Words and photographs by Captain John Mauser

If I can fall asleep now, I think to myself, I’ll get two solid hours of shut-eye. That should be enough for a drive halfway across the continent.

It’s already 9 p.m. and the guys will be here soon. Eventually, I doze off, only to be awakened—instantly, it seems—by the alarm. I checked my phone. There’s a text waiting: “Headed your way, be there in twenty.”  I jump out of bed immediately for fear of falling back asleep.

When I open the front door, the crisp air of early December hits me in the face. I don’t have time to waste, so I start hauling gear to the end of the driveway. The headlights of the convoy stab the night. Three trucks, with two skiffs in tow, pull into my cul-de-sac. Justin backs up to my skiff and trailer in the front yard. I’m the final piece of the puzzle. It’s time to hit the road. 

Eric crawls into the back seat, and I hop into the passenger seat as Justin loads the address to our rental in South Louisiana into his GPS. It’s a haul: 14 hours, not counting stops.

“Ready for this?” asks Justin, with a smirk on his face.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I grin back, as I wonder to myself how ironic it is that someone who guides anglers for redfish for a living caps off the year by traveling a thousand miles to another state to chase redfish for one more week. Most of this gang makes the choice. Half of us are fishing guides, with a great redfish fishery in our own backyards, and one that we can successfully fish year-round. But here we are. Six guys trailering skiffs across six states to chase a fish that lives a five-minute drive from my house. 

This is our tenth trip to Louisiana. What started as an idea between my friend Perry and me turned into an annual event. Over the years, Perry and I have been joined by a rotating cast of characters—Dallas, Justin, Eric, Simmonds, and Brummet as the core group, along with several other friends. You could call it a tradition, a pilgrimage, or a guy’s trip. Whatever it is, it is something we look forward to all year long.

And this week is sacred. If we’re lucky, this crew fishes a half dozen times together in North Carolina each year. Back home, there is always one obligation or another pulling at us, and keeping us from sharing that quality time. During this one week in Louisiana each year, we pile into the same house to share dinner tables, front porches, and sunsets from the bows of our own skiffs, and we finally get to enjoy each other’s company beyond scattered calls on our marine radios. Once we pull away from the boat ramp, cell phone service vanishes. You couldn’t find us if you wanted to. Finally, it’s just a bunch of friends, the marsh, and the source of our passion.

Redfish.

In the kitchen of our rental hangs a huge, laminated satellite image of the Louisiana marsh. On the afternoon of our arrival, we gather around the war room map and discuss the plan for the next day. Perry will head south with his skiff, while I head east. Brummet will check out the marsh to the north. Each night, while we take turns with dinner duty, the crew gathers around the map again, discussing the day and making plans for the next. There are no secrets among us. If we find something, we share it. The goal is for everyone to succeed this week.

Morning comes early. We pack breakfast, lunch, and boat snacks, with one can’t-do-without-it twist. Little Debbie Swiss Rolls have become the most sacred of our traditions. These morsels are frozen the night before and loaded into our coolers, and can only be eaten when an angler accomplishes something notable, like a personal best fish or a new species on fly.

Racing downstairs in my bibs and jacket, I can see the glow of twilight over the marsh to the east. We’ll be at the ramp in less than ten minutes, but the sun will already be above the horizon by then. Once we reach the launch, I run in to pay the ramp fee while the guys jockey for position between trout anglers and redfish guides. By the time I return, the boys have my skiff at the dock, and I hop in. Idling through the no-wake zone, I hear Perry crank up Rage Against the Machine’s “Bulls on Parade” through his speakers. 

Come wit’ it now! Come wit’ it now! 

By the time the last notes of the song fade, we are crossing the end of the no-wake zone, and it’s throttle down. 

Racing into the glow of sunrise, all the stress of planning, packing, and running endless errands melts away. I take it all in: We are finally here. I’ve been dreaming about this moment for months, and as I look around the other skiffs running alongside mine, I can see it in everyone’s faces. They all feel, too: The promise of a new day on the water, with little pressure to perform, just the potential for memories to be made.

When we reach the first spot, I grab the push pole and scramble up the platform. I may be off the clock, but I have a hard time shaking the notion that I am a guide, and the poling platform is my wheelhouse.

  Eric is first up on my bow, with an 8-weight rod and a fly we call the “Dre-touffèe.” 

“The old standard?” I ask. 

“When has it ever failed us?” he answers. We dreamt up the pattern and named it in honor of the rapper Dr. Dre. It sports a black Zonker strip with gold bead-chain. In less than five minutes, we have our first shot.

“Eric. Twelve o’clock. Fifty feet,” I say, in that clipped, direct tone of voice guides tend to use when the fish is closing in and there’s no time for anything but the facts. “His back just came out.” 

The fish leisurely swims towards us, leaving swirls along the surface, and occasionally breaking the still water with its tail. Eric makes two false casts and lets loose, unrolling the line and leader. The fly lands just to the right of the fish. A few strips and the fly crosses the red’s path, quartering away from the fish like fleeing prey. The red instantly notices the black-and-gold fly and charges forward to inhale it. The quietness of the marsh erupts with shouts of excitement from the boat as we celebrate the hookup. Justin and I are every bit as excited as Eric. A few minutes later, I document Eric’s catch with a photograph before it’s released back into the water. Not a bull by any means, but a respectable 10-pound fish, and most importantly, one that was hungry. 

Refusing to rotate, I climb back onto the platform to find a fish for Justin. Over the course of the day, we all have shots at fish. Eric capitalizes on most of his shots, while Justin hooks a few of his own. I manage to blow most of my opportunities, which can be hard to swallow as a guide. When you spend most of your time on the back of a skiff, you are quickly reminded that there is a difference between knowing where to put a fly and actually putting it there. No jumbos are caught on day one, but that doesn’t faze us. There were no phone calls, no bills, and no work. Just 10 hours on a skiff with three friends who are pumped to hang out and cheer each other on. As the sun disappears below the horizon, we race back to the dock, looking forward to dinner and a meeting by the map. There are reports to discuss, stories to tell, and plans to make.

Mild weather greets the gang the next morning. Low winds and sunshine allow us to focus on the areas of clear water we located the day before. The boys insist that I take the bow first, and I begrudgingly agree. Our first stop provides me with shots at three big redfish. The first two fish are moving away, and I don’t stand much of a chance, while the third just plain refuses the fly.  Later, Justin sticks two nice fish, and Eric lands a stud 43-inch bruiser. That night, over a spaghetti dinner, everyone has a chance to replay the wins and losses and retell all the inappropriate jokes. I’ve had a second fishless day, but I’m still in good spirits. At least, so far. We finish the night by circling around the war room chart and digesting the forecast of 20 miles per hour sustained winds the following day, with gusts in the upper 30s. We agree to sleep in the next morning and make a last-minute plan over breakfast.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I roll over and awaken with a start. The house seems to be shaking on its stilts. I listen to the wind roaring past my window like a haunted freight train. When I walk into the kitchen around 8 a.m., Perry and Simmonds are already making coffee and fixing an annual delicacy: Breakfast PB&Js.

“Doesn’t look too good,” grouses Perry. As Dallas and Brummet join us for breakfast, we discuss the next best thing to do on a blow day besides fishing: Where we’re going to eat lunch. During our first few years of traveling to Louisiana, we typically headed to New Orleans, drawn by the big city’s reputation. Over the years, though, we’ve homed in on local roadside diners and dives for crawfish etouffee and alligator bites. Breakfast has hardly hit the bottom of our stomachs when we pile into one of our favorite Cajun haunts and eat until we are stuffed. Crawling back in the trucks, we ride home, tie flies, and watch a Saturday Night Live marathon for the rest of the afternoon. Even hardcore fishing guides sometimes take the easy route.

I wake up early on day four, but my hopes are quickly dashed when I hear the winds still ripping outside. I’m not sure if I can stand another day off the water, so I ask the crew if anyone is up for extreme fly fishing. We’re all in, and make the call to take a late start and stick close to home, hopefully finding some relief from the breeze. After a midmorning launch, the three skiffs run the back canals towards a series of marsh ponds. Before we even reach our first location, I can see how low the water level is due to the wind blowing all night. Coming off plane, I make a dash for the platform and heave the skiff across the entrance to a shallow pond, scraping bottom while nearly losing the push pole in the mud. This battle against the marsh sets the scene for the entire day. We attempt several ponds before finding one that holds enough water for a redfish to swim in. Most of our day is spent trying not to get permanently stuck. 

None of this matters. The lack of water, the lack of clarity, or the lack of reds. It’s days like this that remind you how little of the equation actually involves fish. I put so much pressure on myself as a guide back home that I often lose sight of why my clients are out there in the first place: To have a good time. We ride back through the canals as the sun sets on the horizon before us, excited about the weather forecast for our final day. That evening after tacos, we gather one final time around the satellite map to plan our next moves. 

