Fly Fishing Adventures - bass, trout, panfish, bream, redfish, tarpon, speckled trout and all other freshwater fish, saltwater fish, game fish or trash fish species. Anything that swims really. All caught fishing with flies
I fly fish the lower Chattahoochee, around Columbus. I have caught many 3lb large mouths on the fly, and hooked many strippers but I was using an 8lb leader and they made waste on me. People down here look at me funny for fly fishing. I use a 8/9w.
I get that all the time. I overhear people on the lake watching me fly fish and saying things like "doesn't he know there are no trout in this lake?" 😂
You are right. Those short quick casts are actually harder than they look since the fly line is your weight. With very little weight out of the rod tip you get less control to the fly.
OK, below is a link to a video that is a very similar pattern. This video shows a big fly. My variation is scaled down. Just tie this fly and look at the comments I made at various minutes into the video to see the modifications I made. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LaJfx_zawEI.htmlsi=wEbz1g4q_9Yhl-lo Or paste this title into RU-vid search: How to tie a Spawning Shrimp Bonefish Fly Made with Arctic Fox (GB Shrimp). I start with a black Gamakatsu SL45 bonefish hook. I used mostly #4 and some #6 At 0:35 seconds into the video, the dumbbell eyes/weight are critical to the water you are fishing. You may need a fly with lead to get down if a current is washing over the flat or you may need a fly with bead chain for still very shallow water with a marl or rocky bottom. I needed bead chain most often. A heavier fly seemed to snag the coral bottom more often and ruin the cast. At 1:30 mins I first laid down black Wapsi mono eyes that come as a barbell not two stem eyes as this pattern shows. At 1:33 Mins I tied in the orange yarn the same way but over the barbell mono eyes covering the stem. At 1:50 mins, I skipped this step because I had already tied in eyes At 3:20 I did not use artic fox. I used tan Craft fur, but either will work. at 3:35 mins I did not add marabou. I wanted a slimmer more sparse profile that the guides like on a Christmas Island Special. Very important At 7:08 mins, I don't tie this clump in. I am still looking for the previously mentioned sparse profile At 8:45 mins, I again use tan craft fur for the wing instead of artic fox but the fox is fine. The differences that my modifications are supposed to make are 1) bigger hook gap but smaller fly 2) slimmer profile 3) the wing on this pattern as opposed to an EP spawning shrimp which incorporates a wrapped EP brush instead of a wing should give this fly a better chance of swimming the fly hook point up for less snags and still give a slimmer profile.
Thank you so much! I'm getting pumped because it is about time when this kind of fishing kicks into full swing. I'll be testing some new flies and new rods. 😁
That's their 9wt 9 foot 4 piece rod. One of the best 4 piece rods I have ever cast. Feels like a 7wt in my hand and fishes like a 10wt. I highly recommend it.
Nice videos of Crappie and assorted bass fishing. For the hybrids and spotted bass, what type of fly did you use? Minnow imitations , Clousures, larger woolly buggers? It looked like you were just under the surface. A number of years ago, I caught hybrids at Smith Mountain Lake, VA using weighted Buggers. What distance were you reaching to the fish. Tight lines.
I appreciate your humbleness on the trigger catch. I was just in Belize and cast to dozens of triggers with no interest, but finally I put a cast on one’s head delicately, and he ate, and I got the most satisfying fish of the trip.
