August Fly Fishing Report

August brought the peak of the flooded grass flats season and hunting for tailing Redfish. Sight fishing at it's best! The best action happened to be late in the day around sun down. We all caught Redfish mostly in the typical 20" range with some up to 26" on top water Gurlger flies around the edges of the feeder creeks that lead into the flats. Getting these Reds on a Gurgler fly really added a whole new dimension and real exciting way to catch them! There's nothing like the experience of an explosive top water attack!

The dock light action continued to be outstanding with Sea Trout up to 5 lbs. on 6wt. fly rods providing a fun time for my anglers then followed by some great top water action at dawn with small Jacks up to 3 lbs. on Gurgler flies.  It was hoot for them on a 5wt. fly rod!

The beachfront nearshore fishing this month provided some good action with the  Spanish Mackerel on real light fly gear. Unfortunately the Little Tunny fishing did not happen as anticipated. They remained far offshore out of reach. We did find large bait pods of baby Menhaden and Silver Minnows close to shore around the inlet that the LTs should have been feeding on. Instead there was an occasional Tarpon roll up around the pods and small Sharks.

                                                   Flood Tide Redfish right at Dark

                                           Flood Bug-Gurgler fly from Black Fly Outfitter

Casting at the underwater green dock lights to Trout

Beachfront Fly fishing

Spanish Mackerel

                         
                                             Client with a quality Sea Trout off the dock lights
 

                                                                    Jack battles at dawn

                                                          Jacks on top water Gurgler flies

                                                                           Jack Crevalle

                                             Client Carl K. from New Jersey with a Nice Trout

July Fly Fishing Report

This month of July has been an interesting one with some diverse fly fishing catches mostly early in the day or during the quite and cooler night time periods thus avoiding the afternoon heat and rainstorms.

Starting with the night-time dock lights. It's been the best month of the year so far with some quality sized Sea Trout of up to 5 lbs. caught on my custom tied white and pink San-minnow flies during any part of the tide that has moving water. My clients also caught a wide variety of other fish under the lights including Bluefish, Jack Crevalle and Lookdowns. Pictured below is Dennis M. from Minnesota who casted his freshwater 5wt. Trout rod for a few hours just after dusk and catching over 20 fish including some rarely caught Lookdown's. Then local client Bob M. below fought his first of several Sea Trout on fly that were also caught under the dock lights. First Coast Fly Fishing Unlimited had several other trips with similar results. Hanging around dock lights have proven to be a great way to certainly bend your fly rod and catch some decent fish on fly!

There's also been plenty of sight fishing opportunities to catch those belly crawling-backing Redfish during low tides at dawn if you had the skills to out smart one of these weary fish. Even better yet the end of the month brought in one of our favorite times of the year! The sight fishing game for tailing Redfish on the flooded grass flats. July pretty much puts the season into full swing with the best months coming up ahead that will last through early November. This is a fairly easy way to catch a Redfish, Sheepshead or Blackdrum close up if you can quietly stalk and drop your fly in front of them. July started off with some pretty good numbers caught with fellow anglers catching 3-4 per trip around early evening and dusk.

The near shore beachfront action for Little Tunnys had slowed up due to unexpected thermocline with dropping water temperatures that pushed the bait far offshore keeping the Tunnys away.  Report as of 7/25 say there already working there way back inshore busting on bait with diving birds about 3 miles out. I expect the month of August to really get fired up with these fast and furious speedsters and expect to have some good reports next month.

August Action Forecast: Tailing Redfish on the Flooded Grass Flats, Little Tunny's on the Beachfront and Dock-light Sea Trout.

Get out and take a break! Tight Loops and Lines to all !

                                         Client Dennis from Minnesota with a Spotted Sea Trout

           Lookdown

                                                                                   Client Bob with a Dock Light Trout

       July Flood Tide Redfish

June Fly Fishing Report

Summertime is officially here along with its typical afternoon rainstorms that roll in a few times during week and hot day time air temperatures. This pattern often makes for slow mid-day fishing in the backwater marshes for Redfish and Trout. Not to worry because the fishing does continue elsewhere with some other interesting options!

In June our near shore ocean waters along the beach begin to calm from common westerly winds allowing us to get out of the inlets in small boats looking for folks of diving birds on bait fish pods. The bait is being and pushed up and corralled like cows into a pen by either Little Tunny's, Spanish Mackerel and mix of other types of fish like Tarpon, Jacks, Ladyfish, etc. 

For me this is the time of year that I look forward too testing my fly gear out, really stretch a line out and see the back of my fly line disappear into the water from 10lb. football with fins speed away! Some of these fish are known to bust rods! I'm talking about the fast and furious Little Tunny(a.k.a. False Albacore, Florida Bonito, Albie). Pictured below is my first trip of the year and happy to say that this type of fishing will last through the summer!

