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Tyler Legg
Charlotte, NC, United States
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Welcome to THFF.com! Kick your wading boots off and stick around for a while. You'll find content ranging from NC fishing reports, videos, pictures, fly fishing news from around the state/country/world, humor, and even some irrelevant, yet interesting posts.
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Monday, August 13, 2012

For the past week I've been down in Florida soaking up the sun, the smell of salt in the air, and the fishing. Which were all abundant.

 If you haven't heard, the Sunshine State is Heaven on earth for anglers! There's plenty of opportunities for fly anglers too.  I took those opportunities and did what I could to make the best of them. Given I fish freshwater 99.9% of the time, saltwater fly fishing was an entirely different world for me! Last Thursday, I fished with former Davidson River Outfitters guide Josh Almond down on Sanibel Island. Big snook lurking just inches from shore were on the menu from sun up until about noon. Fish upwards of 30"+ were cruising just below the waves. As fly fisherman, Josh and I were following these fish along the shoreline in attempt to lure them to our white Schminnows and Clousers. Like mentioned, snook were the main course on the menu, but bonnetheads cruising in the shallows sidetracked me several times. One of them, which Josh spotted making a beeline for shore, pushed 4 ft. As the shark got within 10 ft, I tossed my Merkin Crab out ahead of his path. He turned and inspected my fly, but quickly rejected. 30Ib mono would have been useless in landing him, but the 5 second fight would have likely been worth it! Josh landed a very nice snook (see pic below) the previous day, but we failed to find snook that were willing to eat on Thursday morning.

Josh with a pig snook!!



Later that day, it was time to fish one of the jetties on the island. Other than a run in with some manatees and Josh's fish being "baracuda'ed" right at our feet, we didn't get into anything substantial. It was still one of the best days of fishing I've had in a while. Sometimes catching isn't nearly as exciting as the things you experience while fishing.

On the last evening, I fished Sanibel following a

nasty storm. The tide was just rolling in and baitfish were moving in by the thousands. I tied on a Schminnow, and fished it just below the surface. Strip, strip, strip, stop. Strip, strip, stop. Nothing. As soon as the fly hit the water on the next cast, a streak of silver shot out of the water and my rod bent. Baby tarpon? It was close enough... A close cousin to the silver king, the ladyfish. Just like the tarpon, they seem to stay in the air more than the water. They're not 200Ibs, but they're an absolute blast to catch on the fly rod. After a few more on the fly an approaching storm and dusk drove me off the water. In my book, it was an excellent finale to the trip. Big fish are fun, but sometimes the little guys can light up the day.


It was a nice change of pace! In the end, it's good to be back in NC.

 -Tyler

5 comments:

Feather Chucker said...

That trip looked like fun. I have yet to make it to Florida.

Tyler Legg said...

It's one of those places you have to visit as an angler! I love NC, but FL introduces you to a whole different quarry.

Unknown said...

great snook!!

Tyler Legg said...

Josh said he fought hard! Said he was using a 7wt, which had to have been an absolute blast...

Anonymous said...

Josh Almond resides in North Central Florida. He is very talented in making custom fly rods and flies. When your in Florida touch base with him on a great fly fishing experience along the Atlantic or Gulf Coast as well as the Keys in Florida.

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