Category: Sports

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‘Freddy the Ref’ Honoring Fred Yarmuth for over 30 years of service

It all started one day in 1993 when Parkland resident Fred Yarmuth, 70, was driving down the street and saw some kids playing ball in a field. “Hmm,” he thought, “I might like to be their referee.”

Little did he know that more than 30 years later, he would come to be known as Parkland’s “legendary referee,” or as Broward County Mayor Michael Udine nicknamed him affectionately, “Freddy the Ref.”

Born in Passaic, NJ, Yarmouth moved to Louisville, KY, as a child and attended the University of Louisville. He later worked for the now-defunct restaurant chain Victoria Station, and then he worked with his dad in construction and cleaning new homes.

In 1979 he moved to North Miami Beach, a move that would define the rest of his life. He met and married his wife, Karen. The two have two daughters, Lindsay, 37, an attorney, and Brittany, 33, who works for a health-care company, and a 6-year-old grandson, Brandon, who just started playing flag football and basketball in Parkland sports.

“I try not to ref him,” jokes Yarmuth.

While he may refrain from refereeing his grandson, Yarmuth has been an essential part of many children’s and families’ sporting lives in Parkland. He made his mark on Parkland sports and has been integral to the growth of the Parkland sports leagues over the past three decades.

Yarmuth is known for his patience, compassion, and kindness, and he takes time out to teach others the rules of the game and the importance of sportsmanship. He has left a lasting impact on the development of young athletes, both on and off the field.

He volunteers countless hours working with others to improve the sports services and facilities, and many say he is the true heart of recreational sports in Parkland.

“For as long as I can remember, Freddy has been a vital part of Parkland rec sports, and as a result, a part of the Brier family as well,” says Simeon Brier, Parkland’s vice mayor and city commissioner for District 1.

“Whether it was refereeing my younger brothers’ games, games I coached while in college, games for my two daughters in multiple sports, and now refereeing games for my niece and nephews, Freddy has seen multiple generations of Parklanders on the courts and fields of our city parks,” he says.

Brier, who was elected last November, and who has lived in Parkland for 40 years and coached rec sports in the city since the 1990s, is familiar with the ins and outs of the job. “Freddy has a great sense of humor, a passion for youth sports, and is a beloved part of the Parkland community.”

Yarmuth’s passion for sports began when he played basketball in high school, and he gives credit to his former intramural coach, Eugene Minton, for encouraging his love of the game.

It’s that love he passes down to his players. “I love working with the kids,” says Yarmuth. “I love teaching them the rules, seeing them play the game over the years, and watching them grow up. Some of my first kids now have their own kids in the league.

“I’ve seen them come full circle,” he says.

In his younger days, Yarmuth would pick up the little kids and put them on his shoulders to help them make a basket. “They remember me to this day for that,” he says. “That really made their season.”

One of the kids he refereed since the age of 4 is now 16-year-old Broward Preparatory School sophomore Nate Harmelin, who played flag football and basketball.

“Freddy is the grandpa that everyone loves,” says Harmelin. “He makes us laugh with his jokes. We always have a good time with Freddy, and whether I’m on the court or run into him in Parkland, I always get a good laugh from Freddy.”

His father, Adam Harmelin, who coaches football and basketball, says, “Freddy always tries to help the younger kids who are not playing well. He always looks out for the underdog. He’s a wonderful man.”

In addition to his volunteer referee duties, Yarmuth works as a paraprofessional at Riverside Elementary in Coral Springs, volunteers his time packing food boxes with Feeding South Florida, and volunteers on local political campaigns.

In 2021 he was honored with the Humanitarian Award from the Parkland Flag Football League, and in 2022 he was inducted into the Dr. Nan S. Hutchison Broward County Senior Hall of Fame and honored for his contribution and service to the community. A plaque with his name hangs in the Broward County Government Building.

“Freddy’s commitment and dedication to the league is second to none,” says Evan Golden, a Parkland flag football board member for the past five years. “Not only has he devoted countless hours to the kids, but he builds relationships with both the kids and their families.”

“Freddy makes sure to develop relationships on and off the field,” says Golden. “He’s always in a good mood, brings a positive energy and good spirit, and always tries to get all the kids involved to have fun and learn the sport.”

In his own life, Yarmuth says his parents and two brothers were his biggest influences. “We all encouraged each other,” he says. He credits his wife Karen for “keeping me on the straight and narrow.”

When not on the field, Yarmuth enjoys a good game of golf, and cruising to Alaska with extended family.

“Freddy is a charismatic and selfless individual who has dedicated decades to the Parkland community in the form of refereeing sports and creating amazing memories and relationships with the parents, players, and coaches he has refereed,” says Jacob Brier, president of the Parkland Basketball Club.

“He is a staple in Parkland and deserves all the recognition and credit as his commitment to the community and youth sports is unmatched,” Brier says.

What have been some of the highlights of Yarmuth’s refereeing career?

“Being inducted into the Senior Hall of Fame,” he says. “Every day is an adventure. I’m very low-key, but am thrilled when a parent remembers me from refereeing their kid—that’s a thrill.”

Does he have any words of advice for someone considering the position?

“Do your best and enjoy it,” Yarmuth says. “Don’t take it too seriously. If you want it as a career, it’s a great profession—it’s been good to me.”

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Trolling the water with ballyhoo, bonito strips

Just about every offshore angler in South Florida prefers to fish with live bait for everything from sailfish and dolphin to kingfish and tuna, but there are times when using dead bait can be just as effective.

In fact, trolling rigged ballyhoo and bonito strips can sometimes be more effective than live bait. So just because you aren’t able to catch or buy several dozen live baits for a day of fishing doesn’t mean you can’t catch fish.

One advantage of using a dead bait is that it can be fished exactly where and how it needs to be fished, whereas a live bait can swim out of the target zone or get tangled with another line.

