Got More To Show Ya!

We're breaking out some footage you haven't seen yet this season! This stuff is the stuff Mr. Producerman can't fit into an episode, but it's good stuff, so he puts it all together in the "Bits and Bites" episode each year. This episode you'll see me hooking into snook, redfish and fishing with another "first" on AF. First time in 15 years of shooting Addictive Fishing Television we've had a lady angler on the show. And, what a better way to do it than with Engel Pro and model, Miss Darcie . . . she's fishing with the Flats Pink rod, rigged with FINS Pink Windtamer and decked out in Pink to catch her first Mogan Redfish, ever.  

You'll get to see some footage of me fishing with Capt. Ed Zyak from Jensen Beach that you didn't get to see from the "Baitbuster Bridge" episode too. Fishing with Ed is always fun. He knows the fishery, knows DOA Lures and knows all things Humminbird / Minn Kota too. Never a doubt that I learn something when I fish with this guy!

If you saw last week's "Baitbuster Bridge" episode then you saw the snook both Capt. Greg Snyder and I caught, but there was a lot more footage to be seen. We'll get to show you some more in this week's episode. Tune in tomorrow, Friday, August 15th at 10:30 a.m. ET on Fox SunSports for this week's episode "Bits and Bites." Check the AF website for replay times on Sunday and Wednesday.

Been traveling a bit again lately, this time I'm on the West Coast of the U.S. - California. My wife, Cari is from Orange County and we're back to visit family and go to her high school reunion. I've fished out here a few years ago for Calico and Vermilion Snapper and had a blast. 

Trying to get some fishing in this trip between Angels Baseball games, reunions and family, but not sure I'll get to it. No worries, I'll be back in March for a tradeshow and to do some fishing then . . . and I've seen a lot of Skeeters out here too. Besides, when I come home to Florida I'm back on the water immediately shooting episodes up in the Carolinas so a break out here in California is just fine with me. 

Until next week . . . tight lines,
Blair

The Chokoloskee Kid

Just got back from the DOA Lures Writers Fest in Jensen Beach. Mark Nichols and DOA crew sure know how to put on a great time. Always fun to hang around River Palm Cottages, Mark Nichols and other fishing friends for a couple of days on the water. First day I fished with River Palm's very own Rufus Wakeman and we were catching some nice cobia and bonita. I had to get home though so I could get myself cleaned up, get the boat back and washed, and head over to Tampa today. We're shooting cool stuff for Star Tron and then some stuff for a special episode of never-been-seen-before footage that's coming up this season. 

This Saturday I'll be at Dick's Sporting Goods in Clermont, Florida (Sandhills Commons). They're opening a new store there and I'll be there to kick things off from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 28th. Can't wait to see y'all and answer any fishing questions, tackle questions or listen to your fish stories. Make sure if you've got a good fish story, you have a photo to show me. You know, show your Mogan! There are some cool summer deals going on this weekend at Dick's too. Buy one, get one 50% off on MirrOlure, and buy one get one FREE on Eagle Claw and Lazer Sharp terminal tackle. 

After that, we'll be heading out again on the water to shoot some more episodes. It's been fish, fish, fish for me lately and I love it! Hope y'all have been fishing a lot too. Whatcha been catching? Show your Mogan on Facebook, Google+ in the Mogan Lounge or Instagram.

Check out this week's episode, "Deadwood" where we're catching redfish and snook deep in the Everglades with the "Chokoloskee Kid" Capt. Brian Sanders. The area where he has us fishing was once devastated by hurricanes and all of the swamp trees have died there. The local captains call the area "Deadwood," and it's turned the area into an amazing fish habitat though so that's where we were fishing. Tune in tomorrow to see "Deadwood" (Friday, June 27th at 10:30 a.m. ET on Fox SunSports). Check the AF website for replay times on Sunday and Wednesday.

Until next week . . . tight lines,
Blair 

This ain't a spaghetti western folks!

