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Rusty Chinnis

Rusty Chinnis

March 7, 2017
Rusty Chinnis is The Sun’s Outdoors columnist.
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November 7, 2017
By Rusty Chinnis
Reel time Left Hand Casting

Left(y) is right

Close your eyes for a moment and visualize the first time you tried to ride a bike. If you were like me, it was a process of wobbling uncontrollably while heading for the nearest patch of grass for a…
October 24, 2017
By Rusty Chinnis
Tripletail

Fall brings exciting fishing to AMI

Now that the first cold front of the season has arrived on Florida’s west coast, anglers can expect some of the year’s best fishing. Lower water temperatures and the influx of bait schools will lure…
October 10, 2017
By Rusty Chinnis
Scallopalooza

Scallopalooza fundraiser ‘clamtastic’

Sarasota Bay Watch’s annual fundraiser, Scallopalooza, on Saturday, Sept. 23 was once again a big success. SBW is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and the occasion brought together friends…
September 6, 2017
By Rusty Chinnis
Redfish

Redfishing at its best

Late summer and early fall provide some of the area’s best opportunities for redfish. September is one of the premier months, a time when reds congregate in spawning schools on area flats. These scho…
August 30, 2017
By Rusty Chinnis
Scallop Search

Tenth annual scallop search defies odds

Sarasota Bay Watch’s annual scallop search is the organization’s signature event. Designed to help scientists monitor scallop populations and engage citizen scientists, it is also the organization…
August 22, 2017
By Rusty Chinnis
Reel time seagrass

Seagrass: Rainforests of the sea

The seagrass meadows that surround Anna Maria Island are mostly hidden from view and are only exposed on extreme low tides during the full and new moons. Magical and mysterious like a tropical rainfo…
August 16, 2017
By Rusty Chinnis
Perico Preserve

Preserving our nature legacy

Less than five miles from Anna Maria Island, Robinson Preserve, Perico Preserve and the Neal Preserve protect nearly 800 acres of prime estuarine habitat. Manatee County has done an exemplary job of…
July 5, 2017
By Rusty Chinnis
Perico Bayou

Perico perfection

Perico Bayou, in all its backwater splendor, is one of the subjects on display in an exhibit of art by local anglers this month at the Studio at Gulf and Pine in Anna Maria.
February 1, 2017
By Rusty Chinnis
Florida Everglades

“Now or Neverglades” campaign to save Everglades

The Everglades earned the nickname “river of grass” because of the shallow water that courses through the sawgrass marshes and hammocks from the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee and south to Florid…