In addition, some predators prefer an easy meal as opposed to chasing a live baitfish that’s trying to get away.

Capt. Abie Raymond of Go Hard Fishing (gohardfishing.com and @abie_raymond) trolls bonito strips for kingfish, sailfish, tuna, bonito, wahoo, and dolphin when fishing out of Bill Bird Marina in Miami Beach.

When his anglers catch a bonito, he fillets the fish and removes most of the meat from the skin with the blade of his knife until the fillet is an eighth of an inch thick, which allows a hook to penetrate a fish’s mouth more efficiently. Raymond then cuts the fillet with the blade angled to produce a beveled edge, which is hydrodynamic and yields a strip that resembles a thin baitfish.

He squares off one end of the strip and pokes a hole in that end with the knife. Then he sprinkles kosher salt over the strips to remove water from them and toughen them up, and he places them in a zip-closure plastic bag.

Raymond rigs a bonito strip on a 4- to 6-foot, 50-pound fluorocarbon leader with a perfection loop at one end that is attached to a snap swivel. The other end of the leader has a flashy, reverse-feather Mylar Sea Witch — his favorite colors are pink-and-blue and blue-and-white — above a 7/0 J hook tied to the leader with a six-turn improved clinch knot. Raymond puts a 4-inch piece of Monel wire through the hook eye, wraps it three times below the eye, and then places it back through the eye.

The Monel goes through the hole in the strip, with the meat side of the strip touching the shank of the hook. The wire is then wrapped below the tag end of the clinch knot to secure the strip, and the hook point is poked through the center of the strip. Raymond fishes bonito strips on a Penn International 16 conventional reel spooled with 20-pound line.

“I’ll put out two of those strip baits on my outriggers 80 to 120 feet behind the boat, along with a lure like a Billy Bait or Dolphin Jr. We stagger them, so a 20-foot lure, a 40-foot lure, an 80-foot strip, and a 100-foot strip would be my typical four-bait spread,” said Raymond, adding that anglers need to determine the most effective distances for their baits based on their type of boat and its engines. Strip baits might raise more fish closer to a boat with one brand of outboard motors than the same boat with a different brand of outboards.

Raymond favors bonito strips over rigged ballyhoo because strips last longer and can be cut to size to resemble a 4-, 6-, or 8-inch flying fish, with the wings imitated by the Sea Witch.

“Another huge advantage of a strip over a ballyhoo is if a sailfish grabs a ballyhoo and rips the tail off, you’re done,” Raymond said. “A bonito strip, he’ll just grab it and grab it. It might stretch and get longer and the meat might come off, but the skin’s still there swimming and looking beautiful.”

Capt. Chris Lemieux of Boynton Beach (lemieuxfishingcharters.com) also loves to troll bonito strips with Sea Witches, which is a great way to catch kingfish as well as dolphin, tuna, and bonito this time of year.

He fishes the strips behind planers on heavy, two-speed, conventional outfits spooled with 80-pound braided lines that are placed in rod-holders on each side of the stern of his 27-foot center console. A weighted, rectangular piece of metal, a planer dives to a range of depths depending on how much line is let out. One end of a planer is attached to the mainline and the other is attached to the leader. Lemieux uses 80 feet of 60-pound fluorocarbon leader, which he pulls in by hand after the planers are reeled to the rod tip.

“Some guys use a lighter leader, some guys use heavier, it just depends on your preference,” he said. “When the fish are biting good, I try to get a little heavier on them. When it’s a real slow, picky bite, you can go down to even 40-pound leader if you want to.”

Frozen ballyhoo, which are available at most tackle stores, also catch a variety of fish and are especially effective for dolphin. Raymond rigs skirted ballyhoo on a 7/0 J hook tied to a 15-foot, 50-pound, monofilament wind-on leader on a 20-pound spinning outfit.

“You fish it like a strip, 80 to 120 feet behind an outboard boat,” said Raymond, who trolls at 6 to 6½ knots.

Presented properly, dead ballyhoo and bonito strips look so real, even the most finicky fish can’t help but eat them.

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Florida becoming ‘hotbed’ for lacrosse

Parkland’s Casey Roberts and Ava Yovino have seen firsthand what lacrosse has become in Florida.

Both high school juniors helped their teams win state championships in the spring and both are members of the highly successful Florida Select travel program. Gone are the days where college coaches would scour the Northeast for players. Florida is becoming a hotbed as well.

Casey, 16, a junior at American Heritage-Delray, helped the Stallions win their second state title with an 11-9 win against Lake Highland Prep.

“Lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing sports,” said Casey, an Ohio State University commit. “It wasn’t very big in Florida, and I think our travel team for one is helping grow the sport. Our 2022 team, which me and Ava are on, is ranked No. 1 in the country last year.

“I think more kids are starting to play rec ball at a young age with the RedHawks, the Boca Jets, and the local leagues,” she said. “Our travel team goes to the Northeast to play in tournaments because that is where some of the top teams play. We normally go to Maryland and New Jersey and play the top teams in the country.”

Ava, 16, a two-time high school All-American and Academic All-American, recently helped St. Thomas Aquinas win their first girls FHSAA Class 2A state title with a 17-9 win over Vero Beach.

The high school junior comes from a lacrosse family as her father, Lou, plays lacrosse on a men’s league team (Buzzards) from Parkland. He coached with the RedHawks and travel teams.

Her brother Louis, a three-time U.S. Lacrosse All-American and state champion with the Raiders, played lacrosse at Furman, and Nick was a two-time US Lacrosse All-American and two-time state champion. Both brothers are at UCF.

“Having a family that plays has probably made the biggest impact in my life,” said Ava, who is committed to playing D1 at the U.S. Naval Academy. “They have been the best role models, and to have people like that to mimic has been a really great gift for me.

