Captain Kevin Mihailoff specializes in backcountry fly fishing and light tackle fishing for snook, tarpon, and redfish in pristine Everglades National Park. Kevin grew up fishing Southwest Florida, allowing him to understand the complicated landscape, myriad of factors that influence fish movements and patterns and the art of guiding world class game fish in shallow water. Kevin has a reputation of going way out of his way to get to…

The Florida Keys are a geographical and metaphysical escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  Many stories, songs and films have attempted to capture the essence of the Florida Keys but nothing quite does it justice.  You have to experience it for yourself.  You have to physically relocate, adjust your mind, and let go in order to truly understand the soul of our Island life.  You have to…

There are two types of guides; those who do it for a paycheck and those that do it for passion. In the grind that is the professional guide’s season, it’s sometimes hard to draw a distinction between the two. Long days, wind, weather, fussy fish and relentless 4am alarm clocks, are the norm. As an angler you hope that when the odds are challenging, the conditions tough or the fish…

If you were to draw an analogy about captains some would be a good story (think The Odyssey, or Old Man & The Sea), others would be a comedy or redneck reality show, others perhaps a bad horror flick!  And then there is the exception— a text who's essence is pure knowledge — the encyclopedia! A captain full of facts and data, and presented in a easy to understand unassuming…

When aboard Captain Bill's meticulously kept technical sports fishing vessel you become aware that you are in " The presence of greatness!"   You are aware because he will tell you right away.  After more then 15 years of guiding and professional tournament fishing, Capt. Bill Faulkner has become one of the most recognizable personalities in the sportfishing industry.  Even if you've never seen his face before you will still…

It's a rare breed of guide that can lead you to monster tailing permit by day, weld your broken aluminum gas tank by night, and all the while, discuss the impacts of the thermohaline circulation on the North American energy equation, as well as, the spawning habits of the permit you just missed.  Mike Gorton is a post-renaissance guide.  One who can quote Nietzsche, adjust the amperage of a mig…

People born in Key West are called "Conchs." Originally, the term referred to Bahamians who fled the crown soil during the American revolution and immigrated to Key West in the mid 1800s.  These days, the tradition is carried on by placing a conch shell outside the front door or on a post in the yard to signal the birth of a new baby.  The Cyr family has been putting Conch…

Often times you wonder why someone with obvious talent, enthusiasm, and wit becomes a fishing guide.  Well, it isn't for the money!  It's for the love of the sport, the art of guiding and the joy in sharing with others a passion for the outdoors.  Captain Shane Smith is the poster child for the reformed materialist turned trout bum, turned dedicated saltwater guide.  After a front-on collision with reality, Shane…

Greg Arnold is the proverbial Godfather of the bayou.  From his home in uptown New Orleans he presides over hundreds of square miles of marsh from Cocodrie to Venice to St. Benard.  Zipping through metropolitan traffic with his Chittum Skiff  in tow, he knows all the best redfish flats, Nawlin's eateries, and shortcuts to get to them.  Greg began fishing with his great uncle who ran a state lake in…

When a guide is fishy you know it right away. It could be that they smell like fish or kind of act like fish or it can be the way they drive their boat and always seem to be in the right spot at the right time. They are sneaky and focused, and could have probably had a career in the CIA if they didn't care so much about fish.…

Forged in the fires of patience and understanding, Captain Mitchell Dugger's philosophy is simple, better teaching creates better anglers. He strongly believes that the guide/client relationship can be more important than the fishing itself. Through years of casting instruction and a jovial yet firm teaching style, Captain Dugger's goal is to help anglers truly understand the vast complexities and the the subtle nuances of this highly addicting and completely satisfying…

Capt. Jeff Legutki is a laid back father of 3 and a native of the Everglades.  Jeff has spent his entire life in and around the tannic waters of the 10,000 islands and the Everglades backcountry.  His professional guiding career started offshore as a wreck and light tackle fisherman.  Then, in 2000, Jeff went back to his roots in the many lost corners of the Glades as he began to…

Will Benson is a paradox wrapped in an enigma He is a true conch, and was well known as "wide open Willy" , racing around the flats at Mach 10, jack plate up, always in a hurry to catch fish. Yet, he is, the rare conch who is interested in events north of the 18 mile stretch and has a philosophy degree from Loyola U. He has opened a whole…