Albieaddict

Absolutely the best fly rod I have ever thrown. The 11wt and 8wt are just out of this world good.

Well, after almost 10 years out of the kayak game, I added a Hobie Lynx to the fleet late last year. It finally checked all the boxes - light enough that I wouldn't hate launching it, mirage drive (because paddling sucks), and wide enough to stand up on for sight fishing. I installed one of those fancy power-pole micros on the back, so now I can just peddle my way wherever I need to, press a button, and stake up on a point, channel, or whatever. Very cool. I'm super happy with the minimalistic setup, I just need to figure out line management. Does anyone have a setup that works well? When seated, line spills over the deck into the water. When standing, the pedals in the way of where you want to put your line (your feet). Ideally, its a solution that works both sitting and standing, but I will take an improvement to either position to start!

Can you elaborate on this? In current your guide wanted you to lead them by 20-25 feet?

I just got back from five days fishing in the backcountry of the Keys. Although there were not fish in most of their usual haunts, we discovered a body of fish that made for some incredible fishing. I've been in similar situations before but it is always a grind to get bites in deep and dirty water. My theory, which is probably wrong, is that the fish will bite if they see a well presented fly. But due to water depth, scarcity of fish, and muddy water, it's hard to get your fly noticed and bit. This trip was very different and the fish were happily eating toads, small bunnies, and worm flies. When it was on, we were jumping a fish every 15 minutes. My question to the board is how do tarpon actually find these flies in such dirty water? We're talking less than 1 foot of visibility. The fish were doing their classic surface roll and then deep dive, which leads me to believe they were mostly on the bottom in 10'. I can't imagine that a small fly fished on the surface is detectable to a tarpon on the bottom? I'd love to hear other perspectives on this so I can adjust my presentations accordingly!

Hi Mark, that would be hugely appreciated! I am actually flying in pre-dawn (4:30A or so) in San Juan, so I could likely do my guided day trip that day if the guide was available. I do surf as well so I am sure I will find myself at Marias! Connor

I am heading to the Rincon area of Puerto Rico (flying in to San Juan) for a week in mid March. Hoping to take advantage of a day of guided tarpon fishing or sight fishing of another kind. Separately from a day of guiding, I'll have some extra time to explore on foot or with a kayak. Does anyone have any recommendations for guides and areas to explore? I'll have a rental car and don't mind driving if it is required. Thanks!

I was fishing north of the Boston yesterday. It was kind of snotty out, blowing maybe 10-15 out of the South, and I saw a dark patch in the water in about 25' of water that I thought might be pogies, but they were deep. Just for kicks, I threw a buddies 14" Beast fly and to my surprise, watched a 40" class fish inhale it boatside. This school stuck around for the better part of two hours and was still there when we left. We caught three before leaving them alone. They were NOT feeding on pogies. The vast majority of the school was this size class or larger. There were at least 300 fish in the school, with very few fish under 36". They were rolling occasionally but not feeding aggressively, maybe not at all. The school was visible the entire time despite the extremely poor light and relatively deep/dark bottom color. Has anyone seen this behavior before? Any theories on what they were doing? To me, it actually felt like they were staging the the fall fun. It seems early, but water temps have dropped quickly over the last week with the hard West winds we are experiencing - from 71F last Saturday to 62F in this location.

OK, you guys started it... Pics below of the past few years. Nice spot with a better view (and the occasional dockside visitors!) We usually go north to the Glades in the off season (Nov-February) and camp in chickeees or on the beach, but only if the sunbathing gators don't spook the guys I'm with. Oakman, if you are serious about going down, text me. This will be a weird year for sure as I try to avoid air travel, but I will absolutely let you know when some windows open up down there. AA

Hah! I love it. I was down there when this started last year. I came back from backcountry camping for 4 days to discover the world was ending. We have a little slice of heaven - a lone Airstream trailer with a slip right in front. My commute was 7 steps on to a flats skiff, and then off without seeing another soul all day. I felt safer in that week in March than I have since. Wish I could have stayed the year. I like the knitting idea. Tying flies is kind of lame. Will probably still elect to knit from a chickee, though, until the dolphins and skeeters start testing positive for COVID. AA

Why not? I know what I am doing when I get to the Keys, if you can endure 24 hours in the car with me, you've earned the late season back country tarpon...

I am making the trip again from Maine to FL in early November. Every year, I talk about stopping somewhere to fish - maybe NJ for bass, NC for XL albies, or even some big bull reds in SC, GA, or No. FL. I'll be towing an 18' Maverick HPX-V, so access is almost unlimited. If you were making the trip, where would you stop for a rest + fish day to break up the drive? AA

Last week I witnessed the largest school of blitzing bluefish I have ever seen in Mount Hope Bay. Acres is putting it lightly. Later that night, there were 3-5 draggers in the bay, and since then, I have hardly seen a fish break the surface. I would understand if these fish were on pogies, but the fish were blitzing on smaller bait. Could they have been dragging for bluefish? Surely, that must be illegal?

I love the speculation. North of CCB! We found them again today and fed at least 25. Unfortunately none in this XL class....

One unbelievable shot where a pack of XL fish had broken off and were chasing pogies into the beach was eaten. But that's where the fun stopped.

These conditions don't happen often, but when tide + bait + sun + swell all line up, it looks a lot like this... 30-40"+ class fish pictured here. Cell phone camera and shot through sunglasses, so apologies for quality. Every spot you can see is a fish, no rocks or seaweed in sight.