Running the canals alongside my friends that last morning is bittersweet. This trip has flown by, and I’m torn between wanting to get home to my family and wishing I could stay another week. Racing past ospreys, egrets, and a family of wild pigs, we make our way to the Gulf. A group decision has been made to stick close to each other today, and fish the same chain of large marsh islands together. Being the only fishless angler on the trip, I am again forced against my will to the bow of the skiff. For the next two hours, Eric guides me across gorgeous flats full of stingrays and blue crabs. One copse of mangroves is covered with dozens of roseate spoonbills. Redfish or not, this place really is paradise. I cast to a few sheepshead that have no interest in feathers or fur. About ready to step off the bow, I see a group of slot reds coming from my 1 o’clock. I make a quick back cast, give the line a few ticks, and all heck breaks loose as the lead fish crushes the fly. 

I thought I had convinced myself that I was okay not catching a single fish during our trip, but the lack of hookups had been gnawing at me. Now I land a trip maker, and as I watch the redfish swim free from my hands, a sense of relief flows through me. Although the fish was no bigger than the ones we catch back home, it helped me kill the skunk for the week, and for that I am grateful.

Now Justin climbs up the poling platform and Eric reaches for his 10-weight loaded with a big blue and orange fly he has been dying to try. Poling into a large bay, Justin works parallel to the shoreline in three feet of clearing water. After a few minutes, the surface begins to tremble ahead of us, and soon we see the unmistakable wakes of several big redfish submarining below the surface. Eric goes into hunt mode as he scans the water for a shot. Something catches my eye.

“Eric,” I say, “11 o’clock. Do you see that colored spot?”

As he swivels his head, a monstrous bull redfish floats up just below the surface. No one speaks a word as Eric makes a single false cast and sends the fly right to the red. A couple of strips and the fish keys in on the fly, following it halfway to the boat before opening its massive mouth and inhaling it. I can feel my stomach in my throat for a second as I watch this event unfold. Eric strip sets the red and that’s all it takes: Within seconds, the fish has the line flying off the reel, and then the backing follows. I instinctively go for my camera as Eric goes to battle. A few minutes later, he lands his personal best redfish ever. It’s pushing the mythical 50-inch mark, eclipsing his earlier stud red. We take a few moments to admire an absolute beast of a redfish. Even though we see and catch and guide to hundreds of redfish each year, coming face to face with such an old soldier is so special. Eric moves towards the edge of the skiff and slides the fish back into the water, holding on until it kicks free from his grip. As he stands up, wiping slime from his hands, Justin tosses him a frozen Little Debbie Swiss Roll from the cooler. “You earned it,” Justin says, with a nod of appreciation. “Now get off the bow. It’s my turn.”

With a scattered school of fish still cruising around the bay, Justin takes the bow, and I get the skiff moving again. Within a few minutes, Justin hooks into his best fish of the week as the rest of the school makes a final exit from the bay. It is now early afternoon, and we are late for our lunch rendezvous with the other two skiffs. As we put towards the rest of the crew, Justin says, “John, it’s your turn, buddy, you’ve got the bow for the rest of the day.”  Over lunch, each boat gives a rundown of the day and their plan for the afternoon. The reports from the other skiffs are positive, with a few bulls, two big black drum, and a sheepshead landed nearby.

After lunch, we idle down the shoreline to a massive bay that couldn’t look more perfect. Eric and Justin cheer me on as I take the bow for the rest of the day with mixed emotions. Deep down, I still want to hook a bull red, but I’m already feeling a rising tide of gratefulness. Big fish or not, the week has been incredible. When you turn the thing you love into your work and career, passion and burnout can battle. These trips to the Louisiana marsh remind me of why I picked up a fly rod in the first place. As the afternoon winds on and my luck dries up, I turn back to my pals in the skiff. “You know,” I say, “Louisiana has got to be the best place in the world to have a great time not catching fish.”    

But it’s never been about the fish. It’s always been about carving out one week every year to be together, strengthen our bonds, and reconnect over something we all love. We tie too many flies, bring too much gear, and talk for months about big reds. But none of that is truly why we go. We go for the excitement, the camaraderie, and the soul healing that happens when a bunch of good friends share a skiff a thousand miles from home. 

10 must have flies for saltwater fly fishing

Go-to Flies for the Everglades by Chico Fernandez

Reflections from the Mill House Podcast

A Fish My Age – Henry Hughes

The post Red Riders – Words and photographs by Captain John Mauser first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Red Riders – Words and photographs by Captain John Mauser appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

By Captain Jason Moore

They slip in on the rising summer tide, largely unseen and certainly unheralded. But for a (very) few knowing fly anglers, cownose rays bring the heat.

It took a few seasons to crack the code on these rays. Summers along this stretch of coast can feel still and slow. Flounder settle near the cuts, and bluefish might light up the surface occasionally, but the fly game stays subtle most days. Then the rays showed up. Clean water sweeps over sandbars with the tide. Big fish move with intent and are more than willing to eat a fly if it moves just right. It felt more like the tropics than southern New Jersey.

It made sense to go looking.

Wild Bill stood on the bow of the panga, relaxed, rod tip low, line stripped out and at the ready. The tide flooded the flat, rolling up the edges and across the sandbars. Ripples were starting to show, carrying everything the rays came for—small fish, sand crabs, and anything else caught in the tumbling current, or that moved too slowly without burrowing into the sand. From up top, dark shapes slid in and out of the flow, wings just breaking the surface as they fed, pivoting and leaving clouds of fine sand in their wake.

Cownose rays (Rhinoptera bonasus) are a seasonal fixture here, showing up each summer as the water warms along the shallow inlets and bays of the Atlantic seaboard. Averaging 20 pounds and sometimes pushing twice that, they cruise the flats, bays, and beachfront troughs looking for small fish and crustaceans, turning over sand and leaving behind the plumes that give them away.

The skiff is panga-style with a mostly flat bottom, a poling platform, and an honest eight-inch draft. It’s built off the same commercial lines still used across Latin America—clean, simple, efficient. It tracks quietly, floats skinny, and gets into water most boats can’t.

At dead low, the flat is barren. Dull brown sand stretches wide under harsh light, soft underfoot, and still. But as the tide begins to push, the flat changes. Water creeps in. At first, it’s a slow fill through the deeper cuts, then it builds. Fish start moving. Crabs scramble. Everything that feeds, crawls, or drifts starts shifting. And right behind them, the rays.

They don’t show up early. They hold just off the edge where the current stacks, sliding in only when there’s enough depth and enough commotion. They appear just as it all comes together—slow-moving shadows drifting with purpose, wings tipping slightly with each adjustment. They come in low, sometimes so close you’re sure they’re stalking you.

This time of year, sand crabs and small fish are everywhere. Female crabs flash bright orange egg sacs beneath their bellies, and the rays don’t pass them up. They track low, lift slightly, then drop to pin their food. That’s why the take isn’t always seen—it’s felt. A hard pull, sudden and heavy, like someone trying to rip the rod from your hands.

When the tide tops out, the flat exhales. The fish don’t leave, but they vanish under depth and glare. The current spreads, and the surface goes glassy. Contrast disappears. That narrow window is all you get—just enough water to bring the flat to life, but not so much that it hides everything.

And that window doesn’t last long.

The Right Stuff

It’s timing. Knowing when to push and when to post up. When the rays decide to eat, they’re looking for a fly already trying to get away—tumbling in the current, bouncing off the bottom, fighting for the edge.

They aren’t easy. Like any good saltwater prize, cownose rays force decisions. They’ll make you question the cast, second-guess the strip, and lose the angle. Rush it and you’re late. Wait too long and she’s gone. Everything has to line up—the cast, the fly, the retrieve. Miss any one and you’re done.

The flies are simple. Sparse baitfish in light tones with a little flash, tied on stout 2/0 hooks. Sand flea profiles with a sash of orange or green Alphlexo crabs. But it’s not just the fly—it has to move like it’s trying to stay alive. Move like it’s getting thrown out of a bar, a bit frantic but still trying to stay in control.

A 10-weight is standard, paired with a good reel and at least 200 yards of 30-pound backing. Rays run wide, dig deep, and don’t quit just because you want to.

Leaders are basic. No taper unless you’re feeling fancy or are getting ready for a trip to the Yucatan. Twenty or even thirty-pound fluorocarbon stays connected without drawing attention. Go heavier and they’ll see it. Go lighter and you’ll regret it on the first run or when the line scrapes across their back.

Flat on Flat

Bill was ready. His flies were tied for this place and these fish—no bulk, glued wraps, weighted right. They dropped fast, didn’t tumble, and held bottom when needed. Flies that looked like they didn’t want to be seen.

The first school came through, rays packed close, almost touching. A push of shadows fanning across the flat. Bill dropped his cast just ahead of the lead ray. Let it sink—two slow strips. The fish flared, hovered. Then came the take, and the line went tight and the rod bent, and it was on.