“We live in Maryland and New Jersey for like half the year,” Ava said. “We like to show the girls from up north who’s boss. To be a part of Florida becoming a hotbed is pretty cool, especially starting off with the RedHawks and trying different travel programs, and eventually Florida Select.”

Lacrosse was a club sport back in the early 1990s where it was not sanctioned by the Florida High School Athletic Association, so high schools combined and played as club teams. The sport was sanctioned in 2008.

Terry Crowley, who was a representative for U.S. Lacrosse at the time, got together with Jerry Kraus, who put together a team from area high schools, and they played in a tri-county club league. That morphed into the South Florida Youth Lacrosse League. Crowley, his wife Barbara, and Mike Shutowick then started the RedHawks with 300 players in 2000. They also drew from the Coral Springs Chiefs; then-Parkland Mayor Michael Udine arranged for field space.

“I think the growth of the youth really forced high schools to take a look at it because as the kids got older, they wanted to play for their school,” said Crowley, who won state championships in 2016 and 2017 with St. Thomas Aquinas’ boys’ team. “I think the push from the parents really did it. A lot of parents were transplants and played up north. The growth hasn’t really surprised me because people look for an alternative for football or something to compliment football and this is a perfect sport, and hockey players don’t have to pay for ice time because the sunshine is free.”

Andrew Edenbaum said both of his sons played when they were younger. Gabriel, 18, who recently graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD), played until eighth grade. Edenbaum said he told Gabriel in second grade that he had to make a choice, continue to play baseball or try lacrosse, and Darren, who was in preschool at the time, followed suit.

Darren just finished his freshman lacrosse season at MSD, where he scored a team-leading 39 goals and 15 assists to lead them to a district championship. He started with the RedHawks in Parkland at age 5 and now plays for the Stealth travel program.

“It was a new experience for me because I was a freshman and didn’t know what to expect,” said Darren, who will play on a summer travel team in the Northeast. “I really like high school lacrosse better because it was more competition. I always wanted to be a starter in my first year. In my first game, I scored seven goals, so I proved myself. My goal is to play Division 1 lacrosse.”

Two freshman brothers, who relocated from Long Island to Parkland, helped the Saint John Paul II Academy boys lacrosse team to a 9-5 record this year. Matt Evans made his mark with 17 goals, 7 assists, while Michael scored 16 goals and 6 assists for 22 points this season.

Michael Evans Sr. said the family moved here 5 years ago and got involved in the RedHawks initially. Now they play for Lax Mafia, where Evans is one of the coaches of the 2024s. He played at Long Island University and brought Team 91 to Florida.

Currently, the NCAA has 75 schools playing Division 1 men’s lacrosse and 75 teams playing Division 2. There are 238 schools playing Division 3. On the women’s side, there are even more schools offering scholarships with 550 schools playing lacrosse across all three divisions.

“The growth down here has been so fast,” Evans said. “[It] starts with the rec programs and Parkland has a very good rec program. The RedHawks are super strong.”

Michael, 16, gives the sport a “10.” He and 15-year-old brother Matt will represent Ireland internationally for the 19-Under Team Éire in the World Games in 2022.

“It is my favorite sport in the world,” Michael said. “My dad played in college and when I was in the first grade, I tried it and fell in love with the sport. I am set on playing in college and Division 1 is the goal.”

Matt is looking forward to representing Ireland next year. He has played for the past 3 years with Ireland Youth.

“I really like the sport because it is like a family. I also like scoring a lot of goals, playing with my friends, and making memories. I would like to play through college.”

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Archery and the awakened self… really!

By Amy Martin

When we think of meditation, we typically think of sitting still, perhaps in a candlelit space, with an abundance of silence, while quieting the mind. When we think of activities and sports that elicit a similar mental focus and meditative effect, we tend to think of more popular sports such as golfing or fishing, or even the more fashionable East Asian influences of t’ai chi and yoga.

Infrequently do we think about archery. Archery has a long history, practiced for thousands of years. We know that ancient Egyptians were among the first to regularly utilize archery in 3000 B.C.E. for hunting and warfare.

However, the oldest remnants of bone and stone arrowheads have been located in South Africa dating back 60,000-70,000 years. Originally devised across cultures as a tool for survival, upon the discovery of gunpowder in 9th-century China and the creation of fi rearms in 10th-century China, archery had become relatively dispensable and obsolete.

Luckily, by the late 18th-century, archery found an enthusiastic revival among the aristocracy and nobility as recreation and sport. In 1879, the National Archery Association of the United States was founded. Today we know this organization as USA Archery, and it is recognized by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

While archery has evolved and taken many forms throughout the centuries, with many varying intentions — we rarely think about archery as an art form — let alone a meditative practice.

However, dismissing archery as anything but, does a great disservice to this masterful skill, and to the archer, or the artist, herself. There is a great gift to be found in this centuries-old art form, and you may discover that gift within yourself.

My first experiences with archery began as a child with my father and brother. We would travel all over Northern New Jersey in search of outdoor wooded ranges, with our brown bag lunches and moderately-worn gear in tow.

I’ll never forget receiving my first bow (a Bear compound bow, which I still have), feverishly running down the street of my suburban hometown with the bow string drawn, perhaps alarming the neighborhood, thrilled to show my friends. I knew I loved archery from the very beginning.

But as the years went by, I had forgotten about my beloved pastime.

Much later, while in college studying for my philosophy degree, I stumbled upon “Zen in the Art of Archery,” by Eugen Herrigel, a German philosopher who traveled to Japan to study the art, and the practice, of attaining a state of zen through archery.

Much like the revitalization in the 18th-century, for me, archery was discovered once again. I had already been practicing meditation and yoga for years, and I found that my love of archery was still very ever-present.

