fish with his good friend Capt. Rick Murphy. I was also able to run into Doug Hannon the bass professor and spend some time talking about fly-fishing and what we looked for in fly rods. This was a great day for all the people involved in raising money for the boy scouts of Florida.
Friday morning started early, after meeting up with Mike and Ernie Tiger we went over the day's stragedy. After the sounding of the pipes we were off to Flamingo for a day of fishing in the backcountry. With over an hour ride by truck and another forty minute run by boat we finally arrived at the fishing spot. All this time the rain was coming down and the wind was blowing out of the east. As the day went on we were able to catch one red and ten trout. This gave us the tie for fifth over all with six hundred points. All we had to do was work just as hard on Saturday and we could find ourselves in the top five on the final day.
Saturday would be the same for us we felt that we would have the best chance by running back to the same spots we had fished the day before. After getting to our spot we were surprised to find that things were not the same. With the shift in wind and a lot more water than the day before we were unable to find the fish in the same spot. After a long day of looking and running we were only able to produce two hundred more points. We felt that if everybody else had as hard of a day as we did maybe we could hold our spot in the top five. After returning to Ocean Reef and seeing the scoreboard we knew we might make it. Everyone I talk to had a hard day as well after all the point were up we were able to finish sixth over all not a bad way to finish.
We all felt that this was a great way to spend a couple of days fishing. If you are interested in fishing this tournament please let me know and I will get you in touch with the tournament director. I think this is one of the best tournaments held here in the South Florida area. It brings together a lot of people who what to raise money for kids, and have a great time fishing in the process. I would like to thank all the anglers as well as the guides for taking the time to get together and help the Boy Scouts of Florida. Tight lines and safe boating everyone.
Looking For The Ghost
Capt.
Eric P. VanDemark
