by Cas Summers on February 17, 2010
I have not been fishing much lately due to the strange winter we have had this year. We had a record cold front that chilled us for 12 days straight with temperatures in the 30’s and even 20’s. That is not normal. I am sure by now that you have read articles documenting the kill of saltwater species snook, seatrout and even Keys bonefish.
I received an email from a local fly shop inviting me to attend a Tarpon presentation yesterday. I love fishing for Tarpon. The reason that I attended was again a poor weather forecast for the day with winds at 15 plus mph and temperature in the 50’s. It was either stay home and ties flies or receives first hand knowledge from the Keys & coffee & donuts.
I had never meet captain Drew before and soon found that he was very personable and did not mind sharing his knowledge. He mentioned that an angler could somewhat read the motivation of fish by their color. I had never heard this. Black & brown backs are good, blue or lighter colors was not as good and if cast at and a refusal occurred…move on to the next fish. Presentation of casts to laid up fish and to sliders (moving fish) was covered with power point and briefly outside.
Drew emphasized the importance of casting accuracy & lead. He mentioned that the speed of the fish’s movement, position in the water column and size & sink rate of the fly all came into play. Try casting to different fish within a school or daisy chain of fish if your previous presentations did not work. If you make a good cast at a daisy chain and a fish ignores it…leaving it for the next fish can be a strategy.
It was a great class. If you are going to the Keys… you might give him a call. I plan on a trip there this year. I find that you can never know enough about the Silver King. Hope you will get out and fish soon or at least do some lawn casting.
by Cas Summers on January 9, 2010
Fly Fishing the NMZ
Thanks goodness for Neoprene waders. We have had an unusually cold streak of weather here in central Florida. I believe that 7 days straight in the 30’s or below is a record that the region does not want to claim. Trout and Redfish in this area, along with thin blooded Southerners, have no use for such silliness. A friend called me and said “if we were to go…Thursday was the day;” the warmest day of the past two weeks. So we loaded up the canoe later than usual and hoped for the best.
We arrived around 10 AM and the weather and wind was just as we expected. Friends who fished the Indian River on Wednesday, a colder day, let us know the bite that they experienced happened after the water temperature had climbed 4 degrees. We hoped to find fish moving into the shallows to warm themselves and possibly feed. The water was clear if only the winter sun angle would have been higher.
We did not have to pole long before we moved some Redfish. A few casts later and a 3 lb Trout was in the canoe. We noticed this many times during the day, that the Trout and Reds were hanging close together in the warmest areas. Minutes later a Chartreuse Clouser retrieved very slowly produced a nice 29 inch Redfish. The key to catching both fish was the slow strip of the fly which kept the fly near the muddy bottom.
We were able to fish within a quarter mile area for most of the day. The fish were laid up, some laying in the mud and others seeking warmth in sand holes. I cast at Reds, Trout and a lot of Black Drum today. My best fish was a feisty 4 lb Seatrout. We did wade some and I also managed 3 smaller Trout while search casting the area. The Chartreuse Clouser minnow was the ace fly of the day. The clear water and beautiful sunny skies with cold water made the weighted minnow the perfect fly choice for the day.
It was a great day on the water. I only have one request “Please give us back our warm weather.” Happy New Year Everyone.
