Sharks on the Fly

[sage fly guy]

Recently I have read several article's on shark fly fishing in Florida. Bull, spinners, hammerheads, tigers, blacktip sounds like fun.

Anyone have a good contact for a possible excursion from Massachusetts this upcoming winter. Perhaps a long weekend sometime in January/February.

Any info on possible species to target and time's of year would be helpful.

thanks ahead of time,

chris

[striperblues]

Last March I was in West palm on a biz trip and took a day to fly fish with Capt. Scott Hamilton. I would not recommend more than two anglers on his boat. I had no idea what I was in for.

Here was the program: We set up a drift a hundred yards off the shore in 30' of clear water with one dead bluefish hanging over the side. After about a half hour you could see a brown shape zig zagging its way towards the boat. I then cast an orange fly he called a BAM (bigg ass muddler) 30 feet out with floating line on a 12 weight rod. When the spinner shark got close, I twitched that fly and the shark zeroed in like JDAM bomb on the Taliban. I was not prepared for the speed, power and acrobatics that followed. It was scary awesome. Out of seven hooked, three were brought boatside. All were 75-90 pounds of adrenaline that took a half hour to subdue if you were lucky enough not to lose it during the first several minutes of chaos: 200 yards of line ripping at knuckle breaking speed and water clearing acrobatics.

Scott said it was a slow day as the spinner shark season was winding down, which goes from January (sometime) to March as the spiiners migrate through. I highly recommend the experience.

[wittich]

There is a nice sized 15foot Great White that would make a good sight casting oppertunity right now.

[Capt.ChrisLembo]

Check out Key West for a Shark on fly adventure. The channels west of Key West out to the Marquesas produce some serious sharks. Hammerheads, Lemons, Bulls, Reef, Blacktips, Spinners. Plus you get the night life to boot.

WWW.Incognitolighttackle.com

[danny]

get down to the keys, get a good guide. he'll skin out some cudas, then throw a big fly (i like orange), put it right on them (yes, they'll be there) and look out. if you want a good pattern, check out the new tim borski dvd... i think it's called "borski ties flies". they have great footage of a huge tiger. we also have spinners (really fun), lemons, blacktips, bulls, etc. good luck!

[lemaymiami]

They're particularly fond of flies that are the exact same color as your life preserver.... I like to add a little red to the head area as well.

[OceanRunner]

Anyone have a good contact for a possible excursion from Massachusetts this upcoming winter. Perhaps a long weekend sometime in January/February.

Chris,

If you want to catch a Bull or Lemon (you’ll see some blacktips/spinners as well) on the flats with a fly, February is the time to go! A few buddies and I have made the trip for several years, and have had all the shots you could ask for, without even targeting them. My biggest Lemon hook-up was from hooking a Jack that was following her in about 4’ of water… As the Jack tugged, she rolled over and inhaled it. As luck would have it, I hooked her in the corner of the mouth and played Missori boat ride for about an hour, before pulling her loose. An 8’ lemon on the flats makes a serious commotion, and it’s an awesome take!

I have fished with a few guides in Key West that I would definitely recommend: on the flats, Brian Yates and Alex Bohem are tough to beat, and if you’re looking for Sharks on a fly in deep water from a CC, you can’t beat Capt. Rush Maltz. He has consistently found us fish (lots of fish). They are all great guys who fish on their days off, and are serious about catching fish.

If you want to find a Hammerhead in Feb, they are around, but I have yet to see one on the flats in the winter. Rush has found us a few while catching Kings, Ceros & Albies over offshore humps in Feb. Spinners & Bulls seem to show first, then you'll see a hammerhead or two. Always bigones that time of year. It's a great trip.

Good Luck!

Chris

[sage fly guy]

Most excellent info guys, thanks.

OceanRunner,

Do you have any contact info for any of the Captains mentioned?

As far as lodging, where is the most reasonable yet convienent place/town to stay.

chris

[OceanRunner]

Chris,

Capt. Bryan Yates
305.294.0281

Capt. Rush Maltz
305.797.5059
www.odysseafishing.com

As for a place to stay, we usually go with a pretty big group, and rent a house. If you're going alone, or with 1 or 2 others, I'd ask the guides; Rush is a lifer (conch, as they're referred to down there), and Bryan has been there for a long time. They’ll definitely get you all the info you need.

Enjoy!

Chris

[riptide]

Sage,

I'll fill you in on Incognito and Capt Chris. Solid Capt. with a SMOKIN' new ride. Also, a he's a member of Haydens Fly Reels Pro Staff!!!

[jay_m]

Another vote for Capt Scott Hamilton. He knows his stuff.

http://www.flyfishingextremes.com/

[PanamaJack]

I've certainly had success fishing the flats on the Marquesas in early May - a really good time in the Keys. As Danny mentioned butterflying a Barracuda and setting up a drift to take you over the deep water channels that intersect the 'atoll' certainly brings up sharks. We had Blacktips and Lemons and also hooked a 400lb plus Nurse Shark - trying to get that to move away from the scent of the Barracuda was a real issue in itself. The Blacktips were extremely acrobatic, not quite Billfish-like BUT they jump. And they were visually nailing the flies. We also attracted a reasonable Hammerhead but couldn't get it to strike.

Red and White flies on sinking lines were cetainly the skipper's patterns of choice. We fished with Teddy Lund who co-incidentially wrote that article in last year's IGFA handbook. But he can be somewhat of an elusive individual to track down. Greg Sheretz on Calcutta - he keeps his boat at the marina on the end of Stock Island - probably has a contact number for him - let me know if you want Greg's details.

Just for a moment going back to the Hammerheads Teddy had tied a fly where he pushed the hook spacing literally to the IGFA limits. However the lead hook was particularly light - the theory being that if the hookup occured on the trail hook the lighter one would effectively 'bend' round the 'hammer' effectively giving up those extra inches of wire shock.

It's really exciting fishing. And then there're the Tarpon to play with! Also at that time of year you can encounter shoaling Permit off an area known as the Western Dry Rocks. Whilst it's not exactly fly fishing for Permit you can get them on a fly out there.
Kindest Regards
Dave

[rollwithit]

My guide chummed the sharks in with a dead barracuda hanging from the boat. It took about an hour and then all hell broke loose.

[Jed]

I've been out with Scott Hamilton. He gets my vote because he knows his stuff and has it all well organized.

jed

[gammarus]

What size ro do you use for sharks? I'm wondering if those same flies would work on the sharks on the flats down in Abaco. We tried once in November but they only nosed our red and white flies.

[Capt.ChrisLembo]

Attaced is photo of what to use. A 6/0 Mustad 3407DT hook and 6 (3 each side) orange saddle hackles. Does not have to be pretty as it will probably only be used once (twice if lucky). These small Blacktips hit them as well as big sharks and they are very aggressive and fight great on a 9 or 10 wt.

[LandlockedinMI]

Big ones like em too

[gammarus]

Attaced is photo of what to use. A 6/0 Mustad 3407DT hook and 6 (3 each side) orange saddle hackles. Does not have to be pretty as it will probably only be used once (twice if lucky). These small Blacktips hit them as well as big sharks and they are very aggressive and fight great on a 9 or 10 wt.


Perfect. I've got a bunch of those feathers right in front of me for my Steelhead flies. Just need hooks.