The Evolution of Fly Fishing & the perfect Permit skiff

Sometimes I have a hard time sleeping at night.  My mind won’t shut off.  It’s a problem when I get into the heart of fishing season and the alarm goes off at 4am.  You’d think that poling a skiff everyday would wear me out and I’d just pass out, but this kind of saltwater fly fishing posses me.  I get a kind of insomnia that keeps me awake thinking, strategizing, figuring what I can do better, what the next film I want to shoot is going to be, or what the shape of the ultimate permit fishing skiff looks like.  I spend hours pacing around downstairs of the Tree House scratching notes, messing with wrenches and generally digging myself into a bigger and bigger dilemma with changes and modifications I would make to everything from fly rods, to poling platforms, to compression socks that save energy and help with balance in swell.  I can’t stop.  Luckily, I have managed to find some equally fanatical people who are willing to listen to the ideas I have. 

WorldANGLING began as an effort to push the sport into the next generation.  It’s always been an attempt to tell our generation’s story.  One thing that is certain is that we cannot rest on our laurels as the fish and the competition are getting  harder and harder.  We have to challenge the notion “this is how it’s always been done,” and look for what works today.   What it really boils down to is we have to be creative and approach the sport from an open mind.  We cannot be afraid to make mistakes– to fail stupendously!  Then… look at the take-away, switch up, change direction and jump out of the box!

One of the great things is that many folks in this industry have recognized this over the last couple of years.  We have really seen an explosion of new and exciting products, techniques, philosophies and stories emerge in and around the sport of fly fishing.  In some way, I believe a  large part of this is due to the popularity of the videos out there and the success of the Fly Fishing Film Tour.  It has shown the establishment that fly fishing is not your grandfathers sport anymore and today there are tons of young professionals and youth that are eating, breathing and thinking fly fishing.  The volume and passion is getting louder!  I think it’s great.  And if the WorldANGLING photo contest is any indication, the next generation of anglers, guides, artists, and conservationists is intact and ready to have their stories heard.

Here are a few images from the WorldANGLING ” tell your story ” contest:

 

Mike poling his skiff at sunrise  onderwater bonefish tail  holding the neon triumph, a permit on fly!holding a trout half way in the water.  barracuda flying at the angler with lure in his mouth  Kyle Velunza holds a sweet bonefish  Novalsky tagging Louisiana redfishwaxing philosophical with the fly in hand  the face of fly fishing is changing  the young guns out doing their thing  taking one last cast before sunset  the Everglades are famous for Goliath Grouper  letting go of a tagged permit  thanking a dolphin for ruing our fishing

a nice steelhead caught by a lady angler  Holding a huge Louisiana black drum caught on fly  bonefish tailing next to mangroves in Florida Keys  dad is fighting and his daughter is learning to fly fish  heading home at the end of the day in the Louisiana marsh  a carp smiles for the camera  Headed out Marlin Fishing  all cameras on deck to capture the moment of catching a permit on fly  big ambitions with hands full of fly rods

 

We are excited to have teamed up with our buddy Dave Mangum from Shallow Water Expeditions in our latest release for the Fly Fishing Film tour in a little piece on permit fishing and Keys livin’.  It’s called ” The In-Between”  and is about the real reasons why we go fishing.  We had a ton of fun making this and I even got a chance to catch a Blacktip shark!!  After pushing everyone else around for 5 days nobody argued when I wanted to sling a tube lure in front of something that would actually eat for a change!  To be honest, that’s the best part, watching your buddies flail away then man-up after a time out on the console and a few Coors lights only to have the tables turned and catch an earful when I opted for the spinning rod.  I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

 

Featured on the new film is a prototype BT Elite.  The new skiff from Aeon/BT Skiffs that we are launching at the Miami Boat Show this weekend. This new skiff has been a year in the making and we couldn’t be more proud of the result.  Some of the WorldANGLING Crew will be at the show this weekend and I’ll be there all weekend to answer any questions that folks have about why this skiff is possibly the most versatile shallow water fishing machine on the market.  That’s what we designed it to be and we can’t wait to put it head to head with the competition.

 

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