My saltwater guiding career began fifteen years ago down in Key West, Florida. This was a really interesting time to get started as a guide. The sport of shallow water flats fishing was exploding in popularity thanks to a lot of exposure on cable TV. It was also just before GPS and the internet transformed the sport so I spent a good deal of time pouring over a folded chart and running aground.
During my first few years in Key West there were more anglers than guides, especially during tarpon season. Thanks to this I was lucky enough to build up a lot of time on the water with some great anglers. The Keys were a very competitive place to fish so I was also fortunate enough to earn the loyalty of a great group of repeat clients, many of whom were willing to follow me to more than one location.
 
After ten years of guiding in Key West I was ready for a change and looking to explore some new and untouched waters. This is when I came across the island of Vieques, just a few miles off the west coast of Puerto Rico. Guiding in the real Caribbean was something I’ve dreamed about doing for a long time and seeing miles of beaches and shallow flats without a single other boat sold me. I bought a house on Vieques in 2005 and settled in for the next few years. As one of only two fishing guides on the whole island, business was really good.
 
Unlike Key West, Vieques is a true island with no bridges connecting it to anywhere. If you really want to understand the term “Island Time,” just spend a year on Vieques. Everything moves at its own pace and you’ll eventually slow down right along with it. Even when things got too quiet during the hurricane season, I always had my own hidden beach with a nice school of resident bonefish to keep me occupied down there.  

For many of these same years, the southwest coast of Florida has been a second home to me since my parents moved to Matlacha in 2001. This island became the spot where I really started focusing on fly fishing for redfish, snook, and sea trout on the beautiful flats of Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbor. I’ve been fortunate enough to spend many summers up here in Florida and my wife Amanda and I now consider the Southwest coast our home.