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Fishing the Flats – Series 2

     
Host Henry Waszczuk is back with more great saltwater in Fishing the Flats 2. Henry is a very lucky man, as well as being able to fish his home waters on the Gulf coast of Florida, he gets to travel to some of the top game fishing destinations around the world. In Belize he wades the shallow lagoons of the coral reef at Turneffe Atoll casting to Bonefish, Permit and Triggerfish, all hard fighting fish who are incredibly quick in the water. Costa Rica is long established as a go to destination for big game fish and here Henry enjoys a day out on open water catching Sailfish and Mahi Mahi. In the Mexican Pacific he targets trophy Roosterfish, with their amazing looking spiney dorsal fins. Then in Costa Rica has the the catch of the series when he wins a 30 minute tussle with a massive Tarpon weighing in at 145lbs. The variety of fishing he can enjoy back in Florida is also on show and combine that with plenty of tips and advice on tackle selection as well as some tasty fish recipes courtesy of Dr BBQ chef Ray Lampey and you've got another great series.



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In this FREE EPISODE we take a look at some of the highlights from series 2 of Fishing the Flats. Host Henry Waszczuk has to be regarded as one lucky so and so, he travels to exciting, exotic locations and enjoys some of the finest saltwater game fisheries to be found on the planet. In this series he makes his first trip to Belize, where he stayed on the Turneffe Atoll and got to fish the coral reef lagoons for Bonefish, Permit and as we see in this episode Triggerfish. He is also spoilt for choice in his adopted home state of Florida, where he can fish the Gulf waters around his home in Charlotte Harbour or travel down to the Keys, where the variety of fishing is second to none or, as we see here hook a huge Sea Trout in Tampa Bay. Another new location is Puerto Rico where Henry enjoys some fantastic, high jumping aerial displays from the monster Tarpon on the end of his line. His trips to the Pacific coast of Mexico provide some great action such as the amazing Roosterfish we see him boat here. We also get a look at the selection of rods Henry uses throughout the series made for him by Hank Altenkirch and Dr BBQ Ray Lampe takes us through his recipe for Planked Tex-Mex Grilled Redfish. To watch Series 2 Highlights now, just login or join
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In the first of a new series, host Henry Waszczuk visits Mexico's Pacific Coast to spend a day out on the waters of the Bahia de Banderas with Hollywood actor/director/producer James Keach. They are targeting trophy Roosterfish, distinguished by its "rooster comb" of seven long spines out of its dorsal fin, these sought after fish can grow to over 1.6 meters and a weight of over 50kgs or 100lbs and are renowned for putting up a very hard fight. The Roosterfish is a voracious predator on smaller fish species and it's very easy to spot when they are attacking a shoal of baitfish such as Sardines near the surface, this is the area to cast and retrieve your surface plugs. James is first into a fish and after a gruelling battle that runs for almost 15 minutes lands a lovely specimen. The local captain has put them on such a large shoal that they both enjoy plenty more action. Henry also talks us through a selection of his favourite 'chuggas' or top water plugs and how best to use them and chef Ray Lampe shows how to cook marinated tuna steaks on the BBQ. To watch Trophy Roosterfish now, just login or join
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Henry heads just a few miles south for this episode to fish out of Boca Grande on Florida's Gulf coast, he's out in open water with buddy Mark Brooks and they are fishing over reefs and heavy structure for Goliath Grouper. These are the largest fish found off south west Florida and can grow to over 500lbs. Because they are delicious to eat, they were heavily over fished commercially, during most of the 20th century, seriously endangering their survival. But a moratorium, in place for over twenty years now has seen their numbers rebound dramatically. They hold up in holes and crevices amid the structure on the bottom and can be tempted out by sizeable live baits. They put up one hell of a battle, Henry certainly knows he has been in a fight after boating his first. For his tip of the week he shows how to crimp a 400lb monofilament leader to a size no. 14 hook. Big gear for big fish. On his lighter tackle he also catches some great looking Amberjacks. Dr BBQ Ray Lampe cooks up another fantastic recipe, this time its Redfish Pot Pie. To watch Gearing Up for Goliath Grouper now, just login or join
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We rejoin host Henry Waszczuk on his visit to the Turneffe Atoll resort in Belize and this time he's in search of the hard pulling Permit. One third of the angler's magical grand slam, Permit have amazing reserves of strength, speed and stamina, add to that their beautiful colouration of a dark grey and bottle green back graduating to a white belly with vivid yellow markings and they make for one desirable catch. Henry's fishing the inside water flats of the island in about 3ft of water, looking for the the black dorsal fins breaking the water as a tell tale sign of a shoal. Henry's using a hermit crab bait on his lightweight spinning gear and although none of the Permit he catches approach the all tackle record of 60lbs (27.2kgs) caught in Brazil, they are still decent fish providing long tough battles. The programme contains some great tips and advice on how to target and successfully hook these fantastic fish and there's also another great recipe from Dr BBQ Ray Lampe, this time it's Blackened Grouper prepared on the grill. To watch Hard Pulling Permit now, just login or join
