Meet The Crew: West Florida Black Flags Angling Club

With the official launch of the 14 new professional angling clubs competing in SFCs new format, get to know the names, logos and faces behind the new era of competitive offshore fishing. Introducing West Florida Black Flags Angling Club

Behind the Black Flags name
Prominent landing spots for French, English and Spanish privateers during the Golden Age of Piracy in the 17th and 18th Centuries, Tampa Bay and the West Florida Coast has openly embraced its swashbuckling past. The story of a mythical pirate named Jose Gaspár even inspired a festival that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to Tampa every January. Yup, we’re talking about Gasparilla.The West Florida Black Flags Angling Club honors that buccaneer heritage in a number of ways. The “black flags” moniker is symbolic of pirates flying a black flag to signal their intentions to attack other ships. 

Behind The Angling Club Logo & Colors
The skull pays homage to the jolly roger, with heavy tackle rods and reels taking the place of crossbones. The name comes from the French term joli rouge, or “pretty red” since French pirates originally flew a red flag. The anglicized “Jolly Roger” became the term for any flag (of any color) flown by pirates. The circular shape of the badge is inspired by Spanish Doubloons and silver coins.

The accent gold and silver colors are a reminder of the many legends of pirate treasure said to be buried and lost in the area of Tampa, St. Pete and the surrounding coastline. It is rumored that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of treasure is still hidden by the ever shifting sands, waiting to be discovered. 

The Squad (Coming Soon)
The Black Flags have a roster secured, but that news deserves its own announcement, coming at the conclusion of our Angling Club reveals. Free agency signing periods have nicknames like “silly season” in Formula One, “the hot stove” in Major League Baseball and “rostermania” in eSports for a reason. SFC’s first-ever free agency period was set in motion by the March 11 landmark agreement between the league and its angling club. What we have learned so far is that sport fishing free agency needs a nickname of its own.