30th Class Reunion

I recently attended my 30th High School Reunion. The photo is of me, Mark Ballard, and my friends Henry Riess, and Raul Aragon. Henry is now a pilot for American Airlines and Raul is a Pharmacist and owns his own drug store in Boynton Beach Florida. We all graduated from Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach Florida in 1977.

In case you're wondering it was a tropical theme.

Messer hooks inshore slam worth $1,000

A total of 133 anglers participated in the Riverside Café / Vero Tackle Inshore Fishing Tournament on Saturday. But no one won as big as Wayne Messer.

Messer took home a $1,000 payout for catching a slam of trout, redfish and flounder, which weighed in at 10 pounds, beating out Bruddy Tyson's slam of 9 1/2 pounds.

Most of the big trout were caught early in the morning on topwater plugs. Derek Seiger won $750 in the trout division, finishing first with a weight of 7 1/2 pounds. Mike Olvey won the redfish division and $750, with a fish weighing in at 6.6 pounds.

Colin Willis won the junior angler slam, catching a ladyfish (.85 pounds), a jack (1.3 pounds) and a sheephead (2.05 pounds) to win a rod, reel, cast net and $100. Cody Ward won a rod and a reel in the junior division as well.

Fish Addict sweeps snapper in TCBA

By ED KILLER
edward.killer@scripps.com

June 11, 2007
FORT PIERCE — The busiest weekend in Treasure Coast fishing tournament history came to a close Sunday as competitors weighed catches in four of the weekend's five events.

A quick scan of the leaderboards revealed that it was a good weekend to target snapper, but maybe not so good to target swordfish, while spearfishing is pretty good right now.

Click here for the full story.

Fly Fishing In Martha's Vineyard

Here's a nice article from Steve Grant of the Hartford Courant

May 20, 2007http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
By STEVE GRANT, Courant Staff Writer

MARTHA'S VINEYARD -- We were bouncing down the beach in a big four-wheel-drive pickup, going fishing, when Cooper Gilkes, one of the most respected guides on Martha's Vineyard, stopped to talk to a ranger.

You should have been here this morning," the ranger said. "Six o'clock this morning, it was unbelievable." That is, there were striped bass everywhere. Now, it appeared, they were somewhere else.

"Don't tell me that," Gilkes said. "I don't want to hear that." I was riding shotgun, and I didn't want to hear it either.

I had come to Martha's Vineyard for one reason: to catch a striped bass on a fly rod.

It was early May, after a winter that wouldn't go away. The migratory striped bass and bluefish showed up off the Vineyard more than a week late, and even now were only trickling in. Fishing was agonizingly slow, at the very time of year when anyone who even occasionally wets a line has the itch to be on the water. (More)

Breast cancer survivors enjoy fly fishing with event

By DAVID THOMPSON - dthompson@sungazette.com
DAVID THOMPSON/Sun-Gazette

Diane Chesnut vainly attempts to interest a pair of large trout into taking a bite of her Wooly Bugger fly as Trout Unlimited volunteer Rich Masters looks on. On Saturday, the Susquehanna Chapter of Trout Unlimited hosted “Casting for Recovery,” a day-long fishing trip in which volunteer fly fishing experts teamed up with breast cancer survivors for a day of trout fishing on Lycoming Creek.

(More)

Splash and dash: Florida is a haven for seaplanes

Here is an interesting article by By Wes Smith of the Orlando Sentinel. However every time I see a sea plane I can't help but think about the one that crashed off of Miami Beach two years ago.

Snook Season Comes To An End

Snook anglers have until 11:59 p.m. tonight to keep the season's final two fish between 27 and 34 inches. Snook season will close tonight at midnight until Sept. 1.

While it will be strictly catch and release for snook until September, there is a strong possibility that anglers on Florida's Atlantic coast will have the bag limit reduced to one fish per person and the slot reduced to between 28 and 32 inches.

The proposed changes to the snook rules will be discussed at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's meeting and final public hearing on the matter June 14 at the Radisson Suit Hotel Oceanfront in Melbourne. To see the complete agenda, visit www.MyFWC.com and see the news release.

