Episode 11: Stu Apte - Down and Dirty

There has never been a more important person to tarpon fishing than
Stu Apte, period. He has shaped his adventure filled life around
this iconic fish and promoted it with a vengeance. As a result,
catching a big tarpon is one of the most celebrated achievements in
angling.Stu was born in Miami, Florida in 1930. Before moving to
the Keys and becoming a fishing guide, Stu was a fighter pilot in
the Navy during the Korean conflict. He then flew planes for Pan Am
which lasted 34 years and during this time, he honed in on his real
passion - Fly Fishing. Stu later went all in on guiding and had the
honor of fishing many days with his mentor, Joe Brooks, and
legendary baseball slugger, Ted Williams. He caught many massive
world records, invented knots, and designed creative tarpon flies.
One of which became a US Postage stamp.After having a prolific
career on the water, writing an abundance of articles and two
books, appearing in countless TV shows, Stu put tarpon fishing on
the map. In 1969, Apte was inducted into the Fishing Hall of Fame
and in 2005 was inducted into the International Game Fish
Association (IGFA) Hall of Fame.This man is still vibrant and
cheerful, ready for his next adventure on the water. In this
episode, Stu talks about flying fighter jets, big fish battles in
Homosassa, and the time when he almost ended his own life.