Dave (headrush999 to Flies and Fins readers) has taught me more this winter about tropical salt fly fishing than most anglers learn in a lifetime. That’s partly because Dave is an enthusiastic teacher with tons of experience fishing S.W. Florida and partly because I am an old dawg who can learn new tricks.

We get along. I have to catch up, and Dave rarely slows down. He will give up 10MPH when I’m following him in my ’88 K-Car, just so he doesn’t lose me, but he’s a fast-laner. He has the smoothest cast you’ll ever see. He’s a joker and I’m often the jokee.

A spur-of-the-moment call from Dave may send us scurrying to a corner of Florida or to the keys, or the Bahamas. My gal, Diane winces when it’s Dave on the phone because she knows I’m probably going soon. When Dave calls, it’s always about fly fishing. He’s got his ears tuned to “what’s happening” and has a lot of contacts in the guiding trade, so his info is dead perfect.

This winter we went Snook and Tarpon fishing, we had a terrific day with Peacock Bass in Miami and a superb Bonefishing adventure in the Bahamas. The Bahamas fly fishing trip was perhaps the finest fly fishing I’ve ever experienced…hence, this article and accompanying pictures is a kind of tribute and a thanks to my fly fishing buddy, Dave. Thanks for the good times, Dave.