Indian River Lagoon Fishing Report

Indian River Lagoon Coast Fishing Report, May 14, 2007

Complements of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka Florida

Has anyone bothered to enlighten Mother Nature on the premise that we are approaching the middle of May, because she seems to be a little confused? Like April, blustery breezes have dominated the weather this past week, and by the looks of the long-range forecast, we haven’t seen the end of nasty weather conditions yet. First, we had sub-tropical storm Andrea settle in on us Monday, with gale force winds and seas offshore up to 16 feet, and now a back door front has delivered some well-needed rain followed up by east winds up to 30 knots. Although this report is starting off on an ominous note, I did manage a few nice days of fishing in between systems, and it looks like Wednesday might be fishable as well.

My week started out great on Sunday the May 6th with perfect conditions, and I was privileged to have Mark and his son Matt onboard Three Quarter Time for a day of inshore fishing on the Indian River Lagoon. Both Mark and Matt have fished freshwater, but this was their first experience on the saltwater flats of the IRL, and the thought of redfish occupied their minds.

As usual, I arriver early around 5:30am and launched in Titusville, and instead of hanging around and blocking a busy ramp, I eased out into the Lagoon and tossed out a Chug Bug. Well believe or not, the fish were busting baitfish on the surface in the darkness, and I ended up landed three spotted sea trout and a gafftopsail catfish before returning to the dock to pick up Mark and Matt. Once we returned the previous location, both Mark and Matt experienced numerous strikes, but neither managed a solid hook-up. The bite quickly shouts down once the Sunday morning boat traffic picked up, so we moved on.

Our next stop was a flat on the east shore of the Lagoon, and again the ladyfish and sea trout were all over the Rip Roller and Chug Bug plugs. As we pushed deeper into the flat, I received a phone call from my good friend Mike Bridges, who was calling us in on several schools of nice redfish. Over the years, I have developed many great friendships with anglers on the Lagoon who are of the mind-set I refer to as the abundance mentality. We are all out there for the same reasons, and together we share information and catch more fish, which is what these fishing reports are all about, and in this case Mike made it easer for me to facilitate the desire of my clients, and yes Mike, we greatly appreciate your benevolence. As we poled up on Mike’s position, we started spotting tails, and both Mark and Matt scored handsome redfish with Matt catching the largest at 34-inches.

For the remainder of the week, dangerous conditions were experienced on the water, and I was forced to either postpone or cancel the remainder of my week’s charters.

On Friday, I loaded up my pick-up with three Freedom Hawk Kayaks, and it was off to Jacksonville to attend the Forth Annual Jacksonville Kayak Fishing Classic Tournament. The Classic is a catch, photograph, and release paddle fishing event organized and promoted by the Internet forum www.jaxkayakfishing.com, with all proceeds benefit the Daniel Foundation. This event is the largest CPR kayak-fishing tournament in the world and it included 282 registered anglers and over 60,000 in prizes. Although I didn’t make the board or win one of the 17 kayaks awarded, I have to admit this was the most fun I have ever experienced at any tournament, and some of the friendliest anglers I’ve had the honor to fish with, and I would like to thank Mike and Michelle Kogan and all of the other outstanding volunteers and sponsors who made the event such a great success.

John and Jeff Cameron from Freedom Hawk Kayaks in Michigan and I established Team Freedom Hawk, and although we have never fished in the Jacksonville area, the excellent weather and some great tips from other anglers set the stage for some assume fishing and a great angling experience.

As always, if you have any question or need more information, please contact me.

Good Luck and good fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn

Ed's Best Bet: Tarpon on the prowl

By ED KILLER
edward.killer@scripps.com
May 24, 2007

They're here! That was the email I received last week from Capt. Joe Massaro with a photo of a leaping silver king at the end of someone's line.

In the background appeared to be High Point — the tip of Sewall's Point marking the spot as the Crossroads — the intersection of the St. Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon, St. Lucie Inlet and Manatee Pocket.


The annual migration of tarpon begin to show in good numbers along the Treasure Coast anywhere from late April into late May and generally the tarpon fishing can be quite good throughout the entire summer until the end of the fall mullet run in late October.

