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Rusty Chinnis

Rusty Chinnis

March 7, 2017
Rusty Chinnis is The Sun’s Outdoors columnist.
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January 25, 2021
By Rusty Chinnis
Reel Time: A catalyst for change

Reel Time: A catalyst for change

When I asked Jon Thaxton, Vice President of Community Investment at the Gulf Coast Community Foundation (GCCF), about the “backstory” of the foundation’s newly-released online Water Quality Playbook…
January 18, 2021
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Get wet

For the first time in a few years, we’re having an “actual” winter. When anglers consider their options this time of year many never consider getting out of the boat and wading. That’s unfortunat…
January 11, 2021
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Fishing with Captain Nick Angelo

Fishing has always presented challenges. For me, 2020 proved the most challenging in recent memory. Consider the inherent conditions that combine in mysterious ways to affect fish behavior: wind, wea…
January 4, 2021
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Push pole pointers

Push poles have come a long way. They’ve evolved from wooden poling oars hewn from tree limbs to technological wonders constructed of carbon fiber, Kevlar and graphite. In the early years of flats fi…
December 28, 2020
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Make your New Year’s resolutions

New Year’s resolutions have spawned more jokes than life changes. Still, it’s a good idea to look back on the past year and reflect on what worked and what didn’t. An example might be remembering…
December 21, 2020
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Cold weather angling strategies

Once again, late December’s cold winds have blown in, dropping water temperatures and requiring anglers to adjust their strategies. Winter fishing can be challenging, but there are opportunities for…
December 14, 2020
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Threatened seagrass has trickle-down effect

The seagrass beds that carpet Sarasota Bay harbor a tremendous array of living creatures. This critical and diverse ecosystem is generally out of sight except at extreme low tides. Seagrasses are…
December 6, 2020
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Choosing line and leader

While most of the advertising and branding of fishing tackle targets rods, reels, lures and accessories, lines and leaders are an integral part of the equation. The choices of line are varied but…
November 30, 2020
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Learning to fly

I often joke that I took up fly fishing so I wouldn’t catch many fish, and it seems to be working pretty well. While uttered in jest, I wouldn’t suggest that anyone take up fly fishing to catch more…
November 22, 2020
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: What happened to catch and release?

Catch and release used to be a topic that came up often in fishing circles. The idea was to educate anglers that fish populations are finite and not the bottomless resource that they were once though…
November 16, 2020
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: The things that matter most

However you voted in the recent election, there’s probably a certain amount of stress and angst that’s followed.  I’m not immune either, but like so many stresses that make up our lives, I’m reminded…
November 9, 2020
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Take a kid fishing

I don’t have any children of my own, but I was one, and one of my fondest memories was of my father tapping me on the shoulder at 5 o’clock in the morning and saying, “Bud, you going?” The answer to…
November 2, 2020
By Rusty Chinnis
A little tunny caught on fly tackle

Reel Time: Fall fishing frenzy

Shifting seasons bring welcome changes to the Gulf coast, especially those fall fronts that are the couriers of cooling temperatures and lower humidity. Local anglers, weary of the dog days of summer…
October 26, 2020
By Rusty Chinnis
Enlightened self interest

Enlightened self-interest

With just over a week until election day, regular readers of this column can probably guess how this writer will be voting. I’ve said it more than once, but this bears repeating. I don’t consider mys…
October 18, 2020
By Rusty Chinnis
Reel Time: The land of shining water

Reel Time: The land of shining water

Noontootla is a word derived from the language of the Cherokee Nation in northeastern Georgia. The translation, “land of shining waters,” perfectly describes Noontootla Creek, an 11-mile tributary of…