The flat erupted. Wings slapped the surface, and the ray surged. Not quick like a bonefish, but deliberate, like she meant to drag us across the inlet. The rod bent deep. The reel screamed. I don’t remember the line going; it was just the backing melting away as she ran.

Rays don’t bolt. They tear into long, heavy runs with wide arcs and no give. It’s like pulling burlap through current—nothing flashy, just constant resistance. The first run was long. The second longer. When it slowed, it didn’t get easier. Rays settle and pull harder, fanning their wings into the pressure like it’s personal.

You need to feel this in your legs. The rod stays low. Steady pressure.

Bill worked the fish slowly. I turned the skiff to hold the angle. The ray surfaced—still heavy, almost calm. We brought her close, popped the hook, and watched her slip back into the current. One last pulse of sand, and she was gone.

Line was stripped out again. Another fly tied on. Another school already sliding in. Same angle, same game.

Catching rays isn’t about numbers. It’s about reading the push. It’s about one fish at a time and, if everything lines up, then another.

Barracuda Breakdown by Chico Fernandez

Fly Fishing the Surf with Bob Popovics

Bison Of The Flats: The Bumphead Parrotfish

The post For a (very) few knowing fly anglers, cownose rays bring the heat. first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post For a (very) few knowing fly anglers, cownose rays bring the heat. appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

She talks a mile a minute and still can’t get it all out. But Captain Lacey Kelly has five generations of Old Florida blood running through her veins. We’d do well to listen.

By Captain Lacey Kelly

It’s funny. I’ve tried to get away from it during certain periods in my life. I’ve tried to work a few corporate jobs over the years, in between part-time guiding gigs. The theory of making a lot of money now so you can be on the bow later was definitely something that affected my path. It caused some turbulent tides. Trust me, I have certainly tried it the hard way. It’s safe to say I get it “honest.” From both sides of my family.

Guiding is my calling. I’ve fully immersed myself in a space that is regarded as sacred and admirable, which often seems to be overlooked these days. I know this sounds like it’s warming up to be another fishing story, but it’s not. It’s really a family story, and how my family gradually shaped me into the fly guide I am today. Both sides were equal partners in creating this specimen that has a severe addiction to fishing and saltwater: the Kellys and the Edwards.

ROOTS: THE KELLYS

The Kelly family arrived in Fort Myers, Florida, in 1917 by train. They were headed south for Cuba from Bishopville, South Carolina, for reasons I cannot say. They were farmers, hunters, and fishermen, living off the land and the water, and when they stopped in Fort Myers, the farming, hunting, and fishing were ample enough to call it home.  When my dad talks about the old days and the stories start flowing, the central theme has always been that we fished and hunted to provide for the family. It was all about sustenance. My dad said that every time he hooked a tarpon, my grandfather, Poppa, would grab a filet knife and cut it off, saying, “Boy, we can’t eat that.”

Hurricanes, the Great Depression, and World War II didn’t rattle my family as much as the government taking our family land in Fort Myers via eminent domain. On top of our farm and cattle ranch rose the Southwest Regional Airport. That changed the trajectory of my life and the entire landscape of southwest Florida. I’ve often struggled with the fact that I wasn’t born back then and did not get to see Southwest Florida in its prime.

Over the years, I’ve often been poling a flat hunting for fish and wondering what my great-grandads got to enjoy. They couldn’t see what Southwest Florida would become. They lived before mosquito control. They would rub motor oil from head to toe just to be able to clean their catch because the no-see-ums would cover you so bad that you couldn’t wipe them out of your eyes. My dad recalls asking his dad why he didn’t purchase the south end of Fort Myers Beach, and Poppa told him. “Ain’t nobody going to want to live out there amongst all them mosquitos and no-see-ums.” He told my dad that we used to ride down there in his Model A and fry fish, and he couldn’t comprehend how you could make a living off that land. He was a farmer. What would you do with it? He never thought about people buying it from him just to enjoy the landscape’s beauty.

We talked a lot about the old days. Poppa and my great-grandad, PawPaw, were fishing the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River one day, and this was before the Sanibel Bridge was built. The water was slicked out, and they said suddenly, they looked up, and a giant rogue wave was coming at them. They scratched their heads for a bit until it got closer and they realized it was a tsunami of redfish. They didn’t have spinning reels back then—they didn’t show up until 1954—but they grabbed their casting rods and headed out. They stayed on the school for three days and caught them till their arms wore out. They never saw another boat.

PawPaw’s name was Sam Headley, and he was the first in my family to guide, which was long before captain licenses were a thing. He often took out Mr. Burdine of Burdine stores that were all across Florida. They would snook fish on the inside of Captiva Pass, using live mullet and grouper rods. They would anchor Burdine’s 50-foot boat, and the whiskey and fishing stories of old started to flow. PawPaw lived on Fort Myers Beach but also spent a good amount of time working on Lake Okeechobee when the mallards were so thick they would block the sunlight. He worked on a dredge boat to build the dike after the hurricane of 1928 that killed so many folks on Lake O. He also caught a small otter, which he made into a pet. He would tell his otter to go get him a fish, and within a few minutes, it would come back with a fish in its mouth that he’d let go for PawPaw to eat later on in the day.

I wish I could have known my PawPaw, my great-grandfather Sam Headley. There are so many parallels between us that cannot be denied. PawPaw was friends with Thomas Edison’s son, and Edison even put a light bulb in the tree house for them one night when they were playing. Both my great-grandfathers spent time with Edison, Harvey Firestone, and Henry Ford at the Edison estate. I can recall Poppa telling me a story of Grandad Kelly frying fish in a cast iron pan at the Edison estate, a pan we still have to this day. He told my dad about making coquina shell soup and eating raw turtle eggs from Fort Myers Beach. They would look out across the Caloosahatchee River and see so many tarpon you could have walked on their backs. So many tarpon in the water that they referred to a school as a “black o’ tarpon” in the water. That’s a lot of fish.

ROOTS: THE EDWARDS

My mom was born in Miami, back when they used to call it “MI-AM-AH.” Her family lived so close to the Orange Bowl stadium that she could hear the games and see the lights from her front door. It was different times.

After my grandfather returned from serving in World War II in the Philippines, Miami wasn’t the same. The crime and crowds forced him to make a move north. Grandpa Ed loved snook, and he loved to snook fish so much that he packed the entire family up, sold the house, and was headed to Englewood, where the family had vacationed in prior years, which he knew was a good place for snook fishing. On the way north, he stopped to fuel up at a gas station in Bonita Springs. While the attendant was pumping the gas and chit-chatting, he asked my grandpa where they were going. My grandpa said they were headed to settle in Englewood because the snook fishing was so good there. The gas station attendant chuckled. “Why would you go all the way to Englewood,” he asked, “when the snook fishing is the best here in Bonita?”

It was settled: They bought a house on Mango Street off Bonita Beach Road and opened Ed’s Bake Shop. My mom was six years old and spent her childhood snook fishing and swimming all up and down the Imperial River. And working at the bakery. It was the first bakery on Bonita Beach and included a small convenience store with odds and ends.

I never got to meet my Grandpa Ed as he passed away before I was born, but I know that my love of snook comes from him; there is no doubt in my mind. And just like him, I’ve tried to get away from places that become more and more crowded, not only in town but on the water. Since my family arrived in 1917, Fort Myer’s population has grown from 3,000 people to over 100,000. Bonita Springs has grown since the 1950s from less than 1,000 people to over 40,000. That puts things in perspective.

WINGS

I cut my teeth guiding as a bait guide. Probably chipped a few teeth over the years, too, with all those lead lines. Throwing a 10-foot cast net every morning and blacking out the live well was just as routine as brushing my teeth. I knew something was missing, though, and it took a few

years to find my ultimate passion. As far as I’ve been told, no one in my family on either side ever fly fished until my Aunt Karen married my Uncle Dennis.

Uncle Dennis and Aunt KK—that’s what everyone calls her—traveled out West for the summer months in their motorhome. For 15 years, they bounced from river to river and fly show to fly show, fishing with some of the greats like Kelly Gallup and Jack Dennis. Their stories went on forever. Some of my earliest childhood memories were of them returning and showing me pictures of all the trout they caught on fly. When I was 20, they flew me out to meet them in Yellowstone. It was my first trip to the West, and the first fish I caught on fly came out of the Gallatin River. Uncle Dennis and Aunt KK probably don’t know how much that one trip and that one fish impacted my life and the path I would take. Flyfishing is interwoven into

every part of my life now. It’s how I’ve met some of my best friends and the love of

my life. It’s how I’ve met so many different people from so many walks of life.

After starting my guiding career and spending a decade on the water here, I moved to Belize for three years and traveled all over the world in between. Yet I’ve come back to Florida—come back home.