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In 'Florida Bay Shark' Henry heads down the coast to Southern Florida. Islamorada in the Keys is one of the top sea fishing destinations in the world, with a huge choice of possibilities. The Atlantic Ocean stretches out to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west, add to that hundreds of islands, sand bars, spits and gullies and you have fishing heaven. Its early Spring so the species Henry is targeting is Shark. He's out with expert local guide Capt. Steve Impallomeni who knows exactly where to find them, he's tied some lacerated fish to the back of the boat to create a chum scent trail and Henry is casting chunks of the same deadbait fairly close to the boat. First to bite is a small pup which is not too difficult to handle but the next hook up puts a huge bend in Henry's rod and he know's he's in for one hell of a fight. The show also contains plenty of facts and figures about the various species of Shark found in Florida waters and Henry's got some great tackle tips and advice. Dr BBQ Ray Lampe shows the expert way to set up and light your BBQ and then how to grill delicious Swordfish steaks. To watch Florida Bay Shark now, just login or join
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A lot of time and a considerable amount of money has gone into creating the Marina Papagayo, establishing it as one of the top destinations for Game Fishing in Costa Rica. It's on the country's Pacific west coast and it's here that host Henry Waszczuk spends a day cruising offshore with Billfish Safaris in the company of IGFA record holder Sjon Harless. They are trolling Benito and Ballyhoo deadbaits hoping to hook one of the classic gamefish species readily found here. It's not long before one of the reels is screaming and a beautifully coloured Dorado or Mahi Mahi is jumping high out of the water on the end of the line. And between two hard fighting acrobatic sailfish Henry takes time to talk us through his tip on setting up your reel to maximise your chances when boat fishing like this. There's also another great recipe from Dr BBQ Ray Lampe, who shows how to cook up a delicious looking seafood cioppino or fisherman's stew. To watch Game Fishing Costa Rica now, just login or join
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In Monsters of the Gulf Henry takes two trips out to the deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico from Florida's west coast. First he's on the all new Andros Offshore 32 with Andros president Andy Eggebrecht, this is a sleek, purpose built sports craft, armed with all the electronic gadgets you could wish for and it soon gets them into an area teeming with a variety of big species. Andy is vertical jigging for Amberjack and he strikes first, into a monster. After a rod bending fight lasting 30 minutes they realise that what he has actually hooked is a Goliath Grouper, these prehistoric looking fish are common in these waters and can grow to an amazing 680lbs. Henry's second trip is with guide Capt TJ Shea, he knows the wrecks, features and hotspots dotted around these waters and puts Henry on to an assortment of great bottom feeding fish including Gag Grouper, Red Snapper and AJs. As well as some great tips from Henry on jigging on the bottom there's another great seafood recipe as Dr BBQ Ray Lampe shows how to create snapper with a devil crab crust, yumm. To watch Monsters of the Gulf now, just login or join
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In 'Open Water Mexican Mix' we have more action from Henry's trip to Mexico's Pacific west coast, this time out in open water in search of a mix of game fish. He's a guest at the Punta Mita resort and the waters around here hold a wide variety of exotic species, all capable of growing to formidable sizes and with the ability of putting up a great fight. Its great fun boatfishing for a day, when you're not quite sure what you're going to catch, especially if you're using light tackle. First up they hit a feeding shoal of African Pompano, these are beautiful looking members of the Jack family with petrol shades of sheen coloration and one long spine extruding from its dorsal fin. The all tackle record for these is just over 50lbs or 22kgs. Next up is a slightly bigger proposition, cue a screaming reel and a massive battle as Henry boats a lovely Roosterfish. These fish migrate up and down a 300 mile stretch of America's Pacific coast and grow to twice the size of the Pompano. In his tip of the week Henry shows how he ties his braid to his mainline using a Double Uni knot and Dr BBQ Ray Lampe shows how to make the most of your catch with a smoked Pompano pizza. To watch Open Water Mexican Mix now, just login or join
