Big Reds, Blue Marbles and Campin' out

This week, I've got another story for ya from our trip to Corpus Christi, Texas. Saturday we were there at DICK'S and a woman was looking for a new tackle set up.  She was tired of the bull reds breaking her rods at the Pier.  I showed her the strength of the Flats Blue rod, did my very own rod demo for her and she walked out to go fishing "cautiously optimistic".  We got back into DICK'S on Sunday morning, and the Lodge Manager there hands me a note with a photo on his phone.  The photo was this woman I had sold the rod to the day before, holding a 40 3/4" bull red. Here's the note she left at the store before I got there. Love stories like this . . . they make what I do even better!  

A couple of weekends ago I got to experience something awesome.  I got to see a hard-working awesome young man become an Eagle Scout.  I met Kenny years ago as a kid and he's grown up to be a fine young man. Kenny DiBiase of Scout Troop 101 in Sanibel, FL received his Eagle Scout badge on November 9th and I was there to see it, and to present him with the Blue Marble (from the Blue Marbles Project) for his outstanding environmental achievement. 

Kenny developed a program called Protect Our Waters because of his lifelong love of his home waters in Sanibel, and fishing, combined with is desire to help others and protect our fragile environment.  We have a lot in common, but I sure learned a lot from him.  This 17 year old sure has a bright future.  Nice work with the Protect Our Waters program Kenny and keep it up!   

Last weekend I came over to see some old friends, meet new fans and camp out for a night at Ft. DeSoto Park in St. Petersburg, Florida.  We had a little get together called - Mogan Maniac West Coast Campout.  It was a lot of fun catching fish, cutting up and telling stories around the campfire.  

There was a little camper there, her name was Lexi and she lit the place up! What a doll.  She is only 2 1/2 years old, but could hold a conversation with ya like she was 7.  She knew my name when I walked up and put a big smile on my face.  

Thanks to everyone who joined us.  A big shout out to Jody from Minnesota who drove his big rig down to meet me. His dad's a big fan, but for health reasons couldn't make it to see us.  Lounge Member Rich Leber took Jody out on his boat and hooked him into his first cobia.  He'll never forget it and we'll never forget how much fun it is to reminisce with our fans that have been around for so very long. Thank you!

I think I'm staying put for . . . oh, wait . . . nope, I'm heading back to Tampa Bay to shoot an episode on the water with Skeeter Pro, Capt. Chad Manning.  Then off to the woods for some hunting and then I'm home for Turkey Day.  Hope I wake up from that big meal because I'll be in 2 Dick's Sporting Goods stores on Black Friday to help y'all pick out the perfect Christmas fishing gift.  That's right, I will be in Clearwater and in Brandon at DICK'S on Black Friday.  I'll let you know which store at what time later, but if you're one of those shoppers that makes it out the day after Thanksgiving . . . I'll be there as your personal shopper with a big tackle sale!  

Until next week . . . tight lines,

Blair

Drum Solo

We're drummin’ on the West Coast this week with Capt. Billy Henderson. I had so much fun shooting this episode because Billy's one of my favorite people to fish with and Crystal River, Florida is such a beautiful fishery. Capt. Billy made his very first television debut on Addictive Fishing years ago when we just begun shooting the show. It's been so many years ago that I can't remember how we actually met? Billy, help me out here! Well, anywho, he called me up and said, “You’ve got to get up here, we’re catching

some big, fat black drum and it'll make for a great show.” So I called up Mr. Producerman and booked the shoot. We had fun, got some pretty cool lookin’ black drum to show you, and it was definitely good to catch up with Capt. Billy Henderson. Check out this week’s episode “Crystal Drum” on the Sportsman Channel, Monday at 9 a.m. (ET), Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. (PT) and Sunday at 10 a.m. (ET).

We just got done shooting our first episode for the 2014 season over in Cape Canaveral, and let me tell ya, it was nice to be back home on the Space Coast after being on the road for over a month. We gotterdun with Capt. Jim Ross. I got to get our Skeeter XS240 wet, fill up the live wells and put some fish slime on the deck. I'd say she's a fishin' machine for sure! Can't wait to see what Mr. Producerman does with this footage, but I'm sure it'll be good.

I'm enjoying the "throwback" photos on Facebook lately. The only thing I don't like is this getting older stuff. This one's from Mogan Mania in 2010 . . . it just doesn't seem like three years ago, feels like just yesterday. Time flies I guess, when you're having so much fun. Here's one of our dear friend and writer, Mark Bellotte (aka "Billbird"). He was a great fisherman, fun to be around and always knew how to put our crazy stories into a well written article. He is missed. 

