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Rusty Chinnis

Rusty Chinnis

March 7, 2017
Rusty Chinnis is The Sun’s Outdoors columnist.
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April 2, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Mentors chart course

Fly fishermen and fishermen, in general, are always seeking ways to improve their enjoyment of the sport. And while that ultimately boils down to learning ways to be more successful at catching fish…
March 26, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis
Reel time red tide

Reel Time: Clear water hides looming problem

The red tide is gone! I don’t know anybody that isn’t elated that the most recent harmful algae bloom is absent from local waters. Cross any bridge, look out at the bay and you’ll be convinced that a…
March 19, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Innovators – Architects of modern saltwater fly tackle, part 2

Many of us take the tackle we fish with for granted, but it wasn’t long ago that anglers didn’t have the choices we have today. In the early days of saltwater fly fishing, there were no pre-made rods…
March 12, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Innovators – The architects of modern saltwater fly tackle

No two people are more knowledgeable about the origins of modern saltwater fly tackle than Lefty Kreh (passed in 2018) and Flip Pallot. I was fortunate a few years ago to interview these two living l…
March 5, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis
Reel Time: Release program promotes fishery recovery

Reel Time: Release program promotes fishery recovery

On Tuesday, Feb. 26, the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), in conjunction with Duke Energy and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, released adult and juvenile redfish at Robi…
February 26, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis
Reel Time: Pothole savvy, Part 2

Reel Time: Pothole savvy, Part 2

Last week I wrote about the anatomy of potholes and how to approach them. Depending on conditions, you will want to tailor your strategy when fishing them. When the water is clear enough for you to s…
February 19, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Fly fishing strategy – pothole savvy

Fly fishing is a sport that rewards the angler who carefully considers his prey and pays attention to the conditions and terrain that they inhabit. For anglers who regularly fish the flats, potholes…
February 12, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis
Reel Time New dimensions in trolling motors

Reel Time: New dimensions in trolling motors

Most anglers I’ve talked to have a love-hate relationship with their trolling motors. Some have sworn off electrics altogether, using a push pole exclusively. My first electric trolling motor was mou…
February 5, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis

Pulitzer Prize-winning author to speak

There has never been a more important time for residents of our Gulf coast region to understand the importance of the resource that brought us to the area and that fuels both our passion and our econ…
January 30, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Clams restored to Manatee County waters

Sarasota Bay Watch capped a two-year clam restoration effort in January. Despite windy conditions and a choppy bay, board members and volunteers placed 7,000 pounds, or about 52,000 clams, at two sit…
January 22, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Push poles – a must in skinny water

Push poles are as essential as rods and reels to anglers who stalk the flats. They have evolved from wooden poling oars hewn from solid timber to technological wonders of carbon fiber, Kevlar and gra…
January 15, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: A new direction for Florida’s marine environment

At a press conference Jan. 10 at Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida’s new Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, announced some sweeping changes to the way his administration will handle Florida’s mounting…
January 8, 2019
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: The miracle of Matlacha

Matlacha is a piece of Old Florida that has been spared, in large part, because it isn’t situated on the Gulf of Mexico. That may be important to a lot of snowbirds, but to anglers, it’s situated in…
December 11, 2018
By Rusty Chinnis
reel time Seagrass

Reel Time: Sarasota Bay seagrasses take a big hit

I don’t have to remind anyone of the devastation the red tide wrought in our bays and Gulf. Images of dumpsters stuffed with fish, dead dolphins, manatees and sea turtles have filled the news and bee…
December 4, 2018
By Rusty Chinnis

Reel Time: Kids for Clean Water

All of us who live on the Gulf coast have been impacted by the recent red tide and the unprecedented death of dolphins, sea turtles, manatees and fish. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and jaded at the p…