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"Life is not a journey to the
grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body,
but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and
loudly proclaiming 'WOW What a Ride!'" OFFSHORE FLY FISHING DOLPHIN My first real exposure to Fly Fishing came on what might be the Biggest Fishing Day of 4 men's lives. Dr. Carl Hoffman, Glenn Law, Captain Bubba Gaston, Captain/Mate Doug Keller, . We had a special charter with two men. Dr. Carl Hoffman, an avid Fly Fisher, and Glenn Law , author and Associate Editor, Florida Sportsman Magazine. (A CONCISE HISTORY OF FLY FISHING) Glenn Law (author) Lefty Kreh (Preface) Glenn Law was Associate Editor, writing and doing the photos for Florida Sportsman magazine at the time. Lefty Kreh also used two of our photos for his article. Florida Sportsman Sept.1991, p24-32, Bally Up To The Bar, Glenn Law Florida Sportsman Dec.1993, p78 , Offshore With The Fly, Lefty Kreh Our assignment for the day was to find offshore Dolphin (Dorado, Mahi-Mahi), assist Dr. Hoffman, and hopefully provide fly fishing action. As luck would would have it, far offshore in the gulf stream, 800 ft over the bottom, we encountered the largest school of Dolphin any of us had ever seen. The first fish were hooked up on a spinning rod and eventually one was left hooked up and left to swim freely. (a common technique to keep schools around the boat) When we saw the enormity of the school, out came the fly rods. If I recall correctly he fished a variety of rod sizes and flies on them. I worked the deck while Dr. Hoffman hooked up fish after fish on his Fly rig. Eventually Dr. Hoffman became exhausted, so Glenn Law abandoned his camera and started fishing. He also exhausted himself, so Captain Bubba Gaston took over. After he, too, was worn out, they convinced me to try it, which I did. I received a quick lesson and proceeded to wear myself out. At this point the fish boxes were full and we were releasing them all. A lifelong memory. All photos taken by Glenn Law.
In the off-season we would cast-net ballyhoo and preserve them for the next season, to cut expenses. OFFSHORE YELLOWTAIL SNAPPER We would also supplant our off-season income by commercial fishing Yellowtail Snapper via Hook and Line. We fished overnight trips so far southwest, and the sky is so clear, that we could see the lights of Havana, Cuba at night. Imagine a school of fish the size of a yellow football field finning 30' behind the boat. If you have never seen a Yellowtail Snapper, just imagine a 3-5lb Smallmouth Bass, only colored silver with a bright yellow stripe and sharp teeth. They are hard fighting and fun to catch. We used Penn spinning gear and a pitch-cast technique. We would stand on the stern, pitch the bait to the lead fish from the school, and snatch them from the school, one after the other. We skidded them over the water to keep them from diving. Those were the 2-3lb fish. If they were allowed to dive they would spook the school for a while. The larger fish would do exactly that and we would get a break for a while until they resurfaced and took the bait again. We also had to compete with the barracuda for those hooked larger fish and we would lose once in a while.
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"Twenty years from now you will be
more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So
throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in
your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Contact information. email-- fishing at nemo-fishing-guides.com
Captain Doug Keller P.O.Box 155 Center, MO 63436 Phone 573-267-3033 Cell Phone 573-406-3735 FAX 573-267-3386
Member Federation Of Fly Fishers Guide Association 
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