Hey, I'm all for this "Throwback" photo sharing and every week I post one I say to myself, I can't believe I'm going to post this. I love seeing all my friends' photos and I'm not scared to share mine. Here's a beauty from 1987/1988 when I was still in the Air Force. I was stationed over in Germany and a few of my buddies and me went skiing in Austria. Skiing the Alps in shorts will certainly go down on my list of top memories, we lived on the edge back then. Don't think my knees could handle skiing these days, let alone the runs we did in the Alps. Oh, where have the years gone?! Enjoy this one folks!

Y'all have seen my new Skeeter boats on the show this year and I just wanted to take a moment to let you know how they've been working for me. I couldn't be happier with both the SX220 and the SX240. The Yamaha-owned boat company sure knows what they're doing and they make a fine product. From the dry ride, to the live well capacities, the reliability and all the extras, it's a sweet machine from bow to stern. Another new piece of equipment I'm running for the first time this season is the Atlas jack plate (by T-H Marine). It's quiet, smooth and gets my boats in and out of skinny water whenever and wherever I need to be to catch fish. I've always talked about the importance of having reliable equipment and a jackplate is an essential. The Atlas hydraulic jack plate raises my Yamaha engine with little effort and keeps me from ever leaving a prop scar on the fishery floor. Check 'em out . . . they make a lot of boat accessories that improve your boat's performance. 

So, are y'all ready for the next new episode? This week we're down in Chokoloskee with Capt. Brian Sanders. Some of y'all probably remember Capt. Brian, he's been on a couple of episodes in the past seasons. He's always a go-to and a phone call away. We know he'll put us on the fish and have a good time. Check out this week's episode, "Deadwood" where we're catching redfish and snook deep in the Everglades with the "Chokoloskee Kid" Capt. Brian Sanders. The area where he has us fishing was once devastated by hurricanes and all of the swamp trees have died there. The local captains call the area "Deadwood," and it's turned the area into an amazing fish habitat though so that's where we were fishing. When I hear the word Deadwood though, I think of those old spaghetti western movies with Clint Eastwood . . . not quite, but you'll have to watch this week's episode to see what I'm talking about.

Tune in tomorrow to see "Deadwood" (Friday, May 27th at 10:30 a.m. ET on Fox SunSports). Check the AF website for replay times on Sunday and Wednesday.

I'm over in Tampa Bay again with my crew, looking for Tarpon today. Hope to bring you a great tarpon fight on an upcoming episode. We'll see if the fish gods cooperate!

Until next week . . . tight lines,
Blair

Simpler Times

Here I am with my Granddaddy, Haywood Wiggins after a great day on the water catching redfish. Back then (I think I was probably 15 or 16 years old here), I brought home almost everything I caught so my mom could cook it up for the family to eat that night. We didn't let a thing go to waste and lived off of the simple things like freshly caught fish, vegetables grown in my Dad's garden, and sweet sun tea. Those were the days!!

Hey - I wanted to give a quick update on how me and my fishing partner Todd Royall did in last weekend's tournament. Remember I was up in Destin for the 9th Annual Old Nick's Redfish Roundup tournament? Well, me and Todd took 1st in the spots division. Pretty darn cool.

Had a great turnout for my seminar on Friday night and then the tournament hit an all time high record for attendance. I hope those numbers increase next year too . . . we'll definitely be back! Thanks to Nick's and to Legendary Marine for the invite.

We've been traveling a lot lately, shooting shows and fishing. Last week I got to do something we've never done on AF . . . fish and film on a Bass lake. That's right, I said it - B A S S fishing. We were in St. Cloud fishing with Skeeter Bass Pro, Chuck Pippin. It was a beautiful lake and we had a great time with Chuck, just a little tough bite though. We'll show a little of it in an episode later this season. I think I'll stick to saltwater, I think I've got a little of it running through my veins. Ha!

