By Shawn Abernathy
(originally published in Tail #34 – March/April 2018)
If you are an angler on a budget and still trying to live the fly life, you are definitely not alone.
Peter Husted and Jesse Males make up the film group Broke and Fly. Their message is simple and one that resonates with a lot of anglers: get out there and fish, without breaking the bank. Tail got a chance to sit down with Broke and Fly and catch up on their most recent project along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Tail: Tell us about Broke and Fly. How did you guys come up with the concept for it?
Peter Husted: Broke and Fly came together after Jesse and I spent a week in Guadeloupe. We hit it off and decided that we’d like to fill the gap in fly fishing film where you’ll get some sweet fish porn while being entertained and getting a good laugh. We came up with the concept because after doing the Guadeloupe film, we needed to have our own platform just for Broke And Fly. Jesse Males runs Backwater Fly Fishing and I have Water’s Edge Media, but we decided that we wanted to start a joint project and that’s how BAF came to life.
Jesse Males: I think for me it just made sense to create Broke and Fly Productions after the trip. I mean, since the fishing there was crap we pretty much had to rely on cheap Canadian whiskey to get us through the week. That obviously allowed us to hang out and shoot the shit and we got along really well. Instead of figuring out whose platform we were going to share the video and photos from, we just said screw it, and created BAF!
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T: That’s awesome that both of you met on a trip in Guadeloupe and decided to create films of your travels. Where are you guys from?
PH: I’m living in Denmark, but have family in Florida and Bahamas on my wife’s side.
JM: I am from Central Florida, but now currently spend most of my time in Costa Rica.
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T: What inspired you guys to pick the Gulf Coast for your next outing?
PH: For me, it was the chance to make another project come to life, at a low cost. After all, we are Broke and Fly and do this out of our own limited funds. We both had a desire to fish the Gulf Coast and wanted to do a good ole road trip, so we took a look at a map and started planning. After presenting our idea to people we wanted to have aboard, they took to it and went all in helping us out. We had some logistical problems in Louisiana and stood without somebody to fish with just before before kick off, but Justin Albarado of Rougarou Lures came through and turned out to be a great guide and a good friend. I’ve heard about southern hospitality, and felt that all throughout the tour and from all of the people we came in contact with.
JM: Once we started doing a road trip for the next project, we knew it had to be low cost…since we are broke and all that. So we thought if we hit up some of our friends in the fly fishing scene, rented a car, and put the pedal to the metal, some cool things would happen. The Gulf Coast seemed to be the perfect place to land all the inshore species we would want: redfish, snook, tarpon, and more.
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T: The gulf coast is known as a very productive fishery for redfish. What where some of the highlights of fishing all the way from Texas to Florida along the Gulf? Oh, and give us some “lowlights” of the trip too.
PH: I was really blown away by the Louisiana marsh. The days we spend there with Justin Albarado from Rougarou Outfitters were awesome. We had a lot of fish there and it seemed like Justin couldn’t get us into a place that didn’t have reds in it. The real surprise for me came when I got back and was looking through all the drone footage, and saw the actual amount of reds that were in the water, many that we didn’t see from the boat. We had some rough days in the start when we got up early, fished all day and drove the our next spot in the evening. That resulted in about 10 hours of sleep divided between the first three nights. On top of that, I had just landed from Europe when we started, so I was already jetlagged.
JM: Since we obviously had redfish on our mind during The Gulf Coast Tour, pursuing big bull redfish in LA was something were all looking forward to. We had already fished extensively in Florida, so we knew what to expect from that area. However, Texas and the LA marsh was new territory. Knowing that redfish behave differently between the east coast and west coast of florida, we could only imagine how they would behave in other states. To our surprise, the differences were insane. In Texas, they behave very similar to those in the Mosquito Lagoon and Indian Rivers systems. They are a little spooky, but still very fishable. When we landed in the LA marsh, we were surprised to see redfish that acted like they didn’t have a care in the world. They were happy to swim up to our boat and eat any flies, from poppers to baitfish and slider patterns. Overall, we were stoked to see that amount of diversity come out of one fish species. Lowlights included tons of driving and total exhaustion at times. We were literally fishing all day and driving all night for nine full days. It was insane.
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T: Louisiana is an outstanding fishery and you captured some great footage from your trip there. The one thing about that section of the gulf coast is that each area has its own distinct culture and the fish sure behave differently in each area as well. Besides the fishing, what where some of your favorite parts of the trip?