This simple and profound text had suddenly awakened my spirit, reinvigorated my passion, and taught me valuable lessons about the significance of an awakened self, focused breathwork, achieving a meditative state where all else disappears, and performing complex movements with unconscious control from the mind.

Great archery masters know that where you place your feet, how you maintain your posture, where you hold the bow, and how you breathe when you release the arrow are all determining factors of your end result. The bow itself is a limb, an extension of the archer herself. The breathwork is the lifeforce behind each action.

Nowadays, when I feel particularly stressed, or otherwise not myself, I find myself at the range. Yes, I would say, on those days, I literally find myself there.

If you would like to learn more about attaining your state of zen through the art of archery, visit these websites for local information:

Fort Lauderdale Archers, a private membership club – BYOBow
https://www.fortlauderdalearchers.com/

Go Archery, mobile archery lessons – https://goarchery.net/

Markham Park, outdoor range – BYOBow https://www.broward.org/

Parks/ThingsToDo/Pages/MarkhamParkArcheryRange.aspx

Bass Pro Shops, indoor range – BYOBow https://basspro.com

For my Dad. Thank you.

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Annual Parkland Buddy golf classic set for October 23

Parkland Buddy Sports is hosting its Eighth Annual Golf Tournament on Friday, October 23, 2020, at Boca Lago Country Club, in Boca Raton. Sponsors are Vertical Bridge REIT and the Pintchik Family.

“Our Parkland Buddy Sports family has been providing fun, safe programming for our special needs children, their families, and our community since our inception in 2002,” said Parkland Buddy Sports President, Andy Zaukas.

“This tournament is our primary source of fundraising, with the hope that our free sports programming will continue to grow and succeed.” The golf committee is headed by Parkland Buddy Sports past board member, Gayle Tyrie.

The mission of Parkland Buddy Sports is to provide quality sports programming for children and young adults with special needs in an inclusive, empowering, challenging, and caring environment where the emphasis is on having fun, making friends, and realizing their potential.

Each player is paired for the entire season with their own “Buddy” who is a student volunteer. Through the shared encouragement of all the Buddies, the players with special needs and their families are able to experience the joys of their athletic endeavors.

The 1:00 pm shotgun start golf tournament will consist of up to 144 players in teams of four. The cost per player is $125, which includes golf, tournament prizes, gift bags, and a buffet dinner at Boca Lago’s VIP dining room.

Specialty holes will be available, including a hole-in-one par three, where golfers will be shooting for amazing prizes, including a three-year car lease, courtesy of Infiniti of Coconut Creek.

Other specialty holes will also be available. Mulligan cards will be on hand for players to purchase.

Sponsorship opportunities may be obtained at several monetary levels. Tee Sign hole sponsorships are also available for $125 per hole. The Parklander Magazine is the official magazine sponsor. Other corporate sponsors include Connect Credit Union, Ryder, The Eppy Group, Holman Enterprises, Wawa, Pollo Tropical, Fastbolt, JM Family Enterprises, and Pepsi.

Trophies and prizes will be awarded to the top teams. A silent auction and raffle will be held and will include hotel stays, signed sports memorabilia, attraction tickets, restaurant gift certificates, and an array of incredible prizes.

If you are interested in assisting the charity or golf tournament committee with your time and/or donations, please contact Linda Brown-Doriot at 954.288.7201. For more information on Parkland Buddy Sports, visit the Facebook Page – Parkland Buddy Sports Inc. or parklandbuddysports.org.

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Youth sports persevere in spite of pandemic

There’s a reason why “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is one of the most easily recognized songs in America. As a tribute to our national pastime, the tune holds relevancy as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens sports across the country.

From leagues as large as the NFL, to as small as Parkland’s Little League, players and fans recognize the impact sports have on wellbeing, education, and morale. The quarantine we all struggled with has proved the importance of sports as parents tried to find ways to entertain children without organized team activities.

This fall, Parkland hopes to deliver to the community a sports season that incorporates a variety of social distancing practices.

Richard Walker, a Parkland city commissioner, is spearheading the plan to accommodate new guidelines throughout a variety of Parkland leagues.

“Kids need social interaction and the opportunity to listen and learn from their coaches. There’s an element of learning outside the classroom that is definitely valuable,” Walker said.

While he maintains the situation is “fluid,” Parkland plans for fall leagues to continue under Broward County guidelines. This includes socially distancing viewers around the field, as well as spreading individual games farther apart across fields.

Local baseball has continued successfully this summer during the pandemic, and Parkland parents proved they were willing to follow all necessary steps to allow their children to compete.

However, if schools choose to reopen classrooms this fall, it may become more of a challenge for sports to continue if cases rise, specifically with indoor contact activities like basketball and wrestling.

What’s so threatening about a potential shutdown isn’t just the loss of everyday structure, but also how young athletes may have to work even harder next year just to return to the level they competed at before their training time was interrupted.

Demi Snyder, a South Florida local and member of the Harvard women’s tennis team, recently received news that all fall sports at her institution would be canceled. The cancellation affects her preseason training while she awaits a decision for the 2021 spring season.

“Because we missed our last season due to the pandemic, I may only get two seasons with my team to represent my school. After putting so many hours into my sport, it’s hard to know I might not play my first tennis season until I am a junior. It’s tough because there’s no one to blame. It’s just the situation that we’ve been dealt.”

As the future of sports has been threatened indefinitely, it remains important to listen to the voices of our sports community, who all convey their determination and willingness to adapt during tough circumstances.

So long as our community is willing to listen and propose new solutions, athletes this fall can be given the opportunity to prove they are capable of tremendous endurance, beyond the physical feat of passing home base.

 

By Madison Smith

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A big fisherman in any pond

George Poveromo of Parkland, whose television show “George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing” airs on Discovery Channel, shows off a nice kingfish.