I'm heading out to Texas to shoot a couple of episodes. We'll also be out there for the grand opening of a new Dick's Sporting Goods store in Corpus Christi. Come out and see me and the AF crew on Saturday, November 2nd and Sunday, November 3rd from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. both days. There'll be a lot of grand opening deals to be had, pick up a $10 off coupon from us and check out the new store at The Shops at La Palmera on South Staples Street. Hope to see y'all there!

Until next time . . . tight lines,

Blair 

Flounder, Cobia and Tripletail - oh my!

I still can't believe we're starting the 15th season of Addictive Fishing Television! Tomorrow marks 15 years of producing shows and I still get butterflies thinking about this week's premiere. Ha!  Tune in tomorrow for episode #1 of the 2014 season - "Canaveral Slam." We shot this episode in my backyard, on the Space Coast with Capt. Jim Ross. We knew we were going wreck fishing off of Cape Canaveral, but just weren't sure what we'd be hooking into, so we had to be prepared for anything. Good thing we were . . . we hooked into cobia, triple tail and some serious flatties - flounder. 

We had a blast and it was the first time we'd taken the new Skeeter tower boat out (SX240) and shot a show with it. The 240 rigged with the Humminbird 360 and Minn Kota iPilot Spot-Lock, sure put us in the perfect spot and held us there so we could hook one Mogan Flounder after another. I say it when I do my seminars and I say it again on the show, if you know you're going wreck fishin' make sure you're rigged and prepared for anything. Have a big stick (Flats Blue) rigged with heavy line (Seaguar/FINS), have some light tackle for those fun fights, back up rigs, hooks (Trokar), and lures (Mirrolure/DOA) so you are ready for anything. We didn't think we would see cobia since it was still technically winter, but one of my cameramen spotted a big manta ray off the side of the boat, and since we had the right rig ready, it was game on! 

Tune in tomorrow (Friday, April 4th) at 10:30 a.m., Sunday at 9:30 p.m. and Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. on Fox Sun Sports to see the start of Addictive Fishing's 2014 season - "Canaveral Slam." Set your DVR's if you can't tune in on time, or check back sometime next week online, Mr. Producerman will have the full length episode up on YouTube for y'all to watch soon!  

Click here for a preview of this week's episode:"Canaveral Slam" 

We're heading down South to the Everglades next week and then straight back up to the Panhandle to Destin the week after. It's that time of year again of towin' boats, riggin' lines and fishin' our butts off. I ain't complaining . . . oh no, it's my favorite time of year! 

In the words of Producerman, "Let's Go Now!!"

Until next week . . . tight lines,

Blair

Hogs in the fog!

I like this Throwback Thursday thing on Facebook. It gives me a chance to go through some old fishing photos and relive the great catches I've had in the past. Sometimes it's not just about what I'm catching, but what I've helped others catch. Here are a few from 2003 when I went snook fishing in Jensen Beach with my production crew and cousin. We were just out for fun one day and each one of us hooked up to a snook of a lifetime. The photo above is Mr. Producerman Kevin with his Mogan Snook. The next photo is Trice our Operations Manager with her impressive linesider. 

. . . and then my cousin Shane rockin' one for the photo album. The ride home that day was filled with lots of grins!  

Earlier this week we had a really small window of good weather over in the Tampa Bay area and Skeeter Pro Capt. Ryan Farner called to let us know he had a show idea for us - Hogfishin'. Now, I had never caught Hoggies on a hook before, I had only ever caught them spearfishing, so this was going to be a challenge but I was up for it. The only hesitation I had was we had to make sure we could catch 'em for the camera, and the pressure was on. You'll have to tune in to the episode when it airs this Spring, but let me tell you . . . I had a blast catching these crazy and beautiful looking fish. They sure are pretty (and pretty tasty). 

Hey Florida Panhandlers - we're coming back up and will be in Panama City Beach next weekend on Friday and Saturday (the 7th & 8th)!! I'll give you all the details on where to find us in next week's blog. My new Skeeter SX220 will be there for you to check out and Legendary Marine will be bringing out a new SX2250.  We'll be leaving right from Panama City on Saturday to head to Slidell, LA for some fun with y'all on Sunday, March 9th. After we spend the day with y'all on Sunday, me and the crew are heading to do some Louisiana fishing and shoot an episode for the new AF season. Going to be a long, but very fun trip. Hope to see y'all next weekend . . . I'll fill you in on the where/when soon! 

Tune in this week to AF and catch the last airing of "Tortuga Bank" on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. ET (Sportsman Channel). We've got some killer grouper and snapper action to show you from the Dry Tortugas. Then on Monday at 9:00 a.m. and again on Tuesday at 2:30 a.m. check out the "Bits & Bites" episode for footage you didn't get to see before, like blackfin tuna, grouper, redfish and tripletail. Don't forget, if you can't watch it on TV, you can always subscribe to the AF YouTube channel for full episodes anywhere / any time.

