I recently spent a thoroughly enjoyable morning on Tampa Bay fishing with Capt Russ, the first thing I noticed was that he is very particular about his boat – and rightly so, it was immaculate. The second point of note is that he deals with safety first and does not treat the boat ride as a race – everything was done in a measured fashion. And so to the fishing – as a relative novice to saltwater fishing (and having had a not-so pleasant experience with a guide on the Keys) I was a little apprehensive about catching fish. Russ quickly put me at ease, gave me some invaluable casting tuition, and then proceeded to help me locate and catch c.6 different species on fly. We did not connect with any tarpon, which was just as well given my limited experience – however, having had a little tuition and having caught a lot of fish, I would feel a lot more confident of my prospects next time out. I would also recommend taking Russ’ advice on how to fish for tarpon. I have spent a lifetime fly fishing in freshwater and it takes practice and good tuition to get rid of some bad casting habits that will ill serve you on saltwater. All in all the experience was both educational and a lot of fun, I hope to be able to return to fish with Russ in the not too distant future.
