I've just returned from a week of fly fishing with my buddy Brian Jill of Trout Bum Diaries fame down on his home waters around Clearwater, Florida.

The locals call them "pumpkinheads" or "snubbies", and according to the IGFA they're Snubnose Pompano, but those who have cast a crab fly to them on the flats will agree; they're definitely deserving of the Permit title.

The author with his first Permit or should we say Indo Pacific Permit

The River and Reef crew is just back from a whirlwind weekend trip to San Diego. The target: Mako Sharks

Mako shark chewing on the holy chum crate

Had a few of the guys wanting to see some pictures from my Tarpon trip in Islamorada this year. I will post a full report soon however this fish shown below is my personal best Tarpon on Fly. Measuring 74 inches from jaw to fork of tail and 38 inches in girth this fish calculates out to around 135 lb. It looked and felt much bigger! Full report here soon.

Hello to all,
Sometimes we may think that things don't go our way because we've been bad or are undeserving. Then just when it seems darkest someone turns on the light and we are redeemed. That's how this year's albie fishing has been.

Captain David Azar of One More Cast Charters in New York, NY brings us this report of tuna showing up inshore:

"I'm gonna make this quick...there are tuna in our inshore waters...skipjack and BLUEFIN, that's right I said BLUEFIN...AHI, SASHIMI, SUSHI!!!!"

(click here for the full report)

Just after setting the hook, my rod doubled over and I knew I was into something bigger than the black rockfish we had been catching. I didn't let the fish take any line, and soon the big lingcod appeared under the boat. It wasn't until we lifted the net out of the water that the big ling spit out the rockfish that had eaten my fly. Strange things can happen out at Neah Bay!

Thanks go out to Capt. Chris Bellows from Topwater Charters!


CLICK FOR THE BIG PICTURE

My good friend Rod M'Crae is just back from a trip North of the Canadian border. He has posted a couple of photos in gallery and there is a skeleton trip report on Dan Blantons site. You can check it out here Trip Reports and the photos are in the freshwater section.

Not every fishing trip can be legendary, and my last adventure in Baja certainly fell into the
mediocre category. Some cold weather moved in and fishing slowed just before I arrived. We did find a few fish, but in all but a few cases, I just couldn't connect with them. From the very beginning, missed connections would form a central theme on this trip.

Well what a huge 3 weeks of travel and adventure! The fishing was not as good as I have had but the friends and good times made up for that! I would like to thank a few folks whom made a great trip fantastic!!