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Florida guides, anglers block made-for-TV tarpon tournament

How a joint effort by Florida guides, anglers, and conservation organizations stopped a proposed tarpon tournament series
Photo: Dr. Aaron Adams.

The fishing and guiding community in South Florida banded together earlier this year to help put a stop to three proposed tarpon-fishing tournaments that would have operated under the auspices of the Sport Fishing Championship (SFC) series. According to guides and captains, the proposed tarpon series just isn’t the right fit for South Florida — and it may never be welcomed to the area.

Gear we love right now: May 2023

What's working on and off the water, right now
Photo: Farbank Enterprises.

Fly anglers are overloaded with gear choices—rods, reels, boots, waders, lines, packs, bags, boxes, vests, apparel and more. It seems harder and harder to know what's worth coveting and what's worth ignoring. Gear reviews are a great way to explore in-depth what might be right for you, but not every piece of gear is suited to a full-length review and, even if it were, there's simply too much of it to get to. With that in mind, we periodically showcase what's working for us right now, to hopefully offer more helpful feedback on gear that's worth a second look.

Simple nymphing: Part 2

Getting the drift
Photo: Todd Tanner

In Simple Nymphing: Part 1, I focused on several basic nymph fishing truths and then delved into the easiest and most effective way to set up a nymphing rig. To summarize those truths:

First, you need to present appropriate flies to a trout, or to likely looking water, at the right depth, and without drag or unnatural movement.

Then you need to detect the strike and set the hook before the fish expels your nymph.

That’s nymphing in a nutshell. We can make it far more complicated, of course, but there’s really no reason to add additional levels of complexity unless we’re looking for a challenge or we’re drawn to complexity for its own sake.

The Yucatan's best-kept secret?

Fly fishing Mexico's Chetumal Bay
Guide karma has its benefits (photo: Xflats).

It was a good idea. Or so we thought.

After a day spent chasing bones and tarpon on the flats of Chetumal Bay, instead of heading back to the lodge, Earl and I asked our guide, Alejandro, to drop us on the beach in Xcalak, a modest little Yucatan fishing village that fronts the Caribbean just north of the border with Belize.

It was somewhat of an usual request, but our plan to wander the friendly little community, find a cold cerveza and maybe a couple plates of tacos pescados to share was enough to entice

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