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In this episode Henry is fishing for Bonefish in Belize. This small Central American state sits between Mexico, Guatamala and the Atlantic Ocean and is home to the second largest coral reef system in the world. Henry is staying on an atoll in the middle of this at the Turneffe resort, surrounded by crystal clear shallow flats. He can cruise these in the boat of local guide Winston "Pops" Cabral or wade in about a foot of water. Bonefish can be found on the flats just about all year round, they thrive on the lush ecosystem and love to eat the small crabs that live here, so it is with an imitation crab fly, tied by his buddy Cory Koenig that Henry has success. The Bonefish here can grow to around 8lbs in weight but the average is 3-4lbs and Henry has a great session with "Pops" catching a few of these, only interrupted when half of his largest fish of the day is grabbed by a predatory Barracuda. There are plenty of tips on reading the conditions, casting techniques and choosing the right fly as well as another excellent recipe fro Dr BBQ Ray Lampe, this time grilled skewered shrimp with orzo salad. To watch Bonefish in Belize now, just login or join
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Henry doesn't have to travel too far from from home in this episode, which is a good job as he's paddling his own kayak. He's fishing the shallows around Pine Island Sound on the Gulf Coast of Florida targeting Sea Trout. These fish love the hundreds of islands, points, sand bars and grass flats that provide their feeding grounds when they are migrating and even the very largest trout can be caught close to shore. The Florida record is 15lbs 6ozs. Henry's fishing in 2-4 feet of water looking for sand holes, where the Sea Trout tend to hold up. He's using lightweight gear, his Carrot Stix ML rod with a Qualia 30 NLF reel and casting soft plastic lures. There are plenty of fish around and Henry has a great session with his largest being over 24 inches. In his tips section Henry advises on rod selection and shows how to prepare the types of soft plastic lures he was successfully using here. Dr BBQ Ray Lampe also shows you how to prepare a delicious looking seafood paella. To watch Kayaking for Sea Trout now, just login or join
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In 'Puerto Rican Tarpon' host Henry Waszczuk and the Fishing the Flats team have unearthed a fantastic new destination to rival Costa Rica, the Bahamas and Belize, its Puerto Rico. An island in the middle of the Caribbean, it can offer excellent all round saltwater action but in particular it has established a reputation as a Tarpon hotspot. Henry is in the capable hands of brothers Armando and Karim Chaar who run the Magic Tarpon guiding service, reagrded as the best on the island and they have taken him out onto the San Jose Lagoon. It offers between 4 and 8 feet of water and seems to be absolutely packed full of the 'silver kings'. The great attraction of Tarpon is the fight they give you, no matter what size they are there will be plenty of thrills and spills as they jump out of the water on the end of your line. Henry is in for a real treat though, as he hooks one weighing in at 145lbs, needless to say it gives him one hell of a battle. There's another excellent BBQ recipe from chef Ray Lampe, this time it's cedar wrapped scallops. To watch Puerto Rican Tarpon now, just login or join
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In this episode Henry's fishing his home waters of Charlotte Harbour in south west Florida. He's out on the flats with Capt Todd Gilbert and they've got some favourite spots, where they know they can find a wide variety of fish, pretty much all year round. Charlotte Harbour has 129 square miles of protected fishable waters which includes grass flats and hundreds of mangrove lined islands and inlets. Its known for its migratory Tarpon and has a huge population of Redfish, Snook and Sea Trout. Today they are setting out not really having a particular target in mind, just determined to follow the tide and the conditions and have a fun day on the water. First up they target an old disused pier, casting their small live baits around its concrete pillars. Todd hooks a lovely Crevalle Jack, with its yellow fins and distinctive black spot. Henry hooks a couple of smaller ones that he puts in the live well as bait for something a bit bigger later in the day. After a decent Snook each, Henry puts those small Jacks to good use and tempts a Goliath Grouper to bite, cue a long hard fight. In case you're hungry at the end of all this action, Dr BBQ Ray Lampe shows how to cook a grilled Salmon Frittata. To watch Henry Fishing Charlotte Harbour now, just login or join
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Henry is back in Belize, wading the shallow lagoons of what is the second largest barrier reef in the world. This time he's targeting Triggerfish, which will enter the lagoons from the ocean in search of food, such as small crustaceans, molluscs and urchins. Henry's casting a small hermit crab bait, prepared for him by his local guide. The idea is to cast with the wind and drop the bait right in front of the Trigger's nose. Once hooked they put up a great fight and are incredibly fast in the water. There are about 40 different species of Triggerfish, the most common being the 'Queen' with its incredibly vivid colour markings and the 'Ocean' which are dark grey in the water but become almost white under the stress of being hooked. It's these that Henry has in his sights, they are also known as Ocean Tallys. The Triggerfish gets its name from its ability to make its first dorsal fin rigid, as a means of avoiding being eaten, an angler can 'reset' this by pressing down on the third dorsal fin, as if it were a trigger. The Triggerfish is an excellent eating fish and chef Dr BBQ Ray Lampe shows how to prepare grilled Triggerfish tacos with a mango salsa. To watch Trigger Happy in Belize now, just login or join

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