So my summers fishing itinerary includes getting out in the mornings first light and fishing through the morning in the low tide marshes for Redfish or beach front for Little Tunny's. Then chasing Sea Trout in the peaceful serenity of the night on the dock lights, and last but not least go sight fishing in the flooded grass flats for tailing Redfish around the spring tides for the next 4 month. Good luck and tight loops and lines all!

                                        6/21/15- Rich with his 1st Little Tunny of the Year

My Friend Tim with his 1st Little Tunny of the Year

May Fly Fishing Report

The month of May starts the beginning of the dock light fly fishing season which generally lasts through the Fall. Believe it or not this is sight fishing at night! You can watch schools of Sea Trout swimming over the top of  florescent green underwater lights and also under the overhanging hood lights.  It will certainly pump your heart rate up! It's like a fish tank aquarium in your living room. It's also a great way to beat the summertime heat and afternoon thunderstorms. Pictured below is Schuyler M. from Austin, Texas who watched this 5 lb. Trout chase down and eat his fly while striping his fly through the light this past month.

May is also the time of year we start fly fishing the beachfront surf when the right conditions allow. Early to mid morning high tide with sunny skies and west winds are ideal. This is also another great sight fishing fly adventure as you walk down our beautiful white sanded beaches and cast to schools of cruising Redfish, Black Drum, sharks and more all within easy casting distance! Pictured below is Scott B. from Ponte Vedra, Fl. with with a nice 7 lb. Redfish he caught in May.

Last but not least the low tide creek fishing in Jacksonville's Timucuan Preseve salt marsh also continued with Jay. M. from Mass. catching his 1st Redfish on fly.

 

5 lb. Sea Trout on Dock Lights

7 lb. Redfish sight fished in the Surf

His 1st Redfish in the Salt Marsh

April Fly Fishing Report

April is Ladyfish month! They're not the most sought-after fish in Northeast Florida but are fun on a 6-8 weight fly rod! We also call them a poor man's Tarpon! They provide great action during there springtime migration while wade fishing the flats that I go and best  accessible by kayak. They generally run between 18" to 22" long and have a Nascar attitude of zipping your fly line around you 360 degrees. There a very aggressive fish  once hooked that doesn't know how to give up! If you like fast action and jumping fish I highly recommend them for some fun. You can also expect to s mix of Sea Trout, Jack Crevalle up to 4 lbs. and Bluefish up to 18"  and Redfish during this spring time run. This is just another way of some fun fishing here in NE Florida!

March Fly Fishing Report

WOW! What a month! Shad, Redfish, Sea Trout, Bluefish, Flounder and more! March certainly proved to be a month of  diverse fish catches in several different ecosystems that NE Florida has to offer. From Amelia Island to Jacksonville to St. Augustine and all the way to some Central Florida cow pastures near the headwaters of the St. Johns River. Here is a recap of of what happened in a few of the trips…

In early March we closed out the American Shad fishing season on the upper St. Johns River with longtime client and friend Bob M. from Jacksonville. This was his 1st time trying for them. We fished 8 hours on the water near Christmas, Florida and could not find them until the last 1-1/2 hour of our trip right before sunset. They were holding deep in 8-10 feet of water so sinking fly lines plus heavier flies did the trick. He ended up catching 7 Shad up to 19" on a 6wt. fly rods making a successful trip! We also got some Red Belly Bream that are magnificent to see with their colors. Amazingly along the way we encountered probably upwards of over 30 Alligators as big as 12 feet long sunning themselves on the banks. Overall it was a tough year to find the Shad due to the higher than normal water level and to many cold fronts shutting them down. We did get in a few good trips and will be back at it next year starting in late December.

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Mid-March brought some big Redfish to Wayne B. from Orange Park, FL and catching his 1st two Redfish's ever on a fly under beautiful weather conditions. Initially things looked very quiet on the mud flats but we remained patient for a while just hunting for any signs of life. As I quietly poled the skiff we came across some big laid up schools of Redfish around the Oysters mounds holding in about 12 " of water. They would end spooking and then swimming away from us. We poled after them and the sight fishing game was on! Once located Wayne would randomly cast into them and hook up! He got a real beauty that went 9 lbs. at about 29" long on my HD Clouser fly. Be sure to check out the video that captured the trip on my YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/oYNnOtyvYlA
                                                     
                                                   

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End of March Peter W. from Santé Fe, New Mexico called me to do a 2 day guide trip to catch his 1st saltwater fishes on fly. Peter was more accustom to using 4 and 5 wt. fly rods in small streams for 8"-12" long Trout. So his casting style was mostly doing roll casts of about 25 - 30 ft. After giving him a few casting lessons he quickly learned what it would take to catch his 1st salty fish! The weather conditions were not in his favor either! So I figured our best bet was to head down to the St. Augustine inlet area to try and get some Bluefish which are loaded down there this time of the year. Peter did better than expected and ended up catching a variety of fish including over 20 Bluefish up to 17" on 6wt. fly rod rigged with a sink tip fly line and my HD Clouser fly. His list of new species caught is Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel, Flounder and Sea Trout.  He kept telling me this is like casting a 357 Magnum Gun and catching Grizzles!

