Once again, it’s September, and we find ourselves smack dab in the heart of hurricane season here in the southeast. What a nerve-wracking time of year! As I write this, I’m glancing at the latest coordinates for Tropical Storm Hanna — looks like we might get lucky with this one here in Florida, as its forecasted path appears to be farther east in the Atlantic. But you just never know with these storms…and the incessant drumming from the media drones doesn’t help. Like everyone else, I was truly happy that Hurricane Gustav’s impact seems to have been less than feared in the northern Gulf. Yes, it undoubtedly has left some folks in very rough shape, but it wasn’t the truly devastating storm that we feared it might be. As we all know, Katrina wreaked havoc not only on New Orleans and Mississippi, but also the little town of Venice, La. Locals tell me that Venice – located at the southernmost tip of the state — was essentially 35 feet under water during that nightmarish storm. As it happens, I just returned from an August trip to Venice and am especially glad that that wonderful little fishing village seems to have been spared. We fished with Jeff Pierce, an exceptionally skilled angler and sales manager for Mustad Hooks, and Capt. Rimmer Covington (www.mgfishing.com; 601-951-3981) aboard Rimmer’s 39-foot Sea-Vee. What a whale of a time! We took dolphin, tuna and a variety of other species on fly fishing the offshore oil rigs. Here are some early pics from the trip. The full story will run in an upcoming issue of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters. With a little luck between now and then, we’ll all get through the rest of the hurricane season and continue to be blessed with great fishing. Good luck to you, Mike Mazur