The windy weekend will likely prevent anglers from sight fishing opportunities for the silver kings, but with luck, we'll be able to start chasing them next week. Until then, look for them in residential canals and spots where land-based anglers can cast to them.

Here I'll try to run down a few spots to be on the lookout for the tell tale roll of the king of the game fish.

1. Roosevelt Bridge, Stuart. How is it that no matter what I'm writing about, this spot comes up.
2. C-23 Canal spillway, Bessey Creek, Palm City.
3. Crossroads, Stuart.
4. Big and Little Mud Creek, Hutchinson Island. Have to go into Big Mud down the road on the north side.
5. Blind Creek, Hutchinson Island.
6. North Fork, Five Fingers area, Port St. Lucie.
7. C-24 Spillway, Port St. Lucie.
8. Fort Pierce Inlet Jetty.
9. Taylor Creek, Fort Pierce.
10. Barber Bridge, Vero Beach.
11. Sebastian River.
12. Sebastian Inlet Jetty.

Indian River Fishing News

The Indian River Bass Anglers fished Saturday on Lake Pierce near Lake Wales. Good fish were caught by the 10 anglers and five boats that made the trip.

Lee Turner and Joe Kubik of Vero Beach caught a total weight of 19 pounds, 1-ounce, with Turner's 7-pound, 12-ouncer the big fish of the day.

Other catches included 14 pounds, 5-ounces for Robert and Terry Kimbrough of Vero Beach; 10 pounds, 8-ounces for John Fink and Mert Dillard; 5-pounds, 15-ounces for Edwin and Joy Kimbrough and four pounds for Rob and Paul Maddaloni.

The next meeting of the Indian River Bass Anglers Club will be June 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. B's Restaurant, 8245 SR 60 in Vero Beach. For information call Robert Kimbrough at (772) 559-2547.

HBCA inshore fishes; offshore now June 8-9

Rough seas forced the Home Builders and Contractors Association of Brevard to postpone its offshore fishing tournament until June 9, but 80 anglers fished the inshore portion of the tournament Saturday.

Don Patterson, of Melbourne, won the HBCA Double Slam's slam award with 18.55 pounds of snook, trout and redfish including the event's first place redfish of 6.7 pounds. He collected $500 for the slam and $400 for the redfish. Fishing partner Roland Jones won the trout category with a 9.5-pounder worth $400. John Langdon won the snook division with a 12.70-pounder edging Jerry Seidel's snook of the same size based on time in to the scale at Squid Lips Restaurant in Sebastian.

The event was sanctioned by the Treasure Coast Flats Circuit and 69 anglers received TCF points. For TCF standings after four events visit www.tcfcircuit.com. To sign up for the HBCA Double Slam Offshore event call (800) 370-3720. Entry is $150 per boat.

Fishing Frenzy Moves to June 15-16

The St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce announced it has rescheduled its 11th annual Fishing Frenzy dolphin tournament for June 15-16. Anglers can still pickup entry forms at area tackle shops in Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, at the Chamber office, 2200 Virginia Ave., Fort Pierce, or online at www.stluciechamber.org. Entry is $225 per boat and the event will pay $10,000 for the heaviest dolphin caught. Call (772) 595-9999.

Hobe Sound chamber moves up summer sizzler

The Hobe Sound Chamber of Commerce announced it will move its annual Summer Sizzler fishing tournament to July 13-14. The captain's meeting will be at 6 p.m. Friday, July 13 at Harry and the Natives, 11910 S.E. Federal Highway, Hobe Sound. Weigh-in and awards will be at Blowing Rocks Marina in Tequesta.

Anglers will compete for cash prizes in dolphin, kingfish, wahoo, grouper and snapper divisions. Entry fee is $200 per boat and $225 after July 6. Proceeds will benefit Hobe Sound Chamber community programs.

All About The Indian River Lagoon

A Lagoon is by nature a very shallow body of water. The Indian River Lagoon has an average depth of only 2 1/2 feet. Many of the mangrove islands were formed in the 1920's when the Army Corps of Engineers first dredged the ICW to allow safe inland navigation for large vessels. Vero Beach and the Indian River Lagoon is also the home of the famous Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute.

