Jose Wejebe ~Spanish Fly~ R.I.P.

I recall sitting across from Jose in a little "Puddle-jumper" of a plane that goes from Key West up to Miami when I was on a trip up to Virginia to see my parents and watching Jose looking out the window as soon as we got any altitude. I leaned over and asked him if he was checking the "weed-lines" for fish and he returned a very BIG smile that I remember to this day... Once we got to Miami where the plane debarks right on the ground and with no ramp-way, I look back to see Jose stopping and talking with several of the ground\maint airport workers that gathered to meet the plane upon arrival and again there was that very BIG smile on his face...
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My longtime friend and charterboat Captain Mike told me of a time where he had a family fishing with him and there was a young boy 12-14 years old who was a victim of a severe form of cancer. The parents told Mike that the boy would be going back into the hospital the following week and would not be leaving because of his disease...

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Now Mike is already known to be one of the most intense Captains when it comes to finding fish and never allowing the angler to slack or "whine" but yet in a way that makes the angler comfortable and enjoyable experience. It soon became known to Mike that this young boy was an avid follower of Jose and his ~Spanish Fly~ television show and followed it every Sunday...

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During the ride back to the dock at the end of the day of fishing Capt Mike called Jose and told him of his charter and their special angler and the situation. Jose dropped what he was doing and met the boat when it got to the dock and spent several hours with the young angler and fan making it a truly memorable day for the boy...

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Nice work Capts..

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This past week Jose Wejebe died when his private plane crashed while taking off at a small airport in the Florida Everglades. His weekly television show ~Spanish Fly~ has a incredible following and by far showed this man to be one of the most informative sportfisherman in tactics, equipment, attitude, and love of this sport... He will truly be missed by the sportfishing community and all who have met & followed him by ~Spanish Fly~...

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Adiós y vaya con Dios mi amigo...

Fishing the Wall..... Florida Keys

Had the opportunity to fish with Captain Jim Sharpe aboard the SeaBoots which is the sportfishing boat that I worked on while spending my time in the Florida Keys back in the 90's...

Jim was running a "family" trip offshore with friends from the area which also included 3 of the better Captains in the Keys so there was plenty of local knowledge and experience on the boat.

30 miles south of Summerland Key is an area called "Woods Wall" where the water depth goes from 800 feet to almost 1,900 in less than a half mile. Very large drop off and favorite place to find LARGE fish such as Marlin and Swordfish. While catching Dolphin mahi-mahi we had two 300-400 Blue Marlin come in chasing the Dolphin...

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Florida Keys & Key West ~2011~

Outside of the Customs House

In Key West is a very large statue of the "Dance at Bougival" from the painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir that attracts much attention due it's size and location in old town Key West....

Ronald Reagan once quoted: "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

Had the opportunity to go out on a half day trip aboard the SeaBoots Sportfishing charterboat out of Summerland Key which I fortunately worked on during my years spent in the Florida Keys. Captain\owner Jim Sharpe was taking some local friends out to look for some Dolphin mahi-mahi and graciously offered a chance to fish the waters of the Keys once again...

Spent my five days in the Keys with an old friend who is the Captain\Owner of the Compass Rose Light Tackle Sportfishing fleet and with that got to play with many of the features of the two boats he now operates.... It is common practice to take my vacation during the "Slow season" in the Keys but Capt. Mike Weinhofer was booked the whole week I was there while many other boats sat idle. This I know is the result of the 21 years that Capt. Mike has been fishing in the Florida Keys and making connections with sportfishermen who continue to return to the Keys and Compass Rose year after year.

HOT fishing in the Florida Keys.... Field & Stream Hook Shots.....

Film crew from Field & Stream magazine on my good friend Capt Mike Weinhofer's boat Compass Rose in the Florida Keys. Turns out the Star was also from New Jersey so that makes for good video and commentary...

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Much crying from those in the Keys about a "cold front" of 40 degrees while it was about 15 degrees up here but 40 is cold for "Paradise"... Told Mikeee to go stick his head in his freezer and it would still be warmer than up here!!...

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Great video, Great action, and Great boat....

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Red Snapper fishing is HOT in Key West right now....

Capt Mike over at Compass Rose has some interesting posts regarding the fishing going on in the Florida Keys...

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Florida Keys visit and response to Oil Spill...

Took a ride down to the Florida Keys and Key West to visit with friends and visit the town I lived in for 6+ years while working on a Sportfishing boat and taking some marine biology classes...

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Nice to get back to the Keys and stop by several familiar places discovered over the years. I was also interested to see how the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was effecting the area and the residents of the Keys and other "mainland" communities...

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One thing I learned while living in Key West and the Florida Keys is that these people are not quick to panic when a possible disaster may be heading their way. During several hurricanes I observed many locals helping each other prepare for possible disasters and damages. It was good to see this same attitude regarding the possible shift of oil towards the Keys and other coast towns.

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I had the opportunity to stay with friends and visit with sportfishing Captains that I weathered several of the storms with and had the opportunity to sit and talk with many of them. In fact I was able to sit in on the weekly radio show "This week in fishing" with Captains Jim Sharpe and Mike Weinhofer who had Marine Scientist David Vaughn from the Mote Marine Lab as the guest speaker.

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It was a great opportunity to sit and talk with Vaughn and to get a straight scientific viewpoint from a local resident without any political, environmental, or skewed spin to it...

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Here is a video that local sportfishing guide Jose Wejebe did with Vaughn regarding the oil spill situation and appears on the Spanish Fly website...

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Jose Wejebe speaks with scientists from Mote marine laboratory who have been deploying AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) into the loop current to assess the present situation with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in regards to South Florida and the Florida Keys.

It was good to see that the locals once again are not in a panic or standing around waiting for the government to come to the rescue. Many have become pro-active in their stance and are preparing for whatever may come their way. The businesses are starting to see a decline in visitors and future bookings are down without there being any actual oil found in the Keys or offshore of the gulf coast as of yet. Water is still crystal clear and the fishing is still great with a fishing story of a monster Tarpon being caught to be posted soon here on this site...

Permit fishing in Key West...

Permit fishing aboard Compass Rose in the Florida Keys...