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Posted on Thu, Jun. 15, 2006 - MIAMI HERALD
FISHING Host spreads his reel addiction
Addictive Fishing host Blair Wiggins credits his show's in-your-face style for its popularity. It's 'fun as hell,' he says.
BY SUSAN COCKING
scocking@MiamiHerald.com
TADD VANDEMARK / SPECIAL TO THE MIAMI HERALD
HOST WITH THE MOST: 'Addictive Fishing' host Blair Wiggins shows off a tarpon he caught on fly rod off Key Largo. The way you can tell a fishing celebrity from a true fisherman is that the true fisherman spends his day off . . . fishing.
Between taping a Biscayne Bay bonefish show and a Flamingo rockpile episode, captain Blair Wiggins, MOGAN maniac, star of cable television's popular Addictive Fishing -- ('rod-bendin', drag screamin' action!'' say the promos) -- spent Memorial Day on the Key Largo flats.
No TV cameras followed Wiggins and captain Tadd VanDemark as they poled the no-motor zone off Port Largo hunting tarpon and bonefish with a fly rod. The only signs of Wiggins' celebrity status were the garish logos and fish images covering the 17-foot Ranger Banshee Extreme.
It wasn't long before Wiggins' sun-bleached, surfer-dude good looks -- familiar to millions of viewers -- attracted the attention of a passing kayaker. ''Is that Blair?'' the paddler asked, coming closer. Seeing that it was, the man continued, ``We had a school of bonefish crashing into the kayak.''
As Wiggins thanked the kayaker for the helpful tip, VanDemark chuckled from the poling platform.
''This is better than being a movie star,'' VanDemark said. ``Because it's fishing.''
A GOOD TIME
I told Wiggins I had watched one of the first episodes of Addictive Fishing, now entering its eighth year, and was amused at how much fun he seemed to be having catching barracudas on the flats in Key West.
Wiggins and the guide were yelling, high-fiving and using the show's signature ''MOGAN,'' very liberally in describing a species many South Florida flats fishers consider a trash fish. (For nonanglers, ''MOGAN'' is a combination of monster and `big 'un.') Wiggins smiled and said they were carrying on like that because it was ``fun as hell.''
'People ask me my favorite fish to catch, and I say, `the one on the other end of the pole,' '' he said. 'The biggest comment I get is, `you fish like I do -- you get all excited.' ''
Earlier that day, Wiggins had hooked and lost an estimated 40-pound tarpon on fly rod when the tarpon broke the tippet. As he tied on another fly, his knees were shaking visibly.
''Quit shakin'!'' he admonished himself. ``I can't even tie this thing. That's the addiction. I saw him munch it and everything!''
For Wiggins, tarpon fishing with his FLW Redfish Tour partner VanDemark was a special treat. A fly fisherman since boyhood who can cast well into the backing (more than 100 feet), Wiggins, 40, says he rarely does any TV shows centering on fly fishing. ''I'll leave that to Flip Pallot and Rick Murphy,'' he said, referring to two other TV fishing show hosts.
Wiggins says what sets his show apart from the others is its in-your-face approach.
''It's not your typical two bubbas out fishing,'' he said. ``The camera is not a fly on the wall. I engage the camera as much as the guide, so I don't leave the audience out. They feel like they know me. I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.''
The Cocoa Beach native served in the Air Force for four years, obtained a bachelor's degree in aeronautics and worked on the space shuttle in his hometown before launching his Addictive Fishing guide service 15 years ago. He teamed with a childhood friend, Kevin McCabe, to create the TV show that airs on Florida's Sun Sports Network.
''I went through every bit of savings to put together this show,'' he said.
``Ain't been too much left at the end of the year. [TV host] Mark Sosin told me once if you want to make a million dollars on a fishing show, start with two or three.''
FISHING FOR A BIGGER AUDIENCE
Wiggins hopes to improve on his Florida viewership by switching to the national Fox Sports Network in July, where Addictive Fishing will air at noon Sundays. Meanwhile, when he's not producing shows or competing on the redfish tournament circuit, he is lecturing and signing autographs at fishing expos and boat shows or fishing in charity events.
The celebrity whirlwind doesn't leave much time at home with his wife and 14-year-old son.
''Like they say sometimes, be careful what you wish for,'' Wiggins said. ``You eat, sleep, live fishing 24/7. But you've got to make time for your fans and people who watch the show or you wouldn't have a show.''
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