Using giant dredges they would suck the bottom soil from middle of the lagoon and simply deposit it to either side. Eventually these deposits would sprout life in the form of mangrove seedlings, Autrailian Pine trees, and assorted types of palm, and palmetto shrubs. In time it has produced a beautiful and scenic ecosystem.

Mature coastal fish like the snook, redfish, sea trout, tarpon, various types of sharks, barracuda, and jack cravalle migrate into the lagoon after spawning to deposit their eggs or to simply feed. It's in this lagoon that many fish will spend the first 3 to four years of life before reaching maturity, thus replacing the previous stock, and then it all happens over, and over again. As you may suspect these predatory fish aren't the only ones to take advantage of the estuary.

The prey fish use this ecosystem as well, mullet, threadfin herring, grunts, croakers, pinfish, glass minnows as well as shrimp and assorted crabs. The current estimate is that more than 4,300 types of fish and animals utilize the lagoon at one time or another over the course of their lives. Bottle nose dolphin, manatees and otters are just a few of the mammals that also share this very bountiful universe.

Let's also not forget the additional life above the water line. The sea birds; Pelicans, gulls, the fish eating cormorants, Herons, Ibis,' mammals like; Raccoons, Squirrels, Opossums, Bobcats, reptiles such as; Green and Brown Anole lizards, Snakes like the Black Racer, the Banded Water Snake, along with numerous toads and insects even alligators.

Mix all this together and what you get is a macrocosm for all types of wildlife. Plenty of food for the smaller prey fish to eat around the mangroves, crabs, shrimp, and small minnows making up the majority of their diet. In turn while they're fattening up under the protection of the mangroves the predatory fish are feasting on them.

The lagoon system is a unique environment a constant migration of life, and naturally death. Now granted this is not a very scientific explanation but I'm not a scientist I'm a fisherman, and all I know is that it's beautiful system that nature has devised. The only natural enemy threatening it are humans.

Summer Fishing Patterns In Florida

Trout action will continue to be good in the early mornings. That hour or so after the first light appears is the best time to fish. Calm waters with a top water popper and/or slider are both going to be what to look for. The early bird gets the worm as they say.

Snook are going to be under any kind of shade during the day. Mangroves with some good over hang and docks will give them plenty of cover. In the early mornings, the snook will still be on the flats, following the bait pods. Nighttime action will be the best time for the snook to take flies. Under any of the bridge and dock lights will be where to cast your fly. Moving water on an out going tide will be the best situation.

Tarpon fishing of the beaches will get better and better as the summer goes on. The "Cove", is a great place to go, if the conditions are right. Calm winds or a west wind will make the ocean nice and calm to make the run a little easier. Most of the residential canals will also be a good place to go for the tarpon. Early mornings and right up until dark is a great time for them, but don't rule out the night.

During the night, the jacks and ladyfish will also hit very well. Small minnow and small shrimp patterns work best. These fish on a 5 or 6 weight rod can be a blast.

Tight Lines,

Capt. Mark Ballard

Microsoft To Acquire Aquantive

Software giant Microsoft is to acquire the digital marketing company Aquantive for $6 billion, it has been announced. The move is part of a wider effort from the company to expand its presence in the lucrative world of online advertising.

After the acquisition, Microsoft will acquire Seattle-based Aquantive's Atlas Media Console and Drive PM solutions for advertisers and publishers. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said: "The advertising industry is evolving and growing at an incredible pace, moving increasingly toward online and IP-served platforms, which dramatically increases the importance of software for this industry.

"Today's announcement represents the next step in the evolution of our ad network." Microsoft will also gain control of Aquantive's own interactive advertisement agency, Avenue A Razorfish. In April, Google won the race to acquire the ubiquitous internet advertiser Doubleclick, paying $3.1 billion for the company.

The New York-based Doubleclick was founded in 1995 by Kevin O'Connor and Dwight Merriman.

Broadband users spend half of free time surfing the net

People who have broadband end up spending almost half their free time surfing the internet, according to recent research.

