Female fly fishing guides at Bear Trail Lodge in King Salmon Alaska with three-time TTBC Champion Keith Combs of Huntington, TX
 

The People Who Inspire our Adventures

Through fishing we have met some unforgettable characters, and we want you to know them, too.

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All My Rowdy Friends

Hanna and I worked consecutive trade shows – first the Chicagoland Fishing Show and then the Safari Club International. Re ran into numerous friends, some of whom have traveled with us, some of whom we’ve only corresponded with, and every permutation in between.

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The Biggest HPFC Success Story of 2023

We’ve had a lot of success stories throughout 2023, including great fish catches of our own and helping others enjoy amazing on-the-water experiences, but our greatest achievement may have occurred while we were nearly 1,000 miles away. 

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My 2023 Fishing and Writing Mistakes

Running our own website and business has been a learning experience and we’ve stumbled along the way. In the interest of transparency, here are some mistakes that I made in 2023. I’m sure there will be more mistakes every year hereafter – ideally they won’t be the same ones.

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Four Favorite Friends’ Catches of 2023

I’ve increasingly learned to really appreciate our great and diverse group of traveling angler friends. Accordingly, as I look back on my days on the water during 2023, I’m fortunate that I have a lot of great memories on the water with friends to remember. Here are four friends’ catches that stand out.

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Next Generation Pez Vela

The next generation of great sailfish captains and mates at Casa Vieja Lodge — rocking a Half Past First Cast onesie. We cannot wait to meet her.

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A Prime Time Bassing Reading List

Deion Sanders, AKA Coach Prime, believes that he could have been a three-sport superstar — with bass fishing as the third platform for excellence. Here’s some of his fishing history.

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Working With Your Partner at El Salto and Picachos

After over 20 trips to Lake El Salto and Lake Picachos, Hanna and I have a solid routine in the boat. We understand each other’s tendencies and while we’d rather catch the big ones ourselves, we still celebrate when the other succeeds. We’ve recognized that in the long run working together produces far better results for everyone than competing with the other person.

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Keeping it Real With Mr. Phoney

After fishing with Daniel Jones and learning what a Phoney Frog glidebait could do, I knew that I had to have one. I knew that owner Jason St. Mary would be at the Classic Expo in Knoxville, so I hunted him down, credit card in hand. Even better. I got him to spill the beans on how he makes sure each one is perfectly tuned.

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Mark Davis: Big Waters, Big Fish, Big Personality

If you’ve ever seen Mark Davis on the Outdoor Channel’s BigWater Adventures and thought there’s no way he could always be “on” the way he seems on the tube, let me clear things up for you – whether he’s eating chicken wings, dragging a tube for smallmouths or pulling on thousand-pound marlin, the dude is revved up. He carpe diems the hell out of every day he’s alive.

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You’ve Found the Sailfish – Now What?

Even when fishing side-by-side certain captains and certain boats tend to produce more raises, bites and releases than some others. It can’t be dumb luck. As with everything in fishing, getting the sailfish to commit is part art and part science, and few are better at it than Captain David Salazar.

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Swimbaits 101 With Wayne Campbell

The swimbaiters have been a welcoming bunch, but I still have lots of basic questions, and I figured that many of you might be similarly situated. Fortunately, Swimbait Universe administrator Wayne Campbell was kind enough to sit down and answer some questions, and provide his typically thoughtful responses.

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David Salazar’s Sailfish Location Strategies

We’ve now spent a total of 12 days on the water at Casa Vieja Lodge in Guatemala, and we’ve released over a hundred sailfish, I don’t necessarily know much more about how to locate them. Every day CVL owner David Salazar, needs to work with his team to locate or relocate the billfish. They work collaboratively to narrow things down, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

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