Saltwater Flyfishing
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Last: 25 days ago by TarponChaser
I figured we could use a little reel pron too (from FB):
Centerpole90 said:
@singlefin must be driving.
Yep, we are in the sprinter van!
RickSawyer said:Centerpole90 said:
@singlefin must be driving.
Yep, we are in the sprinter van!
I was wondering if you got a new toy you hadn't told us about.
I had an incredible time in LA with Rick this week. I caught my second and third redfish on the fly including a 26lb'er that was just a surreal experience from casting at her, seeing the strike, getting in the backing, getting her to the boat, and finally balancing her mass to get some pictures.
Congratulations on #2 and #3. I'm maybe at 26 lbs aggregate of fly caught redfish.
And that last pic. Rick looks like a 5 year old with a puppy.
And that last pic. Rick looks like a 5 year old with a puppy.
I promised our team if I hit dirty thirty I would bear hug the bull. Did not want to disappoint. My redfish however was not amused.
The tail on your toad is HUGE. Big prop, fast boat!
The tail on your toad is HUGE. Big prop, fast boat!
As you all can see, the trip to Grand Isle was a success. The crew was Harris Dudley from Charleston, SC (great low country guide too), Rob (my twin brother), Kevin (kbo above) and me. We rolled out there in Rob's 3/4 ton Sprinter, amazing roadtrip mobile with hopes of seeing a few big fish. My goal was to break into a 20+ pound fish.
Day one we were met with clear skies and good wind. Harris and I fished Jarid's boat and between the two of us brought in 7 fish from the 12-27 pound range. My largest was 18.5 pounds - so close but so far away. That after oon we chased 10-20 pound fish tailing on oyster beds. It is insane how many different conditions you can fish there, floaters, tailers, marsh, open water flats etc...
Day two was tough - overcast and rainy - but the fish were floating well and Kbo and I managed to find a few fish on the islands. My first toad was caught blindcasting into some nervous mullet - 26.5 pounds of redfish that took the Mako pretty deep into her backing.
My second fish was floating off an island, made a nice 35 foot cast and got a follow all the way to the boat without an eat. The fish must have felt the boat and sucked down into the bottom but couldn't resist my fly as I drug it across the bow. Initially we didn't think he as that big but when he finally woke up and rolled his bowling ball sized head across the top of the water we knew he was solid. Cranked down on the Mako's drag which worked flawlessly and worked him in hard to keep him away from the handful of nat gas wells in the immediate area. 32 pounds. Dirty thirty- insane.
Day three met us with the worst conditions of the day - LOW tide, stiff north wind and temps in the 40's. We gave it a quick go but the fish weren't cooperating and it was not fun fishing conditions at all. Called it early and got on the road at a more manageable time to roll back to Seabrook.
Jarid and Baron do it first class. This ain't a fishing cabin, the house is NICE, they are both superb guides, and if any of you are even remotely considering this trip I 100% encourage you to book with these dudes. There are still dates available Jan-Mar. Go out there. Now!
Day one we were met with clear skies and good wind. Harris and I fished Jarid's boat and between the two of us brought in 7 fish from the 12-27 pound range. My largest was 18.5 pounds - so close but so far away. That after oon we chased 10-20 pound fish tailing on oyster beds. It is insane how many different conditions you can fish there, floaters, tailers, marsh, open water flats etc...
Day two was tough - overcast and rainy - but the fish were floating well and Kbo and I managed to find a few fish on the islands. My first toad was caught blindcasting into some nervous mullet - 26.5 pounds of redfish that took the Mako pretty deep into her backing.
My second fish was floating off an island, made a nice 35 foot cast and got a follow all the way to the boat without an eat. The fish must have felt the boat and sucked down into the bottom but couldn't resist my fly as I drug it across the bow. Initially we didn't think he as that big but when he finally woke up and rolled his bowling ball sized head across the top of the water we knew he was solid. Cranked down on the Mako's drag which worked flawlessly and worked him in hard to keep him away from the handful of nat gas wells in the immediate area. 32 pounds. Dirty thirty- insane.
Day three met us with the worst conditions of the day - LOW tide, stiff north wind and temps in the 40's. We gave it a quick go but the fish weren't cooperating and it was not fun fishing conditions at all. Called it early and got on the road at a more manageable time to roll back to Seabrook.
Jarid and Baron do it first class. This ain't a fishing cabin, the house is NICE, they are both superb guides, and if any of you are even remotely considering this trip I 100% encourage you to book with these dudes. There are still dates available Jan-Mar. Go out there. Now!