George Poveromo has caught big fish in oceans, bays, inlets, rivers, and estuaries throughout the coastal United States, as well as from Canada to Brazil to Cuba. But when he’s not on assignment as Editor-at-Large for Salt Water Sportsman magazine or taping episodes of his “George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing” television show on Discovery Channel, he likes nothing better than relaxing while enjoying the tranquility of his home in Parkland.

A native of North Miami, where he grew up fishing with his father, Poveromo and his wife, Edie, moved to Parkland in 1994, where they raised their daughters Lindsay and Megan.

That the country’s foremost saltwater fishing expert, whose
TV show has aired for 20 years and whose Salt Water Sportsman National Seminar Series has been held for 33 years (visit www.georgepoveromo.com), lives in a quiet residential neighborhood closer to the Everglades than the Atlantic Ocean has many of his readers, viewers and social media followers wondering why.

“I was asked that question a lot, and I’m still occasionally asked that question: ‘What are you doing in Parkland? You’re a saltwater guy. You’re an ocean guy,’” said Poveromo, who keeps his 33-foot Mako fishing boat Marc VI at Garnett Storage in Coral Springs. “When we came up to Parkland, it was like a little bit more of a country kind of atmosphere here. I said, ‘This is a nice place, and I think it’s perfect.’

“I trailer a boat, so one day I could go out of Hillsboro (Inlet in Pompano Beach), the next day I might want to go out of Haulover (Inlet in North Miami Beach) or I might go down to the Keys or go to Palm Beach, so I’m still as flexible as I always was. I think moving to Parkland was a very good choice. And when you do it as much as I do it, it’s sometimes good just to catch a break away from the saltwater environment.”

Poveromo, 62, got hooked on saltwater fishing more than
five and a half decades ago. His father, Mel, a dentist in Bay Harbor Islands, used to take him after work to the nearby Broad Causeway to fish in Biscayne Bay from the seawall. Using a kid-sized rod and reel and a small hook baited with pieces of shrimp, Poveromo caught tiny snappers and grunts.

“I used to love to do that. I think I have Biscayne Bay water going through my veins,” Poveromo said. “My dad was the only one in the family that had the crazy fishing passion, and no one else inherited that except for me.”

When Poveromo was old enough to fish with his father in his boat, they’d fish off Miami or trailer the 23-foot vessel to Key West and run about 30 miles west to the Marquesas. They’d catch snappers and groupers around shallow rock piles, anchor, cook fish for dinner, sleep on the boat and fish the next day before heading back.

“To this day I still try to get down there at least once a year to fish the Marquesas because of all the fond memories,” Poveromo said.

He pursued his passion for fishing while a student at The University of Miami, where he majored in broadcast journalism. Not because he wanted to host a TV fishing show, but because his classes were fairly easy and he could schedule all of them on Tuesday and Thursday, which gave him the opportunity to fish Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Little did Poveromo know how that education at sea would pay off.

Through his success fishing in Mako owner tournaments, he caught the attention of Mako Marine’s marketing director Bill Munro. While a senior at UM, Poveromo was invited by Munro to fish in the Mako Outdoor Writers tournament, an informal gathering that featured editors of the country’s most prestigious fishing magazines. That led to Poveromo writing articles for Outdoor Life and Salt Water Sportsman magazines, and he was hired as a full-time staff writer for the latter publication in 1983.

“So if it wasn’t for Bill Munro and Mako,” Poveromo said with a smile, “I might’ve been forced to become a dentist like my dad wanted me to be.”

Poveromo stayed busy fishing, writing and organizing the seminar series out of North Miami for 10 years, where Edie gave birth to Lindsay. When close friends moved to Broward County, Edie entertained the idea of following their friends north and having Lindsay attend some of Broward’s excellent public schools.

One day, a gentleman from Parkland called Edie to order a seminar ticket, and as Poveromo related, she said, “Parkland, where is that? He said, ‘Oh, I don’t want to tell you, it’s one of the best-kept secrets around.’ She goes, ‘I’m a native Floridian, I’ve never heard of Parkland.’ And he told her, ‘It’s the most magnificent area. It’s just starting to grow. There’s space; you can breathe out here, the school system’s superb. You need to go up and just look at the area.’

“So we took a drive up and looked at the area and then Edie did her research of the school systems. We were fairly close to our friends, and Edie said, ‘That’s the place we’re going to. We’re going to Parkland.’ And that’s what led us here from North Miami.

“I can never see myself moving anywhere else.”

HIGHLIGHTS

During his storied career, George Poveromo has had some amazing fishing experiences. Among the highlights:

  • Produced a TV show fishing on his boat with members of the military at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
  • Caught a 143-pound wahoo fishing in San Salvador, Bahamas, and caught a 113-pounder there three years later.
  • Caught a 701-pound giant bluefin tuna out of Prince Edward Island, Canada.
  • Released a blue marlin estimated to weigh between 700- 800 pounds in Costa Rica.
  • Had a swordfish yank him overboard while fishing in Islamorada when a passing boat’s wake caused him to lose his balance. With help from his cameraman Kevin Tierney, who jumped in the water, Poveromo got back in the boat and, 30 minutes later, landed the 256-pound swordfish.

 

FISHING TIPS

TV show host, seminar organizer, and writer, George Poveromo shared these secrets for saltwater fishing success in South Florida:

Use fresh line: “One of the simplest tips, and I even hate to say it because it just sounds so simple but you’d be shocked at how many people don’t adhere to it except the really good anglers, always make sure your fishing line is new and fresh. When you fight a good fish like a sailfish on a 20-pound test (line), even though that line looks good, the line’s been compromised. It might start off at 20 pounds, but then the breaking strength might fall to 15, 14 pounds, depending on how much it was compromised,” Poveromo said. “What’s going to happen, eventually, is you’re going to hook that trophy fish and if you’re using worn line, chances are that fish could probably go right through it. Line is one of the cheapest things to put on your fishing reel. So change out line religiously, especially after any quality fish you catch.”

