Drake Magazine Video Awards: Connected Rocks The House!

Posted under fly fishing news by Will Benson

First off, let me begin by thanking Tom Bie for putting on a terrific show at a colorful venue.  I was reminded of my college days in New Orleans when we first stepped into Cervantes Ball Room, which is more like a bar room with a big disco ball in the center.  Awesome spot considering the underground nature of all things Drake!  Beer was being thrown around, guys and girls were talking fishing and everybody was wondering what all the usual suspects had in store for the crowd.  Of course, the show started late.  Thankfully the Tom was able to quell the masses by giving away free beer and pizza until all the technical issues were sorted out and the lights dimmed.  Then….pure fishing porn!  Lots of trout, and salmon, a few bonefish “action rod-set ” hookups from some dudes down-under, 1 carp, BASS, one enormous Louisiana redfish caught with Capt. Brian Carter, Frank Smethurst and a helicopter, a couple of tarpon and of course Dave’s last PERMIT!    All in all, the bar was raised significantly.  WorldANGLING was very warmly received with cheers and laughter.  Congrats to all the film makers for their incredible effort in putting these films together for the hungry fly fishing mob that call itself Drake.  The winners were Roll Cast Productions for best conservation piece, RA Beattie, for best humor, WorldANGLING for best fishing, and Felt Soul for best story line and best overall!

Hurricane Ike Cancels Redbone SLAM: New Dates Announced

Posted under fly fishing news by Will Benson

Gary Ellis and the Crew of ESPN outdoors were forced to cancel the 2-day flats fishing event earlier this month as Hurricane Ike threatened the Florida Keys.  ESPN officially announced its partnership with Redbone.org for the launch of the new ESPN Outdoors Saltwater Series at the ICAST show in Las Vegas in July.  The SLAM event will debut the 2009 television series.  The SLAM and at least five other Redbone-sponsored events will be featured on ESPN2, and the series will also appear on other multimedia platforms including a new annual magazine.
Gary called me this morning and let me know that the makeup dates are the weekend of October 18-19.  He encouraged me to let people know if they are interested in fishing in the event they could contact Redbone at 305-664-2002.  The SLAM is a spin and fly tournament that targets Tarpon, Bonefish and Permit.  The Tournament is convened at the Conch Farm, and hosted by the Westin on the waterfront in Key West.  An opportunity for the anglers is that many very good guides are open for the event, as their regular anglers are unable to attend.  And for the guides, this is a great opportunity to contribute to the cause of Redbone as well as the coverage by ESPN.  Hope to see you there.   

Hurricane Gustav Hits West Of New Orleans: Fly Fishing Will Get Good

Posted under fly fishing news by Will Benson

At 5:00pm last night I spoke with Capt. Gregg Arnold who lives in Uptown New Orleans.  He told me that he had sent his wife Nancy out of the city, secured his Hell’s Bay skiff and planned on staying at home.  He told me the City was silent, and only a handful of his neighbors remained behind.  Fortunately for those who live New Orleans it appears that the levees will hold, and thanks to local government efforts, most citizens have evacuated the area.  Hurricane Gustav officially made landfall at 10:30am in Cocodrie, La.  Unfortunately it looks as though Terrabone Bay, Port Fourchon, Grand Isle and north to Houma, Morgan City and Lafayette will be taking the brunt of the storm.  The question is, what will happen to the fishing? Well, It will depend entirely on how much erosion occurs.  Because the storm is moving relatively fast, and it’s occurring during the incoming tide, the surge will be fast and high.  This might actually help to protect the marsh.  The grasses will be underwater quickly which may make them a bit less susceptible to prolonged wave action. Hopefully, all of this happens very quickly to minimize the damage.  The fishing grounds of Cocodrie to Venice including all of Barataria Bay will be most effected by the Storm.  I know Brian Carter, my old boss at the Uptown Angler, Rich Waldner and Kirby LaCour who all fish these waters.  I wish them the best in getting back on the water and on with life after this storm.  Other areas such as the Biloxi Marsh may be less effected.  Although the storm is not a good thing at all, I bet that in the immediate aftermath the fishing will be great!  There will be significant saltwater intrusion which is terrible for the fresh water bass fishing, but I have a feeling that the redfishing is going to explode.  Assuming that the city of New Orleans survives somewhat unscathed and tourism can return as normal, the fishing should get really good.  And the guides will certainly be appreciative of the business.  There will certainly be destruction to the west of New Orleans, we can only hope it’s minimal compared to Katrina.  We will keep you posted with a fishing report just as soon as we dodge this next one… Hanna.  