Now, I'm off again to the Everglades in pursuit of tarpon! How many of you remember Capt. Gary Thompson from season 6 in "Tarpon Time"? Check out the AF YouTube Channel to see what Gary had me catching back then. We're hoping for a Part two of that same experience. Haven't caught a tarpon yet this season, so fingers crossed, no bananas on the boat . . . here we go!

This week's episode is a little something special for our friends at Star Brite. Last season we went to the Dry Tortugas and Key West on the Star Brite (62' Viking) and caught some amazing fish. This year we were scheduled to go again and do something a little different, but they had to postpone due to a "family member" having surgery and treatment coming up. We decided to do a look back to that Key West trip, put in some footage you haven't seen and dedicate it to the speedy recovery of "Jake." 

We're cheering you on Jake and can't wait to see your tail waggin' again soon! Tune in tomorrow to see "Keys Chronicles" (Friday, May 23rd at 10:30 a.m. ET on Fox SunSports). Check the AF website for replay times on Sunday and Wednesday.  

I'm heading back out on the water for now!  

Until next week . . . tight lines,
Blair

Staying Cooler

The weather's still chilly in Florida, went fishing last week and the Pompano were just not biting, I'm tired of wearing shoes, and I'm ready for the thermometer to heat back up again.  The good news is when the Florida heat and humidity do return, I'm all set with keeping things cool on my boat. 

Engel sent us a pretty nice gift last month to kick the year off right . . . I think they've got us covered for every size and function that I can possibly think of. That nice big grey box up front is an fridge freezer powered by a cigarette lighter plug. That's what I'm most excited about! I can take it with me on long road trips, when I go hunting, store fish and game, and it's portable. The next cooler in the Engel line up that makes me happy is the BoomBox. That thing is actually the best stereo I think I've ever owned! It's got a JL Audio system in it and functions as a small cooler to keep a few beers (or your beverage of choice) cold while you crank up the tunes and tap your toes. It connects to the Bluetooth function on your phone and puts out killer crisp sound. I've always been impressed with Engel coolers, but now I'm simply blown away. You should check 'em out! 

Another thing to check out is the new AF website design. Mr. Producerman's been busy tweeking up the layout, adding more videos, after the fight webisodes, where to stay section, and book a fishing trip with AF guest guides, the schwag shop featuring Flats Blue fishing rods and more! Tell us what you think with the new Contact Form at the bottom of the page.

We're heading to Miami next month for the boat show . . . stop by the Skeeter Boats booth and see me, check out the new Saltwater SX series and register to win some seriously cool AF Sponsor Schwag! 

I mentioned it earlier that I was out fishing and the Pompano just weren't biting, right. Well, I forgot to mention that I was fishing with Capt. Mark Nichols, creator of DOA Lures. We were trying to film an episode of AF, and the fish just weren't cooperating. As always, we had a great time with Mark, and we'll be back for sure to finish what we started.

How can I resist River Palm Cottages' hospitality and fishing with Mark Nichols? Seriously, could you resist this? 

Until next week . . . tight lines,

Blair

Ahhhh . . . on the water!

I'm finally back on the water. The weather has given us a break here in Florida and today I'm fishing Cape Canaveral with one of my favorite McGills of Wright & McGill. I took my new Skeeter SX240 bay boat home from Miami and Drew McGill flew in last night just to spend some time fishing with me. There is no better excuse to dunk my new ride and test out everything on it. I need to show Drew just how much we appreciate everything his company and family have done for us and send him back to Denver with some Cobia, Triple Tail, flounder and whatever we manage to hook and can keep. This isn't just a mission to test the boat, this is a mission to get some sun, fill my Engel cooler and feed my family. Drew couldn't have picked a better couple of days to spend down here and get away from the winter weather he's got back home. This is a photo from 2006 when I was on a Wright & McGill photo shoot just at the beginning of working with them on my own signature series line of rods. Definitely a flashback for y'all.  

The Miami Boat Show went great. The Skeeter team really rolled out the red carpet for me and the AF crew. They had my new boat front and center, posters, give aways and it was a great way to kick off our 2014 season together. In fact, we shoot our next episode next week in the Tampa Bay area, then the traveling craze begins again. After Tampa Bay we're off to Panama City, Slidell, LA, Buras, LA, Ft. Myers and Bradenton just to kick things off. I'll keep you posted on the details of each stop, just giving you a quick run down for March. Thanks to everyone who came out to meet me last week in Miami. Loved seeing some familiar faces and always a pleasure meeting new ones.  

Skeeter, Minn Kota, Humminbird, Star Brite, and Eagle Claw/Trokar are all heading to the Bassmaster Classic in Birmingham, AL. We wish them all a great show and to all of our fellow team members and Pros fishing the Classic, we hope you do well! Oh, by the way. . . Minn Kota Talon is running a cool give away, check this out:  Enter to win a FREE Talon - "Like" the Minn Kota page on Facebook and click the LOCK DOWN A TALON TAB to enter.  That's it!    

I'm keeping it short this week because I've got to get these fish cleaned for my guest and for dinner.  Tune in this week to AF and catch the last airing of "One Hour Later" on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. ET (Sportsman Channel). We've got some killer kingfish 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 "Tortuga Bank."  Capt. Chris Trosset has me fishing off of a deep ledge on the back of the Star Brite 62' Viking for snapper and grouper. Boy were my arms tired! Remember, if you can't watch it on TV, you can always subscribe to the AF YouTube channel for full episodes anywhere / any time.

Until next week . . . tight lines,

Blair

Riggin' Up

I spent last week at a boat show in Orlando, next week I'll be in Miami for another boat show, hanging around boats and talking fishing. I'm itchin' to get on the water and leaning on a Skeeter gunnel at a tradeshow just isn't gonna cut it. Know what I mean? I'm at home now getting my rods, reels and tackle all rigged up and ready for that first cast. Once we get back from Miami it's "Camera! Lights! Action!" for me and the AF film crew. I am ready and now my gear is ready too. In the words of Mr. Producerman "let's go now!"  

Hey, but y'all make hanging out in the boat shows worth it. Seriously, I love hearing all the fish stories, seeing the pics on your smartphones and trading info. Come see me next weekend . . . I'll be hanging in the Skeeter/Yamaha booth for the Miami Boat Show February 13th - 16th. Skeeter, Addictive Fishing and all of our sponsors have put together some killer Prize Paks that we'll be giving away during the Miami Boat Show. Stop by the Skeeter booth to say "Hey" and to register for a chance to win a Minn Kota Talon, Humminbird Fishfinder, Flats Blue and Flats Pink Rods, Sabalos Reels, bucket of Star Brite boat cleaning products, Engel Cooler and much more! For even a little more torture for me to endure, my new Skeeter SX240 Bay boat will be there too.  I'm just going to have to be patient and enjoy hanging out on the boat even if it's not floating around stalking fish.  

This week's episodes on the Sportsman Channel are from our trip to Key West with the crew of the Star Brite. We had a 3 day adventure aboard the 62' Viking with Capt. Chris Trosset hooking into big beautiful fish. This episode is when I hook a black fin tuna on a fly rod. He takes me all the way around that boat . . . that's a 62 foot fight! Sunday is the last airing for "Catalina Blue" at 10 a.m. (ET), where I'm fishing with Eric Bent off of Catalina Island for Calico Bass. Then watch "Tuna Fly" on Monday at 9 a.m. (ET) and again on Tuesday at 2:30 a.m. (ET) I'm fishing off of Key West. Check it out! If you can't watching on TV, you can always subscribe to the AF YouTube channel for full episodes anywhere / any time.  

Until next week . . . tight lines,

Blair