Finding fish: “The Gulf Stream is the lifeblood, and it’s essential to know where the true western edge of the Stream is because it meanders. It moves close, it moves farther off,” said Poveromo, who recommended subscribing to SiriusXM Marine fish mapping or ROFFS fishing forecasts. “That warm water current flowing north, you want to find the edge where it meets that nearshore cooler water.
It creates upwellings, and all the upwellings bring these tiny microorganisms in; then the fish that feed on them come in. When you have baitfish along these zones, the bigger gamefish shouldn’t be far behind. If the true western edge is in 600 feet, that’s a good time to troll for dolphin. If it’s in 90 feet, that’s going to be a good edge to fish for sailfish.”

Fish around baitfish: “Always look for bait and signs like working birds,” said Poveromo, who also studies his electronic fish finder for pockets of bait. “If you see flying fish pushing, shut down the boat and fish. There has to be some dolphin around.”

Fish deep: Especially during the heat of a summer day. Poveromo said that if you find a weedline, fish some live baits on the surface and put at least one live goggle-eye down 250-300 feet. Bigger dolphins often hang out below schools of smaller dolphins. “We caught a 34-pound bull dolphin doing that in Islamorada,” he said. “A lot of those big dolphins are down in that cooler water. It makes a big difference.”

By Steve Waters

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SPORTS SPRINGS ETERNAL

By Nelson Dacier, author of The March to Madness

 

The term “Sports” can be defined as an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others according to a specific set of guidelines or rules. In addition, some commonplace synonyms for the word “Sports” include amusement, diversion, frolic, pleasure and recreation. It is in this fundamental form, rather than the former, that I will be discussing. 

The world was shaken several months ago by the Covid-19 crisis, and initially, it was quite difficult to grasp the widespread impact that the virus would have on all our lives. My first thought went to the safety and security of my family and friends and what the correct course of action would be to protect those closest to me. Then, during a phone call with my twenty-year-old son, who is currently attending a prestigious West Coast university, he said eight words that would alter my world forevermore, “What are we going to do without sports?” 

It had never occurred to me that I would live an extended era of my existence sans sports. Sure, there had been spans and stretches when strikes subverted seasons or incidents of inclement weather deferred and delayed performances for some brief period of time, but nothing had ever eradicated all events and shut down all sports, both professional and amateur, across the globe. I felt as if I had lost an intrinsic part of my essence.

Previously, on plenty of occasions, I would find myself sitting and channel surfing for something worthwhile to watch on TV, and, lo and behold, when all else failed, there was always a game to gaze upon. It was my father who invariably advocated for the action and uncertainty of any given sporting event over the predictable and typical inane sitcom, soap opera or dramatic series. “I never know the ultimate outcome of a sporting contest in advance,” he barked, continuing, “but I can surely submit the scenario of any given popular program that is presently on the air.” Thankfully, the reappearance of sports is on the horizon. 

Oh how I long for the camaraderie of crashing on the couch with my cohorts as we relish the comeback of competitive contests. Whether it is the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB or even perhaps the PGA, ATP or collegiate challenges, I can assure you that hordes of fans will once again be reminiscing in their resourceful recliners. You may ask, “Why are sports so intertwined with today’s society as a whole?” Perhaps it is the hope, promise, and escape that sports allow us to achieve, if only for a few fleeting hours a day or a week. And while most of us are athletic supporters rather than actual athletes, the feeling of community, the sense of association, and the authentic bonding with our brethren will once again be proud and prevalent. 

We lost several significant happenings over the many past months including my personal favorite the NCAA Men’s Collegiate Basketball Tournament, more affectionately known as “March Madness” or “The Big Dance.” There was no madness in March. Nor were there any decisive dances or celebratory ceremonies. The arenas were empty, the stadiums were silent and our hearts were left hungry and hankering for seasons more satisfying. 

And now the debate rages on regarding how, when, and where a return to regulation will occur. But does it really matter? I think not. What truly matters in the long run is that the games regenerate, that hope once again springs eternal, and that we can all get back to our cozy confines and the cheers of competition. 

 

LONG LIVE SPORTS!!! 

Continue reading “SPORTS SPRINGS ETERNAL”

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Silly Season, Serious Fun

South Florida’s fave holiday? Lobster miniseason

South Florida divers always look forward to lobster miniseason, which for them is the biggest unofficial holiday of the year.

Properly known as the two-day sport season, which is the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July, miniseason is the first chance for recreational divers to catch lobsters since the regular season closed on April 1. That usually means lobsters are abundant, as commercial traps have been out of the water since that date, and the bugs, as they are known, haven’t been netted or snared by divers.

In addition, the tasty crustaceans are less wary than usual, which makes them easier to catch. Instead of retreating into a hole in a coral reef or under a ledge, like they do during the regular season, which opens Aug. 6, bugs in late July tend to stand their ground when a diver approaches.

Another reason the miniseason attracts thousands of divers to South Florida is the daily limit outside of the Florida Keys is 12 lobsters per person, which is double the regular-season limit. (For regulation info, visit MyFWC.com.)

To get their limit, a fair number of divers will be in the water at 12:01 a.m. July 24, when the miniseason begins. Most boaters don’t head offshore until five or six hours later. They’ll be back on July 25 to hopefully get another limit of bugs and the makings of a lobster feast for them and their families and their non-diving friends.

Divers prepare for the miniseason weeks before it arrives. Dive gear such as regulators and BCs (buoyancy compensators) are taken to a dive shop for service and air tanks are filled.