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3/29/15- Last but not least I took Dale M. and his 17 year old Daughter Kerri out from Manitoba, Canada. They drove up from there St. Augustine hotel to fish the Timucuan Persevere because they said that goggle earth made it seem more pristine in NE Jax with less traffic. I agreed! An unusual big

cold front came down for this time year and had to bring back out some winter clothes again. I believe this certainly put the Sea Trout bite on as Dale ended up catching 7 slot sized Trout up to almost 22" on my HD Clouser Fly pictured below. Plus 5 Redfish between Father  & Daughter up to 22". All the fish caught were primarily sitting in deeper holes and not active on the flats. 

Shad Fishing, William Bartram & George Washington

I'm happy to share this new and educational video produced by the St. Johns River Alliance group on Shad fishing and was honored that they contacted me for some of my video footage  to help them make it. Check it out its a great intro and eye opener to the upper St. Johns River freshwater fishery. Well worth sharing!

Tips for Catching your 1st Redfish

 I wanted share something here that might help out a fly fisher that's planning to fish the Jax or St. Augustine salt marshes for there first time or a local beginner just trying to figure out how to go about catching a Redfish on fly. When ready you will most likely be quietly poled around in a flats skiff hunting and sight fishing for the Reds in the skinniest waters around low tide. I recall my experiences from doing many guide trips over the years with newbies turned out to be an interesting challenge for most and ending with a great new learning experience that they well remember. So this may be somewhat of a big learning curve to consider for some of you if you don't know what to expect! 

So here's something to think about when your getting ready to sight fish and catch your first Redfish on fly...

Tip 1:Being able to see and identify a Redfish moving in the shallow water either by tailing, backing,
          belly crawling, pushing wakes and spraying bait up. This could be the slightest movement to big
          obvious hints.
Tip 2:Dropping the fly close to the fish without lining over its back and spooking the fish.
Tip 3:Casting with accuracy and knowing the direction the fish is working and knowing where your
          fly is at all times keeping it in front of the fish.
Tip 4:Having your line ready and getting the cast off quickly before the fish disappears in the stained
          water.
Tip 5:Making short quick casts of 20-50 feet. At times they just appear very close to you.
Tip 6:Being able to shoot a cast at different angles, meaning 360 degrees of the position that you are
          standing in. This of course depends on where the fish comes up.
Tip 7: Being stealthy by not creating a wake on the water, remaining cool and calm and not being
           loud. 

What I'd like to also recommend is practicing casting in your backyard, etc. by placing some halu-hoops around at different lengths and trying to drop your fly in them. The short cast can be more challenging than the long casts. Good luck!

Fly Fishing NE Florida-Wintertime Forecast

As wintertime approaches here in NE Florida I'm very happy to say that the fishing opportunities continue with a welcomed change to our fishing scenario that I really look forward to! Being a former Yankee from NY who appreciates this, let me tell you it's a privilege just to be able to fish during the winter compared to the rest of our country. What comes into mind now is big Sea Trout, schooling Redfish in the marsh and American Shad in the lower St. John's River freshwater's.

As our water temperatures drop it becomes more clear creating  comfortable conditions for Sea
Trout to show up. Best times to fish is in middle of the moving tides around structure casting into deeper holes. There is no doubt that this is the best time of year to get a Gator Sea Trout on fly and I have the perfect fly for it! 
                                          

On the other hand you can find large schools of active Redfish looking for a meal mainly in the

 afternoon as the water temperatures have risen through the day primarily around the low tide period. This especially happens a couple days after the cold fronts come through and right before the next front during the warming period. It happens to be that there really isn't much bait around during the winter so a well placed fly put in front of a backing Redfish is welcomed treat!

 

                                                                Backing School of Redfish                                                   

Finally the American Shad run is something really special that takes place in NE Central Florida starting about mid December through February around the upper headwaters of the St. Johns River. Prime time is January 15th - Feb. 23rd and recommend booking a trip early to reserve the best times. If you have not experienced this fishery you can expect to catch over 10-15 Shad during the prime time running up to 20" long and 4 lbs. on 5 and 6 weight fly rods. These fish are relatives of the Tarpon and will trill you to no end with a great battle and are less than a 2 hours drive away. Be sure to check out the video.

Fly Fishing Essentials

                                           Set-up for fly fishing Northeast Florida
                         Here's some technical rigging information mostly for new 
                                               fly fishers wanting to know how to set up a fly rod.

                                                          Standard Marsh Fly Fishing Set-up
                                                                  (fly lines, tippet and Flies)

                                                        Flood Tide Grass Fly Fishing Set-up
                                                                        (fly lines, tippet and flies)



                                       For the complete leader construction check out this video: