A Day of Firsts

As a 6 year guide I’ve learned and seen that on most of my charters the clients say that the trip is not just about the size or quantity of fish they can catch but more so about seeing the beauty of the marsh,  learning something new and become more experienced to get out on there own one day!... and then go on to say “catching fish is a bonus” No kidding about that! Well to me the fish bonus is like having the topping on a strawberry short cake for a perfect day on the water. I met up on 12/14 with this enthusiastic gentleman who was 45 minutes early and ready to go on his new adventure. Nevertheless despite the 15-20+ MPH steady wind with some higher gusts that the Weatherman didn’t tell us about!...  we had a pretty good day of 1^st times for new local fly fisher Joe P. from Jacksonville. This means 1^st time ever catching fish on fly, 1^st time seeing the salt tidal marsh, 1^st time casting a fly rod in the wind and perhaps maybe some other firsts. The end result was Joe getting his topping on the cake with 3 Redfish and starting a new hobby in his life that his Dad did in his own lifetime.  With that said as a guide I often get more pleasure with first timers and making happy fishing faces!

Joe was nice enough to submit a Goggle review here of his 1st experience in learning how to cast and fishing the salt marsh. ( c lick Google Review link under First Coast Fly Fishing Unlimited )

https://www.google.com/search?q=fly+fishing+guide+jacksonville&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

                                                                     

                                                                             December 14, 2013

Wintertime Fly Fishing Forecast

Yep you bet!.. this is when the Spotted Sea Trout bite turns on! The clear and cool water temperatures that run in 50s-60s is what really warrants these big toothy fish to move into our backwaters and taking your fly with gusto! This is the time of year I like to wade fish St. Augustine either by walking a beach or traveling by kayak and or running the Skiff to my favorite holes in Jacksonville's Timucuan Preserve. Were mostly catching them with an intermediate sink tip fly line on the HD Clouser fly by blind casting and drifting your line through the waters current around structure. Our wintertime pattern also includes catching some Bluefish and Jack Crevalle in the mix with some opportunities to catch a Redfish as the water warms up toward the middle of the day. But mostly fly fishing for Big Trout is on the menu! Good luck and tight lines! 

 

St. Augustine Gold

It’s not that often that we can say you had an epic day of fly fishing! That means blue bird skies, with a high air temperature of about 70 degrees, fishing in crystal clear super shallow waters sight fishing and seeing over a 100 Redfish and catching what seemed to be more like Goldfish and not Redfish! There were no other boats in sight. It was epic! I and my partner and guide friend Tim fished out of his 16 ft. Gheenoe poling around in super shallow water to find these deep colored Redfish swimming around like goldfish in a bowl. On top of it all they were hungry and feisty with a bad attitude that put a mean bend in our fly rods. I blame this on the rapidly cooling waters that dropped 10 degrees in the past 7 days to 64 degrees.  They fought hard and long. There were times that we didn’t see the Reds until they were right up on the boat and to close to cast to! Literally!  We had one hook up that the Redfish acted like shark by circling the boat looking for something to eat. My partner then dropped the fly maybe 15 feet away and around the back of the boat near the Redfish. The Red literally came over to get it! There’s nothing like seeing and fish actually eat the fly twice after missing it the first time. The fall eating frenzy seems to be on it's way! So go fish!  

                                                                     Rich  11/3/13

                                                                        Rich 10/27/13

                                                                      Tim 10/27/13

IFFF Fly Fishing Expo 2013

Have you ever wished that you can see the newest fly gear and learn more about fly fishing especially from the real Pros and get some entertainment all at the same time and place? Well here it is! This rare event only comes around every few year so you may want think about coming on down so you don't miss out. I will also be conducting a PowerPoint presentation on Fly Fishing Florida's First Coast. Hope to see you there! 

Best Fly Catching Time in the Making

...So get ready! As the flood tide grass flats fishing for tailing Reds comes to end by early November the low tide creek fishing goes on fire! It’s happened every year that I have fished these waters and really look forward to this special time of year!  We call this the fall feeding frenzy! With cooling air and water temps. and disappearing bait our predatory fish are on the move making themselves pretty visible. They will eat pretty much anything that is put in front of them! It's going to your best opportunity to catch a big Redfish, Speckled Sea Trout or Flounder on fly. The big Trout also move in from the deeper cooler water that they have been during the summer. So as the water temperatures start to drop into the mid to lower 70s which generally it the later part of October the fish are actively up and looking for food to fatten up for the winter. No question about it! Sight fishing will be at its best!

10 Lb. Redfish in November

Her Fish of a Lifetime

9/15/13- This is Robert and Jennifer P. from Georgia. This is one of the happiest clients I've ever had on my boat. After an almost 10 minute battle on an ultra light spinning rod Jennifer caught this 7 lb. Redfish all on her own! It really boosted her confidence and ego and turned out to be the best and biggest fish she's ever caught. Her smile says it all! I thought she was going to cry with tears of joy and really does a fishing Guides heart good! That's what its all about with me! The fishing is starting to heat up!

Her 7 Lb. Redfish in September

The Flood Grass Year of Wonder?

So are you asking yourself... where are all the tailing reds? I'm hearing this from approx. 95% of the friends and guides I know including fishing reports from the local club and forums.  I've been fortunate enough only see and catch only a couple on all my trips this summer. Believe it or not the month of May happened to be the best month so far this year. Over the past years August and September have been the banner months with catching trophy grass Reds! So I asked myself why not this year? I believe a part of it is due to not having the flood tide either early or late enough in the day. Another is to much wind. Redfish don't like wind on their tails! Also your typical 5.5 Mayport flood tide number that normally is the magic number to flood has also fallen short of getting enough water on the flats for a Tailer to show up even with a east-northeast wind! Can't figure that one out.  My best guess is lack of Hurricanes and probably to much of a high barometric pressure, etc. It just goes to show you when you think good fishing conditions are supposed to happen they may not. I've also seen it happen to the opposite extreme of when it's not supposed to flood and it does. It's like the weather man trying to forecast the weather! I think the only way you will find out is if you go so don't pay too much attention the details of weather. But I know one thing for sure... don't give up because the best is yet to come! It happens every year so be ready. We have until late October to early November to find out....

Spartina Grass Flat

LIFT OFF... here we go!

Welcome to the opening of my new Blog page! I've thought about doing this for years now and finally have pushed the start button! I will do my best with posting new information as much as possible or as time allows. Anyway it's geared to help share my fishing adventures made with friends and clients and share my knowledge of the sport with you so we can all enjoy what it has to offer! You only live once! Weather you are new to the sport or a seasoned angler I think you will find it interesting and informative. Those who know me already know that I love outdoor photography and plan on posting the best photos and stories hear along with what good comes to mind... so stand by!