Kelp Wanted

Did y'all like our 1st episode of the season? Well done Mr. Producerman! He does a great job of makin' me look good, doesn't he?  Y'all will never guess where we head to in this week's episode. My wife has been after me since the day we started shooting AF, to do an episode from her home state of California.  So after almost 14 years, we finally got out to fish the "Left Coast." After crash-landing in a small prop plane 20 years ago, I never like to hear the words "We're gonna need to travel by plane to this shoot."  Once we got out there though it was worth the trip . . . we landed in Orange County, hopped on the Catalina Express, enjoyed the 1 hour ferry (not a 3 hour tour) to our destination, Catalina Island.   

Next morning, we met our guide for the day, Eric Bent, at the end of the famous Catalina Green Pier and set out to experience a 1st – fishing the Pacific kelp beds for Calico Bass. What a bite! They don't fight too long, but the initial strike and tug are a lot of fun.  I felt right at home on Eric’s boat, he was using  Humminbird electronics just like I do to find the fish.  The last night on Catalina, I brought home some of our catch for the day.  Trice cooked up the Calico Bass for the crew . . . what a tasty time on Catalina Island!    

After that, it was time to head to the mainland and do a little shakin' hands and kissin' babies at the Fred Hall Fishing Show in Long Beach. We hung out in the Wright & McGill / Trokar booth all weekend long and sold out of the Flats Blue rods. My wife was right, there are a lot of Mogan Maniacs in California!  What a great trip . . . I think we'll be back. Don’t miss this week’s episode on Fox Sun Sports (Friday, 10:30 a.m. ET / Sunday 9:30 p.m. ET / Tuesday 6:00 a.m. ET).  Watch the video below for a preview of this week’s episode.  

Thanks to everyone who came out to the grand opening of the new Dick’s store in N. Jacksonville last Saturday. I love gettin' to meet everyone especially the mini Mogan anglers. I love to hear their fish stories, they get so excited telling them.  To everyone who went home from the Grand Opening with the new Gen2 Flats Blue rod, happy fishing, you're gonna love it.

Wanna show us your Mogan?  We're starting a contest TODAY on Facebook and Instagram!  What do you win? Well they tell me AF sponsors are sending in all kinds of goodies each day for prize paks – Minn Kota and W&M visors & hats, Lazer Sharp hooks, samples of Seaguar and FINS, Mogan Series Mirrolures, Space Coast beach bags, Dick's Sporting Goods coupons, Star brite products and more . . . you don’t want to miss this.  Join us on the AF Facebook page and Instagram page (hash tag, #ShowYourMogan) to post your fish pics, and a winner will be chosen every other week for the "Show your Mogan" photo contest.  

Thankfully I've got Kevin taking care of all of the "tech stuff" for us . . . check out his latest interview talking about all things AF online.  Here's a reminder, if you don't get the Sun Sports network or need a fix of AF . . . subscribe to our AF YouTube Channel and get it whenever you want it.  

Until next week . . . tight lines,
Capt. Blair Wiggins