feast or famine

Its been a strange month, cold windy, one nice day, cold windy,coldddddddddd, windy, cold windyyyy no days nice then one day nice.

The problem this month is cold water, sunday the 20th in the park it was 58 degrees and on saturday in the bay it was 64-65. When you find fish on the flats they are not eating, parked in the mud or on the grass they simply swim away from your flys. I found one 60 lb tarpon laid up and Paul an angler from PA made several casts that were perfect but it simply swam away in cold and overcast. He did catch eight smaller tarpon that day in a warmer area in the park (flamingo) but that was it for the day hence the title above. Same for the bay, tarpon in the morning with Carl and John one for ten and then in the north bay only sighting one permit and maybe one bone and seeing many cuda's that ran from our flies.

Fly fishing in salt is a tough deal, in fact the toughest on the planet especially here. Flies have no smell and movement is minimal compared to lures and bait on spin. I can cover an area much faster than a flyrod with spin and wind has little effect on it and lures are vast.

But that's the challenge and when the line comes tight in your hand, its worth the hassle and wait.

Big doings will occur soon, watch the water temps to average 75 and its off to the races.

March is here but........

Ok March is here, but fishing is slow except for a few bright spots. The last fly tournament in the keys was horrible, the winner caught a few reds and a snook with the majority of anglers catching nothing. Murray key water temp yesterday was 59 DEGREE's!

The water is freezing..... the fish are cold and we need warmth...

Having said that the tarpon fishing has been good on fly and bass fishing has been excellent.

Soon the water will warm and with a bluebird sky tarpon fishing will go crazy along with everything else. Cindy my wife and I went bass fishing a week ago and fishing was incredible. She caught bass after bass on streamer flys and I did the same with Steve Kanters poppers that use big rubber legs with flash and squirrel tail hair for the tail.

the cold wont let go...

Another week of cold water temps and wind. Soon it will abate and the fishing will improve. Having said that bass fishing is excellent right now along with cuda's and tarpon. There is allways fish to found somewhere.
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Permit and bonefishing is slow right now compared to warmer times. Watch the water temps they tell the story. Angle for fish that are not effected as much by the cold like trout, ladyfish, macks etc.

tarpon an bass

Today we have a west wind as another front approaches. Bass are on in the glades with catches of 100 fish possible. Throw poppers on the edges and if that doesnt work try a sinking fly.

Last week my clients went 3 for 25 (or more) on fly for tarpon in two trips. On friday the wind was "gale force" with rain but we had to go and it was excellent tarpon fishing. I wanted to go since I knew I would have the water to myself and I did. The biggest problem I have on the water is cloud cover, wind and rain can be dealt with but no sun kills my sight fishing.

For tarpon pick a good tide early morning with wind in your favor and your in.

I took my wife Cindy to the glades yesterday, she hammered the bass and then I took her to a super secret tarpon spot as the sun set. She had double digit sized fish rolling all around the boat. As these huge female fish rolled she noted that it would be near impossible to land one! Some went 120lb's or bigger. I was happy she had the rod in her hand and not in mine!

cold and more cold

Its mid feb and its still cold. We had a serious snook kill in the park and lost lots of small tarpon. This spring will be the barometer of the snook kill as they emerge on to the flats.
Water temps have been in the sixties most areas, however if you check out a sat photo of water temps you will see that the gulf stream has temps in the seventies which helps keep the bay warmer which it has.
Tarpon fishing there has been excellent and will continue into April, also baracudas, sharks and bonefish are still on the flats and are a good bet.
Pick you tides/days. Water temps in the seventies will add the odds in your favor.

My tip: Believe what you see and 10% of the dock talk that you hear. Slant and outright untruths about catches by fisherman are as common as saltwater. Create a plan and STICK TO IT. Never let dock talk sway a plan or you will be sorry.......... I personally dont care what others are doing on forums or elsewhere, rely on your experience and judgement and you cant go wrong.

The English protect there waters!

In England waters are patrolled by "bailiffs". They take there trout waters seriously and have a voluntary force that keeps tabs on anglers that fish them. We could use them in some of our waters here! I have a copy of a page from an angling society that has bailiffs that patrol over 200 pieces of water. They also warn of trying to out smart the bailiffs by fishing in the dark of night, fore which they are prepared to deal with. I like the old system of forehead branding!

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The bailiffs ensure that members fish within the rules of the society and report all members who break them. Ignorance of the rules relating to a water is not regarded as an excuse as such rules are in the membership card and the water's guide. It is members' responsibility to read the rules each year and also take notice of updates in HLS, or local signs at each water.
The most important duty is to protect the members fishing by evicting non-members and gathering information on poachers for prosecution, obtaining police assistance if they fail to leave the water. If possible we charge these people under the 1968 Theft Act. On the other side of the coin the local bailiff will have a vast amount of information on the water, which when asked he will gladly pass to the member i.e. where to fish, best methods for the conditions of the day, bait, rigs etc. If he can help he will. For the less mobile and older members the bailiff will assist in any way he can. At the end of the day if you have had a good days fishing from information received thank the bailiff so you can both go home happy.
In the good old days poachers were hanged or thrown into a dark damp cell and forgotten about, or at the very least branded on the forehead with the letter 't' how times have changed but the crime remains the same so we must all be vigilant. Another undesirable aspect, which is on the increase, in all sports including angling that is totally un-acceptable, is any form of aggression directed at the bailiffs, either verbally or a violent act. These will be dealt with most strongly and were possible in the court. Remember please treat others, as you would wish them to treat you. Politeness costs nothing.

fishing the flats

Fall is here, the last three weeks tarpon in Florida Bay and elsewhere both big and small have been available. If the weather stays warm it could continue.
Huge schools of bluefish and mackerel are migrating down but the big story is mullet, find them and your into fish.
The water temps are great right now, large bonefish and permit are a good target.
The tides over rule all and if you book a guide ask about the tides and choices for fishing.
For instance if you select a day and the tides are high at first light it might limit where you can fish for several hours. Its better to be disappointed on the net than on the water.

Dave Hunt