Florida: Gulf Coast February 20, 1998       FishWire Coordinator: Joyce Rehr Navigation Aids:     Local Reports Tampa - St. Pete - Sarasota Boca Grande - Punta Gorda Sanibel - Captica - Ft. Myers Melbourne-Sebastian Inlet Naples - Marco Island 10,000 Islands - Everglades - Chokoloskee See other Regions Cape Cod & the Islands Florida: Atlantic Coast Florida: Gulf Coast Florida: Miami Metro & the Keys Maine & N.H. Mid-Atlantic Region New York & Northern New Jersey Southern New England Texas: Gulf Coast

NEWS Musings from Joyce: time spent beach fishing or wade fishing can be some of the most satisfying and contented hours with fly rod in hand. The memories of early morning sounds and smells as the day awakens, the warmth of the afternoon with calls of the osprey and the blue heron in the distance, or the magnificence of tailing redfish against the glowing evening sunset. Maybe even casting a fly or two even though it’s hand-tied and not exactly perfect. The skills of the fly rodder and the instinct of the fish...going one-on-one. Simplicity at it's best!

DID YOU KNOW? Did you know the top five fishes in State of Florida are: largemouth bass, redfish, snook, spotted seatrout and tarpon? We have four of those species right here in the salt water on the West Coast. Besides fly fishing for these top rated species, other fish pursued by anglers casting a long wand are: black drum, cobia, flounder, grouper, jack crevalle, king mackerel, ladyfish, pompano, Spanish mackerel, tripletail, 18 different kinds of sharks and a myriad of snapper. Just think of the different fly patterns, sizes of flies and color combinations it takes to be ready to cast to all of these fish. I would have to say the most common fly pattern that could entice a majority of these fish to eat is the Clouser Minnow. Guess that's why so many of my reports usually mention the Clouser as the fly of choice for the specie being caught. Don't forget to send me your own reports, and until next week... Tight Lines! Joyce Rehr

Florida's Gulf Regions   Tampa - St. Pete - Sarasota Capt. Roy String of Sarasota (941-379-5083) said fishing has been good as long as it isn't raining. Before the rain deluge last week he was beginning to see lots of redfish in Charlotte Harbor (Bull Bay/Turtle Bay) but the water is dirty again. One of his anglers landed 4 out of 9 bites on fly on a "secret" fly. The more I talked to Roy the more we talked about flies. He finally told me about his "secret" fly: he said he started poling down a mangrove shoreline with his angler throwing a Prince of Tides bendback pattern. The fish would follow it but wouldn't take it. Then, he tied on his little white snook fly. Roy said it lands so softly that he instructs his anglers to actually drop the fly on the redfish's head. Usually, with just one strip the fly is hit. There are a lot of trout and redfish around. Roy said that snook fishing at night is bad and it probably has a to do with the amounts of rain. The other evening his angler landed 5 and had another 5 or 6 on. It seemed like the fish weren't really eating the fly they'd just hit it with their body. The water in Charlotte Harbor is really dirty and means that anglers have to blind cast rather than sight cast to fish. Because of this, Roy took Frank Bush from Hartsville, South Carolina fishing in the North part of Sarasota Bay where the water is really clear. They did real good on trout with 30 to 35 caught in a 1/2 day. The biggest one was 17" and they all were caught on a chartreuse and white Clouser Minnow. Water temperature is reported to be 60-61 degrees. While there are a lot of pompano skipping out alongside the boat, it's hard to get them to eat. Once the water starts warming up, they should be eating good.

Boca Grande - Punta Gorda Jerry Cleffi of Shallow Water Outfitters in Punta Gorda (941-637-9989) said the weather's been better and the fishing is pretty decent. Fly rodders are catching a few redfish blind casting. The water is so dirty and dark you can't see under the water at all and it's almost completely fresh. Bait fishermen can't keep shrimp or bait alive in livewell because of the fresh water. Because of the stained water and no sight fishing, casting shrimp in holes and creek mouths has been productive for bait fishermen. There have been a few tailing fish around islands to the north and west of Matlacha Bridge on the Pine Island Sound side. Jerry said that guides are starting to see some snook in the back country. Fly rodders are using a small Prince of Tides pattern since the snook are feeding on glass minnows. When the pinfish start pushing into the back country, then he'll change to a larger sized fly. Match the hatch. Next Wednesday, February 25, his shop is having a free seminar on fly fishing for redfish at 7:00 P.M. Saturday, March 14, there will be a free basic casting clinic at 9:00 AM. and there is a fly tying class ongoing right now. His shop is located at 1303 Tamiami Trail, Punta Gorda, FL 33950. If you're in the area, take advantage of his expertise.

Sanibel - Captiva - Ft. Myers Dave Westra of Lehr's Economy Tackle in North Ft. Myers (941-995-2280) reports that Tuesday and Wednesday (nice bright sunny days) fly fishermen got into some nice trout around Chino Island, McKeever Keys and Regla Island. It seems that the bigger trout are laying in the deeper sand pockets. Dave said he hadn't heard any good snook reports, it's been mostly trout with a smathering of redfish. The fishing up the Caloosahatchee is practically dead with all the fresh water. Even the bait fish have been killed or have moved out of the area. Capt. Mike Rehr said there are LOTS and LOTS of tailing redfish on the flats. And, they're hungry. Very lightly weighted chartreuse and white Clouser Minnows and deer hair poppers are super-productive flies for these skittish reds. Also, one of Mike's charters this week caught flounder when casting to redfish. A note of interest: fly rodders don't have to be in a boat to catch nice fish. I had a report this week that a bait fisherman was catching pompano off the Sanibel Island Causeway using sand fleas. He would walk along the beach where the surf was making a rush onto the beach, watch for something scurrying back to the water and start digging sand fleas. As I've reported before, pompano will take a small white or yellow weighted fly. Sand fleas are whitish/grayish in color. Makes sense doesn't it.

Naples - Marco Island Tom Shadley at Mangrove Outfitters in Naples (941-793-3370) reported last weekend anglers were fly fishing and catching small snook, jack crevalle, mangrove snapper, pompano and redfish. One of Tom's anglers did catch a 12# snook on fly. He's finding redfish and snook mixed in together which is a little unusual for that area. The water temperature is around 68-69 degrees so it's warming up.

10,000 Islands - Everglades City - Chokoloskee Port of the Islands in the 10,000 Islands (1-800-237-4173) says that fishing is starting to pick up. Hog Key and Panther Key on the outside are producing pompano since the water is getting warmer. Trout, in exceptional numbers, are being caught by fly fishermen as well as bait fishermen. Redfish are plentiful and small snook are being caught casting deceivers along the mangroves. Anglers in the Everglade City region are two or three large schools of tarpon in the 70-100 pound class. Only one report of a catch so far.

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