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Reel Time

Feature, Outdoors, Reel Time

Reel Time: Fall is in the air

Nov 18, 2025 – Rusty Chinnis
September 28, 2025
By Rusty Chinnis
Fishing and other lessons

Fishing and other lessons

Lately it seems I’m constantly reminded how our experiences growing up mold us into the kind of people we become. The lack of respect for the environment that sustains us emphasizes just how importan…
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September 22, 2025
By Rusty Chinnis
An anniversary of resilience

An anniversary of resilience

When Hurricane Helene struck the Anna Maria Island com­munities on Sept. 26, 2024, it brought with it a storm surge and level of destruction that the area hasn’t witnessed since 1921 when the Tampa B…
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September 16, 2025
By Rusty Chinnis
It’s for the birds

It’s for the birds

I was reminded this past week that it’s a good time to remind anglers about the importance and protection of seabirds. Knowledgeable anglers know that these birds are valuable, but some beginning ang…
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September 8, 2025
By Rusty Chinnis
Manatee County joins SB 180 lawsuit

Manatee County joins SB 180 lawsuit

If you don’t know about Senate Bill 180 and its implications to anglers who fish Sarasota Bay and Anna Maria Sound, let me explain. The bill prohibits counties and municipalities (including Manatee C…
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September 1, 2025
By Rusty Chinnis
Reel Time: The Great Egmont Key Cleanup

Reel Time: The Great Egmont Key Cleanup

Suncoast Aqua Ventures’ (SAV) work can be summed up in three words: “Dive. Preserve. Serve.” But this group of divers does so much more. Their work in cleaning up our coastal islands, shorelines and…
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August 25, 2025
By Rusty Chinnis
Opportunity meets preparedness

Opportunity meets preparedness

Whether you’re fishing for reds, snook and trout in Sarasota Bay or Anna Maria Sound, stalking bonefish in the Bahamas, stripers in the Northeast, or casting to rising trout on a mountain stream in M…
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August 19, 2025
By Rusty Chinnis
Pine Island Redfish: Sustainable aquaculture

Pine Island Redfish: Sustainable aquaculture

When I first heard about Pine Island Redfish, I contacted owner Megan Sorby about a tour. I had assumed that the operation was on Pine Island but when I reached out to Megan by phone, she informed me…
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August 4, 2025
By Rusty Chinnis
Reel Time on The Road: The Center for Coastal Studies

Reel Time on The Road: The Center for Coastal Studies

On a trip to Cape Cod for a fam­ily wedding in July, my wife, Christine, and I were invited by Jeanne Leszczynski to tour the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown. Leszczynski, a friend from Lo…
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July 29, 2025
By Rusty Chinnis
Mangrove Rangers celebrate

Mangrove Rangers celebrate

In 2024, Suncoast Waterkeeper (SCWK) launched its Mangrove Rangers program to train local volunteers as community scientists using drones to survey and map the health of these essential coastal “fore…
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July 21, 2025
By Rusty Chinnis
In fishing, as in life, just be nice

In fishing, as in life, just be nice

When was the last time you got upset when you were on the water? Was it when someone cut you off while you were poling a shoreline, or maybe when they motored up to that school of tarpon you had been…
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April 9, 2025
11:45 am

The Off-Stage Ladies of the Island Players, April luncheon meeting