Rick...
Finn Maccumhail said:
I'll refer you to my post on MicroSkiff.com regarding poling a panga.
http://www.microskiff.com/threads/poling-a-panga.40606/#post-320114
That being said, that panga would probably be easier to pole.
Hit the marsh with the old man this weekend and poled him around in the panga for a quickie morning trip. Brief review after some poling time:
The panga poles better than I thought it would, I poled for about 3 or 4 hours and woke up just a little sore on Sunday. I figured it'd wear me out worse than it did, but I won't be doing any 6-8 hour poling excursions like I would in the gheenoe.
It spun easier than I figured, but didn't track as well as I'd hoped it would once the wind started picking up.
I am glad I got a 24 ft pole, being able to "walk the pole" 4 or 5 arm lengths is nice.
The sharp bow does have some hull slap in a cross or quartering chop. Into the waves it's very quiet (more than my noe). We were poling within 10-15 ft of schooled up reds without spooking them.
Draft is under 10" with two guys. We were floating over some shallow shell and not scraping. I did get into a couple places where it got skinny and the bow hung up in the mud, but it was easy to push back off into deeper water. Pushed over a couple humps in a back creek (rising tide in a familiar area), and it wasn't terrible getting through the soft mud. I'll be wary of exploring unknown shallow areas though.
I'm not sure how much harder it'll be to pole once I add in decks and a bigger fuel tank. I may take a bunch of 5 gallon buckets and fill them up with water to simulate the extra weight and see how it handles.
Poling from the rear bench isn't bad, which makes me more comfortable with my decision to go with a trolling motor first and save up for a platform later. Now I just need to find a deal on a TM with remote control.
I'd be interested in poling back to back with your Evo, since it's about the same size but rigged out heavier.
Salt of the water said:
I'd be interested in poling back to back with your Evo, since it's about the same size but rigged out heavier.
Sure thing. We can try to find some time to hit the water soon.
Random, but any of you guys fished in the South Pacific? I am honeymooning in Bora Bora and Moorea and trying to find info on fly fishing there.
Trying to throw together a last minute trip for Wednesday with a couple Ags if you're free. Thinking East Matty but not locked in yet.
After that it'll probably be late January before I get to go again.
After that it'll probably be late January before I get to go again.
reddog90 said:
Random, but any of you guys fished in the South Pacific? I am honeymooning in Bora Bora and Moorea and trying to find info on fly fishing there.
Bora Bora has giant trevally!
Salt of the water said:
Trying to throw together a last minute trip for Wednesday with a couple Ags if you're free. Thinking East Matty but not locked in yet.
After that it'll probably be late January before I get to go again.
Hmmm, I could possibly make that happen. But I'm not remotely familiar with that bay- at least not in a boat, we used to haul kayaks down the beach, cut through one of the passes and fish the back lakes back in the day though. Never know until you go, right?
The east side of EMB is pretty easy to run. Most of the bigger reefs are on the west side of the bay. On the east side the shell is up on the shorelines.
Tentative plan is to launch from the Sargent side at around 1 and fish our way down the south shoreline from Brown cedar cut. I'm hoping that now that we're a few days past the front the fish will be moving back onto the flats as the afternoon warms up. If we're seeing any decent trout I may break out the waders.
If the bay is still nastied up from the front plan B would be to head back and work the pass to try and find flatties.
Send me an email address or phone number on Instagram and I'll get in touch.
Anyone else who wants to come down is more than welcome to join.
Tentative plan is to launch from the Sargent side at around 1 and fish our way down the south shoreline from Brown cedar cut. I'm hoping that now that we're a few days past the front the fish will be moving back onto the flats as the afternoon warms up. If we're seeing any decent trout I may break out the waders.
If the bay is still nastied up from the front plan B would be to head back and work the pass to try and find flatties.
Send me an email address or phone number on Instagram and I'll get in touch.
Anyone else who wants to come down is more than welcome to join.
I am nowhere near equipped to chase GTs lol.RickSawyer said:reddog90 said:
Random, but any of you guys fished in the South Pacific? I am honeymooning in Bora Bora and Moorea and trying to find info on fly fishing there.
Bora Bora has giant trevally!
Time to talk to Santa, bro.