At first, I moved north to try to find the same experience that my ancestors found

here in the old days. I was lucky enough to fall in love with Homossasa and spent almost a

decade guiding for tarpon and redfish in what felt like the last frontier of wild Florida. But similar to how the tarpon migrate back to this place year after year, the lure of Southwest Florida, and the hold my family history has on me, lured me back home. I’ve begun to recognize that my family heritage carries a responsibility to keep the family stories alive and protect the waters that helped create them. Their stories create a baseline for all of us to better understand the potential of what it could be if we take care of the resource. Without their stories, we can’t properly gauge how to protect our waters and wild places for future generations.

Maybe that’s why my mindset has shifted over the years. Flyfishing is everything to me now; it’s my center and my compass in life. It’s changed my perspective on so many aspects of fishing. One thing that has changed is that I am catch-and-release only inshore. I’ve come to this decision for several reasons.

It was a journey to get here, that’s for sure. I spent the majority of my early years guiding and filleting fish for clients. I was fully immersed in that culture of filling the cooler. A typical day in bait guiding usually started with the folks stepping on the boat and blurting out, “Captain, are we going to catch our limit today?” Upon my return to the dock, it gave me a sense of accomplishment that I could show the other guides that they weren’t the only ones who could catch fish. That was one of the ways I earned the respect I’m still shown by those same

guides more than 20 years later. At the time, I was the only full-time female fishing guide in

southwest Florida who made a living solely off guiding.

It was so important to me to be accepted by my peers on the water. I was an impressionable young guide, and like all the others, I did what the old guides did. I caught a limit of fish for clients, filleted them, packed them up, sent the anglers home, and did it all over again the next day and the day after. Being raised as a sustenance fisherman, I never gave it a second thought until I started guiding fly fishing. Suddenly, the fish took on a different kind of importance to me.

I think that’s because other things started being important to me. It’s hard to explain, but I know that the resource will go away if we don’t show it respect. That’s a fact. There are just so many of us around here now. What showing respect means to me might be different than what it means to you. But I’ve heard so many stories about how things used to be in this place I love that I can’t bring myself to treat my home any other way than with all the kindness I can find. I hope I can encourage other people to do the same.

The post I Get It Honest – By Captain Lacey Kelly first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post I Get It Honest – By Captain Lacey Kelly appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Preview the New Issue of Tail Fly Fishing Magazine – Issue #75 is live first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Preview the New Issue of Tail Fly Fishing Magazine – Issue #75 is live appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

I’ve been thinking about the concept of community lately, of what a community is, how it’s built, how the idea of community has changed in a digital world, and what can be done to strengthen the human relationships that are the tendons and sinews of every community. While such ruminations have been a pleasant break from my day job of writing what seems to be 10 million words a week, the tragic circumstance that launched these reflections was unwelcome in the extreme. The loss of the great fly tyer and fly-fishing mentor Bob Popovics to a hit-and-run driver just a few blocks from his home in Seaside Park, New Jersey, was, and is, and will long remain, a shock to the saltwater fly-fishing community. 

I assumed the editor’s post at Tail magazine not long before the news that Popovics had passed, and as we pulled together a coast-to-coast tribute for this issue, the ensuing weeks of texts, emails, and phone calls—yes, actual verbal telephone communications!—quickly underscored for me the sense of community within the saltwater fly-fishing world. I didn’t know Popovics personally, so I am exceedingly grateful to Tail West Coast editor, Al Quattrocchi, for collecting and curating the words and images of our tribute to Popovics. “Al Q,” as he is affectionately known, was a long-time and close friend of Popovics. I know it was difficult for him to push through this assignment while working through his own grief. I also know that Popovics would have been deeply touched and honored by his effort.

While reading some of the background on Popovics, I was struck by one particular comment. Tail contributor Pete Barrett once wrote the Popovics was “one of the most influential fly tiers of the second generation of saltwater fly-fishing pioneers.” The first generation was in the realm of A.W. Dimock, Stu Apte and Jimmy Albright of the Florida Keys, Harry Kime of California, and Joe Brooks of practically everywhere. There were others in this great generation of anglers. If you don’t know these names, I encourage you to do a little digging on your own. These are the people who blazed the trail this community so deeply loves.

The second generation of pioneers includes, just to name a few, Lefty Kreh, Flip Pallot, Harry Spear, Chico Fernandez, Bob Clouser, Steve Huff, Del Brown, and Mark Sosin. And Bob Popovics, of course.

It could be said that we are now in the third generation in the evolution of our beloved sport. And it might be tempting to think that in this third wave there is little left to be discovered on this planet, or that there aren’t the quantum improvements to be made in gear and equipment that marked earlier innovative eras, or that there’s not a lot of pioneering to be done, frankly, in the world of saltwater fly fishing.

But I have a perspective that I might not have had three months ago. I certainly wouldn’t have had it without the upwelling of community surrounding Popovics’ death. So, here’s what I’m thinking:

The legends in this third wave of saltwater fly fishing may not attain the mantle of general celebrity as did Ted Williams, Jose Wejebe, or Lee and Joan Wulff. It is the nature of modern life, and modern media, that we may not have blazing stars that sear across the sporting world in that fashion.  

Yet, while there may not ever be another Joe Brooks or Lefty Kreh or Bob Popovics—although there may—this much I can guarantee you: There will never be another you. And there will never be a better time in saltwater fly fishing to build a community and share the values that those first- and second-generation pioneers helped shape. There has never been a better time for connecting.  

This third generation—our third wave—is going to be about building community, and every one of has a better chance than ever before to be legendary: A legend in the realm of building community, of sharing knowledge, and of welcoming new people into our fold. We have the models for just such an undertaking. Folks like Bob Popovics helped clear the path. The rest is up to us.

In that spirit I want to introduce a new era of Tail the magazine to Tail the community. Staff has joked about 2025 being the year of “Tail 2.0.” And there’s something to that. We plan on dialing up the energy here, with a new design, a new logo, and new ideas about storytelling. What won’t be new is the magazine’s commitment to authoritative voices.

Part of this introduction is a heartfelt thanks to Joseph Ballarini, who founded this magazine 12 years ago. So many of us discover saltwater fly fishing and build a life around it. Joe discovered saltwater fly fishing and built a magazine around it. The fact that he has kept it cranking for a dozen years is nothing short of remarkable. 

And I’m grateful that you’re already a part of the community. I hope you’ll help us build this third wave of saltwater fly-fishing community. I hope you’ll tell a friend what’s up with Tail. Actually, I hope you’ll holler the news from your favorite boat ramp or fly shop. Keeping a magazine alive and thriving isn’t easy these days. But when it comes to sharing our passions for saltwater fly fishing, we know the way. Moving forward, we’ll respect the past. We have the footprints of the legends to follow.

Tail 2.0. Let’s build it.

T. Edward Nickens

Fly Fishing the Surf with Bob Popovics

Lefty Kreh – Well Done

Reflections from the Mill House Podcast

Go-to Flies for the Everglades by Chico Fernandez

The post Letter from the (New) Editor first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Letter from the (New) Editor appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

I quit working as a hospital physician in the emergency department and decided to spend the rest of my career with a strategic focus on being more of a caregiver and less of a bureaucrat.  I bought a small commercial property and launched an urgent care focused on the patient’s health and well being. We provide preventative medicine infusions and personalized care for each patient. You have probably seen the ads in the magazine, and I hope you’ve chuckled at the fly casting humor.

I am pleased to say that the new venture is a big hit as so many of the small physician practices on the beach closed during the pandemic.  We are providing a needed service here and it has really become the center of my focus.

As a result, I have been quietly transitioning Tail Fly Fishing Magazine to a new management and editorial team that will be taking over after the November 2024 is released. After nine years as the editor-in-chief of Tail Fly Fishing Magazine, I am stepping down in favor of someone who will devote more time and bring new energy and a new voice to the publication.

Admittedly, it has been very hard for me to keep up with the rigors of a new medical practice and the responsibilities of being a publisher and editor. While I will remain the publisher, the editorial, creative, and sales efforts will be guided by a new team. As much as I hate to admit it, Tail Fly Fishing Magazine going to be much better with this new enthusiastic crew.

The new editor is someone you may know, especially if you read magazines such as Garden & Gun, Ducks Unlimited, and Field & Stream, or peruse the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust Journal.  T. Edward Nickens has been tagged as the new editor, of Tail Fly Fishing Magazine and he will carry the baton starting with the January 2025 issue. When we began discussing this opportunity in the spring of 2024, Eddie—yes, despite his fancy byline, he has a pretty un-fancy nickname—had shared many great ideas on how to improve the magazine without changing the comfortable feel of Tail. He’s won scores of writing awards, and has some 35 years of experience in the field. He’s based out of Raleigh and Morehead City, North Carolina, where he’s most proud of the pool noodle and zip-tie fly rod holder he crafted for his 24-boat. It all made it an easy choice, because Eddie is one of us.. 