I've got to get the oil changed in my truck and get ready to hit the road again. Next stop, Panama City Beach! 

Until next week . . . tight lines,

Blair

That ain't 5 - 10 mph!

Here's a real old one for ya's for this Thursday's Throwback. How many of you remember when this episode hit television. How many of you remember that old AF logo and the old Sunshine Network logo? This one's from 2001. Seems like just yesterday we were shooting our first season of Addictive Fishing and I was sayin', "Now that's a black drum, baby!" Ahhh, that was fun. I love to catch those big ugly drum!

I'm a little tired of this weather. I'm starting to get a little cranky and so is my Producer and crew. I get it, at least the sun is shining and we're not digging out of snow banks like some of y'all in the country, but c'mon! The weatherman said after our latest rain and cold front that Wednesday was going to be beautiful with winds at 5-10 mph. Um . . . WRONG! We went out in Tampa Bay again to try to finish off a show we started a couple of weeks back with Capt. Chad Manning. That episode shoot got cut short because of the weather and so this trip we were thrilled to hear the forecast. We get out to where Capt. Chad's got us fishing in Tampa Bay, we catch bait, we get to our spot, lines in, cameras rolling, we're catching some nice slot redfish, and then at about 10:30 a.m. someone turned on the wind machine and it started blowing. We fished hard, stuck it out and got an episode, but let me tell ya, it was tough. Thanks for stickin' it out with us Capt. Chad! 

I headed over to Dick's Sporting Goods in Wesley Chapel today to shoot our "Rig it Right" segment and to get some shots for the new updated Dick's commercial spot. The folks at that store are always great to us . . . it's kind of our "homebase" when it comes to shooting what we need for the show. Thanks to everyone there and the the couple of shoppers who will have their first cameos on television. 

Don't forget to visit your nearest Dick's Sporting Goods store this week. They've got some sweet Saltwater deals going on until Saturday, March 22nd. Here's a few for ya:

I've gotta run to do some research and make some phone calls to see where the fish are biting and where our next shoot is going to be. Hope this wind stops blowing and the fish get ready to play! 

Until next week . . . tight lines,

Blair

This weather blows!

Here's a great time on the water from 2008 . . . sure can't wait to be holding one of these again for y'all on television - soon!!

So, the last time I left y'all we were heading to Panama City Beach and then on to Slidell, Louisiana for the grand opening of two Dick's Sporting Goods stores. We did that and had a great time meeting the folks of the Florida panhandle and Louisiana. There was a great turnout at both new stores and I have to admit, it was fun to see all the Flats Blue and Flats Pink rods walking around the store. Our plan was to then drive on to Buras, LA with the AF film crew to shoot some episodes, but a cold front and rain was blowin' straight toward us from Texas. So, we changed directions and headed back East to Jensen Beach to see if we could squeeze out at least one episode. NOPE! 

We dunked both Skeeter boats (the SX240 and SX220), got the film crew ready, had Capt. Mark Nichols and Capt. Ed Zyak of DOA Lures on board and nothing. I mean absolutely nothing. Mark hooked into a big jack, but other than that . . . zilch! Now, the wind's blowing and our next chance to get out and film is next week. Cross your fingers, pray to the fishing gods, and wish us luck!

In the meantime, you can come see me and the AF crew in North Ft. Myers on Saturday (March 15th) at the new Dick's store that just opened. We'll be there from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. kicking off their Spring Season with an in-store only promotion: buy a Flats Blue or Flats Pink rod, get a Sabalos reel FREE. 

We'll also be at the Bradenton store on Sunday (March 16th) from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. The buy a Flats Blue or Flats Pink rod / get a Sabalos reel FREE promotion starts on Sunday for the rest of the Florida Dick's stores and runs until Saturday, March 22nd, so don't miss your chance to pick up this Flats Blue/Pink combo for $99 ($89 if you come see me and get a $10 off coupon). Remember, every season starts at Dick's! (It's true.)

Right now I'm just focused on getting episodes shot and traveling to Dick's grand openings, other than that it's pretty quiet. We've had a tough start to the television shoot season, but we'll pull it out. I'm gonna make this week's blog short and get my fish mojo working again. Y'all have any superstitious routines or preparations you always do before fishing? I'd love to hear what works for you. 

Tune in this week to AF on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. ET (Sportsman Channel), Monday at 9:00 a.m. and again on Tuesday at 2:30 a.m. But remember, if you can't watch it on TV, you can always subscribe to the AF YouTube channel for full episodes anywhere / any time.

Hope this wind stops blowing and we get a break in the weather!!

Until next week . . . tight lines,
Blair