Fly fishing the Gulf of Mexico

It has been “one of those times” …when you don’t get on the water as much as you want, and you know it would never be enough even if you did…

When this struggle begins, and its not all under your control, it is easy to be satisfied by using whatever kind of equipment falls into your hands for more than 15 minutes. There is great satisfaction in the simple action of merely catching a fish (alive), admiring how extremely vivid its coloration is, morally respecting the fish’s willingness to fight for its own existence, then releasing it (still alive) back to the water so it can continue its own adventurous life throughout the mighty seas that this brave fish calls home.

A recent saltwater flats trip with a solo fly angler proved that there are some bigger than usual redfish in the 30inch class making good game in areas where only the skinny flats skiffs can reach them.

It is mandatory though that the fly be placed carefully near and in front of the fish.

No need to start a retrieve as these fish have been eating the fly instantly when it hits the water and certainly before you can recover the slack from overshooting the line. Any 10 minutes in your yard spent practice casting to improve efficiency, accuracy and stealth will prove to be more than worth the effort when a 30 inch redfish eats your fly at 30 feet faster than you can set the hook. When sight casting these fish it is best to only use 1 false cast and lay down a straight leader, and prepare for the strip strike just as the fly hits the water.

 

 

Nearshore fishing has also been dependable with King Mackerel action taking the lead. Ling are still present and are suckers for live menhadden. Red snapper in the inshore state waters are present as well with some keepers in the mix. The False albacore (a.k.a. bonito) are also around with the spanish mackerel and if you haven’t caught a false albacore on fly you can’t appreciate the absolute speed these fish posses.

DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED TALKING TARPON! Arghhhh!

These fish are here right outside my backdoor right now. The most commonly sighted tarpon are in the 10-40lbs class, BUT the larger fish are here too. The big ones just are not around the same habitat as the smaller ones. Only the most serious of fisherman posses the desire and patience required to spend an entire day scouting for that one fish that breaks their last personal best record. Find the bait and you will find the fish. I don’t know about you but I am certainly ready to put in several very long and consecutive days of hunting the Gulf’s monstrous Silver King.

Shoot me a message if you want to join in. Tight lines and keep your hooks sharp!

Captain Ken Jones (ken@kenjofly.com)