Our commitment to saltwater fly fishing remains steadfast and true. We do provide the only creditable and reliable publication dedicated to saltwater fly fishing, and with these new changes it will only get better and more comprehensive. Eddie will introduce new features and bring a higher level of quality to Tail Fly Fishing Magazine though his decades of experience in publishing and his industry contacts. While this decision is a very emotional one for me, I take solace knowing that someone so capable and competent as Nickens will be at the helm.

On that note, I want everyone to know that while I will not be directly involved in the magazine as I have been in the past, I will still be around. Still fishing, tying flies, and perhaps, when the medical practice becomes more automated, I could be convinced to  host a trip or two to our favorite places again.

I sincerely thank you for your support and friendship over the last 12 years. It is a somber time as I write this letter, but I know that it is the best thing for you—my readers and friends—and the future of Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

Enjoy  Tail 2.0 and please keep in touch!

Tight Lines.

Joseph Ballarini

Former Editor-in-Chief of Tail

Our Editors and Contributors

Tarpon Cockroach – One of the Best Tarpon Flies of All-Time

Addiction

The post Final Editor’s Letter from Joseph Ballarini first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Final Editor’s Letter from Joseph Ballarini appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

If you’re planning to chase bonefish in the Caribbean, the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) may not be the first destination that comes to mind. It also may not be at the top of the Google search results as you start planning your next warm weather vacation with the family. But if the idea of having some excellent saltwater fly fishing options available during your next family vacation sounds appealing, TCI should be high on your short list.

Whether you are looking to sneak in a quick do-it-yourself afternoon session, wading the flats while the kids hang out at the pool, or you’d prefer to spend an entire day casting from the bow of a skiff, TCI offers quick and easy options to scratch the angling itch without taking you far from your beach chair or breaking the budget. The Turks and Caicos Islands may be the best kept secret for the saltwater fly angler on a family vacation. 

The Turks and Caicos Islands is a British Offshore Territory comprising two groups of islands that sit atop Caicos Bank, east of Cuba and south of The Bahamas. Of the Caicos Islands, Providenciales (with its world-famous Grace Bay beach) is by far the most popular for family vacations. There are plenty of activities, restaurants, and accommodations ranging from budget friendly to luxury. My family and I took our first TCI vacation nearly a decade ago. Explorers at heart, we have generally avoided the resorts, instead indulging our preference for renting houses or condos and embracing the ability to tailor our own experience. Our favorite over the years has been the Chalk Sound area, though the Leeward section of the island has seen development in recent years and has many good options.  

Several airlines serve Turks and Caicos Islands with regular flights into the area’s main airport on Providenciales (often referred to as “Provo”). Given the state of air travel these days, a direct flight is a good idea when possible. While both taxis and rental cars are available at the airport, consider renting a car if you are planning to do any exploring while in TCI; taxis can be expensive. Driving is done on the left, in British fashion, and isn’t as difficult as you might think.  No special driver’s license is required, but be sure to look to the right to check for oncoming traffic.

Resorts have their own excellent restaurants, but if you’d like to explore a bit (and you should), there are many restaurants in and around Grace Bay and several more within a short drive. Fresh seafood is always a good dinner choice. Catch of the day paired with an ice cold Turks Head beer is a fine way to wrap up a day on the beach, shopping, or fishing. For the true do-it-yourselfers renting a home or condo, local grocery stores range from upscale (closer to Grace Bay) to modest (further from Grace Bay) with relative prices to match.  

Bonefish are the focus of fly fishing on Turks and Caicos, though barracuda can also be found.  Guided fishing trips are mainly done on North Caicos Island, which is accessible from Providenciales by a short ferry ride from the Leeward ferry station. Ramsar Nature Reserve on the south side of North Caicos is a system of sand flats, mangroves, and channels. Bottle Creek and the East Bay Nature Reserve on the north side of the island includes five flats protected by small barrier islands. Both sides of the island hold schools of bonefish that see relatively little fishing pressure (over the course of several trips to North Caicos, I’ve only seen one other boat).  There are only a handful of fly fishing guides in TCI, though despite the limited number of guides, trip availability is generally good with reasonable lead time. Last-minute cancellations do happen, so if your schedule is flexible it is possible to find last-minute openings.  

Both sides of North Caicos are home to more than bonefish. In addition to the possibility of finding barracuda, you are likely to see turtles, rays, brilliantly colored box fish, and flamingos.  Most guides charge a flat fee for one or two anglers, so why not bring along a non-fishing family member for some sightseeing and photography? TCI fishing licenses can be purchased in increments of a day or a month, and are inexpensive. They are not available online but can be purchased at most marinas. If you happen to be on Provo, a good place to pick up your license is Turtle Cove Marina, a short drive from Grace Bay.

If you are not able to book a guide, have limited time, or would just rather prefer the challenge of stalking bonefish on your own, there are solid opportunities for self-guided trips on Providenciales. The best is Flamingo Lake, a short drive from the resorts on Grace Bay made by taking Venetian Road off Leeward Highway. There are several spots to park and simply begin wading steps from your car. While there occasionally are flamingos, there usually are bonefish.  The bottom is typical mud over hard sand, standard bonefish territory, and easy to navigate. Be on the lookout for schools of bonefish or cruising fish in singles and pairs. Locate holes and depressions in the bottom and you may also find fish as they tend to prowl these areas in search of crabs and other forage.

While this fishery doesn’t see much in the way of fishing pressure, bones are still bones, and in their shallow-water habitat they are generally skittish. When casting either from a skiff or while wading, try to make as little disturbance on the water as possible (e.g. try not to rock the skiff when casting) and keep noise to a minimum. A fast-action 8-weight rod with a floating tropical line is the standard setup, but don’t be shy about stepping up to a 9-weight to deal with the wind if necessary.

Fly selection for TCI bonefish doesn’t need to be tedious; these fish don’t see many flies in general. If you use darker-colored flies for overcast days and lighter-colored flies for sunnier days in any of the standard bonefish patterns (Gotchas, Bonefish Bitters, Crazy Charlies, etc.), tied sizes 4-6, you won’t be far off. Because TCI bonefish don’t see many flies, presentation is probably more important than pattern, so solid saltwater casting skills are a must.

I recommend plenty of casting practice ahead of your trip. Wind is always a factor, and slack in your cast is your enemy, so strong casting fundamentals are a must. Opportunities at bonefish happen fast, and if you’re not prepared for them, you’ll spend most of your time watching fish swim away. Being able to quickly deliver a fly at a variety of distances with a minimum of false casts will allow you to take advantage of these often fleeting opportunities.

When planning a guided trip from a skiff, practice quickly changing direction and delivering a cast just as you will need to do when your guide calls out a direction and distance. It’s always important to be aware of both wind direction and the location of your guide with respect to your backcast. The ability to make casts from both your dominant side and non-dominant sides is key, as is the ability to deliver a cast in both the forward and backcasts. Having a strong grasp of these skills will not only increase your chances of catching bonefish, but also keep you and your guide safe. An otherwise good trip can go wrong in a hurry if you inadvertently hook yourself or your guide with a weighted crab fly. I’ve pulled more than a few flies out of myself and/or my clients, and it’s always at least an awkward moment and at worst a trip to the local ER.

When delivering your fly, find a spot 8 to 10 feet in front of fish that are on the move, and aim for it. Leading the cruising fish with plenty of distance will avoid spooking your target and allow that fish to stay on its line. Even a well-placed fly may need to be repositioned if your target changes course. If that’s necessary, make as little disturbance as possible as you get your fly out of the water. For every bonefish we see, there are likely many others we don’t, and carelessly ripping line out of the water could send an entire school racing for cover in the mangroves.

Once your fly is in sight of a cruising bone, create lifelike action by slightly twitching the fly.  When it’s clear the fish has locked onto your fly, begin to strip quickly and smoothly, keeping the fly moving without hesitation just as a crab or shrimp would do if fleeing for its life. As in most saltwater fly fishing situations, strip setting is the name of the game. Continuously stripping the fly keeps the fish’s predatory instinct engaged and the fish in pursuit of your fly, so even if you think the fish has eaten your fly, keep stripping. Once you feel the take, strip again to set the hook before raising the rod tip to fight the fish. When guiding freshwater anglers on saltwater trips, I often suggest keeping the tip of the fly rod in the water as they retrieve their fly. Muscle memory from their normal trout-set can be difficult to overcome, so the added resistance of lifting the tip of the rod out of the water can sometimes mean the difference between hooking a fish and disappointment.

