There’s an old saying that states – practice what you preach. I should have listened to my own words this past weekend. I’m always telling people how it’s necessary to fish with a fluorocarbon leader this time of year due to toothy fish and the ones with very abrasive mouths. It’s also imperative to check your leader after landing one of these fish. Something I neglected to do on Sunday.
I set out at daybreak to fly fish hoping to catch the morning bite of trout and snook. As I pulled into my targeted area I shut the engine down, lowered the trolling motor, readied my fly line and began blind casting the up to the bank. Things were pretty quiet except for a couple of dear and a black boar roaming the woods just off the bank. I then spotted my buddy, an 8ft alligator that I have watched grow increasingly larger over the past few years. He seems to be a good omen for me because I usually catch good size fish when he’s around.
The omen proved to hold true again that morning. As I retrieved my top water fly there was a large swirl behind it. I let the fly sit for a second than began to move it again. Another swirl but again he did not take the fly. I raised the fly and cast out a second time. Twice he tried to eat but missed and on his third attempt he nailed it. As soon as it jumped I could see it was a good size snook. When I got it into the boat it measured out at 24”. He inhaled the fly so deeply that I had to use my long hook extractor to get it out and the fish was released unharmed. Like a dummy I didn’t follow my own preaching and neglected to check my leader.
It wasn’t five minutes later that another snook crashed skyward as he inhaled the fly. As I got him to the side of the boat I could see he was slightly larger than the first one and he too devoured the fly. As I went to lip the fish and get him into the boat he shook his and the leader broke. Along with the fish went my favorite top water fly, a result of not checking my leader after the first fish. Too add insult to injury I had forgotten my fly tackle bag at home so my fishing was done for the day. When I got home I went online to order more of that color fly and as luck would have it, they’re backordered.
There are two lessons to be learned from this story – 1, check your leader for fraying after every fish or every time you get hung up. 2, make sure you have all your equipment onboard before you leave home.
Jake Jaquish at Flagler Beach Bait and Tackle reports black drum, flounder, whiting and ribbon fish are being caught. He also says there has been an early morning bite of Spanish mackerel in the 15” to 20” range.
Jake’s Highbridge Bait and Tackle reports that trout to 24” are being caught in the area along with flounder and reds in the backwater. Snook have also been providing good action for anglers. There’s lots of small tarpon around but they’re difficult to get to bite. Live mullet or a small live crab is probably the best way to entice them to eat. Shrimping has also been good in that area.
Photo: Greg Taphouse was visiting our area and landed this 7 lb trout on a live shrimp.
I set out at daybreak to fly fish hoping to catch the morning bite of trout and snook. As I pulled into my targeted area I shut the engine down, lowered the trolling motor, readied my fly line and began blind casting the up to the bank. Things were pretty quiet except for a couple of dear and a black boar roaming the woods just off the bank. I then spotted my buddy, an 8ft alligator that I have watched grow increasingly larger over the past few years. He seems to be a good omen for me because I usually catch good size fish when he’s around.
The omen proved to hold true again that morning. As I retrieved my top water fly there was a large swirl behind it. I let the fly sit for a second than began to move it again. Another swirl but again he did not take the fly. I raised the fly and cast out a second time. Twice he tried to eat but missed and on his third attempt he nailed it. As soon as it jumped I could see it was a good size snook. When I got it into the boat it measured out at 24”. He inhaled the fly so deeply that I had to use my long hook extractor to get it out and the fish was released unharmed. Like a dummy I didn’t follow my own preaching and neglected to check my leader.
It wasn’t five minutes later that another snook crashed skyward as he inhaled the fly. As I got him to the side of the boat I could see he was slightly larger than the first one and he too devoured the fly. As I went to lip the fish and get him into the boat he shook his and the leader broke. Along with the fish went my favorite top water fly, a result of not checking my leader after the first fish. Too add insult to injury I had forgotten my fly tackle bag at home so my fishing was done for the day. When I got home I went online to order more of that color fly and as luck would have it, they’re backordered.
There are two lessons to be learned from this story – 1, check your leader for fraying after every fish or every time you get hung up. 2, make sure you have all your equipment onboard before you leave home.
Jake Jaquish at Flagler Beach Bait and Tackle reports black drum, flounder, whiting and ribbon fish are being caught. He also says there has been an early morning bite of Spanish mackerel in the 15” to 20” range.
Jake’s Highbridge Bait and Tackle reports that trout to 24” are being caught in the area along with flounder and reds in the backwater. Snook have also been providing good action for anglers. There’s lots of small tarpon around but they’re difficult to get to bite. Live mullet or a small live crab is probably the best way to entice them to eat. Shrimping has also been good in that area.
Photo: Greg Taphouse was visiting our area and landed this 7 lb trout on a live shrimp.