Doing some dives also is part of pre-miniseason prep, both to locate areas with lobsters and to make sure all your equipment is working properly. For lobster divers, few things are as disappointing as having the strap on a mask or a fin break during miniseason. Unless you have a replacement strap, you probably won’t be catching any lobsters.

Two years ago, I dove the Monday before miniseason with my good friend Jim “Chiefy” Mathie of Deerfield Beach. We were on the bottom in about 60 feet and my mask was taking on water. When I tried to clear it, the lenses popped out into my hands.

Mathie escorted me back to the surface. As it turned out, the mask’s frame had cracked. Fortunately, Mathie had another mask on his boat that I used that day.

The author of the book Catching the BUG: The Comprehensive Guide to Catching the Spiny Lobster, Mathie will have a free lobster-hunting seminar on July 23 from 6-7 p.m. to begin Lauderdale-by-the-Sea’s eighth annual BugFest, a celebration of miniseason and the town’s beach access to local reefs.

Following the seminar is a free miniseason kickoff party — both will be held at Plunge Beach Hotel — during which divers can register for BugFest’s popular Great Florida Bug Hunt. For a $20 entry fee, divers receive a goody bag and T-shirt and the opportunity to win cash and terrific prizes such as regulators, dive computers, air tanks, dive boat trips, and hotel stays.

The Chiefy crew lined up its limit of lobsters caught during the first day of the 2018 miniseason. (Photo courtesy Steve Waters)

In the past, a $1,000 prize was awarded to the two-person team catching the heaviest total weight of 12 bugs on Wednesday. This year, $500 goes to the team with the heaviest weight caught off Broward County and $500 to the duo with the top weight caught off Miami-Dade or Palm Beach counties. Other prizes include $400 for the biggest bug caught anywhere off a boat, $400 for the biggest bug caught off the beach, and a Sherwood Oasis regulator valued at $420 for the biggest bug caught on a midnight beach dive off Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. There are also prizes for the biggest bugs caught Wednesday on the 6 a.m. dives on the Aqua View and Black Pearl dive boats at South Florida Diving Headquarters in Pompano Beach.

Divers don’t need to bag big bugs to win big. They receive a raffle ticket for each lobster they weigh in on Wednesday and Thursday. Winning tickets are drawn at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, following the lobster chef competition, which starts at 6 at the Beach Pavilion at the end of Commercial Boulevard. So, a diver who weighs 24 lobsters can win multiple prizes. Divers can register in advance at Gold Coast Scuba in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea or South Florida Diving Headquarters or online at DiscoverLBTS.com.

“It’s fun for the divers. It gives them more of an incentive,” said Steve d’Oliveira, the town’s Public Information Officer. “The town knows that BugFest is fun for divers and they get behind it, and everybody has a good time.” Other activities include a midnight beach dive on Tuesday, a fish identification seminar on July 26, a free clean-up dive under and around Anglin’s Pier at 8 a.m. July 27, and the third annual Diveheart Benefit Concert from 6:30-10:30 that night.

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Dolphin Put Color in Summer Fishing

Most offshore anglers in South Florida are focused on catching dolphin in the month of June. The colorful fish — not the mammal — are popular because they fight hard and jump a lot, they can be caught on a variety of baits and lures, and people love to eat them.

Although dolphin are caught year-round locally, this is the time of year when they are plentiful. The bag limit is 10 fish, a minimum of 20-inches long— per person per day or 60 fish per boat, whichever is less. Many anglers keep only enough dolphin for a few meals — the fish are terrific fried, blackened or in tacos — and safely release everything else back into the water.

Late spring and summer are when dolphin are often found in schools ranging from half a dozen to dozens of fish. Locating those schools is usually a matter of locating birds, weedlines, or floating debris.

Weedlines, patches of grass and debris such as tree trunks and wooden pallets, attract baitfish, which attract dolphin. Birds often hover over dolphin, hoping they’ll chase bait to the surface. Like serious bird-watchers hoping to spot a species they’ve never seen before, dolphin fishermen are always on the lookout for frigate birds.

Also known as a man-o’-war bird, a frigate bird has a forked tail and a wide wingspan that allows it to soar over the ocean, then suddenly swoop down to catch a fish with its long, hooked bill. The bird does not dive into the water. Instead, it waits for dolphin to send flying fish and other small fish fleeing to the surface. When a baitfish goes airborne, the frigate zips in and snags it. (A frigate also scores easy meals by harassing other seabirds so that they drop their catch, which the frigate grabs before it hits the water.)

When running offshore, some captains will stop every five minutes or so to scan the horizon with binoculars in the hopes of spotting birds or debris. Others will designate crew members to keep an eye on the sky.

If frigate birds are swooping, that’s a good sign. If birds are sky-high, they’re looking for dolphin, so it might not be worthwhile to race over to them.

“High birds, if they’re way up there, they’re taking advantage of their eyesight to look for something to play with,” said Capt. Bouncer Smith, a legendary charter fishing captain in Miami Beach. “If they’re 200 feet high, they’re probably into something. When they start to dive, then they’re really in the game.”

Smith added that anglers must pay attention to the direction a frigate bird is flying.

“If birds are working to the north, they’re over smaller dolphin or tunas,” Smith said. “If a bird is on good-sized fish, he’s going to be going south, because good-sized fish go against the current. The big dolphin are swimming just fast enough to hold their position in the current — the Gulf Stream is moving north at 3-4 mph — and eat what comes by.”

Smith, who runs charters out of Miami Beach Marina on Bouncer’s Dusky 33 (CaptBouncer.com), said anglers need to get ahead of a frigate flying south to have a shot at catching the dolphin the bird is following. If they stay to the north of a south-flying bird, the fish have already passed their boat.

“A lot of times when you’re on frigate birds, you’ve got to wind the lines in and get ahead of the frigate and let the dolphin catch up to you,” Smith said.