During the week, users with high-speed internet spend approximately 48 percent of their free time on the net, a survey from Media-Screen shows. And 48 percent of young users of the broadband go on the internet to find out information about the entertainment sector, compared to 25 percent who rely on TV, the survey discovered.

Josh Crandall, managing director of Media-Screen, said: "Many broadband consumers go online for entertainment and to talk about entertainment with other fans. "Marketers need to leverage that interest and focus on catalysing a conversation now, instead of just talking to their fans via traditional advertising channels."

Of the time spent on the internet 27 percent is spent communicating with others, while 12 percent is spent shopping and nine percent searching for news or information. Meanwhile, a fake version of the next book in the popular Harry Potter series has hit the internet and fooled thousands of readers.

With a length of 250,000 words, the fake version of the book is similar enough to the real books that it took in legions of fans of the teenage wizard.

Yahoo! Expands Online Music Library

Internet giant Yahoo! has substantially expanded its music library, the company has announced.

Now music fans will have access to a database of the lyrics to over 400,000 songs, the largest online lyrics library in the world. Songs from approximately 9,000 different artists, including the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Beyonce and Radiohead are featured in the library. While many other websites offer the lyrics to songs, most have not obtained the permission of those that own the copyright and so are technically breaking the law, Yahoo! stated.

Ian Rogers, general manager of Yahoo! Music, said of the service: "It fills a huge, gaping hole out there." Yahoo! is to share revenue generated by the ads that will be shown next to the lyric with those that own the copyrights to the songs. Meanwhile, online music site Napster has announced that it is to start offering a subscription service for access to its online library of songs. Napster has allied with electronics retail giant Circuit City to deploy the service, which will be called Circuit City + Napster.

"Music and video continue to drive the Internet," states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc. who operates the industries leading comparative website. "With companies like Apple, Yahoo, Napster and Rhapsody this trend will continue to grow along side video, VoIP and IPTV"

For more information on broadband and other digital related products and services visit www.broadbandnatinal.com

AT&T To Offer Free Napster To Go

Communication giant AT&T has offered its wireless and broadband Internet customers a year free access to the Napster To Go service.

From April 1st broadband subscribers that add wireless phone service, or vice versa, will be able to use the Napster service, which offers over three million songs. Currently AT&T's wireless unit, Cingular, is America's largest cell carrier, boasting in excess of 60 million subscribers.

Rick Welday, chief marketing officer of AT&T Consumer, said: "By tying Napster To Go to AT&T's robust communications network, we're turning up the volume nationwide on both consumer value and added convenience." By joining communication with entertainment, AT&T is showing that it is committed to delivering content at home and "on the go", added Mr. Welday.

AT&T has also announced that residents of Kansas City will now be able to its U-verse services. U-verse features AT&T's fiber-rich network with television and high-speed Internet services available on demand.

"Napster concludes their fiscal year 2007 with over 830,000 paid subscribers, which many believe makes them the largest on-demand music service in the industry," states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc. who operates the industries leading comparative website. "This would make Napster larger than Rhapsody, and larger than all of the other remaining competitors combined."http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

For more information on broadband and other digital related products and services visit www.broadbandnatinal.com

One Third Of Americans Do Not Want Internet

Less than one-third of American households have access to the Internet and do not want it, according to recent survey.

Most of these people do not see the Internet as being able to help their lives in any concrete way, the research from technology research firm Park Associates found. Some forty-four percent of households without the Internet said that they were not interested in anything it had to offer, while 22 per cent said they could not afford a computer or the service.

And 17 percent said that they did not have the Internet because they did not know how to use it and three percent said that the Internet did not reach their house. John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates, said: "The industry continues to chip away at the core of non-subscribers, but has a ways to go. "Entertainment applications will be the key. If anything will pull in the holdouts, it's going to be applications that make the Internet more akin to pay TV."

Meanwhile, new research from the Pew Hispanic Center in the U.S. has found that Hispanics are falling behind other cultural groups in the use of the Internet because their English skills are lacking. A full 56 percent of Hispanics in the US use the Internet, but this figure is well below that of other groups, the rhttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifeport from the Pew Hispanic Center and the Pew Internet Project found.

