I’ve been busy fishin’ for the last 14 years, filming episodes of AF, seeing y’all at Dick’s stores, boat shows, and at the boat ramp . . . it’s time I stepped up to the plate and gave you my take on things. When Catfish Whatley asked me if I’d like to say something to y’all about the upcoming new season I said, sure. Then I got to thinkin’ . . . I’ve got a lot to say, so here it goes.
First off, we filmed episode #1 of this season with a kid (I call him a kid, but he’s all grown now) I met 11 years ago when I was still guiding in Mosquito Lagoon. Tyler’s originally from Texas and moved down to Florida with his Mom when he was 13 years old. His Mom knew he was a huge fan of the show so she called me to ask about taking him on a trip as a Christmas present for him, so I did. I asked Tyler “Do you remember if we caught anything that day?” He said “Nope.” Ha! It was a really windy day (much like the day we were filming) and the fish just weren’t biting. He still says it was a trip of a lifetime and he never forgot it. Years later, Capt. Tyler Vollmer has his own charter business and he’s poling me around on this week’s episode – “The Goon Squad.” We were throwing Mogan Series Mirrolures and I hooked into some seriously big Mosquito Lagoon trout, my favorite targeted species. Don’t miss the season opener this week – which airs this Friday, April 5that 10:30 a.m. on Fox Sun Sports (check the AF calendar for replays). Click HERE and check out a preview of this week’s episode.
I’ll be in N. Jacksonville this weekend at Dick’s Sporting Goods – Parkway Shops. There’s a new store opening and that now makes 3 stores for y’all up there in the Jacksonville area. Come on out and keep us company, I’ll show you what’s new, like the Gen2 Flats Blue rods, and you can show me your fish pics on your phone . . . love to hear the fish stories.
After that, since I’m already in North Florida, I’m going to head on up to my hunting lease in Georgia to move some stuff around and get ready for this year’s hunting season. Then it’s back to the water to film more episodes of AF. Speaking of new episodes, coming up we’ve got a shoot scheduled to show y’all the new Humminbird 360, can’t wait for you guys to see how this technology works . . . it’s cool beans!
I was recently out on a simple mission with our cameraman Adam shooting web videos off of Port Canaveral in the Space Coast, and the triple tail bite was on fire. A few cobia were starting to show up too, so that means spring is right around the corner. Patrice (our COO) called me yesterday to thank me and tell me how delicious the triple tail fillets were that I sent home . . . she said there’s now a new company rule, “if you keep fish on a show, you have to share half with me!”
Checkin’ out the Mogan Lounge on Google+ looking for the fish of the week and had a hard time deciding. Its killer seeing all the pics and fish stories . . . love to see y’all out there on the water having a good time. I had to go with Scott Honour holding up two Mogan Flatties caught while reef fishing off of Ponce Inlet. Nice work there Scott! That’s an episode we’ve wanted to shoot for some time now off Port Canaveral – catching BIG flounder and red snapper in the same spot. Who knows, stay tuned!
Until next week . . . tight lines!
Capt. Blair Wiggins