Category: Uncategorized

Rod & Gun Members have been enjoying the beautiful waters as they hunker down during the Covid-19 pandemic. Rob Gothier and Jeffery Bey caught this 6ft+ over 200lb swordfish during this rough time for our world. The Gothiers put a large cooler outside their front door and had a stream of friends and neighbors showing up for fresh Swordfish! Over 14 families enjoyed this fresh catch! This is the very essence of what this sport is about -now more than ever!

Keep sharing your sporting pictures by texting Wendy at 203 253-7790. And each one you send is also posted to our GALLERY.

Bar South Swordfish picture – Gareth Haddam, Eddie Ferrer, Rob Gothier, Jeffery Bey

• 

Mattie Johnson and his son Riley enjoyed a catching a nice 18 lb Mutton Snapper on the patches right in front of the Reef.   And Riley Johnson with a beautiful Parrot fish, released.

• 

• 

And see Mattie and Art Berry with a 75lb swordfish which they released.

• 

We are postponing the Annual Event and celebrating our 25^th year in  November. Rod & Gun members are used to social distancing with fishing and shooting activities! Our Card Sound Range will remain Open. The rental guns will be wiped down. As group activities come to a halt, come out and try our newly renovated Range. It is a fun and a good way to enjoy our outdoor facility! Range Hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 10-3pm.

Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy at 203 253-7790. We love sharing our Rod & Gun Members photos and including them in our Annual Event slide show!

And check out Pam Cook with a 26lb Black Grouper and our own Wendy Brainard with a Bonito on Red Lion with Capt Brendon Muller!

We are excited to see our Members and their guests Tuesday, March 31st at 5:30pm in Cultural Center! The dinner will feature a hunting and fishing theme. The highlight of the Raffle will be a brand new high-powered Stoeger S4000 pellet gun with scope donated by our own Mike Murphy!

We will then head into the theater for new hunting & fishing related short films with an emphasis on one of our Members completing the Keys grand slam on fly. Please confirm your reservation by emailing Events@Rodandgun.org with your member number, $150++ per person.

Up Coming Dates:
March Fish of the Month: Snapper, All Species
March 31^st – Rod & Gun Annual Event featuring cocktails, a raffle, The Short Films and a delicious dinner.
Range is Open: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 10-3pm.

Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy at 203 253-7790. We love sharing our Rod and Gun Members photos and including them in our Annual Event slide show!

And check out Wade and Thomas Copeland, 6 for 7 on sail fish last Sunday. Not pictured, Chris Page and Bud Copeland.

• 

With the great fishing and fishing tournaments in full gear comes a reminder for best practices. Sailfish, Tarpon, Bonefish and Permit need to stay wet so they can survive after being released.  Below, Rod and Gun board member Jack Salisbury shows the proper release of a Permit caught here in our waters. Catch and Release only works if the fish are spared from coming out of the water. Sailfish a favorite sport fish should never come out of the water for a photo! The Bonefish & Tarpon Trust has the following recommendations for catch and release:

Best practices include: Always use barbless hooks. When fishing with bait, use circle hooks. Minimize handling all fish; slime and scales can be easily damaged and removed with excessive handling, thereby greatly increasing risks of infection. If a bonefish loses equilibrium after you land it, revive it until it can swim upright, then shorten the fight time on future fish. More on proper catch and release can be found at bonefishtarpontrust.org

• Up Coming Dates:
• February Fish of the Month: Tuna and Snook
• March 9^th – Coral Reef Restoration Presentation at the Cultural Center, 5:00 P.M.
• March 31^st – Rod and Gun Annual Event featuring The Short Sporting Films and a delicious dinner.
• Range is Open: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 10-3pm.

Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy at 203 253-7790. We love sharing our Rod and Gun Members photos and including them in our Annual Event slide show!

See Jack Salisbury releasing a nice Permit! And Rob Gothier with a 32lb African Pompano caught in the Palm Beach inlet on Bar South.

The Rod & Gun’s Card Sound Shooting Range is available for private events. Members have had private family days and the Bonefish Bonnies had a Cast and Blast day at the Range. This past Sunday afternoon ORC Rod & Gun Club hosted Girl Scout Troupe 1804 for a gun safety presentation, private lessons and fun on the sniper range (Air guns). Range safety officer, Rich Wright did the presentation, Corey Carr, our target specialist took charge of the sniper (Air guns) range and the head shooting instructor from Orvis, Truel Myers provided lessons.

Up Coming Dates:

February Fish of the Month: Tuna and Snook
March 9^th – Coral Reef Restoration Presentation at the Cultural Center, 5:00 P.M.
March 31^st – Rod and Gun Annual Event featuring The Short Films and a delicious dinner.

Card Sound Shooting Range is Open: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 10-3pm. And try out the Bow Range with 3D animal targets!

Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy at 203 253-7790. We love sharing our Rod and Gun Members photos and including them in our Annual Event slide show!

See the pictures at the Range with the Girl Scout troupe.

And finally see 10 of our Rod & Gun members on a quail hunt at Gilchrist Hunt Club in North Florida:

• 

Please come to Cultural Center at 5:00 P.M. on March 9^th to hear about the Coral Reef Restoration taking place!

Corals are thriving at Carysfort Reef! Ocean Reef Club, Ocean Reef Conservation Association, Ocean Reef Rod & Gun Club, and the Coral Reef Restoration Foundation embarked on an unprecedented project to restore Carysfort Reef by hand planting of 32,000 individual corals.  So much so that NOAA and other funding sources plan to spend $100 million dollars to restore the seven iconic reefs of the Keys including $40 million for Carysfort.