Our most recent trip to TCI happened during our town’s public school February vacation. That’s a great time to break up the long grey of winter here in the Northeast with some sun and warmth. Despite the popularity of the week, we enjoyed uncrowded beaches and restaurants.  The fishing was great, too, at least part of the week. Bonefish spawn by forming large offshore aggregations, often during or near new moon periods from late Fall to early Spring. During this time schools of bonefish truly can be here today, gone tomorrow, and such was the case during our trip. The southern flats of North Caicos were teeming with bonefish early in the week, while later that week (coincidental to a new moon) the flats of Bottle Creek on the north side of the island were nearly vacant. As I lamented that situation to my cab driver on the way back to the ferry landing on North Caicos, he casually said, “They went to the ocean to wash their roe.”  That local knowledge lines up with what we know about bonefish spawning patterns. As he drove the cab away, I made a mental note that bonefishing TCI in February, while a nice winter break, could yield unreliable results. The decision to return in May and try again was easy.

Over the years my family has enjoyed vacations on the Turks and Caicos Islands, and there’s no doubt others would, too, as there’s a little something for everyone, even some great fly fishing.  If time and budget allow, hiring a guide is a good option. You’ll cover more water and have a better chance of locating fish. If you have less time or budget, you don’t have to give up your fishing plans because there’s great bonefishing within a short drive that can be done very simply. The ease of access, lack of fishing pressure, and overall likelihood of success make TCI a great place to have your first bonefishing experience and a unique destination for fly anglers planning a Caribbean family vacation.

Bio: Captain George Sylvestre, CCI is lead guide and instructor at Sylvestre Outdoors, a veteran-owned, family-operated fly casting instruction and fly fishing guide service offering both saltwater and freshwater fly fishing trips from Cape Cod to the rivers of Massachusetts and Connecticut. He is a Far Bank Pro and saltwater fly fishing instructor. If you would like additional information on fly fishing the Turks and Caicos Islands, he can be reached at george.sylvestre@sylverstreoutdoors.com.

The post BONEFISH IN TURKS AND CAICOS first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post BONEFISH IN TURKS AND CAICOS appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

Many coastal fly anglers consider surf fishing to be the ultimate challenge. Fortunately, most of us live within a coffee-mug drive from some of the best surf fly fishing opportunities in the world. Down South, the snook is king, while Up North the striped bass wears the crown. There’s a supporting cast of bluefish, mackerel, trout, and jacks.

Bob Popovics is one of the best at the game of surf fly fishing. He’s been at it for more than 50 years and lives only minutes from New Jersey’s Island Beach State Park, a favorite for striped bass hunters. His surf experience also includes time at surf fly fishing haunts like Martha’s Vineyard, Montauk, and the Outer Banks.

Just back from Vietnam in 1970, the young Marine was eager to get on with his life and get back to fishing with his dad and working at his family’s Shady Rest restaurant in Bayville, New Jersey.  A lunch get-together with high school buddies Jimmy Magee and Butch Colvin (whose dad owned the iconic Cap Colvin’s Tackle in Seaside Park), was the first step in a lifelong fly fishing journey that has made Bob one of the most influential fly tiers of the second generation of saltwater fly fishing pioneers.

The three buddies arranged a trip off Harvey Cedars to jig weakfish, but when bluefish crashed the party, Butch grabbed a fly rod and began casting. “I thought that was pretty cool, and wanted to learn more about fly fishing, so the next day Butch took me to Cap Colvin’s to buy my first fly rod, reel and line,” Popovics says. “I was hooked. It was like therapy, and the process of learning to cast and catch fish was soothing, and great fun. I fished with the fly rod as often as I could.”

Later that winter, Butch gave Bob a cardboard beer flat filled with a fly tying vise, bobbin, thread, and some feathers and bucktail, and said, “You’re going to learn how to tie flies.” Back then, there wasn’t much information about saltwater fly tying, but like the promise of a full moon at high tide, a new organization called the Salt Water Fly Rodders of America (SWFROA) brought a fresh level of excitement to coastal fly fishers with an exchange of information, techniques, tackle, and fly tying. Bob was an eager student.

Annual get-togethers were sponsored by SWFROA and its chapters at places like Tilghman Island, Maryland; Key West, Florida; Newport, Rhode Island; and Sag Harbor, New York. Bob attended one on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, where he met Lefty Kreh, who became a good friend and mentor. SWFROA had many well known fly anglers on its board of directors, but Fred Schrier of Toms River, New Jersey, was the dynamo, “the juice,” that drove the new organization.

“I owe a lot to Fred,” Popovic says, “because he was a great motivator, always encouraging me to try new things, and he helped introduce me to so many people like Mark Sosin, Poul Jorgensen, Bub Church, and many others who generously gave me advice and support. Fred’s really the guy who gave me the biggest boost.”

“Surf fly fishing is a very visual experience, and to be good at it you have to be an observer, be aware of your surroundings, the type of beach, the breeze, the currents, and beach structure. Watch everything that happens all around you. Before you make the first cast, walk up to the beach, wait a few moments and observe. Watch the wave sets, get the feel of the rhythm of things before you start fishing. Before I make the first cast I check out the water for signs of bait, cloudy and clear water edges, the formation of bars and points, the location of white water and calm water, and the types of birds in the area. You need patience to be an observer, but it makes you a better fly fisherman.”

Bob likes to keep things simple. He may have plenty of fly gear and equipment in his beach buggy, but keeps only the bare essentials in a shirt or jacket pocket when he’s standing at the water’s edge fishing. “I always have my stripping basket, and like to use a Velcro belt, which is so much easier to get on and off than a buckle-type belt. My pliers are on my wading belt. I pare down what I need to just a few flies and essentials. Instead of taking 20 of each type of pattern, such as crab flies, or bucktail Deceivers, or Jiggies, I take maybe three of each so I have enough on hand to replace a broken-off or fish-chewed fly. I like soft fleece wallets that fit into my shirt pockets to keep a supply of favorite flies close at hand.”

He also keeps a spool of 16-pound tippet handy, and another of 12-pound for very clear water. He usually doesn’t use a heavy mono bite tippet. If blues show up, he has a screw-top tube container in his pocket (like the kind that hold cigars), with 8-inch wire leaders tied with a haywire loop at one end to attach to the tippet. The open end is then haywired to the fly.

“Most of the time I know what to expect when I hit the beach, so if the mullet are running, I take mullet patterns and don’t bother loading myself down with a bunch of flies that probably are not appropriate,” Popovics says. “I do like to have a color selection on hand in case I need to change from a bright fly to dark one, and same goes for short and long patterns.”

Bob favors a 9- or 10-foot, single-hand rod, and says, “Although I’ve tried, I haven’t gotten into the two-hand casting style, and prefer to use single-hand rods most of the time. I like a rod that is not an ultra-fast design. In my consulting work with fly rod manufacturers and in teaching fly casting, I’ve come to like fly rods that have a tad more bend in the butt section as compared to stiff, ultra-fast taper fly rods. Some of my favorites include designs by St. Croix that give the surf fly caster better control of the fly presentation when mending the line or when lifting the line to make a quick cast to reposition the fly. This is an essential feature for any good surf fly rod.”

“When fly fishing the surf, it’s common to retrieve the fly all the way to the rod tip. To quickly and efficiently make the next cast, I like a short, blunt-head line that will load the rod with less line outside the tip. You’re looking to make as few false casts as possible, so a short compact head will load the rod quicker and more efficiently. Use the resistance of the water to help load the rod as you lift to make the backcast, shoot some line on the backcast, then shoot the works on the forward cast. Depending on wind you may need another false cast to reach out to the fish, but always strive for the fewest number of false casts. The goal is to lift for the backcast, shoot, and shoot again on the forward cast.”

“A floating line is my first choice when selecting a fly line. Most fly anglers can dependably cast 50 to 70 feet, and at that distance most beaches will be about 5 to 7 feet deep. A striped bass can easily see the fly at that depth and if you need to go deeper, a weighted fly like a Jiggy or a Clouser Minnow will get deep enough,” Popovics says.

A floater with a short intermediate head is his second choice. “You want to be able to pick up line and recast if necessary, and this is still possible with an intermediate sink tip fly line. You need to do this if the fish moves away from you after you’ve made a cast, or if the fish veers off at an angle from its original swimming direction.”

“A floating line only behaves badly and makes a poor presentation in the surf when you allow the line to be carried away by a breaking wave. You can overcome this by working the line in between the waves, letting it ride and fall with the waves as they roll to the beach. Watch the sets. After six or seven waves, there’s usually a calm area before the next set starts and you can make a nice presentation into this calm water.”

Bob recommends that every surf fly angler learn the skill of mending line. This quick, circular flip motion of the rod tip adjusts the line’s position in a current or wave to keep the fly tracking nicely. If the wave action makes it impossible to control the fly, he uses a roll cast, then lifts for a backcast, and shoots a forward cast to reposition the fly in calm water. “Rod handling becomes second nature, and after awhile you don’t even think about it. The line mending and lifting just become automatic responses to the motions and actions of the waves.”