PH: My favorite part was meeting new people along the way that turned into friends after a day on the water. Everyone took us in and did their best to make comfortable. I guess that’s what the whole southern hospitality is all about. Besides that, it was an excellent chance for Jesse and me to get face to face time, discussing our future plans for Broke And Fly over beers.
JM: After what we experienced in LA, it is difficult to stop thinking about the fishing. However, when I do stop thinking about big hungry redfish bellycrawling all over the marsh, I immediately think of the insane BBQ that Justin Albarado whipped up for us. No lie, I would have lived in a tent outside his house forever just to continually grub out at his place. Obviously the trip was centered around different fisheries, but the different people we ran into in each place made the trip the success that it was. From Texas to Florida, we were in solid company the entire time!
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T: Sign me up for that too! You guys fished a lot of different fisheries on your recent trip. What were some of the major similarities and differences you found with fishing each one?
PH: I liked the different species we had the chance to target on this trip. We had excellent fishing for reds in Texas and Louisiana, in wide open spaces where we were surrounded by marsh for miles. A couple of days later, we were hooking up with everything from bluegills to baby tarpon in big lakes or backwater canals. We had everything but flats on this trip.
JM: The inshore fisheries from Texas to Florida were similar only in that they hold redfish. However, the fish themselves behaved extremely different everywhere we fished. The fish in Texas were skittish but fishable, the redfish in Louisiana were so bold they would often be just feet from the boat and still eat the fly after three crappy presentations (laughs). And the redfish in Florida were their typical stubborn selves. A great cast is important, but at the end of the day, they eat whenever they want. After catching redfish the entire trip, by the time we got to Florida we decided to mostly target snook and baby tarpon.
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T: Have you guys thought about where you are going next?
PH: Yeah, we have had a few people contact us about doing stuff for lodges, and some seem like interesting opportunities, but we since we’re Broke And Fly, we can’t throw our money after that. After shooting countless of hours of film, we still need to sort through it when we get back, and that’s before we even start editing. Making film is a process that takes a lot of time, which I think people don’t realize or totally think about. The only thing we can promise is you’re probably gonna enjoy it.
JM: While our future after The Gulf Coast Tour is fairly open ended, we are weighing our options at the moment. We have had some different lodges reach out that offered to have us stop by for our next film project; however we are still waiting to see what else comes up. One of the main goals of Broke and Fly is to present an experience that any fly angler with just about any budget can make happen. Not all of us can drop five to eight thousands dollars on a fishing trip, or for gear for that matter. I know Peter and I can’t. So we are trying to figure out the best way to bring sponsorship into the mix without losing our initial take on the whole thing. Keeping these trips relatable and doable for the average dudes is super important.
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T: Saltwater fly fishing trips can become expensive very quickly, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. Do you guys have any tips for budget-minded anglers who want to experience the salt?
PH: I think that these days since you can do a lot of researching online, you’ve got a great start there already. First off, you gotta find out what it is that you want to catch. Target that specific species and get all the knowledge about the fish and area that you can. Use online groups and you’ll often find that people are willing to share their tips and tricks. I’ve done a lot of DIY which is the cheapest way to go fishing anywhere, but if you’re new to it, go the extra mile and get a guide. If you’re up front with the guide and say that you want to land a fish, but also wanna learn what your options are in the area, they almost always wanna share fly patterns and their extensive knowledge about the water and fish. But remember that they have honed their skills and worked hard to be the best they can with customers, so they’re probably not gonna show you their hotspot.
JM: I have spent years fly fishing all over the state of Florida and now have over two years under my belt exploring saltwater fisheries down in Costa Rica. If you are like me and trying to DIY and stay cheap, the best advice I can give you is to learn how to paddle. For the past 20 years I have fish almost exclusively out of kayaks or canoes. These are great tools for any angler trying to get into places without having to spend thousands of dollars on a skiff, gas, maintenance, etc. A canoe is the perfect tool for accessing baby tarpon hotspots or sneaking up on redfish on the flats. Also, since you don’t move fast, this slows down the mind and allows you to focus more on the area you are in at each moment. Talking with people in Facebook groups is a great way to get local info on a specific area, but nothing beats getting your boots on the ground for a little R&D!
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