Dr. Ross Boucek - Marathon, Florida

Dr. Ross Boucek is the Florida Keys Initiative Manager with BTT (Bonefish and Tarpon Trust) based in Miami, Florida.

So, what are the aims of the Florida Keys Initiative? In a nutshell and as Dr. Boucek and I discussed and as stated on the BTT site, the program statement is simple but complex in both size and scope, which states:

"BTT launched the Florida Keys Initiative to restore the Florida Keys flats fishery to its world-class status!" You can find more details about The Florida Keys Initiative by clicking Here

We are looking forward to working with Doctor Ross Boucek to help spread that message and secure more support for his and other BTT efforts here on Flats Nation, both in Florida and Worldwide.

Dr. Ross earned his Master's and Doctoral degrees at Florida International University, where he studied how weather events, such as hurricanes, droughts, and extreme cold events, impact sports fish in Florida Bay and Everglades National Park.

Not only will Doctor Boucek update and advise us on his ongoing efforts and research as time permits, but We also look forward to helping cover those topics and others via our long-format Podcasts with him, which should be enlightening and very educational! So, sharpen your pencils (have your PC ready to take notes), for we might pass out a quiz at the end of each one! 😊

Doctor Boucek (Ross), at my request, also most graciously agreed to help advise Flats Nation team members on how we can better support and advise our Sportsman / Lifestyle community in covering one of our most important categories: Inshore Conservation, and I cannot think of a better person to help us! This is unlike (some) Groups that feel we must abort and quit using our Natural Resources (quite radical and short-sighted considering that Sportsman use is what funds it). On the other hand, Ross is a hard-core angler who started out Fishing for Tarpon and Snook in South Florida as a young man. His love for the Sport and protecting those resources helped podcasts (we are both stoked about!

What is that saying, "Never trust a Skinny Chef!"? Well, some of us have a hard time digesting what we are hearing as The Gospel when those preaching such (sometimes radical) ideas have never picked up a Rod and Reel, much less a Fly Rod like he still does, only to release them to fight another day and go more make babies 😊

To help many understand the economic impact Recreational Fishing has in Florida alone, please take the time to read our article on Sea Trout stocks by clicking Here.

Now, some of the topics we are looking to cover with Doctor Ross are:

• How to traverse a body of water with little to zero impact upon the ecosystem. Technology can be of enormous help in that area.

• How do you handle fish while landing them and help them recover and swim away unharmed?

• What has changed with the ecosystem and needs to be monitored (Salinity, Heavy Metals, Nutrient loads, etc.) changing in our waters?

• Present and newer technologies are now employed to help better manage our Inshore Resources for maximum return.

• Ordering a BTT Florida license tag for your truck or boat trailer is another way to help support conservation and research efforts. Being Conservative (simply another word for wise use) requires research dollars to help ensure we use our best science methodologies to manage the resources for all stakeholders.

• Citizen Science opportunities and how you can participate in various research programs!

I'm pretty sure there will be more to add to the list!

We would also like to give a big thanks and shout-out to Ian Wilson for all the fantastic photography on this one! We love his work, and it saved us a ton of time in article creation by not having to take and edit them on our end. As a photographer, I know all too well the time and effort put into such! I am looking forward to working with Ian here on Flats Nation and sharing some of his knowledge with us here to help all of us record our adventures, even if your only goal is to share them with family and friends... You can find out more about Ian and pick up some of his work for your Home or Office by clicking Here or previewing some on his Instagram page. Here

So, Welcome Aboard Doctor Ross! Brother, we are honored to have you sharing your knowledge with us here, and we cannot think of a better SME (Subject Matter Expert) to help guide us in our combined efforts to get the message out! This while improving our Flats Fishing ecosystems and the economies Worldwide that depend upon the wise use of them 😊

In the meantime,

• We invite you to take in a few Flats Nation Podcast Episodes to help "Scratch that Fishing Itch" when working or traveling and you cannot hitch up the Skiff and go, on these links:

• Our newer Flats Nation YouTube Channel can be found by clicking here. Share our videos with family and friends if you find them entertaining and educational! Dave has advised me of some great guests in the works on a wide range of topics and product coverage soon.

• Or our new Media section that we created with our latest website release, where you can hear all of our Podcasts, Sound Bites, and Flats Nation Updates all in one listing found by clicking Here:

Also, The "Flats Nation" Merch and Swag collection, if you like our content, has some new works, from T-shirts to our newer Technical wear, just in time for Tarpon Season, which can be found Here:

Flats Nation Performance wear in the blend-in colors we now have.

Tight lines, and God Bless!

Dave and the Team