Our Goal
It’s been said that Flats Class is the best technical fishing show in the new era of television and had inspired many anglers to take up the sport of shallow water fishing. What’s the secret? Capt. C.A. Richardson has found a way to combine bass fishing technique and strategies and employ them to catch popular saltwater species like speckled trout, redfish and snook... this makes him extremely appealing to the many crossover anglers. No one has accomplished this in the fishing arena since the legendary Flip Pallot back in the late 90’s , who Capt. C.A. is compared to quite often by long time fans and industry reps. That’s quite a compliment for Flats Class to be in the same conversation as the “Walkers Cay Chronicles” that Flip Pallot made so popular on ESPN.
Flats Class also plays a significant role in conservation circles in particular with water quality concerns and the battle to save the Everglades. Organizations like the Herman Lucerne Memorial Tournament, Everglades Foundation and Captains for Clean Waters
About The Show
Capt. C.A. Richardson has been a professional guide for 25 years and a lifetime waterman growing up in Florida. His unique way of articulating his fishing expertise to his audience through colorful fishing stories and technical experiences is unmatched and keeps "Flats Class" fans wanting more. Capt. C.A. Richardson also is very respected within the industry representing some of the largest brands in the outdoors like Fitzgerald, Raymarine and Z-Man Fishing Products. Plus, his reputation as a leader on conservation issues and as a public speaker is well documented in our fishing community. Respect, integrity and professionalism is what Capt. C.A. Richardson brings to his partner brands...
The Host!
Born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1965 and then moved to St. Petersburg in 1967 where C.A. honed his angling skills on the beaches, piers, and inshore flats of Tampa Bay. As a teen, he spent countless hours casting artificial lures and buck tail jigs to trout, snook, tarpon, and redfish
unwittingly preparing himself to be a professional angler later in his adult life.
After much success in regional tournaments throughout the '80s & '90s, he decided to jump into the realm of professional tournament fishing and made a name for himself on a national level, competing in venues from North Carolina to Texas... and learning a lot along the way about localized techniques
with light tackle. These various experiences helped shape his guide business in Tampa Bay with his clientele who enjoy catching inshore species on nothing but artificial baits.
Along the way in his guiding career, he saw a need for knowledge especially with novice and intermediate level anglers who wanted to learn the finer points of inshore fishing particularly with the use of artificial lures & Fly; hence he created the Flats Class, was a popular traveling fishing school, lead by C.A and taught in part by regional inshore pros with him and was an instant success with
anglers eager to learn. Eventually, these classes became the launching pad for Flats Class TV.
Several years later the opportunity to bring Flats Class to television with the aid of Forrest Fox Productions and veteran cameraman Dan Larson arose and the rest is history; Flats Class TV has won two industry awards since debuting in 2007 and is annually nominated. Currently, C.A. has put his competitive career behind him to get back to his flats fishing roots with his primary focus now being the continued development of Flats Class TV, Flats Class University, Flats Class YouTube, and his ultra-successful Flats Class Charter business.
2023 Partnerships
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