You've got to be in it to win it! The UK Blog Awards.
It was always going to be a difficult trip in some ways, getting the first flight back into New Orleans from San Diego after Hurricane Katrina had left devastation in her wake and the clean up was only just getting started, but it was one Conway Bowman and I wanted desperately to undertake.
The June/July 2015 issue of top French adventure fishing journal Magazine Voyages de Pêche carries the resulting feature from my long-awaited first trip to the fishing paradise of Finland. I only scratched the surface of the excellent predator fishing on offer there and can't wait to go back and explore and report some more.
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Pike Paradise - Kvarken Fishing
Kvarken Archipelago World Heritage Site
My latest published feature is a report on my first visit to the wonderful Azores last autumn taking part in the Azores - Big Game Fishing Tournament reporting for Magazine Voyages de Pêche.
Sadly we were hit by very unusual and badly timed weather for the 3 days of fishing but the chance to explore the main island of Sao Miguel was eagerly taken and I can't wait to get back and explore the rest of the islands with my camera and fishing rods. I can't recommend a visit highly enough - I can only equate the Azores to being Europe's version of the Hawaiian islands - stunning!
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The January 2015 issue of Sport Fishing Magazine included my international calendar feature looking at some of the best flats fishing around the world for each month of the year - perfect for planning where best to go at any given time.
Thanks go to all my sources named against each entry - do check out their websites too if you are interested in visiting. Maybe I'll see you there.
There were three excellent additional choices that could not make the main article but you can find them with the digital version of the feature listed on the magazine website... http://www.sportfishingmag.com/flatscalendar
South-west Florida is a new love of mine. Great beaches, quiet and laid back atmosphere away from the Orlando crowds and tons of fish to be caught in the Charlotte Harbor/Boca Grande/Fort Myers area.
I've been waiting a while for this one to get published but it was worth the wait as the guys at Fin Chasers Magazine have done a great job laying it out as always. Thanks to Mark A Spurgeon, Capt. Roger Crafton, The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel, Charlotte Harbor & the Gulf Islands, Capt. Tommy Locke and Capt. Mark Futch of Boca Grande Sea Planes Inc.
Really pleased with my spread in the October/November 2014 Magazine Voyages de Pêche covering the 2014 Saint Martin billfish tournament. If you don't read French then I hope you just enjoy the photographs of this beautiful island and its magnificent marlin fishing.
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Saint Martin Billfish Tournament
Want to improve your photography - check out this top tips list I was asked to contribute to earlier this year on the SPORT FISHING MAGAZINE website.
I was approached by Hitachi Personal Finance to provide them with some copy on outdoor sports to go with their "Leisure loan" offering. I offered up "How to start out in fly fishing" which ran for several months in that spot on their website but is no longer there.
The brief was to explain the sport of fly fishing and the sort of start-up costs you could expect to face.
I was invited by the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau which covers the Fort Myers and Sanibel area to attend and cover the 'World's Richest' Tarpon Tournament in Boca Grande, south-west Florida. The resulting feature article and photographs were published on the Fish&Fly website.
After seeing reports and photos from the world-famous Boca Grande pass tarpon fishery over the years, it was a great experience to be a part of it and look forward to returning to this beautiful part of Florida.
This was just a bit of fun for an interview column in Total FlyFisher magazine a while back while I was editor of Fish&Fly and the Fly Fishing Forums.
Well they did say tell us something they didn't know!
There is nothing better than fishing with friends and when my buddy Steve Edge offered me a chance to fish a beautiful little Surrey countryside stream I jumped at the chance.
Check out his blog entry here of a fantastic days fishing and then do yourself a favour and have a look at some of his other brilliantly creative blog entries. There is a reason his Edge Design business is always so busy and apart from being brilliantly creative he is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.
Dubbed the "Fish & Fly Interview", Pete Tyjas of Eat, Sleep, Fish ezine delved into the history of what became MacNab Media and also my own fishing roots.
As editor of both FishandFly.com and FlyForums.co.uk which had dominated the UK online fly fishing scene for so long it was good to get the chance to answer some questions about both the history of where it all began, my association with the company and where it is at now.
The shot was taken on board Conway Bowman's boat offshore from San Diego, California and illustrates his chapter on fly fishing for mako sharks there which he pioneered and still guides for in season through his Bowman Bluewater guiding company.
The Outdoor Writers Association of America is a professional body that brings together writers, photographers and other commentators on the outdoor world. I was very proud to have the cover shot and a portfolio inclusion in the May 2011 edition of their journal that is sent to all members.
The cover shot was of a bee busily gathering nectar on a brand full of May blossom in the spring sunshine.
The portfolio image was of a male western bluebird that was perched conveniently in the open during a visit to Idyllwild in California.
The US based Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) conducts research into the population dynamics of bonefish, permit and tarpon primarily.
All anglers who fish the flats should support this work by joining up as a member and this is one of the reasons I wanted to raise the profile of BTT in the UK and Europe.
If you travel to fish the flats, whether on your own or with one of the angling destination firms, please join the BTT and help fund the important research they carry out to safeguard the species you and I like to fish for.
You can also get involved directly by coming along on one of their 'Travelling Angler' trips and getting involved in the research first-hand.
We need corporate and individual sponsors to come forward in the UK and Europe to help fund some of the more expensive projects like satellite tagging for example.