We all dream of catching a fish so big we won’t have to fib about it, but typical surf-caught striped bass run from schoolies to teen-size and maybe into the 20-pound range. A 30-pounder is an astonishing catch. Even the biggest striped bass will not take too much line, so Bob prefers lightweight large-arbor reels that can hold about 150 yards of backing. “You don’t need a huge reel. The weight of a big reel gets tiring and feels like you have an anchor under the rod. More important is a large spool diameter that retrieves line quickly. Keep in mind that most fish I can play by simply bringing the line in by hand and dropping it into the stripping basket.

“Most reels today are saltwater worthy,” he says, “and it’s probably more important to consider which hand you use to crank the line in. Right or left, the dominant hand is your best choice. A right hander will reel faster, longer, and more smoothly with the right hand; the opposite is true for a southpaw.”

It’s natural to want to walk into the surf up to your knees, but Popovics prefers being higher on the sand because many times the bass will be right in the wash. When fly fishing a beach, the currents and structure are important. The basic current is from the incoming and receding waves, but there are also beach currents generated by wind that often run along the beach. These areas can be worked by letting the fly swing in the current, mending the line as needed to keep in touch with the fly and not let the waves pull line and cause an erratic retrieve and slack.

Bob suggests surgically casting along the beach structure just like a trout fishermen in a small stream. The bass aren’t everywhere; they hold and travel along definite structure such as a slough between the beach and a sand bar, a cut in a sand bar, a point of the beach with white water along its sides, the edges of clear and cloudy water, and also the calm water. “Work all of it,” he says. “Use wind and currents to your advantage when walking the beach. Keep the wind off your non-casting side when possible, or walk with the current a few steps in between casts.”

Bob’s good friend Lou Tabory told him, “There’s no substitute for time on the water,” and Bob echoes that with more good advice, “Even a fishless morning can still be a great day because of the experience earned and knowledge gained. Count the hours, not the fish. Be an observer, look for things, think about what’s going on around you, work the structure, and remember that time on the water builds casting and fishing skills.”

As the premier fall surf fly fishing builds, Bob uses specific fly patterns based on what bait is prevalent as the season matures from September through November. For the early fall, he’s usually throwing Siliclones and Bob’s Bangers to imitate mullet, and Jiggies and Surf Candies to imitate rain fish. When bigger baits are in the surf, his go-to patterns include bucktail Deceivers, The Beast, and Spread Fleyes. Later in the fall, when the sand eel invasion has hordes of the slender baits invading the beach, he’ll switch to longer but skinny Jiggy Fleyes.

One last tip, one of Bob’s favorite fall times to fly fish is the start of a fresh northeaster before the water gets all roiled up and murky, when it’s still clear. “The bass go on binge feed,” he says, “and if the water is real rough, I’ll use a 300 to 400-grain sink tip line to cut through the turbulence.”

Surf fly fishing is popular for many reasons, including its simplicity and nearness to home—and equipment doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. It’s exhilarating when a full-blown bluefish blitz erupts, yet serene and calm as the sun ignites the dawn and striped bass begin to swirl at bait in the trough. Fly fishing the surf is a lifelong adventure that has captured fly fishing pioneers dating back to Rhode Island’s Harold Gibbs, New Jersey’s Cap Colvin, and Maryland’s Lefty Kreh—and it now inspires today’s new generation of fly fishers.

Read more great articles like this one and get expert tips from the legends of saltwater fly fishing in the pages of Tail Fly Fishing Magazine. If you love saltwater fly fishing and wish to improve your game, support conservation causes and become part of a small but incredible community, then subscribe to Tail Fly Fishing Magazine today.

You might also like:

Stripers in the Suds – John G. Sherman

Striper Redux – Jack Gagnon

Worm Hatch – Northeast – Striped Bass

California Corbina: Sight Fishing the Surf

More Articles by Pete Barrett:

Fiberglass Rods for Saltwater Fly Fishing

Who Caught the First Bonefish on a Fly?

Amazing Autumn Fly Fishing

The post Fly Fishing the Surf with Bob Popovics first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Fly Fishing the Surf with Bob Popovics appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

Grundens 6-Inch Deviation Ankle Boot

This is a great fishing shoe for being on a boat or out in the elements, which is what you’d expect from a company that has made its name on the decks of boats in extreme weather conditions. The soles are great on slippery decks, and we’ve found them to very slip-resistant in snowy and icy conditions as well. It’s also a great camp shoe because of the ease of putting them on and taking them off. Even when you’re on your feet for long periods of time, these boots keep you in comfort—even when the weather conditions are anything but comforting. $89.99-$139.99 (grundens.com)

Pelican G5 Personal Utility RF Field Wallet 

This wallet has all the benefits of its larger Pelican hard-case cousins—in miniature. It’s a great place to keep hunting and fishing licenses, cash, and credit cards while on the water. We especially like it on beach trips. It can be clipped to the outside of a tackle bag or sling pack, or kept inside a zippered pocket. It’s crushproof and waterproof and also protects items from RF scanning. $44.95 (pelican.com)

Duke Cannon Solid Cologne

This is a great travel product for sportsmen who want to smell a bit better no matter how rustic their location and accommodations may be. We prefer the Bay Rum scent—probably just because of its name and our affinity for rum and bays. It’s easy to pack and doesn’t count as a liquid in a carry on bag. It’s a subtle cologne that improves the wearer’s status compared to his unwashed companions in hot and funky climates. $25 (dukecannon.com)

Captain Experiences Guide Booking 

Founded and launched in 2020 by two fishing buddies from Texas, Captain Experiences has become the largest online platform for booking fishing guides in the U.S. Their site claims 1,000 vetted guides with charters available from San Diego to San Juan, Key West to Cape Cod. Their search engine filters by location, group size, target species, fishing technique, price, and more. Read verified reviews, and book real-time availability with quality guides. Most guides are conventional-fishing focused (many of which are in Texas, where this outfit started), but they also offer a fair number of fly-focused guides across the country. Price varies. (captainexperiences.com)

Airflo Superflo Ridge 2.0 Flats Power Taper 

Designed to meet the demands of casting big flies with fast rods in stiff winds, this line was tailor-made for fishing the salt. The new and improved Ridge 2.0 technology brings the  reduced-friction advantages of a textured line, but its strips and shoots quietly with a smooth-line feel on the fingers. Airlfo has updated its design and materials, resulting in thinner running lines with greater ability to shoot, less drag, and increased reel capacity. Airflo places top priority on always being 100 percent PVC free. While this means you’re fishing with environmentally friendly line, it also represents a more durable line thats stays cleaner, lies flatter, and simply casts well—season after season. The Flats Power taper allows quick loading and turnover of heavy flies, but still allows long pickups and relatively delicate presentations. The Universal taper isn’t as aggressive and is still a favorite of many Airflo users, but we think the Flats taper is the all-around winner for the rigors of salt. $129.99 (airflousa.com)

Sage SALT R8 Rod

In January, Sage released its SALT R8, the highly anticipated saltwater-specific rod using the Revolution 8 technology from the R8 CORE. The Sage team has merged power and finesse to create a rod that meets the challenges of powerful saltwater species and the rugged environments where they’re found, but the SALT R8 provides strength and durability while also maintaining the feel and touch necessary to deliver quick and precise shots on demand. We test drove it late last year in the Louisiana marsh and found it strong where it needed to be and sensitive elsewhere. Sage increased strength by about 25 percent without adding material and weight. But what separates this rod from the crowd of hefty saltwater sticks is its feel, achieved by a taper and fiber alignment that delivers strength, fine-touch presentation, and an intuitive sweet spot. The rod is quick and easy to load, allowing anglers to fire off shots in the time-sensitive situations common to saltwater fly fishing. $1,100 (farbank.com)

Sage ENFORCER Reel

The ENFORCER is designed for the power, durability, and reliability needed on the saltwater flats. The reel’s drag is 50 percent higher than Sage’s SPECTRUM MAX family of reels, with beefed up O rings and drag plates, as well as other design features—including increased rigidity—that make it more durable in unforgiving saltwater environments. Maximum drag is 8 pounds at the arbor in the 7/8 size, 15 pounds in the 9/10, and 17 pounds in the 11/12. Its larger drag discs better disperse pressure and maintain the consistency of the power band throughout the fight by stabilizing inherent stopping strength. We really like the new radius-cornered reel seat, which prevents leader abrasion during storage. $575 (farbank.com)

More reviews…

Louisiana redfish on the new Salt R8 by Sage

Saltwater Fly Fishing Gear – Fall 2022

Fly Fishing Gear

The post Saltwater Fly Fishing Gear Guide – March 2023 first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Saltwater Fly Fishing Gear Guide – March 2023 appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

Back in 1980, before its famous king salmon run crashed, the Kenai River was Alaska’s most heavily fished stream. At the time, I was living and working near its banks in Soldotna, the small town at the fishery’s epicenter. When the run was near its summer peak, the river grew crowded with visiting anglers, which is why I almost always fished elsewhere at that time of year.

