May 18th Chapter Meeting - Capt. Tom Horbey,

by David McWilliams, AFF Vice President

AFF’s guest speaker for Tuesday May 18, 2010 is Captain Tom Horbey. As always, the meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Alamo Heights Presbyterian Church located at 6201 Broadway. Bring some cash because we will be raffling a guided trip with one of the most distinct names in fly fishing on the middle coast - $20 could put you on the fish of a lifetime!

Tom learned to fly cast when he was 9 years old. It wasn’t until a few years later that he began to fly fish seriously at the age of 14.   And as of today, he’s been at it for 44 years.
Starting at such a young age isn’t all that difficult when you grow up on a trout stream. It’s even more advantageous when your dad is known as one of the regulars on the river – the Beaver Kill – and he has been fishing it since the 1940’s.

But when members of Alamo Fly Fishers hear the name Captain Tom Horbey they don’t think about the Beaver Kill, or about trout… not that kind anyway. They think about Port O’Connor, and tarpon, and jacks, and redfish, and speckled trout.

Ask Tom what he loves to target most and he’ll tell you about catching tarpon in the surf and around the jetties.

Ask him what he fishes for most often and you’ll hear stories of back lakes full of pods of tailing redfish.
If you ask him what he’s best at you’ll learn about the tactics he uses to catch trophy speckled trout above the 28 inch mark.

Ask him what he’s known for and he’ll show you a Horbey Spoon Fly.

And his most memorable moment? A 13 pound bonefish on Andros Island caught in 1988.

Capt. Horbey gives back to the sport, too. He’s an active member of CCA and has donated trips to the organization in the past. He has watched as the landscape of fly fishing has changed over the last several decades. When he started seriously saltwater fly fishing in 1978 there was only a tiny group of fly fisherman on the Texas coast. Since that time it has grown to be near common place. And while that’s good for his business, those who’ve fished with Captain Horbey will tell you he is more than the common guide.