New fly rod/reel
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2013 6:55 pm
After talking to several guides and astute fly fisherman, i was told that the Sage 9' weight with the Nautilus reel works nicely for reds. I love to catch the beautiful reds on the spinning rod, but the ultimate is to catch a 28'' red on the fly. On Monday, My friend Ed, who moved to apalach from key west last year wanted to fish. He had recently had hip replacement and hadn't been on the water in 8 months! We took out his Hewes boat and managed to catch 5 reds and one decent flounder. The bite was strong. We used a Gulp and a Shartruse jig. My biggest red was 28''. After learning how long it takes for redfish to grow, I released all four that i caught. Now you guys know that my weakness is adult beverages, and fresh fish in the black skillet.
On Tuesday, my goal was to catch a big red on the the new fly rod that arrived just two days before. I tied on a medium sized white fly with a streak of green and headed out. I was not in the kayak this time, but in the flats boat. I have been catching lots of reds in water less than 12'' deep, so I wanted to target those areas. I tried the out skirts of the jetties first. After three casts, a small 12'' trout was hooked up, but fell of at the boat. Five minutes later I made a cast, And thought I was hung, But I felt a tug. I pulled up, but it still felt like i was hung on one of the jetty rocks, which isn't uncommon there. I pulled up again, and i felt movement. A moment later, the fish decided to run away from the rocks and I just knew that it was my goal of the day, a nice red. As I fought the fish, it came to the surface. It was one of the largest flounder that I had ever caught. It was between seven and eight pounds.As you guys all know, flounder will easily fall off before you land them. I grabbed the net and the pulled this baby in. And yes, I did keep this one for dinner. Not bad for the first fish on the new rod. It is ironic that I hadn't caught a flounder in over three weeks.
On Tuesday, my goal was to catch a big red on the the new fly rod that arrived just two days before. I tied on a medium sized white fly with a streak of green and headed out. I was not in the kayak this time, but in the flats boat. I have been catching lots of reds in water less than 12'' deep, so I wanted to target those areas. I tried the out skirts of the jetties first. After three casts, a small 12'' trout was hooked up, but fell of at the boat. Five minutes later I made a cast, And thought I was hung, But I felt a tug. I pulled up, but it still felt like i was hung on one of the jetty rocks, which isn't uncommon there. I pulled up again, and i felt movement. A moment later, the fish decided to run away from the rocks and I just knew that it was my goal of the day, a nice red. As I fought the fish, it came to the surface. It was one of the largest flounder that I had ever caught. It was between seven and eight pounds.As you guys all know, flounder will easily fall off before you land them. I grabbed the net and the pulled this baby in. And yes, I did keep this one for dinner. Not bad for the first fish on the new rod. It is ironic that I hadn't caught a flounder in over three weeks.
