Firstly Happy New Year! It seems a while since I’ve had the time to sit down and write. After returning from Holiday at the end of last year, things took a change of direction as you will see in a minute, but with Christmas finally out of the way and 2009 underway, it’s time to start my New Year’s resolutions.

Strangely, my New Year’s resolutions are always angling related (or strangely not – I’m an angler!). Usually somewhere on the wish list there’s a “fish more” myself, but this year is a little different. It’s been a while since I’ve chartered - the end of 2005 to be exact. At that time I had become bored with fishing the same puddle of water due south of Plymouth and I needed a break. These last three years have allowed me to travel and learn a lot more about the big wide angling world – at home and abroad, from tackle to tarpon, from carp to conservation, from bass to boats, to furthering my angling qualifications and with a lot of fishing along the way. And somewhere in the middle, we gained a new angler to the family too – Lola (or Lolly as everybody calls her). But now it’s time to get back to doing something I miss. Taking not me, but others fishing!

Jim, Babs and Lola

Some years ago I made my first trip to the Florida Keys on a fishing holiday and I’ve been hooked ever since. Flights are cheap, the food is great, the weather is hot and the fishing is out of this world. In 2006 I dreamt about launching a boat in Florida to offer anglers a chance to experience some of the world class sport-fishing the Keys offer. Then this was a dream, a long-distance retirement project, but whilst fishing in the Florida Keys last year I realised I had got my life plans all wrong.

I had just done some work for Boat Fishing Monlthy assisting Spike Spears (a retired skipper and charter legend) in completing a piece for the magazine’s “Aye Aye Skipper” series. For those that didn’t read it, I’ll sum up what Spike had to say. In a nutshell Spike was a charter skipper who developed back pain. Within weeks he found out he had bone cancer. Today Spike’s cancer is in remission and he is doing okay, but the future probably isn’t that bright. Spike’s advice to all anglers is to seize the day because you never know. Time and tide wait for no man so, do it today because tomorrow might not happen as you’ve planned. And don’t take your fishing or life for granted! I listened to Spike’s story carefully.

I like boat angling and boats, so every time I visit the Keys I enjoy nothing more than walking around boat yards admiring expensive plastic toys, strapped to huge horsepower engines, and pushing buttons on huge screen marine electronics. But last year, as I did just that, something caught my eye. A Bay Ranger 22ft professional flats boat - rigged for shallow water Big Fish angling - loaded with a 250hp outboard - and capable of doing 53mph in less than 2ft of water! And there she was... I’ll make this brief...

...The following morning I was sill boat dreaming, freshly convicted by what Spike had written when I read a few words of a mad American Philosopher. He claimed that life was all backwards and that we should “start life with a golden handshake and end life as an orgasm” and not the other way around. By 10am I had shook hands with Mr Boat Yard Owner and a 22ft deal was done. After reading Spike’s feature, I feel life’s too unpredictable to have retirement plans... and I’ve also got a lot of fishing to do! Babs thinks I’m mad. Perhaps I am?

Bay Ranger - The new toy!

Fishing In Florida will kick off later this year offering fishing holidays in the Florida Keys, over the winter time when the weather is at its worst in the UK, with me and my new boat. Our holiday packages will include 7 days self catering accommodation and 5 days boat fishing. Fishing with me will be another US guide. Have a look at our site, which is still a work in progress, and if it interests you trying your hand at a Tarpon, Bonefish, Grouper or Big Sharks etc, give us a shout. I hope you enjoy the online game. It’s just a little fun but like a 2D preview of Fishing in the Florida Keys. If you’ve never fished in the Keys before, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Floridian fun fishing!

Onto other things this year, I’m going to do something else that I’ve fancied doing for a long time – writing a book. Last year I enjoyed writing some angling guides for the Royal Yachting Association, which will be out sometime soon, but this year I’ve taken on a bigger book project. I will also be continuing feature writing and always looking for something new to write about, educating and trying to keep it entertaining as I go.

I plan to Blog more here on WSF and, if I have time, perhaps launch my own personal and uncensored blog space – Jims World. I also must get my arse along to a WSF meet this year. As for my own angling, this year I would like to do more top water lure fishing, to include saltwater fly, which I have to admit I’m useless at. Anybody fancy teaching me?

Mike Thrussell Jnr of WSF, Chilling on the river with Jim

Another area that could do with a brush up is my uptiding. Until last year, it had been several years since I had done any, and never any from the Helm.

I’ve also promised myself to enter a boat match. I like specimen fish and big fish but that is just one style of angling. Match fishing is a whole new world to me and one that I have avoided for that reason alone so, again for that reason alone, I really should give it a go perhaps just once.

Jim, UK Specimen fishing

Last year in Florida, I solitaire’d a big Tarpon – this year I’d like a big Bonefish from the shore.

Coarse fishing this year, I have no targets, just some quiet days fishing on rivers would be good, however I’ve still to land a decent Irish Pike.

At home I shall be seeking for that ever elusive double-figure Bass, and I’ll buy everybody a drink if I catch it on a plug! All joking aside, I’ve had more 9lb bass than I can count, including three going 9lb 14oz, so that doubler has to be around the corner. But because of the luck factor, this can really only be a New Years dedication and not a resolution.

The other fish I’d like to catch from our waters this year include my first Gilthead Bream and my first Porbeagle Shark. Tall orders? We’ll see.

The final thing I would like to do this year is launch another angling project closer to home. I have a few ideas but I’ll let you know more in future blogs. TBA as they say!

Here’s wishing all WSF members and browsers a prosperous and fish-filled 2009! I hope mine is too. And don’t forget if you have angling dreams (New Year’s fishing resolutions) don’t leave them until tomorrow!  

Have a great year

Angling Dreams