Things To Do In Key West: Toast-O-Matic Brings Down The House!  

Posted under fly fishing news by Will Benson

“Reginald…They told me you were dead!”  Said the mother of the 1/2 dead redneck metro zombie in the opening line of Jolly Benson’s outrageous new comedy, Toast-o-matic.  The Studios of Key West second annual One Night Stand kicked off last Saturday night with a packed house.  Conceived by local artists, this event is a creative and collaborative project that pairs writers with actors, directors and set designers and gives them only 24 hours to produce and preform a short play.  Each team is required to use the same opening line, the same closing line, as well as a common prop.  Everything in between is completely original.  Five plays were preformed by some of Key West’s most notorious stage talent, but in the end no one could deny the gut wrenching humor of zombies, rocking trailers and white trash!  Written by World Angling’s Jolly Benson and Nick Vagnoni, directed by Chris Schultz, set design my Mike Hawkins and starring Quincy Perkins, Shawna Wynd, Mark Crow and Robin Deck, Toast-o-matic brought down the house with it’s unintellectual, raw humor.  Using the common prop, a bag of Atochan gold coins, as a means to cheat death, the zombie hero saves the day as the play’s climax ends in a pool of redneck love electrified!  Sponsored by Bender & Associates, Toast-o-matic will hopefully be preformed this fall as a short at the Red Barn Theatre here in Key West.  People were coming up to me after the play just to say “Will, your brother is one funny dude” and “I laughed so hard I almost cried.”  I couldn’t agree more as I was cheering him on while he and his team won 1st place in all the categories.  I know my bro has talent, and you won’t believe me until you see it, but Toast-o-matic is one funny play and the ending certainly ” isn’t what I had in mind.” 

Del Brown Permit Tournament Key West: 3 days, 3 fish

Posted under fly fishing news by Will Benson

Wow!  What a humbling experience the Del brown Permit Tournament was this year.  Especially after the last several weeks which were terrific.  I felt really confident about our chances this year.  But, that’s the thing about Permit.  Just when you think you’ve cracked the code and feel comfortable with catching them, they prove why they are rightfully the most difficult fish in the world.  The fishing was downright frustrating!  Either there were no fish to be found, or the fish that were there wouldn’t show themselves.  It was miserable.  A total mind fuck!  The first day saw the entire field of anglers fishless as gray weather, rain showers and lightning made it nearly impossible to get a shot.  But we did see some fish.  Day 2 was slick calm with blue hazy skies.  Not great conditions but certainly better than the day before.  There just weren’t any fish. By the end of day 2 Capt Scott Collins and angler Greg Smith had caught one, and Capt. Bryan Holeman and angler Chase Wise put up a slightly smaller fish as well. The rest of the field NOTHING!  Day 3 was again slick calm with clear skies.  Again even fewer fish than the day before.  Only Capt Jeffrey Cardenas and angler Jack Knoll managed a fish.  Only 3 fish were caught during the entire event despite relatively decent weather and tides.  It sounded like everyone had a story about the one that never came tight, and about the numbers of fish sliding and floating around, but not eating.  A three-way tie was decided by length of fish.  Here are the final results.
1st: Capt. Scott Collins            Angler: Greg Smith

2nd: Capt. Jeffery Cardenas     Angler: Jack Knoll

3rd: Capt. Bryan Holeman        Angler: Chase Wise

Congrats to all that fished it and managed to catch a fish, but big props to our boy Bryan and his secret spot that as of last week most of us thought was bullshit.