Species targeted in our local waters on a seasonal basis include seatrout, pompano, snook, jack crevalle, tarpon, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, little tunny and dolphin. Occasionally we are pleasantly surprised with other fishes but this list includes the fish that we are able to target depending upon seasons and conditions.
The Pathfinder 2200 Tournament edition Bay Boats is ideally suited for the fly fishing that we do here in the Stuart/Jensen Beach area of Florida as we are able to fish the flats in one foot of water or fly cast to ‘hot’ dolphin in 400 feet of water on the same day. The boat is equipped with a remote control bow mount Minn Kota trolling motor so your captain is able to control the boat yet be elsewhere on the boat out of the fisherman's way, allowing the angler ample room to fly cast off of the bow or stern of the boat. Additionally, the boat is equipped with a Power Pole: a remote-controlled transom mount shallow water anchor. This allows stopping to hold the boat in an instant and simultaneously use the trolling motor to pivot on the pole and put the angler in the best possible position to cast to the fish.
All of our tackle is of the highest quality and our fly rods are no exception. We use G. Loomis rods exclusively, and carry anywhere from 6 to 12 wt. rods depending upon the species being targeted and the conditions to be encountered. The fly reels vary from Tibor to Old Florida to Ross, Orvis, and Lamson. We encourage all anglers to bring whatever of their tackle they are most comfortable with as there are many quality fly fishing products on the market.
Docklight Fishing: Although fly fishing continues in our region of south Florida 12 months out of the year, some of the fish that we target are not readily available to the fly rod every month. One species that is likely to be caught on fly virtually any time of the year is snook. Fly fishing for snook at low light levels either at night or in the early morning hours before the sun rises can be very productive fishing. Often, the responses we hear from those that have never done this type of fishing is “fly fishing at night? I can barely see in the daytime much less at night!” We try to paint the picture for hesitant anglers that it is not as though you are fishing in pitch dark. We are often fishing lighted docks or bridges where the ambient light from the structure coupled with the lighted gunwales of the boat provides enough light to see what’s going on around you. Besides, soon you forget it is dark around you as this is often sight fishing. When you pull up to a lighted dock and see schools of snook stacked up around the dock and feeding violently on baitfish and shrimp being pushed through feeding lanes on the water’s surface, it tends to make you focus on getting your fly into the fray rather than thinking about the time of day or the amount of light or darkness around you. Nightime fishing on docklights is great fun and often productive. And best of all, it is available to us 12 months of year.
Tarpon trips are obviously popular for anglers and that season starts to get hot for fly anglers usually sometime in June. This is an early morning fishing trip and again is sight fishing as we are throwing flies at rolling fish as they are daisy chaining on the waters surface within a few hundred feet of the sandy shoreline beaches. Once the tarpon bite subsides as the sun rises and the fish go down a great option is to move to sunken structure or a hump on the ocean’s floor and throw chum to bring the albies up and feeding hot on the waters surface. Flies are rarely ignored when these fish get working.
Big Jacks in late March or early April we begin to find giant Jack Crevalle congregating in schools on the water’s surface and provide a great opportunity for fly anglers who want to catch big fish on top water poppers. This fishing is not for the weak or faint of heart as these fish average 25-35 lbs and are mean powerful fish. The tactic is to throw a large popper in front of a moving school and retrieve as quickly as possible. You will see several fish peel off of the school and begin to compete for your fly. Some fish will porpoise and some will strike from below but the winner will begin a battle with both angler and tackle. The key is to fight the fish with the lower third of the fly rod utilizing the butt section to boat the fish as quickly as possible for a quick photo and release. This is important as there may just be another school cruising down the beach holding more bruisers ready to do battle and it's time to gather your tackle and your strength as you begin a strategy to find a bigger opponent.
Some light tackle wintertime fun can be casting to Spanish Mackerel that hold just south of the St. Lucie Inlet. These toothy speedsters are a blast on a 6 or 7 wt. and it is not uncommon to hook great numbers in a short period of time. These are just a few of the fly fishing options that we have throughout the year here in these waters. Seatrout, Pompano, ladyfish, kingfish, cobia and dolphin are also viable targets at any given time based on the season and conditions.
And all of the above is just as accessable with a spinning rod if the wind is too strong or your arm gets tired, or if it is just your preference.
Saltwater fly fishing is alive and well here in the Stuart, Port St. Lucie and Jensen Beach areas of south Florida. Give us a call or e-mail to find out what is happening now.
CaptainRay@greenwatercharters.com
772.631.1004
