Mad River Outfitters- Chronicle Pages

MRO Chronicle #7- page three

Filming Flip’s New Show 2006

by Brian Flechsig

OK…sorry to get off the subject again.

We got our lunch fixins at the market that 1st morning and headed down the road into the darkness. Three minutes later, Flip and I pulled into the famous Bud-n-Mary’s marina on Islamorada. John and JR were right behind us. We hopped out of the vehicles and headed for “Cloud Nine” as J.J. said, referring to our vessel. Man I was excited.

Captain Greg Eklund is the owner and operator of the Cloud Nine, a 48’ Sportfish that he operates out of Bud-n-Marys Marina at mile marker 79.8. He also runs it over to Abaco every year for some time and operates there. Flip was really excited for us to meet and he was even more excited about what Greg was going to show us.

We headed out and Greg and his mate Augie, both great guys by the way, gathered up some bait. It was not a gorgeous day…and it wound up raining quite a bit. The seas got a little rough, and at one point I thought that I just might pay the ultimate price for not bringing Dramamine…but I staved it off. After sufficient filling of the livewell, we were off….looking for Dolphin. Mahi-Mahi….Dorado.

I think it was no more than a half-hour or so and we were into fish.

I had brought my own reels as Flip and I retrieve opposite..but I was using his sticks. I had a nine weight in my hand…..the camera guys were set and ready…..Flip had his camera in his hand….and I was “on”.

Greg was up top looking through his binoculars when he spotted some fish. He yelled down to Augie as to their position. On Greg’s command, Augie threw the bait….and then he reeled. He reeled the un-hooked bait as fast as he could…and he brought me a pod of beautiful dolphin….right behind the boat.

I don’t remember if it was my first….or third cast….but it happened quickly. I was into a fish of about 18lbs or so….and the camera guys were on me. Although I was concentrated on fighting and landing this fish…I couldn’t help but notice John and J.J. I guess you could say that they were very…..”aggressive” with the cameras. All over the place it seemed. It was surely different.

I landed the fish and got a few photos. Then we were right back at it.

This time Augie brought me a gorgeous girl of about 28lb. She came right across the back of the boat at about 40 feet and lit up like fireworks in the night! I made one of the best casts of my life…and I had her. This was a great fight, and a ton of fun. I would imagine that this fish will be the “trophy” for this particular show.

The trophy of the show....what a blast!

All the while, Flip was happy to snap photos while I fished…but that was soon to change.

It might have been about 15 minutes later, and Greg was excited again. “Guuyyys…..I got fish!”, he yelled down……this time, Flip and I both grabbed our rods. Next thing we knew, there were as many dolphin as you can imagine…swarming behind the boat.

I really don’t remember exactly how long the frenzy lasted….or have any idea how many fish that we caught…..but it was nothing short of awesome! Let’s just say that Flip and I, with a little help from our friends, put on a “good show” for our energetic young cameramen! We didn’t land any pigs…but the action was fast and furious.

Shortly thereafter….the weather really took a turn for the worse. I remember getting into a “rip” and wondering for a few minutes there if the boat wasn’t going to tip! It got a little hairy. Combine that with no birds and no fish for about a ½ hour or so and we headed for the marina. All-in-all…it was a very short day.

Flip told me we would get together around 7:00 and “Eat some Cow”. We had supper that night with Flip’s great friend, and owner of Florida Keys Outfitters, Sandy Moret. We went to Sandy’s about 7:00 p.m., right there on Islamorada, and he and his lovely wife fed us like kings! We had one of the best pieces of meat I have had in a long time! It was really great getting to know Sandy and Sue and it was a real pleasure to dine with them. We chatted about biz a bit and turns out that we had quite a few customers in common……great conversation and I look forward to seeing them soon! We were back at Cheeca by 9:00 and I stopped by John and J.J.’s room for a beer.

They were in the room…checking out the footage from the day. The first thing that I saw was the big fish. John captured the cast…..as well as a great shot of the fly landing in the water. J.J. was on the fish with his cam, and got one of the most fantastic sequences I have seen. You see the fish screaming at the fly, all lit up like a Christmas tree. Then…John shows me how he got all seven jumps…and he was all over it! After that we checked out some of the underwater footage that J.J. got while we were into the schoolies. He and I teamed up and got a great shot of a fish taking a white streamer.

Wow! This was great stuff. I was sold, and now really understood why Flip seemed so refreshed. I simply can’t wait to see the new show and how they put this stuff together.

So the second day we headed out with a different agenda. Flip and the boys figured that we had plenty of dolphin footage. Today we were after Yellowtail…and I heard Flip and Greg talking about fishing some wrecks for permit at one point as well. The sun was shining bright by the time we got out on the water which was a welcome change…at least for me!

Greg knew exactly where to find these fish. He anchored up and began mixing the chum. He and Augie must have worked on making these bait balls for a half hour or so, combining some little glass minnows with oats and water. Pretty technical stuff and it was actually very interesting to watch for a measley old fly fisherman like me. Eventually, the boys got some fish up behind us…..just like professionals do.

We were using 9wt rods again with sinking lines on them. I had the SA Mastery Tropic Express in the 400 grain…..a sinking head line actually. The idea was, that the guys would toss out these bait balls and make a “cloud” of bait. It was our job to toss the fly into it and try to keep the fly in the “drift”. Very non-technical fly fishing…and elitist flats fishermen may not enjoy..but I did. Wow it was a blast! We caught a mess of these gorgeous fish..along with a bunch of others species as well. After about an hour of non-stop action and great footage…we headed out to look for deep water permit.

A nice mutton fish!

We never did find any…much to my dismay….but wound up catching a grouper and a mutton fish while trolling over some ledges. It was really amazing to me how Greg and Augie knew exactly what we would catch and where…these guys are awesome!

