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

Chummin' with my Buddy

I just saw someone post a Pet TBT photo on Facebook and I think I really like that idea a lot better than looking at my face from years ago. Here's one of my little guy Buddy. He was just a pup here, now he's going on 5 years old. This kid makes me laugh and is one of the fastest dogs I've ever met. How many of y'all out there have some throwbacks of your pups? 

I'm fishing with an old friend of mine from Tampa in this week's episode, Capt. Chad Manning. Capt. Chad called and said he was on some snook, as long as we threw live bait, we'd get an episode. So I rigged my Flats Blue rods up, put on some fresh Seaguar leader (y'all who have fished snook a lot know that they can sure beat up your leader), and a new spool of FINS XS (8 strand extra smooth and strong). I also made sure I had plenty of Trokar hooks too.

Now I had thrown chum before, sometimes it's necessary, but I don't think I've ever seen THIS much chum thrown at one time. My producer gave him the alias "Chumley Mandingo" after about the 40th swing of the chum bat (not 40, just kidding). Capt. Chad is a good captain, I highly recommend him, he will put ya on the fish. He put me in the right spots, and I get to show you some sweet Tampa Bay snook in tomorrow's episode "Tampa Chums" (Friday, May 16th at 10:30 a.m. ET on Fox SunSports). Check the AF website for replay times on Sunday and Wednesday.  Watch preview now

I'm heading up to Destin again, but this time without the cameras and my crew.  I'm still going fishin' though. I'm fishing the 9th Annual Old Nick's Redfish Roundup on Saturday, May 17th - (Click here for video and details).  My friends and Skeeter dealer, Legendary Marine invited me to fish the tournament and speak on Friday, May 16th for the "Fishing Like a Pro" seminar. Here's the info you need:

  
Join us and have some fun with some of the nicest folks you'll ever meet. The food is always tasty, drinks are cold and the fishing should be a lot of fun. Even if you can't make it . . . have a great weekend. 

Until next week . . . tight lines,
Blair

The Legend of Chumley Mandingo

Fishing with an old friend of mine from Tampa in this week's episode, Capt. Chad Manning. We had this shoot scheduled since the signing on with Skeeter Boats was official (Chad's a Skeeter Captain), and we were gonna getterdun no matter what.  Capt. Chad called and said he was on some snook, as long as we threw live bait, we'd get an episode. So I rigged my Flats Blue rods up, put on some fresh Seaguar leader (y'all who have fished snook a lot know that they can sure beat up your leader), and a new spool of FINS XS (8 strand extra smooth and strong). I also made sure I had plenty of Trokar hooks too.

Now I had thrown chum before, sometimes it's necessary, but I don't think I've ever seen THIS much chum thrown at one time. My producer gave him the alias "Chumley Mandingo" after about the 40th swing of the chum bat (not 40, just kidding). Capt. Chad is a good captain, I highly recommend him, he will put ya on the fish. He put me in the right spots, and I get to show you some sweet Tampa Bay snook in tomorrow's episode "Tampa Chums" (Friday, April 18th at 10:30 a.m. ET on Fox SunSports). Check the AF website for replay times on Sunday and Wednesday.  Watch preview now

Me and the AF crew are up in Destin this week shooting episodes and I'll be fishing a cobia tournament over the weekend with some fine folks from Skeeter dealer, Legendary Marine. The weather has once again been a challenge and morale is getting low, we need to catch a break from Mother Nature, please. We're staying in one of my favorite places while here in Destin, the Emerald Grande and if anything helps sooth our weary fishin' bones, it's a sweet place like this.

Tampa Bay, get ready for the Grand Opening of the newest Dick's Sporting Goods store!! The new store opens up next weekend at the Westshore Mall. Me and the AF crew will be there on Saturday, April 26th and Sunday, April 27th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Come by for all the sweet deals on tackle, get signed up and entered to win a FREE Minn Kota trolling motor, Talon shallow water anchor or a pair of Costa sunglasses, sit in on my seminars, Calusa cast net demos with local captain, Chris Camps, and meet Skeeter Pros Captains Ryan Farner and Chad Manning from recent Tampa Bay episodes of AF. I'm super excited about the weekend event coming up, it's always a good time in Tampa.

Hey, 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