As an internist, my primary hospital duties came in the intensive care unit, but in a small hospital with a limited medical staff, everyone had to take a turn in the emergency room. I had already learned that most visiting tourists arrived with an agenda to fulfill in Alaska, which usually included seeing a bear, watching the northern lights, and catching a salmon. Determination to accomplish the last of these goals seldom reflected competence as an angler, which meant the guide boats were full of inept clients hurling large, barbed hooks buried in globs of salmon eggs across the powerful glacial current with more enthusiasm than accuracy—and predictable results. The ER staff always saved the hooks and lures we removed from the victims and posted them on a board running around the walls. By the end of summer, our emergency room looked more like a sporting goods store than a medical facility.

We were already off to a good start one long day in late June when a large, loud woman with a thick Bronx accent arrived demanding immediate attention. Sensing trouble, I began the evaluation with my most charming bedside manner.

“What brings you to the emergency room today, ma’am?” I asked sympathetically.

“My goddamn husband hooked me!” she bellowed back, pointing angrily behind her at a terrified man cowering against the wall. I’m ashamed to admit that I already felt more sympathy for him than for the patient.

“I gather the hook is still in you,” I replied. “Where exactly is it?”

“In my boob!”

Oh boy, I thought, as our capable nursing staff reassured the woman, led her to an exam table, and began to remove her shirt and bra, an operation that required snipping some clothes and elicited a wail of protest about her ruined shirt. And there it was, a magnum-sized Spin-n-Glo bobber riding a leader as thick as an anchor line above the eye of a vicious looking hook. Cursory examination revealed both good news and bad. The good news was that it was a single hook and not a treble, which can be much more difficult to extract. The bad news was that it had a barb, which was now firmly embedded adjacent to the nipple.

“This is so embarrassing!” she wailed as I gently poked and prodded.

“I’m a doctor, ma’am. I’ve seen thousands of breasts.”

“Bet you’ve never seen one like this!” She had a point.

“Don’t worry,” I reassured her. “We’ll have this out in no time, and it won’t even hurt.”

“You’re going to put me to sleep, aren’t you?’

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Maybe not for you! Can’t you at least use a lot of Novocain?”

“That won’t be necessary either. It will hurt less without it.”

“Can’t you send me to a specialist or something?”

“Ma’am, we’re in Soldotna, Alaska. I’m as special as it gets around here. Now try to relax and I’ll draw you a little picture of what we’re going to do.” Intending to involve the guilty husband in the discussion, I looked around for him, but he had already retreated—to the waiting room or, as I suspected, the nearest bar. Then I gave the nurses a look that said, “We’re all in this together, team,” and prepared to go to work.

Fishhooks are supposed to wind up in the water or, even better, in a fish’s lip, but fate does not always treat us so kindly. These events are usually little more than a minor distraction, especially for fly rod anglers who use small hooks and take time to crimp down barbs. However, salt water often demands large hooks, and even if we are careful about barbs, our fishing companions may not be, a point (no pun intended) I’ll illustrate later. Every angler should understand how to extract an embedded fishhook or, better yet, prevent the problem before it happens.

During my tenure in Alaska, I removed hooks from almost every conceivable part of the human body, with anatomic details best left to the reader’s imagination. (Yes, even there.) The eye was one important exception. A hook embedded in an eye represents an emergency that should always be handled by an ophthalmologist. Should you encounter this situation in the field, keep the patient as comfortable as possible and seek expert consultation. Do not attempt to remove the hook.

An ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure, let’s turn our attention to avoiding these problems in the first place, beginning with the most vulnerable part of the body. I never fish without appropriate eye protection and strongly encourage companions to do the same (to the point of being obnoxious, according to some friends). For those who don’t wear corrective lenses routinely, protection usually takes the form of polarized glasses, which improve the ability to spot fish anyway. Most of today’s high-quality sunglasses allow clear vision even in low light situations, so clouds are no excuse for not wearing them. Now that my aging eyes have trouble with light tippet, small flies, and knots, I also appreciate the small near vision correcting lens incorporated in many models, which save me the trouble of fumbling around with reading glasses when I’m trying to fish.

The next important preventive measure should be obvious: crimp down those barbs! Fly rod anglers are usually good about this anyway, out of concern for the welfare of released fish. Barbless hooks produce much less tissue damage and are far easier to extract than those with barbs, from both fish and anglers. Barbs have been around forever, largely because of the incorrect assumption that they will result in fewer lost fish. In fact, the increased diameter of the hook point produced by barbs decreases the chance of a firm hook-up.

Unfortunately, most commercial hooks come with barbs, because so many anglers (especially those fishing with conventional tackle) believe in them. Barbless hooks are more expensive to manufacture and to buy. Fortunately, the problem is easy to solve with a good pair of needle-nose pliers. I try to crimp down all my hooks before they leave the tying vise, to avoid neglecting this task and having to fumble around with it on the water.

Now to the heart of the matter: proper technique for removing a barbed hook if these preventive measures fail. For years, conventional wisdom advised pushing the point forward through the skin, clipping off the barbed section, and then withdrawing the hook the way it came in. Unfortunately, as with lots of conventional “wisdom,” this method isn’t wise at all since it is painful and causes more tissue damage than a readily available alternative.

Although it’s simple, this technique is difficult to describe verbally, and I hope the accompanying photographs will make it easier to visualize. Think of the process in three steps:

1. Pass a length of stout tippet or line through the bend in the hook to create an open loop.
2. Press down on the hook’s eye.
3. Give the tag ends of the loop a quick snap, with the force directed parallel to the skin surface.

Done properly, this process will disengage the barb and allow the hook to pop free with little pain. Since you don’t want the loop to break when you tug on it, I like to use line of 15-pound test or stronger. Depending on the location of the hook, this can often be accomplished without help, but it’s easier if it’s done by an assistant. There is a natural tendency to tug gently on the leader, but that may be unsuccessful, prolonging the process and leading to more discomfort. If someone else is performing the maneuver, encourage them to act counterintuitively and give the leader a sharp, hard tug as if they were strip-setting the hook on a fish.

The body part containing the hook should remain still during extraction. If the hook is imbedded in an ear or an extremity, immobilizing it with a firm grip may be useful to prevent flinching. Distracting the subject’s attention may be useful if they are nervous or agitated—and who wouldn’t be?

Here’s how the process plays out in real life. One summer day near our Alaska home, Lori and I were offshore in our skiff with two friends. She and I were catching nice silver salmon near the surface on streamers with barbs crimped down, while our companions mooched herring with conventional tackle. When one of them brought up a particularly vigorous fish, I netted it, dropped it on the deck, and made a dumb mistake. Eager to get my fly back in the water while we were still into fish, I decided to remove the hook with my fingers while the silver was still in the net. Using our readily available hook-out would have prevented what followed.

As soon as I touched the hook, the fish thrashed, tangling the hook in the net, and driving the point deep into my forefinger, leaving me attached to both the net and the fish, which was still very much alive and continuing to roll. (Yes, it hurt like hell.) I yelled at Lori to dispatch the fish with the priest. She did so promptly, but the fish and my finger were still in the net. Some quick but delicate knife work soon had my hand free, but the 3/0 hook and its barb remained deep in my finger.

Since we were fishing with heavy line, I had no trouble locating a spool of stout tippet. As I issued instructions, I could tell that Lori was uncomfortable with the job I outlined even though she is an experienced registered nurse. Just as I feared, her first effort resulted in a loss of nerve and a gentle tug that accomplished nothing except more pain in my finger. “Strip set!” I bellowed, and when she did so on her next try, the hook flew out easily.

With nothing more to be done at that point, I took the obvious course of action, picked up my rod, and was soon fast to another nice silver.

***

What about the unhappy lady in the emergency room that day? Although I thought I might have to sedate her to get the job done, I distracted her with a long series of questions about her day on the water. (She proudly reported landing a Dolly Varden.) With her thus engaged, I slid a loop of suture around the hook and popped it out easily.

With the hook free at last, I grabbed a large Kelly clamp and showed her how to crimp the barb down.

TAIL FLY FISHING MAGAZINE WAS PICKED BY FEEDSPOT AS ONE OF THE TEN BEST FISHING WEBSITES AND BLOGS…

VISIT FEEDSPOT

More articles…

Fiberglass Rods for Saltwater Fly Fishing

How to Catch Big Fish by Andy Mill

Barracuda Breakdown by Chico Fernandez

Tying Drew Chicone’s Contraband Crab

SUBSCRIBE TO TAIL FLY FISHIG MAGAZINE

The post Unhappy Hookers: When hooks wind up in fishermen instead of fish first appeared on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.

The post Unhappy Hookers: When hooks wind up in fishermen instead of fish appeared first on Tail Fly Fishing Magazine.