It was about that time of day when Flip is probably thinking we’re done…when call came across on the radio from one of Greg’s captain buddies. He was on some pods of fish crashing the surface and it looked like some sailfish and a mess of big jacks. “They’re about a mile from us….Let’s Go!” Greg yelled down to us, and before we could reel our lines in, we were off.

As soon as we were in the area, Augie jumped up and pointed. Sure enough, there was a big mess of fish crashing bait on the surface. This type of stuff usually doesn’t happen…especially when you are toting cameras and trying to get a show….but there they were. All I could think about was a sailfish….and hoping I was man enough.

Greg got us close…and they were gone. Augie chummed a bit. Then they were over there.

Greg got us close….and they were gone. Augie chummed a bit. Then they were over there. You know the drill.

Then, we got a different angle. I had the fish to my right….and they were swimming parallel to the side of the boat, but going the other direction. In other words, I had to act quick…..I had a split second.

I also had to cast over my left shoulder, but at least I had no worries about my back cast getting hung on the boat.

If the cast to the dophin the day before was one of my better casts, this one was my best!. I nailed it. I put it right in front of the lead fish and just to our side. He turned right off and ate the shit out of my fly!

This was way too much work!

I think I fought this fish for about 15-20 minutes. I was wiped out! Turns out it was a really big Jack Crevalle…and I wasn’t disappointed. It was a great fight and a great fish. I don’t remember exactly how much it weighed, I hope they will tell us in the show. I believe I have a pic of it to post here with the story. I am sure that John and J.J. got some great footage and I hope they got the cast and the take….so I can remember my “personal best”. I never got the chance to see any of the footage from this day.

“That’s a rap” Flip said, and we shook hands. We had all the fishing footage that we needed. We headed back to the marina and tomorrow would bring “production” shots only. This is where they film the scenery..the boat docking…Flip and I driving or walking along the dock….or tying on a fly…etc. We were supposed to fish three days, but got what we needed in two. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed that we wouldn’t fish…I don’t get to do this style of fishing that often….but that’s the way it goes. I was although looking forward to supper tonight….yesterdays catch on Greg’s grill!

I had called my best saltwater buddy, Bruce Chard, and put him on alert that Flip and I would be in the Keys. Bruce lives down on Big Pine and is who I have done most of my Tarpon fishing with. Bruce is like family to Mad River Outfitters and tons of MRO folks are on his calendar these days. When I found out that we were having a “party” at Greg’s that night….I knew that Bruce had to come up.

Greg and Augie, Flip and I, John and JJ…as well as Flip’s buddy John Donnell (Dozer) and Brucie wound up getting together that night at Greg’s. We grilled up the dolphin and a few of the other fish that we had caught the past few days and had a few beers. I brought the mandolin and played a few songs as well. It was a fun night. It was really great to see Bruce and to finally get to introduce him to Flip. We have been trying to get the two of them together for quite some time.

Bud-n-Mary's Marina on Islamorada

The next morning we were done with the production shooting and having breakfast by about 8:00. I think we got some great shots as the sunrise was wonderful that morning.

Flip and I got back to Cheeca and he announced that he was going to get a head start and go surprise his wife a day early. We said our goodbyes and within another 15 minutes he was headed home. That was it…show over…..as quickly as it came…it was gone.

Having the day off…..I wound up lounging around Cheeca and going up to the pool for a while (What a place that is by the way!). I think I called my wife, who was down in Chile at the time, and I filled her in on the trip. A pretty relaxing day with not much to do….doesn’t happen to me that often. I actually went over to Sandy’s fly shop and hung out for an hour or two and spent some money. I love to spend money in a good fly shop!

I finally left the Keys later that afternoon and headed to Miami for my Uncle Bill’s. It’s funny to me how many saltwater trips either start or end with my Uncle Bill. Seeming as though my saltwater career started with him….I sure hope that in some way…it ends with him too. That’s another Chronicle!

Looking forward to our trip to the Everglades in May 2007!

We did wind up fishing on Sunday over in the Everglades. Interesting as our usual launch at Flamingo was essentially closed. You couldn’t get out into Flamingo and Snakebight and such as they were dredging the channel of silt and debris deposited by one of the hurricanes last year. We had to go up into the backcountry..which we did with limited success…but it’s always good to fish with family!!! I love fishing the Glades out of Flamingo and I can’t wait for our trip with Flip this May!

Flip’s new show is called Flip Pallot’s Fly Fishing the Keys. It airs on the Versus network (formerly OLN) and will air on Fridays, starting January 5^th, at 11:30 a.m. as well as Saturdays at 1:30 p.m. I am really excited to see the new show and am really excitied that Flip has found a new home. I wish him all the best with the new project and can’t wait to see him this spring. I don’t know exactly what week the “Offshore” episode that we filmed will air, but as soon as we do I am sure it will be posted on our website. It should air a few times at least this year.

At least for now, it seems that Flip and I have beat the curse. I don’t want to “hex” our next venture..but we did both remain healthy after this trip. No gear was lost or stolen. No 100 year storms or life threatening fires. Yes, this trip did start a bit rough for yours truly…but I have to go back to the start. When I woke up that morning, more than one hour after my flight left Columbus, I was cool. No problem….like I just knew this one would be OK. I got to Cheeca and climbed into Flip’s truck….on time. I just have to believe that the curse has left us and only green pastures lie ahead.

I can’t wait to see the new show and can’t wait to see Flip on our trip this May. Please keep your eyes on our website for details on more trips and events with Flip Pallot. We are working on a trip like this one to the Keys in the Summer of 2008.

Thanks for taking the time to read this…I really appreciate the effort. I would really love to be able to publish more than one of these “Chronicles” more than every two years or so…but thetruth is…

Last year’s New Years resolutions were to: