Author: pwsadmin

The Rod and Gun Club had a tremendous season with record turnouts at our newly renovated Range! 1,798 rounds were shot at the Range and several special events were held for an all-time record turnout. Our Card Sound Range is very unique in that no reservations are required. During season it is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 10am to 3pm. There are shotguns and pellet guns available to rent.  We host several family days with barbeque lunches and refreshments, and once again with record turnouts. Clay shooting incudes: Skeet, Five Stand and Wobble Traps and now a new Archery range and a pellet gun shooting range. Rod and Gun Members may host first time guests at the Range and then memberships are required to return.

Men’s night was a great evening with Chef Philippe serving Quail & Elk at the Cooking School. 145 members enjoyed storytelling and fun at its finest!

Next season our annual event will be for couples so please plan to add to your calendars as soon as the date is announced. We were oversold two years ago!

The Rod and Gun trip to Everglade city was a huge success. Members enjoyed fishing, dining and travelling together.

Our monthly Get Togethers featured our own members and their expertise as well as teams from local conservation efforts. We look forward to another season of casual evenings at the Tennis Center Card Room with interesting speakers. Please continue to bring in your catches to MarineMax for the monthly fish of the month posting and gift certificate! Dolphin is fish of the months of June to September.

With over 568 members we are in planning mode for more events and trips for next season. A big thank you to all our Members and here is to a great summer of fishing and hunting, on and off the Reef!

Upcoming Events:

*Memorial Day Dolphin Tournament       May 25^th
*Annual Father’s Day Dolphin                  June 15^th
*4^th of July Dolphin Tournament              July 6^th
*Ultimate Summer Dolphin Tournament July 27^th

Email Fishing@rodandgun.org for details.

And special thanks to our Rod & Gun Club President, Tom Davidson Jr. for a great season.

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The Rod and Gun supports local conservation efforts to protect our waters and fish populations and we are asking members of the Rod and Gun Club to attend the following meeting: 

The FPL Proposed Revised permit with the FDEP. A public meeting on this issue has been set for May 7^th, 2019 at the Marriot Courtyard located at 2905 NE 9^th Street, Homestead, Florida from 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM. 

We need for you to join ORCA, FKAA and Monroe County in opposing the Florida Department of Environmental Protection draft revised permit.  If the FPL proposed changes to this permit are approved, the current polluted water leakage from the cooling canals into the aquifer, bay and Card Sound will continue and will no longer be a violation of the Clean Water Act.  The existing FPL Turkey Point NPDES permit does not allow any pollutant discharge into the bay and Card Sound.

Text Bonnie Rippingille Schoedinger to request talking points for both meetings at 305-323-1243 or you can obtain them at the meeting.

We need your assistance.

Tom Davidson Jr.

And check out the Redfish caught by Jack Salisbury in the Florida bay.

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Attention flats anglers, our first flats tournament in many years is scheduled for April Wednesday the 24th. Eligible species will include Tarpon, Bonefish, Permit, Snook and Redfish.  This is an angler tournament with points awarded for bait, artificial and fly.  We have a local population of Tarpon but now with the warmer weather the migratory Tarpon will begin to flow through our channels.

Summer is around the corner! Keep bringing in your catches to Marine Max.  Fish of the Month for May is Grouper and Dolphin for June.

And check out the Swordfish caught by John & Kathy Weiland with Captain Doug on Chesapeake.

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Please visit RodandGun.org for information on Tournaments, the Range and Membership!

Upcoming Events:

• Swordfish Tournament – Friday, April 19
Entries must be submitted by April 12th.
Click Here for the Entry Information and Form

• Flats Tournament – Wednesday, April 24
Entries must be submitted by April 17th.
Click here for Entry Information and Form.

And coming up soon:
* Memorial Day Dolphin Tournament          May 25^th
* Annual Father’s Day Dolphin                         June 15^th
* 4^th of July Dolphin Tournament                    July 6^th
* Ultimate Summer Dolphin Tournament   July 27^th

Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy Brainard at 203-253-7790. We love sharing our Rod and Gun members’ photos and including them in our Annual Event slide show. If you are interested in joining, please email membership@rodandgun.org.

On April 17^th and 18^th we will be holding a Club wide Fishing gear donation drive for the Boy Scout’s Sea Base in Islamorada. Please bring your unwanted fishing poles and fishing gear to The Racquet Club (by the Bocce courts). We will have trucks to bring the gear to the Boy Scout’s Sea Base in Islamorada. This is a great time to look around and cleanse/clear out your garages, cart rooms and boats for a good cause. Any fishing items are welcome in working condition. Thank you in advance!

Saturday, April 13^th is the last day for the Shooting Range. The Range will be closed until next season.

Rod and Gun is planning a great Flats Tournament on April 24^th so secure your guides now! It is always a fun day and great family tournament. Entries are online at RodandGun.org or at Marine Max ship store. Rod and Gun Members’ Matt Fritter and Dan Leben encourage all members to support the Academy Fishing Tournament on April 19^th.

Below is a shot of Dan Leben’s winning Snook at the recent Rod & Gun fishing trip to the Everglades.

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Please visit RodandGun.org for information on Tournaments, the Range and Membership!

Upcoming Events:

• Swordfish Tournament – Friday, April 19
Entries must be submitted by April 12th.
Click Here for the Entry Information and Form

• Flats Tournament – Wednesday, April 24
Entries must be submitted by April 17th.
Click here for Entry Information and Form.

Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy Brainard at 203-253-7790. We love sharing our Rod and Gun members’ photos and including them in our Annual Event slide show. If you are interested in joining, please email membership@rodandgun.org.

