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Smolt of the Month March
Small fish enthusiasts, we have more news of the best kind. The votes are in, counted and logged and there is no fake news regarding the March Smolt of the Month. It may be small news, but worthy indeed.
The Smoltie goes to… Andy McKinley and one of the smoltiest baby baby tarpon we’ve ever seen.
Andy writes: “Here is my entry for the Smolt of the Month. On a trip to Belize to for a week of chasing the coveted “grand slam”, I tend to spend the after hours off the flats on foot, looking for anything that might hold fish. I typically make at least a few casts in any likely looking body of water. From dock caught bonefish to some cool backwater juvenile tarpon spots, there is a lot to explore. This was from a literal roadside ditch that looked brackish and barren, but on a half-hearted first cast this 10” baby tarpon ate. A 3-weight might have been a more appropriate rod.”
Above: The March Smolt of the Month. Don’t overlook the roadside ditches, they hold monsters. Monsters! Photo: Andy McKinley
We’re sending huge miniature congratulations to Andy; enjoy those bragging rights and keep peering into those ditches, it pays off, obviously. And remember: treat the fish kindly, this year’s smolts are next year’s hawgs.
All monthly winners are eligible to win a grand prize package from Decked—including a full set of their D-Co cases (valued over $900)—as well as a trophy custom-made by The Flyfish Journal staff. Monthly winners receive prize packages including a Stealth Work Station from Patagonia Fly Fishing and good goods from The Flyfish Journal.
And of course, those minuscule bragging rights…
A big thanks to our prize sponsors Decked and Patagonia Fly Fishing.
Head to the main Smolt of the Month contest page for more information on how to enter your enormously small catches and review past Smolts of the Month. Each monthly contest window will be open for the duration of each month, so go small or go home and get after it!
We’ve also compiled a runners-up list with a few honorable and outstanding entries in no particular oder:
Here: Serene Cusack with an absolute champ.
Serene Cusack checks in: “Spent time in Ascension Bay casting to a monster of the sea, only to have this fella take me to my backing… or something like that. They call these “Mutton Snapper”….Caught on an 11-wt. Made it to boat with all equipment attached. They are still telling the story of this fish from Punta Allen to Belize.”
Above: There’s nothing like the stoke of a 9-year old just discovering the joys of fly fishing. Photo: Ryan Rahmiller
Here: Outdoor Life knew the importance of smolts way back in 1947. Photo: Bennet Ratcliff
Bennet Ratcliff writes in with an out-of -the-ordinary entry: “Hello from the Catskills, No catch and release in the attached photo. This pic is the August 1947 edition of Outdoor Life. J.F. Kernan is well-known for bringing American angling to the covers of many magazines after World War II. Caps off to you for continuing this smolty tradition.”