Fly Fishing

The clear waters of Sarasota with its many species of fish, offers some great fly fishing opportunities.  The challenge of catching fish on the fly is addicting to some people.  I have clients that will not use any other method.  I do what I can to guide them to success.  Over the years we have caught almost every species of fish on the fly from giant tarpon to smaller pompano, snapper and look-down fish.  My grandfather had his own fly tying business back in the 1950’s, and he taught me a lot about tying flies and different techniques.  In my spare time I like to try new patterns and enjoy catching fish on my own flies.  Most fishermen understand the challenge involved with fly fishing.  Not only does the angler have to be able to cast the fly,  but we also have to find some fish willing to take it.  Most of my clients that are interested in fly fishing are just getting into it, and prefer not to dedicate the whole trip to it.

I like to have a fly rod onboard, and use it when the opportunity arises.  At certain times of the year we have all kinds of opportunities such as  schooling fish breaking the surface which might include jacks, bluefish, bonito, and lady fish.  Other times of the year we sight fish for cobia along the beach with the fly rod with much success.   In the summer months we do target the tarpon for the advanced fly anglers. 
 

Since most of my trips are live bait fishing trips with spinning tackle, I usually like to bring my normal tackle and bait along with the fly tackle for people interested in fly fishing trips.  Sometimes we have two guys fishing, one with the fly rod and one with a spinning rod. 

 Other time we might use bait for half the trip and the fly rod for the other half.  What ever the case maybe, I have learned over the years that most of my clients are not strictly fly fisherman and are open to using it only  when the opportunity comes up.

 We normally use 8 and 9 weight rods with floating and intermediate sinking lines.  Small fly patterns in white, green, and silver work well for most schooling fish since these fish are feeding on small glass minnows .  For cobia we use bright colored clouser minnows in chartreuse and green.  Tarpon flies in black and purple and natural colors work for us also.

If you don’t have your own tackle, we provide all of the top quality fly equipment. For the anglers  that just want to try fly fishing, we can instruct you with casting tips and help in many other ways. 

For the more serious fly anglers, we customize the trip around what you want to do and what is available to catch.