Thanks Brian! I guess I should add the gear to my description. For Stripers I use an 8wt Scott Meridian with a Lamson Remix 7+ reel and Airflo Superflo Flats Universal Floating line. Also an 8wt TFO BVK with a Lamson Liquid 7+ reel and Rio Outbound Short Premier Intermediate WF8I. I love both of these lines. The Airflo shoots like a dream and the Rio intermediate is perfect for swimming streamers at a medium pace just below the surface. Also the spools are interchangeable on these reels so if I am traveling and can only take one of the rods, I can still use both lines. In this video I actually used my 4wt 11 foot switch rod for most of the fishing. I grabbed it when I thought I was on smaller white bass at my first stop. I was having fun catching the hybrids on it and there were spots mixed in so I didn't change. That rod is an 11' TFO Deer Creek Switch rod with a basic Bass Pro Fly reel. I have it up lined to a 6wt floating line so that I can fire it out quickly for distance without a lot of false casts. the length of that rod helps me to pick up more line off the water and put it back down in a different spot very quickly. This is a huge advantage when fish are boiling in multiple spots. Because of the length, it also works great with a popper dropper technique. Man, I really appreciate your comment. It is hard to figure out what types of content people like the most.
The guides wanted it. Those guys needed all the sustenance they could get after having no income for three years. Milkies are worth a lot to them because the guides don't have refrigeration at home. According to the guides, Milkfish last a long time without refrigeration.
Okay, too bad. Personally I always fish barbless and unhook them in the water, so it hurts a bit to see what happened. But thanks for the honest answer. I cannot effort a boat trip with prices like $500,- a day at least. Great vid anyway, must be a dream trip. I always fish DIY so there must be flats in reach by foot.
Oh man, I almost did the same thing with a Giant Trevally. But worse than breaking them off is when knot rips the guides off or rips the rod out of your hand. That can happen with really heavy leader and no class tippet.
Don't hold fish with one hand! Minimize Air Exposure. Bonefish exposed to air for more than 15 seconds are six-time more likely to die post-release. Don't use mechanical lip-gripping devices on active fish. This is from studies from Bonefish Tarpon Trust. That first fish was out of water for triple that. We all like a grip and grin but that fish handling was a travesty.
I’m jealous! I would love to fish Christmas Island someday before my journey on this earth ends. It would take quite the investment in gear though, don’t think my trout 5 weights would be much help haha. 😂
Aw man, I get it. The gear, the travel, and lodging are all costly. It was waaaay worth it to me. I saved up a little and sold some stuff I never used to justify it. I have been all over the place, and this ranks in the top 3, if not number one. As far as gear, I could have gotten away with an 8wt and an 11wt. But you need to know how to handle those bigger GTs with an 11wt. With no backup rod, I would have rigged my leader differently to avoid breaking my rod. An 8wt would handle everything except the milks and the bigger GTs. Plus, it can be used as a bass rod later. Neither rig would have to be high dollar. Nor should they be low-cost cheap stuff. I have found some great deals on Ebay for mid range gear that dropped the cost into low range. My 12wt reel is a Redington Behemoth that I got like new for close to $100. I wouldn't recommend it for an everyday saltwater fisherman, but it's perfect for a guy fishing salt, maybe 2 or three times a year. I have a few high end rods and reels, but I have never paid full price. Anyway, I still get what you are saying, but man, it's really worth it to go on these trips while you can. BTW, thanks so much for watching my videos!
@@skorflyfishing Thats great advice, I scour eBay and find great deals on my trout gear (like you said, I've found high-end gear at a fraction of the new price). Christmas Island seems to be easier to get to from the states than say the Seychelles. I just want to catch "Geets" someday before I'm too old. I noticed you weren't catching the bigger GTs in the surf like a lot of Christmas Island videos, has the fishing changed there? Are the geets smarter? Don't get me wrong, blind casting from boat still looked like blast, just was curious.
