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Rain Delay

I had the chance today to spend some time with Islamorada-based marine artist Tim Borski (www.tborskiart.com). He shares a passion for tiger sharks with me, and we had scheduled a day out on the water with guide Capt. Danny Reich (captdreich@yahoo.com). Ironically, we were using a boat that belongs to a good friend of mine from Orlando, chef Brandon McGlammery (www.lumaonpark.com). Unfortunately, the day got off to a bad start. Borski hadn’t been able to procure any large baits to use as biomass chum (amberjack or king mackerel). So we set out on what looked like a relatively nice day toward points unknown in Florida Bay. Things were going well until the sky started to turn gray, and it became apparent that the stalled front we hoped would provide great sharking conditions had shifted into high gear. Being diehards, we weren’t willing to pull the plug – until the first lightning bolts struck. It was all downhill from there. After 40 minutes of getting pelted by rain on our way back to the ramp at Craig Key, Borski and Reich decided maybe we could dredge a tarpon up in the rain. So we strung up our 12-weights, pilfered a couple of large tarpon flies from McGlammery’s personal stash and set up for our first drift – right about the time one of the worst electrical storms I’ve ever experienced decided to strike Craig Key and Lower Matacumbe. We scrambled back to the ramp and tried to put the boat on the trailer when a bolt came down just across the basin, threatening us all. At that point we called it a day. Attached are a couple of reaction shots to the medicine that the weather gods dished up for us. In the near future, I hope to collaborate with Borski (who is one of the funniest people you’ll find in fly-fishing) on a special “48 Hours” editorial project. Now, if I can ever get my Tibor Pacific with the tarpon spool on it…

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