Once his boat is in position, Smith rigs two spinning outfits with live baits — pilchards, goggle-eyes, small blue runners, or cigar minnows — hooked through the nose. He has his anglers cast the baits 50-100 feet behind the boat. They leave the reel bails open and control the lines with their index fingers while Smith idles ahead of the bird.

“When a fish eats, give him a short drop-back, close the bail and wind,” said Smith.

Once you’re hooked up, it’s not unusual for the rest of the school to appear behind the boat. That’s when fishing can get frantic, with multiple anglers fighting fish and trying to not tangle their lines. Like a choreographer, Smith often has to tell anglers to go over or under another angler’s line.

To keep dolphin around the boat, many anglers leave one or more hooked fish in the water, which attracts other dolphin. When the next fish is hooked, the first one can be boated, and so on. If, after you’ve boated several dolphin, the school disappears, try splashing the water with a gaff to get the fish to return because it sounds like a feeding frenzy that they’re missing out on.

When the schoolies are solid behind the boat, you can catch them on dead bait, jigs, topwater plugs, and even flies. Smith recommends buying a 1-pound box of squid and casting the 3- to 4-inch baits to the fish. A one-ounce kingfish jig retrieved as fast as possible also entices strikes from dolphin. But Smith’s favorite way to catch schoolies is on a fly rod. “Better too small a fly than too big a fly,” said Smith, adding that yellow is an effective color. It also helps to toss out a few glass minnows every once in a while, to keep the fish turned on.

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Diving in as Grouper, Hogfish Seasons Open

South Florida anglers and divers look forward to the month of May because the grouper and hogfish seasons open May 1.

“Opening day is a Wednesday,” spearfishing expert Jim “Chiefy” Mathie said. “If you’re a diver or underwater hunter, you may want to take that day off from work to get out there and get an early jump on grouper and hogfish.”

The grouper season in Atlantic waters has been closed since Jan. 1 and hogfish season closed on Nov. 1 in local waters. Scuba divers like Mathie could only look and stare at black, gag and red groupers and hogfish as they hunted for other fish and lobsters. When the seasons open, they’ll be targeting what many people consider to be the tastiest fish in the ocean.

The same goes for offshore anglers, especially those who fish on local drift boats like Capt. Skip Dana’s Fish City Pride at Hillsboro Inlet Marina in Pompano Beach. Dana will run trips focused on grouper fishing the first few days of the season. Until then, anglers on his boat and others have had to release every grouper and hogfish they’ve caught.

“We’ve been catching quite a few groupers,” Dana said. “We’ve also caught quite a few hogfish this past winter using dead sardines or squid.”

In addition to closed seasons, grouper and hogfish have restrictive bag limits. Black and gag groupers must measure at least 24 inches and reds must be 20 inches. Anglers and divers can keep a total of three grouper per day, but only one can be a black or a gag. The other two, or all three, can be red grouper.

The limit on hogfish is one per person per day, a minimum of 16 inches long. Previously, the season was open all year, the daily bag limit was five fish and the size limit was 12 inches. Mathie, of Deerfield Beach, has seen an improvement in the hogfish population from Pompano to Boca Raton since the regulations were instituted in 2017.

“We definitely are seeing a lot of big males,” Mathie said, explaining that male hogfish that are big enough to shoot have a long snoot with a dark stripe down the forehead. “Every dive, we’ve seen at least one big male, and in all depths — shallow, medium, deep. Their typical behavior, in particular the big males, is they’ll have a harem of females.”

Mathie is the author of Catching the Spear-it! The ABC’s of Spearfishing, which is sold by most area dive shops as well at Chiefy.net and other online retailers. Among the many tips in the book is to always keep in mind the 3 R’s — recognition, regulation, and range. In other words, be able to identify the fish, know the size limit and be close enough to shoot it with your speargun.

Spearfishers must check off the 3 R’s relatively quickly with black and gag grouper. Unlike hogfish and red grouper, which often try to hide behind a sea fan when a diver approaches, blacks and gags don’t usually stick around.

“You land a black grouper, you’ve done well, because they’re always on the move,” Mathie said.

A member of the South Florida Spearfishing Club (Spearfishing.org), Mathie and his dive buddies start the season hunting the west-facing side of the third reef. The top of the reef is about 50 feet below the surface and the bottom is 60-65 feet.

“The structure holds a lot of fish, and that’s where you see the bigger fish,” said Mathie, who also hunts for grouper and hogfish around wrecks at 65 feet. “Last year we did those areas for almost the whole month of May because we were finding big fish. We didn’t always get them, but we saw a lot of fish. After that, we went to the deeper wrecks in 110, 120 feet.”

Dana fishes wrecks from 75-240 feet for grouper. (GPS coordinates for Florida’s artificial reefs are available on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission website, MyFWC.com.) Dana said wrecks in 75-120 feet are good for gag grouper. Blacks are on the same wrecks and deeper ones. Reds can be as shallow at 30-40 feet around rockpiles, ledges, and grass patches, as well as on wrecks.

He added that heavy tackle is needed to quickly get hooked grouper away from wrecks. If the fish get into the ruins, odds are good your line will break.

“I’d use at least 50- or 60-pound monofilament or braided line with an 80- to 100-pound leader and a 7/0 or 8/0 circle hook,” said Dana, adding that anglers might use sinkers ranging from 2 to 16 ounces, depending on the strength of the current, to get their baits to the bottom. “I really like live pinfish for bait for grouper, but you can use two or three dead sardines on a hook, a goggle-eye head or a fillet of bonito. “Let the line spool out and feel for the bite. If you’re fishing a wreck, you want to be up current and upwind of the wreck so the bait will drop on the wreck. When you get the bite, there really is no drop-back or feeding the grouper. Just lock up the reel and pull hard to get the fish off the bottom and away from the wreck.”

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