FLY FISHING GUIDE IN MATLACHA AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

CAPTAIN ARTHUR SCHMIDT
I  grew up in a large family in Boca Raton. My Dad and Uncles were all outdoorsmen, hunting and fishing. When I was 14 years old I got a Sears John Boat with 9.9 hp motor and  A Garcia Mitchell Spinning rod and reel.  I was in heaven, with a few plugs and Jigs I began catching big Snook and small Tarpon in the local waterways nearby. While in College in Athens, GA my lifelong pal introduced me to Fly Fishing and we spent a lot of time chasing trout in the nearby streams of North Georgia. in 1988 I read a story about Fly Fishing for Giant Tarpon In Homosassa, I had to do this so I went to The Fish Hawk in Atlanta, GA and bought a Sage 12 wt. and a Billy Pate Tarpon reel. My life changed forever in 1990 when I caught a 130lb Tarpon Fly Fishing in Homosassa, Florida. My life long Passion for Tarpon began that day.
 1994 was a big year for me, I decided to become a Fly Fishing guide. With much help and encouragement from Gary Merriman and Steve Kilpatrick I began guiding in Homosassa from April to July in 1994. I was fortunate to have been mentored by some of the best, Capt. Earle Waters, Capt. Cecil Keith, Capt. Billy Knowles, Billy Pate, Lee Baker and "Daddy Mac" Miller. For the next 6 years I would be in Homosassa for 4 months each Tarpon Season, Homosassa was world class Fly Fishing at the time. I developed a good clientele. In 1999  I moved to the Matlacha area and have been Fly Fishing the Flats here and in Pine Island for 18 years. I've developed many clients who have fished with me for years and most of them become very good life long friends. I look forward every year to meeting new people and sharing my passion for Tarpon. I am a teaching guide, very patient, I want all of my clients to walk away each day having learned something new and added to their skills as a Fly Angler. Fly Fishing and being a full time guide has been a very rewarding experience in my life.