Looking ahead, please mark your calendars; March 31^st for our Annual Event. We will be having the The Short Films, back by popular demand, and a delicious dinner.

For you shooters check HERE for directions to the Range and hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 10-3pm. The Range is open to Rod & Gun Members. Membership details are available HERE. Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy at 203 253-7790. We love sharing our Rod & Gun Members photos and including them in our Annual Event slide show!

And check out John Imbesi who recently caught a rare Pomfret at 1800 feet on the Huntress. This was a first for John after decades of fishing. The beauty of our waters and the diversity of fish makes Ocean Reef a very special place and last week was an extra special day for the Huntress.  John and friends enjoyed a very tasty dinner! John with mate Jesus Baylina, on Huntress with Captain Dan DeBonis:

• 

Speaking to a large group last week at our monthly Rod & Gun gathering, Bill Tweardy demonstrated the intricate process of making a bamboo fly rod. For the demonstration on hand, shown were the stages of the process from the uncut Bamboo piece, the cut pieces, the tools and of course the end product. Bamboo has greater tensile strength (or resistance to being pulled apart) than steel, and it withstands compression better than concrete. It was truly fascinating to see how it is done! In real time, the process on average takes about 40 hours! Bill’s handmade bamboo fly rods are his legacy to pass on to his children and grandchildren and a true work of art and no he does not sell them! Check out the pictures below from the gathering:

• 

• 

• 

Looking ahead, please mark your calendars; March 31^st for our Annual Event. We will be having the The Short Films, back by popular demand, and a delicious dinner.

For you shooters check HERE for directions to the Range and hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 10-3pm. The Range is open to Rod & Gun Members. Membership details are available HERE. Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy at 203 253-7790. We love sharing our Rod & Gun Members photos and including them in our Annual Event slide show!

Check out these action shots from the 2020 Reef Cup from Ken Hendrick!

• 

• 

• 

• 

Rod and Gun Fishing Members and anyone, for that matter, who enjoy our unique environment, are encouraged to give feedback, concerns, issues and recommendations to help design the new blue print for our waters.

The plan includes four alternatives including status quo and three alternatives that range in levels of protection.  Each alternative addresses potential boundary changes, sanctuary wide-regulation changes and potential new zones (and associated regulations).  The alternatives also include a Management Plan, which speaks to the considerable activities sanctuary staff undertake on a day-to-day basis that provide resource protection benefits.

The public is invited to comment on these plans to help shape the future of these precious resources.  Public comments will be taken until January 31, 2020.  Comments can be sent by letter to Sarah Fangman, Superintendent, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (33 East Quay Road, Key West, FL 33040) or using Regulations.gov using docket number NOAA-NOS-2019-0094.   Comments received to date can also be viewed on that regulations.gov web site.  As a reminder: comments can be taken on any aspect of the proposals, and may support actions that are included in different alternatives.  More information about the proposals (including interactive maps that can be used to visually explore the alternatives) and how to get involved is available at www.floridakeys.noaa.gov/blueprint

Now is the time to have your voice heard as we make important decisions about the future of our marine environment. 

Looking ahead, please mark your calendars; March 31^st for our Annual Event – Rod & Gun Movie Night. We will be having the the Short Sporting Films, back by popular demand, and a delicious dinner. If you haven’t already done so, visit HERE info and directions to the Range and hours of operation: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 10am-3pm. Membership details are available on the website as well. Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy at 203 253-7790. We love sharing our Rod & Gun Members photos and including them in our Annual Event slide show!

And check out JJ Henn on Wingman with a sailfish – Reef Cup 2020. And congratulations to Sweat Release/Buckalot for the victory!

• 

We are excited for our Rod and Gun Members who are fishing Reef Cup! Good luck and don’t forget to text pictures!

Our Rod & Gun Get Together is Thursday January 30^th at 5pm. We will be hosting wine and appetizers for Bill Tweardy’s presentation on Bamboo Fly Rods. No RSVP necessary for this casual and fun meeting at the Member Tennis Center upstairs Card Room. We will have Rod & Gun apparel for purchase.

Looking ahead, please mark your calendars; March 31^st for our Annual Event – Rod & Gun Movie Night. We will be having the the Short Sporting Films, back by popular demand, and a delicious dinner. If you haven’t already done so, visit HERE info and directions to the Range and hours of operation: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 10am-3pm. Membership details are available on the website as well. Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy at 203 253-7790. We love sharing our Rod & Gun Members photos and including them in our Annual Event slide show!

And check out Richard Owsley’s 30lb Permit with Captain James Koch…

• 

With the holidays behind us, it is time to plan ahead. In January, we have the Reef Cup – January 22^nd-25^th and the Rod and Gun Get Together on the 30^th. March 30^th is Film Night back by popular demand! The Card Sound Shooting Range is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 10am -3pm. The two family days at the Range were a big success! Take a look at our drone video of the Range on our Rod and Gun website. The Rod and Gun flyer was mailed out to our current members with the full schedule of events.

Share your Member Sporting Pictures by texting Wendy at 203 253-7790. We encourage all member photos! Interested in joining? Please go to RodandGun.Org and click “Membership” and fill out the online application form. Questions please email: Membership@RodandGun.org

And check out Anne Marie Weiland’s 61 lb. wahoo, with Captain Nick Favata on Chesapeake. Nice catch !

•