The Tampa Bay Times
Beautiful sunny windless days may be great for a lot of things but fly fishing isn’t one of them unless you make some adjustments. Very clear water, especially in the gulf, will present many issues when sight casting. Snook are still around and share their water close to shore with some baby tarpon. If we can easily see fish at a distance, how do we appear to them? Not using a flats boat is a good start. Use your boat to get to fish that are undisturbed, then leave it and wade if the bottom is suitable. It is even better to stay on land away from the water when fish are close to shore. A shadow or flash from the sun on your equipment must be avoided. Leave brightly colored clothes at home. Blend in with the water or sky. Minimize what you carry. Metal fly boxes, hemostats, clippers, reflective sunglasses even light-colored skin should be covered to allow a closer approach as well as protect you from the sun. Wear a neutral-colored wide-brim hat with a dark underside to improve vision with good polarized sunglasses. A good pair of lightweight fly fishing gloves will have a thicker area to prevent cut fingers from frequent stripping of the fly line while working a fly. The new distance fly lines that have a rough texture cut skin easily. Long thinner tapered leaders often 12 to 15 feet will keep the thicker fly line away from the fish. Cast accurately and allow the smaller fly to land on the water softly well ahead of a moving fish. Very long casts are necessary and should be practiced with an absolute minimum of false casting.
Fly fisherman Pat Damico charters Fly Guy in lower Tampa Bay and can be reached at captpatdamico.com and (727) 504-8649.
- Capiains Corner. Damico - December 26, 2023
- Pat Damico - December 21, 2023
- CaptainsCorner: Pat Damico - November 27, 2023
