Being in the presence of greatness can be an overwhelming feeling. It’s a feeling I felt many times last weekend while attending the Bonefish Tarpon Trust Symposium at the IGFA headquarters in Dania, Beach, Florida. The event was well attended and some of the biggest names in fly-fishing were there. I was able to catch up with Fly Fishing in Salt Waters contributors such as Lefty Kreh, Bob Popovics and Pat Ford and was able to meet legends such as Stu Apte and Capt. Steve Huff. What an honor.
Dr. Aaron Adams kicked the event off by giving the attendees an overview of just how far BTT has come. Listening to Adams me stop and wonder – where in the world would these species be without organizations like BTT?
The event was full of highlights but I’ve got to say what I enjoyed most was sitting in on the permit panel discussion. Even though I’ve yet to catch a permit on fly, I have always felt that “I know how to do it”. Wow…how wrong could I have been? Listening to Will Benson, Jon Ain,Carl Ball, Bob Branham, Mike Holiday, Dexter Simmons and Paul Tejera. Listening to them made me realize – I don’t know jack!
I also really enjoyed listening to the tarpon discussion panel. Renown angler, Andy Mill moderated the discussion between Stu APte, Ralph Delph, Tim Hoover, Steve Huff, Flip Pallot, Bob Rich and Paul Tejera. The coolest part about this panel was listening to the old days of fishing places like Homosassa. It was funny, it seemed as though every one of them had some kind of a fish story with the other. They all not only knew each other but have all been long time friends/fishing buddies. Here are a few frames I snapped at the event. Enjoy!
For more information about the Bonefish Tarpon Trust, visit www.tarbone.org