The Dive Shop at Ocean Reef recently presented at our March Monthly Get Together. Lisa Cassidy and Jesus Gudino, the new owners, are committed to the central mission of conservation and protection of our ocean waters and the reef system located in the northern portion of the Florida Keys.  The Dive Shop has collected more than 2,400 pounds of traps and line entangled on the reefs that are causing damage to the corals. These clean-up efforts are part of Goal –Clean Seas Florida Keys and are helping to restore and maintain the health of these sensitive reef eco-systems. Some quick take aways from the presentation: there are 13 National Marine Sanctuaries and our own Ocean Reef is the only living coral reef. Fish and Wildlife has issued 350,000 lobster traps and the clean-up of rope and traps after hurricane Irma is ongoing and immensely labor intensive! A quick way to donate to the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is by phone text donation: Text “OCEANREEF” to 44-321 and it will be earmarked to The Dive Shop at Ocean Reef project.  For members looking to help on their clean up dives, snorkelers are welcome, the following dates are planned for cleaning up our local waters: April 17^th, May 8^th, May 22^nd, June 5^th, June 19^th, July 10^th, July 31^st, August 14^th and August 28^th. Please stop by the Dive Shop if you would like to help and to learn more about their efforts and all the great programs they have and their new boats!

Our Rod and Gun Everglades City member trip proved to be a fun few days of fishing and dining! Matt Fritter organized the trip with both fly and spin rod fishing sportsmen. For those thinking about joining Rod and Gun we have an Annual Event, Monthly Get Togethers, Group Trips, Conservation Education and of course our Clay Shooting Range. The Range is open during the season Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays 10am-3pm. To join simply fill out the membership form at the bottom of the page on the website HERE. The location and details are available on our recently redesigned website: Rodandgun.org. We encourage all members to go to the website for information and great member photos!

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Our members are enjoying a great fishing season this year! We have two more Rod and Gun Fishing Tournaments this season so please be sure to book your guides and captains and sign up! Contact Ken Reda at Marine Max for entry forms and to submit your entries. Please visit our newly improved website RodandGun.org for all the latest information and updated Member Photos! 

Upcoming Events:

• Swordfish Tournament – Friday, April 19
Entries must be submitted by April 12th.
Click Here for the Entry Information and Form

• Flats Tournament – Wednesday, April 24
Entries must be submitted by April 17th.
Click here for Entry Information and Form.

Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy Brainard at 203-253-7790. We love sharing our Rod and Gun members’ photos and including them in our Annual Event slide show. If you are interested in joining, please email membership@rodandgun.org.

On March 17th, 2019, John Imbesi on “Huntress” caught an amazing Thresher Shark measuring 11 feet 10 inches with an overall estimated weight of 307 pounds. It is important to note a deep water Thresher shark is one of the finest eating sharks. Many aficionados stating that it is significantly better tasting than the prized Mako Shark. This surprising catch was prepared as table food and widely distributed throughout the Ocean Reef community and enjoyed by many.

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Our members are enjoying a great fishing season this year! We have two more Rod and Gun Fishing Tournaments this season so please be sure to book your guides and captains and sign up! Contact Ken Reda at Marine Max for entry forms and to submit your entries. Please visit our newly improved website RodandGun.org for all the latest information and updated Member Photos! 

Upcoming Events:

• The Sailfish Classic Tournament (an ORC event) – April 4-6, 2019
  CLICK HERE for details
• Swordfish Tournament – Friday, April 19
• Flats Tournament – Wednesday, April 24

Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy Brainard at 203-253-7790. We love sharing our Rod and Gun members’ photos and including them in our Annual Event slide show. If you are interested in joining, please email membership@rodandgun.org.

A huge congratulations to 2019 Jimmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring Champions and Rod & Gun Club members Carl and Vanessa Lindner on Seraphim.

March 8 and 9, over 100 teams descended upon Key Largo to compete for the world’s largest guaranteed purse in history at #JJFishweek. This year, three Rod & Gun teams placed in the Top 10, two of those placing Top 3. .

• 1^st Place Overall with 12 releases: Seraphim with Carl & Vanessa Lindner (2^nd Place Top Female Angler – 4 fish)
• 3^rd Place Overall with 10 releases: Bar South with Rob Gothier (1^st Place Top Male Angler & Master Angler – 6 fish)
• 9^th Place Overall with 7 releases: Red Lion with Gerald Blackie

Day One was a hot bite with 205 fish caught. Day Two was slower with 105 fish caught for a tournament total of 310 sailfish.

Seraphim started the day one with a quad but only landed 2 of the fish. They next landed a double and continued catching singles until lines out. Ending the day with 7 fish, they were in 4^th place, the top boat at 8 fish.

On Day Two, Vanessa landed a 63.7 lb. king mackerel. They caught a couple single fish, landed another double, and caught their last sailfish midday. With over two hours until lines out and in the lead with 12 fish, they patiently held on. The bite slowed and they took the 3^rd place daily with 5 fish, the top boat at 6. With 12 fish overall, they took home the big win! Tight competition between the boats included the 2^nd Place winner Sandman (with Top Female Angler Sandra MacMillan – 6 fish) with 11 releases.

Team Seraphim – Carl Lindner IV, Vanessa Lindner,Captain Jerry Pohl, First Mate Richard Peeples, Mates Pat Brown and Albert Hernandez, and videographer John Long – have fished this tournament together the last 3 years. Captai Jerry took Top Captain prize. They attribute their continued success to everyone’s hard work, time on the water together, and dedication to the team. Huge Congrats to Team Seraphim!!!!

Pictures below:
– Vanessa Lindner, Second place female angler
– Serpahim – Winners
– Carl and Vanessa Lindner – receiving top prizes!
– 3rd place overall BAR South
– Rob Gothier -BAR South -Master Angler and Top Male Angler

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