@@stevequincy388 Steve, the guys we hired were GT specialists. They are part of a GT package. You will notice that we had these two guys and their boat to ourselves. The regular package is a a little cheaper but you are subject to the desires of a group of 6 anglers. They are often left on flats in pairs with two guys to a guide. If the guide can't find GTS, or the fishing is slow, the boat man for those groups is constantly having to go back and forth moving clients who want to fish for GTs to different flats. So two out of the three pairs may have to wait until the other guys in the group are moved to a new flat. Not all of these guides are adept at finding GTs, so this process can take hours of fishing time out of the day. All of these guides, including ours, are really good at guiding for bonefish. But only one other was a GT specialist. I caught 6 GTs over 20lbs, 2 over 30lbs and one over 40lbs. and of course lost several more that might have been bigger than 50lbs. That doesn't count Dave. Anyway, to answer your question, yes I caught nice GTs on flats. I didn't always have my camera on so I missed some great action. If you watch the end of day 4 you will see a couple of these fish caught on a flat. Unfortunately I missed great takes from both fish. On day one our guide told us that the most consistent option for GTs was to fish the edges of deeper flats from the boat and that seemed to be the right call. We could move around a lot quicker and find bigger GTs more often from the boat.
@@skorflyfishing Good call, if I'm traveling all the way to Christmas Island i want make sure i have the GT guides. Nothing against bones, they look really fun and be a great way to break from the geets for a bit, but your GT success you described is exactly what I would be looking for. Still blows my mind you caught those on a $120 reel haha. Most higher-end saltwater reels are $700-$800. But hey good on Redington making a great reel at an affordable price!
@@stevequincy388 I know. Folks with expensive reels might get their feelings hurt seeing that, but they shouldn't. If I were fishing GTs and similar big game with a 12 weight reel consistently, that would be a different matter. I think the Behemoth is a great reel for low use or for a back up rig, but not for heavy long term use. I most often fish my 11wt rig which falls into that high end range.
Thank you! Milkfish are spectacular fighters. They give you everything that you could ask for in a fight except for an exciting take. But even that aspect is exciting in its own way. I rank them right there with a big GT when it comes to a fly fishing accomplishment. I appreciate your feedback. BTW, I just subscribed to your channel. I have only caught one sailfish. Time to do it again. Thanks for watching my videos!
great video, thanks for sharing your experiences. I notice you were using a Colton rod with your Behemoth. How did they perform for out there, any issues or were they flawless ? thanks David
Thanks David! On day one, I was using my 11wt Hardy because it is a dream to cast, and I was trying to pace myself for hours of blind casting. I then hooked a really big GT and never felt in control. Where I was fishing, you have to stop the fish immediately, or they will wrap you around numerous coral boulders. I lost that fish for that reason. After that, I switched to the 12wt Colton Leviathan. It is truly a big fish rod. I have caught big tarpon on my 11wt Hardy, but none had the sheer power of that first GT. The 12wt Colton was definitely heavier in the hand, but the Behemoth reel is very heavy, so that's a big part of it. I was concerned about wearing out my casting arm with 6 days of fishing ahead of me. But that never happened even with hours of blind casting. Moreover, when I hooked into another truly big GT, I was so glad that I was using the Colton. I quickly gained control, and dictated the fight. That fish will be seen in my next video on day 5. If you notice from this video, my rod also has a foregrip. A lot of rod builders have gone away from these for good reason. At 12wt, and up, I think the arguments against them start to turn. Anyway, sorry for the long reply. Yes, the Colton performed perfectly for what I bought it for, GTs, tuna, sharks and Jack Crevalle. I love that rod. It gives me confidence that I can land just about any big game.
Glad to hear the Colton worked so well, i did notice the fore grip. did you find it usful to fight the bigger GT you hooked up to. They must really pull like trains if they are stronger than Tarpon
Well, let me be clear about the tarpon comparison. Pound for pound the GT seems stronger because you are usually forced to stop them really quickly. If you let them run, they will inevitably wrap you on the rocks that they are usually hanging out on. As I'm sure you know, a tarpon usually gets airborne right away. If you can keep them on the hook, the jumping helps wear them out a bit. A GT is just shear power from the get go. but I don't think a GT has the stamina of a tarpon. A tarpon has power, stamina and as a bonus it jumps. That's definitely the more exciting fight. The next video is out. here is the link to that: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pdOXxcFe5kQ.html
