Friday, December 31, 2010

NEW TELEVISON SEASON KICKS OFF ON NEW YEAR’S DAY!

NEW TELEVISON SEASON KICKS OFF ON NEW YEAR’S DAY!

The new season of George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing will debut
on VERSUS on Saturday, January 1, 2011, at 11:30 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time).
Our show will then air every Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and on Fridays at 4:00 p.m. For
a complete listing of my new shows and their respective airing dates and times, visit:
www.georgepoveromo.com

The year 2011 will mark our 11th year on national television. One may wonder “what
happened to ESPN2?”, where we aired for ten years. The answer is that ESPN has gotten
out of the outdoors/fish TV business. Effective January 1, 2011, all their fishing shows
will cease airing, save for B.A.S.S. (which the network had owned and, according to what
I’ve heard, had finally sold). All their fishing/outdoors show hosts got the word back
in May that they will be no longer airing on the network. The “official” announcement
from ESPN as to why they dropped their outdoor programming was that they (the
network) wanted to get back to their roots of live-programming of competitive events.
Rumor has it that soccer and pre-NASCAR coverage will now take over the outdoors
time slot. However, since ESPN contracts out the production of some of their outdoor
programming, and then gives the responsibility of selling sponsors to fund these ventures
to their advertising departments, one has to believe that the soft economy and lack of
their getting sponsorships for some of these shows wasn’t the real reason behind their
decision to drop outdoors.

Fortunately for us, we were picked up by the VERSUS network. Beginning this
January, VERSUS will now become the largest national network which airs outdoors
shows. VERSUS is owned by COMCAST. We’re thrilled to be part of the family! Since
June, my crew and I have been traveling long and hard to shoot our new 2011 series, and
we wrapped up our shooting just a few weeks ago. We have some terrific episodes on
tap! I must credit my immediate production team for making our show the success that
it is: Kevin Tierney, Rob “Swede” Greene, Mr. Miller, and Craig Woloshin. Without
them, there’d be no George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing.

As I leave ESPN and join the VERSUS family, I have nothing but good things to say
about my decade-long run on ESPN2. I’ve met and worked with some really wonderful
people there, and the entire experience has made for one incredible dream ride! As a
member of the VERSUS family, I look forward to doing my part with our show to make
sure VERSUS remains the leader in quality outdoors programming.

Please tune in and watch our shows!

Monday, December 27, 2010

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS CHRISTMAS

This Sunday afternoon, the day after Christmas, finds us still up in Howey-In-The-
Hills – a quaint little town on the shores of the Harris Chain of Lakes, about 35 miles
northwest of Orlando. The family and I have been here nearly a week, where we spent a
nice, quiet and relaxing Christmas. There’s nothing to report in the way of fishing, as it
has been way too cold to “justify” my getting into thermals and layers to chase after bass.
Sailfish, for sure – but bass? Just a nice, relaxing week! Tonight and Monday evening,
the low temps are predicted to be in the upper 20s, as yet another strong cold front pushes
through. Definitely, no bass fishing on this trip!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

CORAL SPRINGS HOLIDAY PARADE

The MARC VI was in the Coral Springs Holiday parade, lit up like a Christmas tree
and carrying a few elves. It was entered under “Garnett Storage” - the boat/RV facility
in Coral Springs that has been the home of the MARC VI for 16 years. Steve Garnett
had asked if I’d let him enter the MARC VI in the parade months ago, to showcase his
business, and I happily agreed.

A huge, special thank you goes to friend Carl Grassi, who – along with the assistance of
his two crew members Vladimir and Danny – spent five hours decorating my boat and
Steve’s vehicle the day prior to the parade. I’d like to say I was instrumental in helping
Carl and his gang decorate the boat, but I’ll admit I was in their way more than I was
an asset. I got the hint when Carl sent me on the road to find an inflatable Santa for the
boat, while they kept on decorating! Carl is the owner of Carl’s Sunoco on Sample Road
in Coral Springs. In addition to being a virtual mechanical genius (he does my auto and
most of my boat work) and a good saltwater angler (he owns a center console and a flats
skiff), he also sells non-Ethanol fuel. You guessed it; this is where I fuel up my boat and
vehicle!

As usual, Sample Road was jammed-pack with spectators, and it took nearly two hours
for all the entries to travel the parade route. We were assigned spot # 42, and there were
at least 20 some floats behind us. Did I mention it was bitter cold in that boat? Despite
the cold, it was an enjoyable night. Plus, there was no boat or tackle to wash afterwards!

Garnett Storage is a well-run storage yard that caters to RVs and boats. It is nestled
between the Coral Springs Police shooting range and the Coral Springs Fire Department
training facility. If that’s not enough heat to keep the place safe, Steve has two live-in
nighttime security people. It is about as safe a storage place as one can get. Rumor also
has it that Steve Garnett will start a fishing club, for all the boaters he has in his yard. I
hear tales about a commercial-grade ice machine coming to the property - where boaters
can load up on shaved ice, a boat wash-down station, fish-cleaning facility, and monthly
meetings. Look for all this to crank up sometime in the new year.


With a little help from Carl’s gang! Left to right – Danny, Carl,
me, and Vladimir. Carl owns Carl’s Sunoco on Sample Road in Coral Springs. He
decorated the MARC VI and the tow vehicle for the parade.


Nothing like dredges off the outriggers to light up the night!


Wonder how fast the Coast Guard would respond to a boat this lit
up well offshore at night?!


OK, I’ll give up my “hot spot” that night: It’s on the Lowrance
screen for all to see!


In case you couldn’t figure it out on the map, or see the GPS
numbers, here you go!


