Fun times with the 2 weight!

I took a good client of mine, Robert and his friend John, fishing last Thursday. It was a cool, drizzly morning and the fish were more than willing to eat out flies. John fished his 6 foot 2 weight. Its an absolute blast just to see how those fish can bend that rod! Both of the guys put a hurt on the rainbows. At one point, about a 7 pound brown came up and took a swipe at the rainbow on Johns line. It was an awesome rush and the second time I've seen this behavior in the last week! Robert decided he wanted to throw some streamers for a while and so he broke out the big guns. He had plenty of action on the rod, but just couldn't get any of the real big browns to commit. We had a blast! The rain was a welcome change from the hot sun. The guys caught nearly a hundred fish! It was another fantastic day on the Little Red River!

Surprise Surprise..........

I was expecting to write about how I went fishing not expecting to catch because of Tides Weather blah blah and that's exactly how it turned out but in fact the opposite happened.

I called in on a spot to finish the evening tried something that's never worked for me in that spot before and, as they say on local radio it was hit after hit. First cast and an almighty disturbance near the lure second cast the same, next cast, bang fish on and quickly gone again with lure!

Schoolboy error, I hadn't clipped up properly. Next problem ,that was the only lure of its kind I was carrying and the vehicle ,unusually, was half a mile away, nothing for it but to run back get all similar lures, returned, carried on fishing and catching until it got dark. Between ten and fifteen fish landed in the end, all returned safely except one deep hooked fish which was kept for the table. I have no idea why the fish were where I found them and hard on the feed.

Spendin' time with gma: Must See Video!

After church we headed out to the lake to spend time with friends and family and celebrate a birthday party for Ariya. My grandma is 77 years old and decided to go for the grand slam of activities that the lake has to offer! My aunt Judy Sceggel happened to have a video camera to film the afternoon activities- seining bait, feeding fish, kissing fish, fishing, water slide, rope swing, high dive, and mule ridin' were all on the agenda and grandma conquered them all. The video is fairly long at 8 minutes, but let me just say that if you have 8 minutes available, watch the video now. If you dont have 8 minutes available, save the link and watch the video when you get the time. You will laugh at some point. At 3:39 of the video she gets bit by a smallmouth bass and the impact leaves a nice smallmouth lips imprint as a souvenir on her face!!!

wedding was great

yeah, yeah, yeah, the wedding was just beautiful. My plan of clogging my nose and breathing through my mouth did indeed induce a bit of a sore throat, and I stayed up awfully late and woke up super early trying just to look and feel like crap and it worked........ I felt like crap, but I still wasnt able to get out of the wedding and reception!!! Next time I will just have to go all out and break a bone or get some stitches I guess.

Small minnow produces big results

I'm not very artistic when it comes to designing flies for fishing. I can usually imitate and duplicate, but coming up with my own designs isn't my forte.
However, I'm pretty proud of the Myakka Minnow, a fly I designed about five years ago after a very frustrating morning on the Myakka River.
I was fly fishing from my kayak and I was watching as bass and bluegill exploded upon schools of small minnows along the shoreline. I'd immediately cast a small, white No. 10 popper into the fray, but I came up empty every time. The fish obviously were feeding, but they didn't want what I was casting.
On the drive home, I began thinking about a fly that might work in this situation, one that would imitate a small minnow. I thought about various designs. I looked for small minnow patterns in my fly-tying books. But nothing really impressed me.
So, I sat down at my bench and start playing with various designs. I came up with a small minnow that certainly looked like a tiny minnow, but I had no idea if it would work.
I used a No. 10 nymph hook. The tail was a small clump of Krystal Flash. I added a few wraps of .20 gauge lead wire in the hook's mid-point, then tied in some polyflash at the bend of the hook and wrapped it forward, creating a minnow-shaped body. The body with thin toward the tail and built up toward the head.
When done, I added eyes on each side and coated the entire body and eyes with epoxy. I put the fly in my rotisserie and let it dry.
When it was done, I knew I had a winner.
Next time out on the river, I caught fish on a small popper like always. But when the topwater bite ended, I began casting the new fly. I allowed it to sink, then began retrieving it slowly. I can't remember how long it took, but I caught a really nice bass on it, a fish that weighed about 3 pounds. I later handed a few hand-sized bluegill and a hefty tilapia.
I noticed minnows scurry for safety along the shoreline with fish in pursuit. This was my chance, I thought, to see if the new fly worked like I thought it might in this situation. I cast it out, began retrieving and felt the line tighten and a 2-pound bass inhaled the fly.
Success!
The Myakka Minnow has evolved over the years. The tail is now a clipped bunch of marabou. The body is made out of Bodi-Braid by Spirit River. It works like a charm.
Although it was designed as a panfish fly, it has caught a variety of fish. It can be tied on any size hook, so you can tie it as large or small as you want.
Here's a list of freshwater fish it has taken: Largemouth bass, bluegill, speckled perch, golden shiner, stumpknocker, shellcracker, channel catfish, blue tilapia, spotted tilapia, rainbow trout, brown trout, sunfish, redbreast sunfish, barramundi, peacock bass, oscar, Mayan cichlid, and warmouth perch.
In saltwater, it has taken little tunny, redfish, snook, spotted seatrout, jack crevalle, ladyfish, mangrove snapper, pinfish, gag grouper, flounder, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and others.
It's no a magical fly by any means. But it is productive and works quite well. The secret to success is tying it on your leader and using it. Most of the time, I cast it to a likely looking spot and allow it to sink. Then, I begin a very slow retrieve.
I watch the end of my fly line. If I don't feel the hit, I'll often see the end of the fly line dart forward or to one side or the other. When that happens, it's time to set the hook.
It really works great in The Everglades for oscar. They really love it. I tied up a black Myakka Minnow for my Everglades trips. I noticed during one outing there that there are hundreds of small black minnows along the shoreline.
First time out when black Myakka Minnows, I'll bet I caught 100 or more oscars.
Since the fly has an epoxy body, it's virtually indestructible. There have been days when one minnow has gotten me through the day. It's rare when I use more than two.
The Myakka Minnow catches fish and that's good. I entered it in a fly-tying contest last year and it didn't place. Another fly I tied (which I had never used prior) took third place in the national contest.
Some flies catch the attention of anglers. The Myakka Minnow catches the attention of fish.
Best

AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS

AUGUST BROUGHT THE EAST CAPE OUTSTANDING FISHING AND DIVING

13 year old Chad Benifanti battling a yellowfin tuna

Linda Fender with her first roosterfish

Jordan Fender gets PADI certified to SCUBA

Matt Saunders with his first wahoo

Jen Wren Jeni watches the show

"Billfish Cowboy" gets his first blue marlin

Jim Durky with a dandy

This guy is lucky to live in a marine park

Ken "Peg Leg" Gross with a good dorado

Giant Pacific Mantas are common this time of year

The new Jen Wren. She is a 35 Cabo Flybridge

August also brought the passing of my dear friend Del.

We all really miss him but I'm certain he is pinned to the rail in a better place

Mark Rayorww.vistaseasport.com

www.thejenwren.com

A fresh approach to fly fishing

I've spent a good portion of my life fly fishing in salt water. It's fun. There's nothing quite like casting to, hooking, battling and landing a hefty redfish, snook or tarpon.

I take a lot of anglers from all walks of life fly fishing in salt water. Seems to be a very popular activity. Not everyone has salt water and his or her disposal.

When I have a day off and want to go fishing, I usually hitch up the trailer and head for my favorite freshwater lake or stream. I find fresh water is my nirvana.

Why?

First of all, most freshwater lakes and streams are not heavily pressured. I often find myself the only angler on the water.

Secondly, I love to catch fish. And I always seem to catch a lot of fish in fresh water.

It's my observation that fly fishing in Florida's fresh water is a whole lot more productive than in the salt. Our bays and estuaries are heavily pressured and catching fish on the fly can be tough -- especially when it comes to redfish and snook.

But I always seem to do well on the lakes or rivers.

Usually, I cast a light fly rod (1 weight) and target bluegill or speckled perch. I often catch my share of bass with this outfit. Lately, however, I've been targetting bass with my 6-weight and a black popper before the sun comes up. I've been catching a few this way and I expect it to get better as we move into fall and the water cools.

My favorite body of water is Lake Manatee, a 2,500-acre lake located nine miles west of Interstate 75 off State Road 64 in eastern Manatee County. It's about a 20-mile drive from my home in Sarasota. There's a 20-horsepower restriction on outboard motors at the lake, so you don't have to worry about being run over by one of those high-powered bass rigs. Anyway, I'm often the only person on the lake.

Lake Manatee isn't the easiest lake to fish, but it's rewarding if you put your time in. I know the lake very well and have quite a few productive spots.

One of the best kept secrets is the lake's population of channel cats. They are plentiful, large and cooperative. They will hit a variety of flies, including Wooly Buggers, Myakka Minnows and nymphs.

When I'm nymph fishing, I will catch a few golden shiners. That's why I tote along a spinning rod rigged with a hook, split shot and bobber. When I catch a shiner, I'll hook it up and cast it out. I'll place the spinning rod in a rod holder and go back to fly fishing. Usually doesn't take long before I hook a big cat or feisty bass.

Speckled perch (black crappie) are my favorites. They move into the shallows in fall and spring and will hit flies. At Lake Manatee, the specks are thick and hard-fighting. They average nearly 2 pounds.

If you love freshwater fly fishing, give me a call (941) 284-3406. I let you in on a few Lake Manatee secrets.