Hey man - you can use the same set up for gulf coast jacks, tarpon and bull reds... you NEED a 10wt in your arsenal. NEED!!!reddog90 said:I am nowhere near equipped to chase GTs lol.RickSawyer said:reddog90 said:
Random, but any of you guys fished in the South Pacific? I am honeymooning in Bora Bora and Moorea and trying to find info on fly fishing there.
Bora Bora has giant trevally!
Salt of the water said:
The east side of EMB is pretty easy to run. Most of the bigger reefs are on the west side of the bay. On the east side the shell is up on the shorelines.
Tentative plan is to launch from the Sargent side at around 1 and fish our way down the south shoreline from Brown cedar cut. I'm hoping that now that we're a few days past the front the fish will be moving back onto the flats as the afternoon warms up. If we're seeing any decent trout I may break out the waders.
If the bay is still nastied up from the front plan B would be to head back and work the pass to try and find flatties.
Send me an email address or phone number on Instagram and I'll get in touch.
Anyone else who wants to come down is more than welcome to join.
Damnit. Not gonna happen. I have to have a meeting to educate a real estate attorney on why a deal structure we use 3000 times a year and over 20,000 times in the last 12 years is perfectly normal.
I love that attitude, as if the form you're using wasn't already created by a team of lawyers.
AggieGunslinger said:
I love that attitude, as if the form you're using wasn't already created by a team of lawyers.
Yes, but those are OUR lawyers.
Bummer. Have fun with the liars.
I dealt with the same situation last year, the guy was just grandstanding for his client.
AggieGunslinger said:
I dealt with the same situation last year, the guy was just grandstanding for his client.
And you'd expect a real estate attorney to have a pretty solid understanding of how easements work. Not so in many cases.
Finn, is your buds hells bay still up for sale?
RickSawyer said:
Finn, is your buds hells bay still up for sale?
Let me check. He and his wife just had their second kid a couple weeks ago so they're covered up.
He just texted and said he sold it last week.
Finn Maccumhail said:
He just texted and said he sold it last week.
Damn, okay - keep your eyes out, I have a buddy looking for a skiff that can handle a bit more open water runs in the 18-22k range for Louisiana. Needs to be side or center console.
2006 Maverick Mirage 18 over in FL. Dude's asking $26,500 but that's pretty high for that boat IMHO: https://panamacity.craigslist.org/bod/5859172575.html
There's also Marcus Veazey's 93 Hewes LT20 with a 2014 Suzki 140 for $15K. It's probably a bit heavy for all day poling but would be great for LA fishing. And being below budget you can probably get it for closer to $14K and then pay to have it cleaned up, maybe rewired, and restore it a bit. http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=1872026&highlight=poling
There's also Marcus Veazey's 93 Hewes LT20 with a 2014 Suzki 140 for $15K. It's probably a bit heavy for all day poling but would be great for LA fishing. And being below budget you can probably get it for closer to $14K and then pay to have it cleaned up, maybe rewired, and restore it a bit. http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=1872026&highlight=poling
Not saltwater, but what can you guys tell me about an Orvis Henry's Fork glass rod? Found a 8'6" 5wt for $75.
rather be fishing said:
Not saltwater, but what can you guys tell me about an Orvis Henry's Fork glass rod? Found a 8'6" 5wt for $75.
Buy it asap.
Really cool old rod. I think it's one of the glass rods made for Orvis by Phillipson. Depending on the quality I've seen those go for $200+
Meeting the guy this afternoon. He says he doesn't think it's ever been used, which I don't believe, but that gives me hope for being in good shape.Finn Maccumhail said:rather be fishing said:
Not saltwater, but what can you guys tell me about an Orvis Henry's Fork glass rod? Found a 8'6" 5wt for $75.
Buy it asap.
Really cool old rod. I think it's one of the glass rods made for Orvis by Phillipson. Depending on the quality I've seen those go for $200+
rather be fishing said:Meeting the guy this afternoon. He says he doesn't think it's ever been used, which I don't believe, but that gives me hope for being in good shape.Finn Maccumhail said:rather be fishing said:
Not saltwater, but what can you guys tell me about an Orvis Henry's Fork glass rod? Found a 8'6" 5wt for $75.
Buy it asap.
Really cool old rod. I think it's one of the glass rods made for Orvis by Phillipson. Depending on the quality I've seen those go for $200+
FYI- the rod still may be worth it but I don't believe it's glass. I was confusing the Henry's Fork with another model. That being said, if it's a "superfine" which would have an unsanded blank it's still worth more than $75 (I've seen them go as high as $300) but it's not an old 1960-70s vintage glass rod.
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