Flies/info for west coast florida????

[bikerfish]

gonan be in cedar key(no, it's not in the keys,)
(http://www.cedarkey.org/) after thanksgiving, taking a couple fly rods, but not sure what kinda flies I should take. no fly shops in the area, so I'll have to stop somewhere on the way down and pick some up. there are some outfitter/guide services, but they seem to cater to the spinning crowd. I'm gonna stop and chat with some of them anyways when I get down there. I'll also be in central florida, ocala nat forest for a couple days, bass water, but I have that covered, it's the saltwater stuff that I'm clueless about.
and yes, I'll be rockin some vintage 8wt tackle.

 

[sandfly]

small clousers (sz.1 -3/0) deceivers, small poppers for reds. some shrimp and crab flies..If interested I can do a selection for you, pm me if interested..

 

[ebroesicke]

I *think* you might have a shot @ False albacore too. So add crease fly and some real sparse flies in the 2" range. Gfen got on some snook in that part of the world @ one time, not sure if they are there in winter though. I am guessing speckled trout too. Any and all of the above flies will work for those. Many of the fish will cruise RIGHT along the beach.(learned that from Gfen too)

 

[Fishidiot]

Biker,
You're welcome to borrow my south Florida fly box - I've got plenty of flies for snook, tarpon, redfish, etc.

Send me a PM if you're interested.

 

[bikerfish]

thanks for the offers, but I should have things covered. I do have some saltwater flies that a guy traded me for some old rods, so they will finally get some use. Not going to fishing all that much, just a day or two here and there.
thanks again for the generous offers and information.

 

[pete41]

Blue or gray top and silver or black strips and white bottom streamer types about three inches.Fresh water streamers will do fine-rinse them off.Sink them about a foot to a foot and a half.
This time of year the water has cooled enough the tidal fish such as reds and trout will be moving into shallow water potholes.Still be best[and least wind] on an early morning high tide.If you pick up a straggler or two keep working around in a 100 yard circle until you find the main concentration.
If you are lucky to hit an early morning tide just starting to drop concentrate on ambush points where bait fish will be leaving the security of mangroves and small creeks that will be dry on low tide.

 

[pete41]

By the way if you have never been to Cedar keys the flats go on forever.Great town-my favorite over there.Stay out of the mangroves-some nasty things hang out there.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Lucky dog.
5ringbl and I fished St Pete with a guide last week.
CLOUSER,green and white took allthe trout.
If you in Erie I'll be glad to buy a beer and chat . GG

 

[PhilC]

I think this has pretty well been said, but the snook and tarpon have moved to the warmer water so you won't see them on the beach...they will move to the back bays though. I've never done too much mangrove stuff, but will probably go in a skiff the first time so I don't take a kayak or something into a gator pit...

You'll most likely be ok with clousers...which is the case for most salt fishing. This time of year especially since its mostly a trout and red thing. There will also be ladyfish and jacks around which will slam just about anything. You could also catch pompano which are in the surf during the winter...if thats the case, use small clousers (yellow is popular), like size 8 max, there mouth is the size of a nickel max.

I will be south Fl. all next week on the east coast around Jupiter. Shoot me a PM if you're in the area and want to fish.

 

[STONEMAN]

A gator pit! Jeeeze! I think i'll stick to central PA.

 

[pete41]

Not gators-up around cedar keys some of the islands are known for water moccasins or so a tour guide told me.

 

[bikerfish]

thanks for the info guys, gonna get some stuff tied up this weekend. Not afraid of the gators, been around them before, heck I've camped with them!

 

[pafisherman]

Biker
If you have not quit tying yet check out the we site for Norm Zeiglers shop on Sanibel Island. He created a great fly he calls Norm's Crystal Schminnow. Killer fly in the surf on Florida's SW Coast.
Bill A

 

[PhilC]

pafisherman wrote:
Biker
If you have not quit tying yet check out the we site for Norm Zeiglers shop on Sanibel Island. He created a great fly he calls Norm's Crystal Schminnow. Killer fly in the surf on Florida's SW Coast.
Bill A

The Schminnow is really just a white crystal bugger...add mono eyes and clip the tail...Zeigler claims this help the marabou flair and not matte on itself. The key to this fly is that its not weighted so you can cast it 2' in front of a snook and the splash won't spook it.

I'm trying to get to Sanibel one of these days...might head over there if on a trip down there and the east coast is blown out...
Maybe Norm will be around to autograph his book...

 

[bikerfish]

cool, thanks for the tip!

 

[pafisherman]

PhilC

If you are heading to Sanibel sometime send me a message. I fish there pretty much every year and have done pretty well and can give you some info. Norm is a great guy and has a nice shop.
Bill

 

[PhilC]

pafisherman wrote:
PhilC

If you are heading to Sanibel sometime send me a message. I fish there pretty much every year and have done pretty well and can give you some info. Norm is a great guy and has a nice shop.
Bill

Hey pa/Bill...
Will do I'll def be back down next summer....looking to plan a trip or two around the moon cycles. If all goes well Ill rent a car and head over to Sanibel...it's only about 3.5 hrs from where I stay...will let u know if I make it
Phil

 

[PhilC]

I'm out on the east coast right now for the holiday...the wind has been blowing like crazy the past few days...I caught a few minutes of some blitzes at the lake worth inlet before my mom started freaking out(my folks are getting old and have low tolerance for any chop). It looked like blue runners anyway...
Hopefully things will settle a bit by the end of the weekend...

 

[gulfgreyhound]

pete41 wrote:
Not gators-up around cedar keys some of the islands are known for water moccasins or so a tour guide told me.

Not the case Pete. Gators are found in that area and further north. GG

 

[bikerfish]

didn't see any gators or snakes. caught some mullet, saw some reds tailing but spooked em. saw some trout also, but same thing, they saw me way before I could get a cast to them.definitely going back, cedar key is the best place I've ever been in FL. Absolutely NO chain or franchise establishments, everything is mom and pop. tons of water there to learn. went up in a plane and saw tons of fish,(and also saw how isolated this place really is!) but when your back on the ground trying to chase them around in a kayak, it's a different story! next year I'll be better prepared, but for my first time flyfishing in the salt, I had a blast, and the scenery was second to none. The amount of wildlife is astounding. I've been all over florida and the keys, and I'll take the laid back atmosphere of this place over the rest of it combined. cedar key must be what Key West was like 100 years ago. I think they may have 900 citizens, and there might have been a couple dozen tourists, needless to say, you got to know most folks by the second day.
I'll be back down there next year for sure.
oh yeah, the beer was cheap the seafood wasn't bad either ;-)