The Garnett Elves!


Thursday, December 9, 2010

It's A Wrap!

We wrapped up our final television shoot for our 2011 season this past Monday
(December 6) in Big Pine Key! And we did it in style, catching Cero and king mackerel,
dolphin and a sailfish. We even live-chummed up a bunch of big bonitos, which gave us
some fun on light spin tackle.

Carl Grassi, a friend who also owns Carl’s Sunoco in Coral Springs – where I gas
up the MARC VI with his “non-Ethanol” fuel, was my guest angler. We timed the shoot
and trailed down to Big Pine on Friday afternoon, as the winds from a passing cold front
were beginning to subside. As luck would have it, an Artic Clipper (real strong cold
front!) was on the preceding front’s heels, and projected to pass through the lower Florida
Keys on Sunday evening, bringing 25-knot winds and low temperatures into the 40s.
Talk about a tiny window to squeeze this shoot through!

We were based at Parmer’s Resort, at mile marker 28.5 on Little Torch Key
(www.ParmersResort.com). We kept the MARC VI, and Carl’s boat – which we used as
our camera boat, at one of Parmer’s lagoon docks. This was a very convenient, trailer-
boater friendly place. Best of all, we were just a few minutes from open water.
Bundled up in layers, long pants and jackets, Carl and I set forth to find fish. We
had a nice, ten- to 15-knot northwest wind, with its energy scrubbed off by the land, flats
and patch reefs (we were on the lee of the breeze). Our plan was to troll natural baits,
or drift live baits and also deep jig, based on what we found in the way of any bait, rips,
color changes, temperature breaks, etc.

When we opted to troll, we ran about 16 miles to some good looking structure
which fluctuated between 550 and 600 feet. Once there, the surface water temperature
had risen to 78 degrees (it was 76 degrees on the reefs). We put out a spread of baits
on 30-pound class Penn tackle, and went hunting for fish, or signs that would lead us to
them. We eventually turned the bow toward shore, looking to troll into 200 feet of water.

In 300-feet, we caught a dolphin. There were no followers and we proceeded shallower
after trolling that zone produced nothing additional. In 110 feet of water, we came upon a
significant color change and rip, complete with weeds. We trolled tight up to the rip and
then paralleled it, moving in and off it some 100 feet.
After boating two more dolphin, Carl hooks up with a sail – which ate a small,
plain ballyhoo trolled off the starboard outrigger. A beautiful, acrobatic and lit-up fish, I
billed the sailfish, removed the hook and – after admiring it a few seconds – set it free!

The live-baiting portion brought us our kingfish, Cero mackerel, bonito and a
few sharks. Deep jigging was a bit on the quiet side, as the tactic registered just a single
kingfish.

I won’t describe how the action went or get too much into the technical aspects,
simply because I don’t want to spoil the episode! Look for it in early 2011.

A huge tip of the white visor and “Thank You” goes out to my entire production
team for another great season. They’re the best. On our final shoot was Kevin Tierney,
Rob “Swede” Greene, and “Dynamite” Dave Nyitray. Carl Grassi and I had the easy job:
catching the fish!


Fish-Eye view of Carl Grassi and me trolling off Big Pine Key. Kevin Tierney captured the moment.


Kevin Tierney took this neat underwater shot of a dolphin, during our Big Pine Key shoot.


Thursday, December 2, 2010

HIALEAH SPEEDWAY REUNION

As luck would have it, the first ever Hialeah Speedway Reunion was held the
Saturday evening of Thanksgiving weekend, in nearby Celebration, Florida. From
when I was nine- years old and to when I was nearly 19, my grandfather took me to that
track nearly every Saturday night to watch the stock car races. Bobby Brack was the
winningest driver to have ever raced at that speedway, which closed in 2005, and he was
my idol! I’d cheer him on, then say hello to him in the pits after the races. He was larger
than life to me.
After Brack retired from racing, and I had gone on to college, I quit going to the
races. Some years later, I saw him at a fishing tournament. It turned out he loves to
fish. So, he and I had become reunited and he has since been an instrumental part of my
fishing team.
The reunion was a great walk back in time, as some 400 drivers, car owners and
fans were on hand in that hotel ballroom. Most of the top drivers were there. It was also
an “eye-opener”, as I’ve not seen most of these guys since I was a kid, 35 years ago; I
had a “visual” in my mind of what they looked like back then, so you can imagine how
taken I was over how differently they looked that night! Time does indeed march on!
Brack, incidentally, was inducted into the Hialeah Speedway Hall of Fame that evening,
along with 11 others.


Me and Bobby Brack, after his induction into the Hialeah Speedway Hall of Fame


Bobby Brack with yellowfin tuna caught aboard the MARC VI this summer


Brack at Hialeah Speedway in "the day"


1974 - Me and Brack after he won his sixth straight, annual 200-lap South Florida State Championship, at Hialeah Speedway


1970 - Me and Brack after he won the 200-lap South Florida State Championship, at Hialeah Speedway


A HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS THANKSGIVING

The entire family spent the week of Thanksgiving in the lake country of Central
Florida, more specifically – Howey-In-The-Hills on Little Lake Harris, about 35-miles
northwest of Orlando. I love it up here, as the scenery is so different than what I’m used
to with my coastal fishing. This is lake country, and bass fishing is HUGE here!
Of course, every time I’m here, I chase after some bass. The biggest challenge is
trying to figure out where they’re at, either along or in the vegetation lining the shore, or
along drop offs and deep structure. I’m not a freshwater angler, so I think “seatrout” and
fish accordingly. I caught 27 bass on this trip, with the largest weighing four-pounds.