We've identified two groups of people that are resistant to the Internet," states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National Inc. who operates the industries leading comparative website. "Hispanic's that don't speak or read English and the elderly that feel computers are too difficult and complicated to use. The industry needs to take greater steps to embrace theses market segments because the growth potential is enormous."

For more information on broadband and other digital related products and services visit www.broadbandnatinal.com

Verizon Business Named Top Service Provider

Verizon Business Named Top Service Provider

Verizon Business has been named the best service provider to big companies and the government by a consulting firm.

Frost & Sullivan awarded Verizon Business its Product Line Strategy Award for enterprise wide area networking (WAN) services. The company was recognized for its ability to introduce new WAN products in a strategic way to compliment the products already in place. Nancy Gofus, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Verizon Business, said: "Our product set underpins the next-generation services our customers require to do
business better around the world. http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

"As a global networking and IT leader, we will continue to invest in and lay the right foundation for large businesses and government agencies to communicate and operate reliably and seamlessly around the globe." In rewarding Verizon Business, Frost & Sullivan particularly highlighted the company's 2006 expansion of its Ethernet Virtual Private Line service from the US to six countries in Asia as a crucial improvement of its Enterprise WAN portfolio.

Meanwhile, a jury has ruled that the Internet phone giant Vonage must pay Verizon Wireless $58 million for infringing three patents. The patents were among the technologies that made it possible for Vonage to offer its much-touted low-cost telephone service over the Internet, Verizon contended.

For more information on Verizon Business Products and other broadband services visit www.broadbandnational.com

WildBlue Boosts Broadband With Satellite

For the first time ever, Denver-based satellite broadband company WildBlue has turned on its very own satellite, thereby substantially expanding its capabilities.

The company predominantly provides broadband service to homes and businesses in rural areas of the U.S. that previously used dial-up services. Dubbed WildBlue-1, the new satellite will allow the company to take on new subscribers in coastal states that previously it could not service.

David Leonard, WildBlue's CEO, said: "The launch of WildBlue-1 went extremely well, and we are now utilizing the additional capacity that this new satellite provides. "WildBlue is eager to offer WildBlue's high-speed Internet service to those rural consumers across the United States who have been waiting for an affordable alternative to dial-up."

The company has approximately 130,000 customers and offers broadband for a minimum of $49.95 per month. Currently, HughesNet is the predominant satellite broadband supplier in the US, with 325,000 subscribers, reports the Associated Press.

“Although not as fast as cable, satellite broadband services are far superior to dial-up connections,” states Mark Weibel, EVP of Marketing for Broadband National whose website broadbandnational.com is considered the industry leader for users shopping for broadband and related digital products and services. “Broadband opens the door to other exciting digital products and services.”

For more information on broadband and other related products and services, or to comparative shop for the best possible broadband deal visit www.broadbandnational.com

Slacker.com Makes Internet Radio Mobile

San Diego-based Slacker.com has debuted its own satellite-based radio service, which combines Internet radio, portable music and satellite distribution.

Currently the service is only in the testing stage, but when it is fully functioning could provide over 10,000 stations to users.

And by using the Slacker DJ function, the service also makes it possible for listeners to devise their own stations based on the kind of music they like.

Slacker co-founder and chief executive Dennis Mudd, said: "The only problem is that until now, personalized radio has been stuck on the PC.

"Slacker solves that problem."

Though Slacker is ad-based and therefore free of charge, the company is set to launch a premium service costing $7.50 per month, which will be ad-free and provide more flexibility to users.

In addition, the company is also to release the Slacker Personal Radio Player, which will be Wi-Fi enabled and able to play the user's personal playlists.

“Slacker has a taken a unique approach to the radio business,” states Mark Weibel EVP of Marketing for Broadband National whose website broadbandnational.com is considered the industry leader for users shopping for broadband and related digital products and services. “It’s much like an MP3 player but instead of play lists of songs Slacker.com offers customized radio stations.”

For information on broadband and other digital products and services visit www.broadbandnational.com